1. Check Data Integrity - On the Maintenance menu, choose Check Data Integrity.
2. Back up your company files - On the File menu, choose Backup, and then fill in the screen.
3. Print payroll reports:
   • Payroll Transaction Detail
   • Employee Summary for all employees
   • Employee Detail for all employees
   • T-4 slips
   • Relevé 1 slips and Summary

1. Check Data Integrity - On the Maintenance menu, choose Check Data Integrity.
2. Back up your company files - On the File menu, choose Backup, and then fill in the screen.
3. Reconcile Accounts - Do this at month-end, or when you receive your bank or credit card statement.
4. Print Year-End Reports - Print reports as of the last day of the year. (Print the ones that apply to your company business needs)
   • Income Statement - Month-to-date
   • Income Statement - Year-to-date
   • Balance Sheet
   • Transactions By Account (past month)
   • All Transactions (past month)
   • Chart of Accounts
   • Purchase Transaction Details
   • Payment Transaction Details
   • Vendor Aged (Summary and Detail)
   • Sales Transaction report
   • Receipt Transaction Details
   • Customer Aged (Summary and Detail)
   • Payroll Transaction Details (Past month)
   • Inventory (Quantity and Summary)
   • Item Assembly Transactions (Past month)
   • Adjustment Transactions (Past month)
   • Project Report
5. Print budget reports - Print the comparative Income Statement showing actual and budgeted amounts.
6. Prepare this year's budget - Update this year's budget using last year's comparative Income Statement.
7. Make year end adjustments
   • Ensure that the 'Do not allow transactions dated before' option is set.
   • Process your adjustments with a date in the previous fiscal year.
   • Uncheck the 'Do not allow transactions dated before' option after you finish making adjustments.

1. Reviewing the values on the T4 and RL-1 Reporting tab in the employee records and making all required adjustments.
2. Ensuring that you have made all required adjustments to employee paycheques for the payroll calendar year.
3. Checking your company information in Sage 50 Accounting to make sure a business number, company name, and address are entered.
4. Making sure each employee record has a SIN, first and last name, full address including their province of residence. You should also check to see if you have entered a RPP/DPSP Registration Number, any pension adjustments, QPIP, and Insurable Earnings adjustments.
5. Making sure the correct T4 Employment Code is entered in the employee record. This is only applicable in these situations: (refer to your government-supplied documentation for more information on completing T4 slips for these employees)
   • 11 - Placement agency—self-employed
   • 12 - Driver of taxi or other passenger-carrying vehicle
   • 13 - Barber or hairdresser
   • 14 - Withdrawal from prescribed salary deferral arrangement plan
   • 15 - Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program
   • 16 - Detached employee-social security agreement
   • Review the T4 Summary information: A T4 Summary lists the total values from amounts reported on related T4 slips, and is submitted together with the T4 slips. However, you don’t need to submit a summary when you file electronically.

To review your T4 summary information:

1. In the Home window on the Reports menu, choose Payroll, and then Print T4 Slips and Summary.
2. In the Select Year section, select the year you are reviewing.
3. Select an employee or employees from the list (or choose Select All to include all employees). If you need to print T4 slips for inactive employees, select the Include Inactive Employees check box, and then select the inactive employees in the list.
4. Select the Print CRA T4 Summary check box, and clear the other boxes.
5. Fill in the boxes on the T4 Summary Business Information and T4 Summary Contact Information tabs, or verify the information displayed on these tabs.
6. Click OK.
7. In the T4 Box Options window, click OK.

Print T4/RL-1 and T4 Summary: (Watch a Video Demonstration)

1. Select Reports – Payroll – Print T4 slips and Summary or Print Relevé 1 slips
2. Select the payroll year for which you are filing.
3. Select the employees for whom you want to file T4 slips. To select an employee whose status is inactive, select the Include Inactive Employees check box.
4. To print T4 slips for the federal government, select the Print CRA Copy check box.

   To print T4 slips for your employees and your company records, select the Print Employee and Company Copies check box.

   To print a T4 summary for filing, select the Print CRA T4 Summary check box.

5. Fill in the boxes on the T4 Summary Business Information and T4 Summary Contact Information tabs, or verify the information displayed on these tabs.
6. Click OK.
7. In the Income section of the T4 Box Options dialog, choose the box number to print each income amount in, or leave the boxes blank (click the arrow button to the right of a box to display a list of the numbers from which you can choose).
8. In the Deductions section, choose the box number to print each deduction amount in, or leave the boxes blank (click the arrow button to the right of a box to display a list of the numbers from which you can choose).
9. Click OK.
10. (Optional) Missing or correct company and employee information can be entered in your company information and in the employee’s record respectively.

Electronic Filing T4's and RL-1's

(Watch Video Demonstrations: Preparing T4 Forms for E-Filing and Preparing RL-1 Forms for E-Filing)

1. File – Import/Export – Electronic Filing – Export T4s or Export RL-1s
2. Select the payroll year for which you are filing.
3. Select the employees for whom you want to file T4 slips. To select an employee whose status is inactive, select the Include Inactive Employees check box.
4. Complete the information on all tabs in the window using publications from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the following drop-down topics:
   
   Transmission Information tab
   • Transmission Method. Select the Magnetic Media option to file an original or amended slip transmission on diskette, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
   • Report Type Code. Select Original to submit your original T4 slips, or Amended if you are making changes to an original or previously amended slip transmission.
   • Transmitter Number. Select the check box next to Transmitter Number and enter the six-digit transmitter number assigned to you by the CRA. This number begins with the letters "MM".
   • Submitter Reference ID. Sage 50 Accounting displays a default number, which is the count of the number of transmissions you've made. You can accept this number, or enter a unique number to identify the current file submission. For example, to identify an original file submission, enter 001. To identify a re-submission of amended slips, enter 002, and so on.
   • File Sequence Number. You are required to track the sequence of filings submitted when filing electronically. This number appears at the end of the electronic file name. Sage 50 Accounting automatically displays the last number in the submission series. You can accept this number or enter another.
   Business Information tab
   • Payroll Account Number. This 15-digit payroll account number contains the 9-digit business number (BN). The BN is a unique federal government numbering system that identifies your business and the various accounts you maintain. It consists of:
   1. the 9-digit BN
   2. 2 letters for the type of account
      For payroll the letters are "RP"); and
   3. 4 numbers for the specific account reference.
   • Type of Business. Select your business type. Depending on your selection, you may have to enter the social insurance number (SIN) of one or two of the primary business owners.
   • Owner/Partner 1 SIN and Owner/Partner 2 SIN. Enter the SIN numbers of the primary business owner(s) or partners.
   Contact Information tab
   • Enter the name, contact information, and communication language preference of your company's payroll contact person.
5. Click OK.
6. On the T4 Box Options window, assign income and deductions to the correct T4 slip box numbers. Click OK when complete.
   
   Note: Sage 50 Accounting validates company and employee information before creating the file for transmission and advises you if errors are found. If the validation process is successful, then the T4 information is exported to a file.
   
   Sage 50 Accounting will use the default file name T4EFILE001.XML. This file name format is <name>nnn.xml, where name is any combination of number or letters that you’ll use to identify the file, and nnn corresponds to the submission sequence number. For example, if this is your second submission, then modify the default file name to T4EFILE002.XML.
7. Select a location on your hard drive where the file will be created.
8. Click Print in the Export Records Summary window to print the transmission details for your records.
9. Click on T4 Internet Filing link on the Export Records Summary to get access to CRA website and follow the instructions to upload the XML file.
10. Click OK to close the Export Records Summary window.
11. You do not need to submit a summary when you file electronically.

CRA reference link to find XML specification and Web access code online:

• XML specification
• Web access code online

What is PIER report from CRA? – Pensionable and Insurable Earnings Review

• The CRA checks the T4 slips you file to make sure that the CPP/QPP and EI amounts you reported are correct.
• Employee CPP/QPP and EI amounts are recalculated based on the pensionable and insurable earnings you reported.
• Any discrepancies between reported and calculated amounts for an employee are noted on a PIER listing.

Year End Review (PIER) report in Sage 50 Accounting

• The Year End Review (PIER) report identifies CPP/QPP and EI discrepancies so that you can review and revise your payroll records before you produce employee T4 slips.
• The Year End Review (PIER) report recalculates the EI and CPP based on the Insurable Earnings and Pensionable Earnings and compares it to the actual EI and CPP taken off.
• Same calculation method used by CRA.

Troubleshoot Discrepancies on the Year End Review (PIER) Report

CPP/QPP and EI discrepancies may be noted on the Year End Review (PIER) report for the following reasons:

1. The employee was not employed for the entire year, or was not eligible for CPP and EI deductions for the entire year.

   The report's Expected CPP/QPP and EI calculations assume that the employee was employed and eligible for CPP and EI deductions for the entire year.

   In the following cases, the discrepancy calculation may be incorrect:

   • Employee was hired partway through the year or their employment was terminated during the year
   • Employee turned 18 during the year
   • Non-Quebec employee turned 70 during the year
   • Casual or part-time employee earns less than the CPP/QPP pay period exemption in a given pay period

   In these cases, you should do a manual calculation to determine the accuracy of the year-to-date CPP/QPP and EI deductions.

2. The employee's CPP deduction status was turned off during the year

   For example, if an employee under the age of 70 has started to collect CPP benefits, you may have turned off the Deduct CPP/QPP setting on the employee's record to prevent CPP from being deducted from the employee's pay.

   Perform a manual calculation to determine the accuracy of the year-to-date CPP deduction.

3. The number of payroll cheques issued to the employee is not equal to the number of pay periods

   For example, you may have issued a bonus cheque to an employee who has not paid the maximum annual CPP/QPP or EI deduction amount. If the total number of cheques issued to the employee (including the bonus cheque) exceeds the Pay Periods per Year setting on the employee's record, the deductions calculations on the bonus cheque may be incorrect.

   Perform a manual calculation to determine the accuracy of the year-to-date CPP/QPP and EI deductions.

4. The employee has paid CPP and QPP during the year

   For example, an employee who reports to work at an employer's Ontario business office, moves to Quebec partway through the year, and is then paid from the employer's Quebec office. In this case, Sage 50 Accounting will base the Expected CPP/QPP calculation on the current Tax Table selection in the employee's record.

   Perform a manual calculation to determine the accuracy of the year-to-date CPP/QPP deductions.

5. EI insurable earnings was back-calculated from a incorrect EI deduction amount

   When you process an employee paycheque, Sage 50 Accounting back-calculates EI insurable earnings from the EI deduction amount. If you manually enter an incorrect deduction amount, the insurable earnings will most likely be incorrect as well.

   For each affected employee, review all paycheques on which you manually entered or adjusted an EI deduction amount.

6. Year-to-date payroll amounts were not entered correctly in history mode.

   If you converted your payroll records to Sage 50 Accounting partway through the calendar year, you may have entered incorrect historical amounts for an employee.

   If you are still in history mode, open the affected employee's record and then review historical amounts entered on the Income and T4 and RL-1 Reporting tabs. Make any necessary corrections.