West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board. PERS Web Contributions User Guide

Transcription

1 West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board PERS Web Contributions

2 Contents TWO METHODS OF UPDATING MONTHLY EMPLOYEE INFORMATION: 2 TWO METHODS OF PAYING MONTHLY CONTRIBUTIONS: 2 PASSWORD CHANGE SCREEN: 4 MESSAGE HOME PAGE: 6 NAVIGATION BUTTONS: 7 EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS TAB: 8 ENTER ADJUSTMENTS TAB: 14 SUBMIT MONTHLY CONTRIBUTIONS TAB: 16 REPORTS TAB: 21 IMPORT TAB AVAILABLE ONLY IF YOUR AGENCY IS SET UP ON THE FILE UPLOAD METHOD: 29 ADD EMPLOYEE TAB: 33 This manual is a reference guide for the newly updated PERS Web Contributions System that was effective on November 2, The original PERS Web Contribution System will no longer be available. Discard copies of the old user guide. Page 1

3 Two methods of updating monthly employee information: Monthly Process Method The user will manually key the Gross Salary, Employee Contributions and Hours/Days worked into the program before each monthly submission. File Upload Method The user will import a file that will contain the following information for each employee: First and Last Name, Social Security Number, Gross Salary, Employee Contributions, Salary Code, and Hours/Days worked. Notes: The Location Code has been removed from the new Web Contributions System and is no longer being utilized. If you are a current user and your agency is set up on the File Upload Method, you must delete this field from your data file (for each employee) in order to be able to successfully import your file. Data files that are not created in Notepad or Excel must be opened with Notepad in order to be imported. See pages of this for more information on setting up a data file. Two methods of paying monthly contributions: Lockbox Payment Remittance The participating employer will provide a paper check along with a Lockbox Coupon to a secure Lockbox in the amounts due each month to PERS. ACH Debit Remittance The participating employer will sign a debit authorization form that will allow an automatic debit of the monthly contribution amounts due each month to PERS. Accounts will be debited on the next business day following the day in which you submit your report. The debit authorization form must be completed when your agency signs up for ACH Debit Remittance for the first time. A new authorization is needed only if your agency changes banks or bank accounts. To determine which methods are best for your agency, or if you wish to change your currently selected options, contact the PERS Web Contributions Specialist at (304) or toll free at Prior to utilizing this new program for the first time, we recommend that you ensure that Adobe Reader is installed on your computer. The reports that you will generate once your submission is complete are in PDF format. Visit to access a free download of Adobe Reader. Crystal Reporting Software will no longer be utilized. Page 2

4 To access this program from an Internet browser, please enter the following address into the browser s address bar: From this page, you will log into the program by signing in with your assigned username and password. Logging In Usernames and Passwords A PERS Web Contributions Specialist will assign each user a username. If you are logging in for the first time, you will be prompted to change your password. Page 3

5 Password Change Screen: Please follow these guidelines to successfully create a new password: The password must not be the same as the old password The password must be at least 6 characters long and fewer than 8 characters Each password must contain at least one number and one letter The password may contain capital letters or symbols You should choose a question and answer that you are likely to remember in case your password needs to be reset Page 4

6 Once the password has been successfully changed, you will be prompted to log in again. If you have tried to log in three times and have been unsuccessful, the account will be locked. In this situation, please contact a PERS Web Contributions Specialist at (304) or toll free at Page 5

7 Message Home Page After you have successfully logged in, you will be directed to the Message Home Page. Any updates from PERS Web Contributions System Administrators will be available on this page. You will navigate from this page to complete various tasks. Page 6

8 Navigation Buttons: The following is a list and brief overview of the items, or links, available from the Message Home Page. Each of these items and links are visible on the previous screen shot. Logout This button appears on the left hand side of the page. This link allows you to log out of the program and will return you to the Login page. Help Manual This button appears on the left hand side of the page. This link allows you to access this manual in a PDF format at any time. View Message This button appears on the left hand side of the page. This allows you, at any time, to return to the Message Home Page to view messages from PERS Web Contributions System Administrators. Employee Contributions This button appears as a tab. This tab allows you to view employees and update employee information prior to submitting your monthly report. Enter Adjustments This button appears as a tab. This tab allows you to make adjustments requested by PERS. Total contribution amounts that will be remitted are visible on this page. Submit Monthly Contributions This button appears as a tab. This tab allows you to submit contributions to the CPRB. You cannot access this tab until you have accessed the Enter Adjustments tab and reviewed the amounts to be submitted. Add Employee This button appears as a tab. This tab is visible only if you are set up on the Monthly Process Method. (File Upload Method agencies, see Import tab description below.) This tab must be accessed in order to add new employees. Import This button appears as a tab. This tab is visible only if you are set up on the File Upload Method. (Monthly Process Method agencies, see Add Employee tab description above.) This tab must be accessed in order to import your file for the monthly submission. Reports This button appears as a tab. This tab allows the user to view and print reports for all months that have been submitted. The reports available are: o Detailed Transaction Report o Monthly Contribution Report Current Employee and Employer Contributions Rates are visible in a display box on the left hand side of the screen. The following sections will, in detail, describe the specific functions of the individual navigation buttons and will show you how to maneuver through the program. Page 7

9 Employee Contributions Tab By clicking on the Employee Contributions tab, you will be directed to the following page, from which you may search for individuals or lists of employees through a combination of information. Page 8

10 View/Search for Individuals by Group If you click on the View Employees button, all active employees will be displayed, by default. To view inactive employees or to view all (inactive and active) employees, click on the appropriate Status option. Employees will be listed alphabetically by Last Name regardless of status. Once the employees appear, changes may be made to one or more individuals. This is referred to as a mass update. Monthly Process Method You will update the last four columns of information (Employee Contrib, Sal. Code, Hours/Days, Cont %) for each employee prior to submitting your report. Information can be changed by clicking on the field that you wish to change. File Upload Method Once your file has been successfully imported, you can make changes to information for one or more employees on this screen. See pages of this for instructions on how to import a file. Once changes have been made, you must click the Update Employees button in order for your changes to be saved. Page 9

11 View/Search for a Single Individual Select the Status of the individual you need to view/update. Type in the first four digits of the individual s Social Security Number or type in the individual s last name. Once the individual appears, changes may be made to the individual s information. This is referred to as an individual update. Monthly Process Method You will update the last four columns of information (Employee Contrib, Sal. Code, Hours/Days, Cont %) for each employee prior to submitting your report. Information can be changed by clicking on the field that you wish to change. File Upload Method Once your file has been successfully imported, you can make changes to information for one or more employees on this screen. See pages of the for instructions on how to import a file. Once changes have been made, you must click the Update Employees button in order for your changes to be saved. Page 10

12 The following list of rules and regulations apply to all changes that can be made to employee information: An active employee must have a Gross Salary Gross Salary must be numeric with 2 decimal places and no commas An active employee must have a Contribution Amount Employee Contribution Amount must be numeric with 2 decimal places and no commas Employee Contribution Amount must be within the expected range of + or.01 (penny) of employee gross An active employee must have a value for the Hours/Days field Hours/Days must be numeric with 2 decimal places If Salary Code is H (Hourly), Hours/Days must be in the numeric range of.01 and If Salary Code is Elected or Salary, the Hours/Days must be in the numeric range of.01 to Page 11

13 Updating Individual Profiles If an individual s First Name, Last Name or Social Security Number needs to be changed or updated, you may access the employee s individual profile by clicking on the Social Security Number of the individual who needs changed. You will be navigated to the Edit Employee Profile Screen where you will click in the fields that need updated. The individuals First Name, Last Name and Social Security Number can be changed as well as all other information (Employee Contrib, Sal. Code, Hours/Days, Cont %) You must click the Update button in order for the individual profile changes to be saved in the program. Page 12

14 The following list of rules and regulations apply to all changes that can be made to information on the Edit Employee Profile screen: Social Security Number must be valid with no dashes or spaces An active employee must have a numeric Gross Salary with 2 decimal places and no commas An active employee must have a numeric Contribution Amount with 2 decimal places and no commas Employee Contribution Amount must be within the expected range of + or.01 (penny) of Gross Salary An active employee must have a value for the Hours/Days field Hours/Days must be numeric with 2 decimal places If Salary Code is H (Hourly), Hours/Days must be in the numeric range of.01 and If Salary Code is Elected or Salary, the Hours/Days must be in the numeric range of.01 to Before you will be permitted to proceed past the Employee Contribution tab, you must correct any employee information that is not within the defined rules as described above. You will receive an error message if any of the employee information does not meet the rule. Monthly Process Method Any information that is not within the rules as described above will be highlighted red. These must be corrected before you will be permitted to proceed. File Upload Method An error message will be displayed if any information is not within the rules as described above. You must correct the error in your data file and then re-import the file before you will be permitted to proceed. See pages of this for an example of the type of error message that you will receive. Once all employee information is within the rules allowed, you will be permitted to proceed to the Enter Adjustment tab. Page 13

15 Enter Adjustments Tab Once you are finished updating the employee information under the Employee Contributions tab, you must click on the Enter Adjustments tab. You will be directed to the following page, from which you will review the total Gross Salary, Employee Contributions and Employer Contributions that you will submit as well as make adjustments only if CPRB has requested that you do so. Page 14

16 The following list of rules and regulations apply to the Enter Adjustment screen: Employee adjustments must be numeric with 2 decimal places and no commas The Employee Adjustment Description is required when making adjustments to Employee Contributions Employer Adjustments must be numeric with 2 decimal places and no commas An Employer Adjustment Description is required when making adjustments to employer contributions The Reset button can be clicked to clear the adjustment fields and description fields If Employee Contributions are not within the expected range of + or.01 (penny) of Gross Salary Note: Even if you have no adjustments to make, you will be required to click on the Enter Adjustment s tab before you can submit your monthly report. Once you click on the Enter Adjustment tab, you should review the information for accuracy, make adjustments only if CPRB has requested that you do so, and then click the Continue button in order to proceed. Page 15

17 Submit Monthly Contributions Tab After the Enter Adjustment screen is completed, you will automatically be navigated to the Submit Monthly Contributions tab. You should review this screen for accuracy. If the information is correct, you must select the month and year at the bottom of the page for which you will be submitting contributions. Then you must click the Submit Monthly Contributions button. Page 16

18 The following list of rules and regulations apply to the Submit Monthly Contributions screen: Users are not allowed to submit monthly contributions for the current month before the 25 th day of that month. Example: If the current date is July 10, 2009, a user cannot submit the July 2009 contributions until July 25, The message in red on the next screen shot will be displayed if this is attempted. Users may, at any time, submit monthly contributions to CPRB for any months prior to the current month. Example: If the current date is July 10, 2009, you may submit contributions for June 2009, or for any month prior to July 2009 that has not been submitted. Users are not allowed to submit future contributions. Example: If the current date is July 10, 2009, you cannot submit the August 2009 contributions. Page 17

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20 Once you have clicked the Submit Monthly Contributions button, your contributions have been submitted and you will be presented an authorization page. By clicking on the OK button at the bottom of this page, you are authorizing that the monthly contributions and information that you have submitted belongs to your agency and is correct to the best of your knowledge. You will then be navigated back to the Employee Contributions tab where a message will be displayed that will reflect whether your report has been successfully submitted. If the submission was successful, a confirmation will be sent to the PERS Administrator and to your Agency s Primary Contact. The Agency s Primary Contact address has to be on file with CPRB in order to receive this . Page 19

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22 Reports Tab Under this tab, you can access all previously submitted Monthly Contribution Reports as well as the Detailed Transaction Reports for all previously submitted months. Begin by selecting the month and year you wish to access by clicking the drop down boxes on the screen. Select which report you wish to access. CPRB recommends that you keep a copy of the Monthly Contributions Report as well as the Detailed Transaction Report for each month submitted. These reports no longer utilize Crystal Reporting software. The reports will be in PDF format. See instructions on page 2 to download Adobe Reader to your computer. Page 21

23 See below for instructions on the different types of contributions remittance: Lockbox Payment Remittance If your agency is set up to remit contributions using the Lockbox Payment method, you must click on the Monthly Contributions Report button to access the monthly report coversheet. You must print this coversheet on the perforated Lockbox coupon provided by CPRB. The coupon and your check must then be mailed to the following address: Consolidated Public Retirement Board (CPRB) P.O. Box 993 Charleston, WV Notes: Do not send regular correspondence to this Post Office Box. Only your Lockbox Coupon and check should be sent to this address. Contact CPRB for a supply of Lockbox Coupons. ACH Payment Remittance If your agency is set up to remit contributions using the ACH Payment method, you do not need to mail anything to CPRB. Your contributions will be debited from your account on the next business day following the day in which you submit your report. Page 22

24 Detailed Transaction Reports The Detailed Transaction Reports display the lists of all employees contribution details for the selected month and year. Page 23

25 If a report has not been submitted for the date on which you have searched, then you will receive the following message: Page 24

26 Monthly Contributions Reports (in PDF format) The Monthly Contributions Report displays the agency s monthly contributions coversheet. If there were no adjustments made, the contributions report will look similar to the following: Page 25

27 If adjustments have been made, the report will look similar to the following: Page 26

28 If a report has not been submitted for the date on which you have selected, then you will receive the following message: Page 27

29 IMPORTANT REMINDER Contributions are due to CPRB no later than the fifteenth (15 th ) day of the calendar month following the end of each calendar month in which contributions are due (or the following business day if the fifteenth (15 th ) falls on a weekend or holiday). A delinquency surcharge will be assessed to any agency whose contribution payments are received after the due date. Example: October 2009 contributions are due no later than November 15, Lockbox Payment Remittance Allow an appropriate amount of time for your contributions to arrive at the Lockbox location in order to avoid a delinquency surcharge. Contributions received at the Lockbox location after the due date will be considered late and the agency will be assessed a delinquency surcharge. ACH Payment Remittance Allow an appropriate amount of time for your contributions to be debited from your account in order to avoid a delinquency surcharge. Contributions are debited from your account on the next business day following the day in which you submit your monthly report on the Web Contributions System. Contributions debited after the due date will be considered late and the agency will be assessed a delinquency surcharge. Page 28

30 Import Tab Available only if your agency is set up on the File Upload Method Under this tab, you will import data into the program via text file format saved under Notepad or Excel. You will begin by clicking on the Browse button. This will allow you to browse the files that are saved on your local computer. Once you have located your data document (in either Notepad or Excel) double click the document name. After the document name is visible in the box below, click on the Import Data button to upload the data to the secure web server. Data files must be created in a very specific format in order for information to be uploaded to the web server. Data files that are not set up according to the instructions on the following pages cannot be imported. Page 29

31 The following graph displays the Date File Format. Your agency s Technology or Computer professional must set up your file according to this format. Field Name Data Type Starting Position Ending Position SSN Char(9) Last Name Varchar(30) First Name Varchar(15) Gross Salary Decimal(8,2) Contribution Amount Decimal(8,2) Salary Code Char(1) Hours or Days Decimal(5,2) Length After the format is established, the information in your Data Text File should appear in the same manner as the below example: ,Smith,Bob, ,45.00,H, ,Jones,John, ,90.00,S,30.00 Page 30

32 Once the import has been completed and is successful, you will be presented with the following: As you can see, you now have the Add Employee tab available. Turn to the Add Employee Tab section of the for more information on this tab. Page 31

33 If the import has been a failure, you will receive a message and an explanation of the error(s) that prevented the import from being successful. If you are using Notepad (or) Wordpad below are the instructions to search for a specific row in your data file: 1. You must open the file in Notepad 2. Click the Edit menu, then click Go To 3. In the Line Number box, type the line number you want the cursor to jump to, and then click OK 4. If the Go To option under the Edit menu is disabled, click the Format menu and disable the Word Wrap option, and then re-do steps 2 and 3. Page 32

34 Add Employee Tab This tab allows you to add a new employee to your list of active employees. Once this data has been correctly entered, click Add. The following list of rules and regulations apply to the addition of a new employee: Social Security Number must be valid with no dashes or spaces An active employee must have a numeric Gross Salary with 2 decimal places and no commas An active employee must have a numeric Contribution Amount with 2 decimal places and no commas Employee Contribution Amount must be within the expected range of + or.01 (penny) of Gross Salary An active employee must have a value for the Hours/Days field Hours/Days must be numeric with 2 decimal places If Salary Code is H (Hourly), Hours/Days must be in the numeric range of.01 and If Salary Code is Elected or Salary, the Hours/Days must be in the numeric range of.01 to Page 33

35 If you experience a problem with the Web Contributions System, contact the Public Employees Section of the Consolidated Public Retirement Board. You can reach us toll free at Or you may visit our web site at in order to your questions to the Public Employees Section. Page 34