Payroll Glossary

Payroll Glossary

This glossary covers BerniePortal payroll terms and common industry wording you will see while running payroll. For tax acronyms (FITW, FICA, FUTA, SUI, and related filings), use the Payroll Tax Glossary.

Core Payroll Terminology

  • Gross Pay: Total earnings before taxes and deductions.
  • Net Pay: Take-home pay after taxes and deductions.
  • Pay Frequency: How often employees are paid (weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly).
  • Pay Stub: Statement of earnings, deductions, and net pay for a payday.
  • Pay Date / Check Date: The date employees are scheduled to receive funds.

Employee Management

  • Exempt Employee: Not entitled to overtime under FLSA (typically salaried roles that meet duty tests).
  • Non-Exempt Employee: Entitled to overtime for hours over the FLSA threshold.
  • Payroll Subgroup: A group of employees paid with a shared payroll schedule, FEIN, or related setup in BerniePortal.
  • Masquerade: Signing in as another user context (for example as an employee or employer) when your access allows it.

Employee Documentation

  • W-4: Federal withholding form that drives FITW. See also Understanding Federal Withholding (FITW) on Employee Paychecks.
  • W-9: Form used to collect a contractor's TIN for 1099 reporting.
  • State Withholding: State-specific withholding form when the state requires one.
  • Direct Deposit: Authorization for electronic wage deposit to a bank account.

Processing Payroll

  • Payroll Edit Screen: Where you enter or change hours, earnings, and deductions for a pay period before review.
  • Payroll Summary Screen: Screen after Save & Review, with totals and Download Preprocess Register.
  • Earning: Compensation for the period (regular wages, overtime, bonuses, PTO, commissions, and similar).
  • Overtime: Extra pay when a non-exempt employee works beyond the applicable overtime threshold.
  • Deduction: Amount taken from pay (taxes, benefits, retirement, garnishments). Pre-tax deductions lower taxable wages; post-tax deductions do not.
  • Garnishment: Court- or agency-ordered deduction. See How Child Support Orders and Garnishments are Handled.

Compliance and Reporting

  • Preprocess Register: Preview report before submit — earnings, deductions, taxes, deposits, and totals.
  • Payroll Ledger: Detailed payroll accounting report used for reconciliation and GL reporting.
  • Year to Date (YTD): Cumulative totals from the start of the year through the current date.
  • Quarterly Filing: Required wage and tax reports each quarter. Summaries for payroll clients appear under employer Documents — see Viewing Quarterly Tax Reports.
  • W-2 / 1099: Year-end wage and contractor forms. See Year-End Payroll: W-2 and 1099 Processing.

Adjustments and Corrections

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