Processing year-end forms

This section contains a list of the required items and the steps to follow to create W-2 electronic files.

W-2 checklist

This table shows the items and steps you that must follow to create W-2 electronic files.

Step Details
Prepare for year end
  1. Gather the state and federal government W-2 filing requirements.

    See Government resources.

  2. Verify the payroll delivered content.

    See Verifying the loaded payroll delivered content for year end.

  3. Ensure that employee social security numbers, names, and addresses are correct.

    See Verifying employee Social Security numbers.
Prepare year-end parameters Ensure that the parameters are defined for each legal entity that requires unique parameters.
  1. Select Payroll > Administration > Reports.
  2. In the Regulatory pane, click Year End.
  3. In the Setup pane, click Year End Configurable Fields.

See Specifying year-end W-2 parameters.
Prepare employee information Ensure that no employees have negative wages and that the information on all employee records is correct.

See Preparing employee information.
Prepare company information
  1. Verify the pay structure.

    See Verifying pay structure.

  2. Verify the deduction structure.

    See Verifying deduction structure.

  3. Verify the Employer Identification Numbers (EIN).

    See Verifying Employer Identification Numbers (EIN).

  4. Verify the W-2 descriptions.

    See Verifying W-2 and payment descriptions.
Test year-end parameters
  1. Run W-2 Reporting to verify that the year-end parameters are set up correctly.

    See Testing year-end parameters.

  2. Run a trial report for W-2 file generation.

    See Generating a trial Federal W-2 file.

  3. Run a trial file in EFW2 format for submission to state and federal authorities.

    See Generating an EFW2 format trial file.
Remove withholding arrears Run the Remove Withholding Arrears action to close payroll for the year.

See Removing withholding arrears.
Generate electronic files
  1. Generate the W-2 file.

    See Generating a trial Federal W-2 file.

  2. Run the final file in EFW2 format for submission to state and federal governments.

    See Generating an EFW2 format trial file.