Payroll FAQs

Payroll FAQs

Below are frequently asked questions we receive regarding payroll. 


When will I receive my payroll reports?
  1. You can expect to receive your payroll report on the morning after your payroll submission.
    1. Ex: Your payroll is submitted on Wednesday, so you can expect to receive reporting on Thursday.
  2. What reports are available for me to pull independently?
    1. You can pull standard and custom reports within your BerniePortal account.
    2. Standard Reports can help you retrieve specific employee data stored in BerniePortal. These reports can be generated by subgroups, and some have more specific parameters to help pinpoint the information you are trying to gather.
    3. Sometimes, a standard report may have too much information, or you may find yourself generating multiple reports to get the information you need. With Custom Reports, you can create your own report that contains the exact information you need
    4. Please click here for more information on Standard and Custom Reports
  3. What should I do if I want a custom payroll report
    1. You can build a custom report within your BerniePortal by navigating to the “Reports” tab. If you need a more detailed report, please reach out to help@bernardhealth.com. 
What if my employee’s direct deposit information is incorrect, but I've already processed payroll? 

The bank has 5 days to notify us of a failed deposit, so the quickest way to confirm if it failed and why is for the employee to contact his bank directly. In the event that an employee does not receive their deposit, you have 2 options to reissue funds:

  1. Request a One Off run to fully reprocess the payment.


BerniePortal requires that the request for the off-cycle run be submitted 4 days prior to the desired check date, so the affected employee would receive their deposit 4 business days after the initial request

Cut a check in office or issue an independent ACH payment on the same day for the net payment amount. 
The employee’s pay information will have already been recorded, so employers can issue a payment in person on the same day if needed.


The Admin for the Employer Portal can reopen the Employee’s Direct Deposit form for corrections and resubmission using an Edit Request.


What if I forgot to pay someone or forgot part of their payment? 

In the event that payroll was submitted with an error, Employers have a few options for making corrections. 

To make a correction payment: 
  1. Request a One Off run to process a new payment.

    2. BerniePortal requires that the request for the off-cycle run be submitted 4 days prior to the desired check date, so the affected employee would receive their deposit 4 business days after the initial request.
  2. Make an in-house payment with a check or independent ACH.
    1. Send pay information (employee name, pay rate, hours worked/salary rate, any earnings or deductions that need to be included) to help@bernardhealth.com.
    2. The BerniePortal Employer Success team will create a manual check for the employee in order to record the payment in the pay history.
    3. The Employer Success team will send a copy of the manual check so that the employer can approve the payment information and issue a payment using the net total recorded.
    4. The manual check’s taxes will be processed with the Employer's next payroll.
  3. Make corrections on the next regular payroll run
    1. If the correction is not urgent, it can be processed with the Employee's next regular payment.

If you have questions about which option would be best for you, please contact your account manager. 


The 401k match isn’t showing for my employees; why?

  1. If you are Utilizing the BerniePortal Payroll feature to process payroll, an Employer match can be added for auto-calculation with the submission of a “Custom Calculation Request” form and a Retirement Plan Summary document to the Employer Success team.
  2. These documents will provide the BerniePortal payroll team with the information needed to make sure that the match calculation is correct and that all of the correct earning types are included/excluded from the calculation as needed.
  3. It is best practice to complete this documentation during your payroll implementation, but the auto-calculation can be set up at any time- It typically takes 4 weeks to complete after the paperwork has been submitted.
  4. Email the BerniePortal Payroll team at help@bernardhealth.com to request a form!


What happens if you make edits to time and PTO in an employee’s profile after you have opened payroll?

If an Employer is utilizing the Time and PTO features in BerniePortal, clocked hours and PTO hours will populate for employees when payroll is opened. You can make edits to the hours worked or PTO hours within your payroll edit screen if needed. 

To make an Edit: 
  1. Click into the text box within the “HRS” column to make a manual edit to hours worked (or OT hours) for an employee.  

  2. Click into the text box within the “PTO” column to make a manual edit to hours worked (or OT hours) for an employee.


    Please note that any manual edits made directly in the Payroll Edit screen will only be recorded within the payroll. 

    1. This means that an edit to an employee’s total hours worked within the payroll edit screen will not automatically update the employee’s timecards.

      1. You can find additional information on making edits to employee timecards here 

    2. Similarly, edits to an employee’s total PTO hours within the Payroll Edit will not alter the PTO balance within their Employee Profile/Portal.

      1. Employees can submit or adjust requests accordingly, or Administrators can make manual adjustments to the Employee’s PTO balance within their Employee Profile. 


    Can I reverse an employee’s payment?


    There are two options for reversing an employee’s payment. 

    1. The BerniePortal payroll team can void the payments

    1. Once payroll has been submitted, files are triggered to individual employee banks to make the designated deposits. Those deposit files cannot be rescinded once they have been triggered. A voided payment sends a second file to the bank which triggers a reversal of those funds out of the Employee's account.

      1. This process typically takes place within 24 hours of the initial deposit, but can take longer depending on the individual bank processing the reversal. 

    2. If the employee has less than the amount to reverse out of the account, the reversal will fail. It may be best to notify the employee that the funds will be reversed out of their account to ensure the amount is available before the reversal is initiated. 

    1. To make new payments after the initial payment has been voided, there are a couple of options:

      1. The quickest way to get the employee(s) paid would be to create a manual check(s)- the team will enter the correct pay information for each employee to get their net total and save the payment in their pay history.

      2. The net totals will be reported to you to pay the employee by either writing the employee a check or issuing an independent ACH.

      3. The taxes for those payments will be processed with your next regular pay run.

    2. Alternatively, we can set up an off-cycle run to reprocess the payment fully, but we would have to adhere to your regular processing days, so they would not receive their payments until your company's specified processing days unless.


    What is a pre-process register report? 

    1. A Pre-process report can be exported prior to processing payroll as an audit tool for your employee’s pay information within the selected payroll run. This report displays information about all checks/direct deposits produced between the selected dates. This includes basic employee information, employee deductions, earnings, and taxes that will be paid to the employee in the selected payroll run. 
    2. The pre-process report can be found by selecting “ Save and Review” on your payroll screen. You will then select the “download preprocess register” in the top right-hand corner.
    3. The pre-process report can be found by selecting “ Save and Review” on your payroll screen. You will then select the “download preprocess register” in the top right-hand corner.


    What will it look like when payroll funds are debited from my account? How do I know how much is getting debited?
    1. Funds will come out in two payments
      1. Total Taxes
      2. Direct deposit amount
    2. In the payroll summary and history screen, it will show you the total direct deposit amount, total taxes, and the total debited amount, see an example below


    When should I expect payments to be deducted from my account?
    1. Debits are set to happen the day before the check date, which the banks will do overnight.
    2. The dates are also referenced towards the end of the payroll summary.

    What does it mean when I see verification errors? 

    1. A Verification error is an alert requesting the employer to validate specific information within a payroll run. These verifications can refer to anything from employee salary information, correct taxes, employee profile information, etc.
      1. The payroll admin will have the ability to re-verify, approve all, or go back to edit.
      2. If you go back to edit after approving the verification, you will be prompted to re-verify again.
    2. Some verification errors require the Employer Success team to get involved and approve. If your errors note for you to reach out to our team - please email us at help@bernardhealth.com.

    How does the pre-note process work? Why is my Employee receiving a paper check? 

    1. Once an employee submits their direct deposit form in BerniePortal, the banking information goes through a process where the bank confirms that the information provided is correct and accurate.
      1. This timeframe is typically within a two-week cycle.
    2. As a result, employees will receive a paper check on the first payroll run that is processed once this update is made.
    3. Once the pre-note process is completed, employees will then start to receive their payments via direct deposit.
    4. If an instant direct deposit is absolutely necessary, employers have the option of notifying the Employer Success team to waive the pre-note process. 
      1. This means that the employee will then receive their payment via direct deposit instead of a paper check.
      2. If the process is waived and the direct deposit information is incorrect, the team will receive a return notice. This results in a fee getting added to your monthly bill and the possibility of the employee’s payment being sent to an incorrect account. 

    What happens if I miss my submission deadline? 

    1. Notify the Employer Success team as soon as possible.
    2. As a result of a late submission, you can submit up to 24 hours before your check date, but you will be subject to a $250 late processing fee, and while it’s likely employees will be paid on time, we cannot guarantee the check date at this point. 

    How quickly can we expect employees to be paid? 

    1. Paper checks? Shipping?
      1. If the employee is being paid via direct deposit, they will receive their deposit on the designated check date.
      2. If the employee is being paid via paper check, they will typically receive this in the mail the next day.
        1. Paper checks are processed through FedEx next day shipping.
        2. This is also dependent on when payroll is submitted. If payroll is submitted closer to the deadline, paper checks may be received within two days.
        3. Delays in shipping due to scenarios like weather is possible and can extend the check delivery date.
        4. Once paper checks are processed with FedEx, the BerniePortal team will be able to provide you with a tracking number to track the shipment. 

    What’s the difference between the payment details library and the payroll funding account?

    1. The payment details library is where the payment information for the monthly charges for HR Upgrade services is stored.
    2. The payroll funding account is where the direct debit is pulled from for processing a payroll run.
      1. This account information is obtained during the implementation process.
      2. If needed, this information can be updated outside of the implementation process by following the instructions in the next question.

    How do I update my company’s payroll banking information? 
    1. Please reach out to the Employer Success team to provide you with a bank change request form and submit it back to them once completed in order for your payroll banking information to be updated.
    2. Please note that the new banking information takes about 2-3 days to set up, so be mindful of submissions prior to the next check date. 


    Can BerniePortal apply for a state tax ID on my behalf?
    1. Yes, BerniePortal can apply on your behalf for a processing fee of $300 per agency ID.
    2. Or the employer can apply instead and provide the BerniePortal team with the necessary IDs in order to update the payroll tax information with supporting tax documentation once received.
    3. Email the new tax IDs to the BerniePortal Employer Success team at help@bernardhealth.com to update your tax accounts in our system.


    Who do I send Child support orders and garnishments to? What do I have to do? 

    1. Send over new and existing child support orders to help@bernardhealth.com. Included in your payroll services is our support in configuring automatic deductions for payments to be taken out of the employee's pay based on the terms of the order provided.

    When is the payroll submission deadline?

    1. 2:00 PM local time two or three days before your check date - please check with your account manager how many processing days are required.
    Who do I reach out to when I have questions about payroll?

    1. help@bernardhealth.com




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