Researching Payroll Suspense: Where to Start

Version 1.0 | October 24, 2019

Overview
The following steps are a sample of the places you can look when you start researching uncommon payroll
suspense issues.

This follows a Service Portal ticket through various places in PeopleSoft to confirm page setups and data
results.

Check DBT Setup

1. Be sure there is one and for the correct fiscal year and department
2. Check setup – Percents vs Budget w/override
3. Check history of setup and when last change was made vs when issues started and/or resolved
4. Hourly employees should have suspense as primary account line
5. For retirees, check that Earnings Tab goes to suspense and Benefits tab does not

Pull the M_BETTERPEDR

1. See what pay code was used.

2. See how many positions were paid to employee during the pay period in question.
3. If more than one position for employee, determine that correct position was used.
4. If a retiree comes back to work, verify that pay is not going to retiree position.

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Review Add/Update Positions and Job Data

1. Check departments match between these two screens.

2. Job Data: Payroll tab, verify the Pay Group
 Workforce Administration > Job Information > Job Data

3. If a retiree is working, they cannot be paid to the retiree position. The position that earns real wages must
have a “P” (not “R”) in the Pay Group of the Payroll tab on Job Data if the wages are hourly, which they
usually are.

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Time and Labor/Paysheet Screens

1. If in step 2 of the previous section, an hourly pay code was used, may have to look up the Timesheet entry
screen to verify time was entered correctly.
 Manager Self Service > Time Management > Report Time > Timesheet
2. If no time card was entered, then a Paysheet was probably used. Likely a combo code was not entered.
This is verified on the Review Paycheck screen:
 Payroll for North America > Payroll Processing USA > Produce Payroll > Review Paycheck
 Check the Additional Data link to see if a code was entered for that payment.

 Combination Code here is blank.

3. Additional Pay screen: make sure that a combo code was entered if hourly employee. If not, distribution
will default to the primary account line, which is usually suspense.
 If the pay code matches a code on the DBT, then no combo code needs to be entered in the Additional
Pay screen.

Verify There Was Primary/Regular Pay?

1. If labor-related costs are being paid/adjusted to an hourly employee that isn’t receiving any earnings for the
month, it will all go to suspense.
2. This happens to teachers who are not paid in July/August.
3. Off-cycle benefit adjustments often go to suspense when there is not primary pay to follow.

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