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25.20 Payroll Accounting Requirements |
25.20.10
January 1, 2019 |
Payroll revolving account and other accounts used for payroll activities |
Agencies use various systems to process payroll activities. |
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25.20.10.a | Human Resource Management System |
The State Payroll Revolving Account, Account 035, is used for payroll disbursements by agencies using the Human Resource Management System (HRMS) as maintained by the Office of Financial Management (OFM). The following procedures are used for transfers and deposits of money to Account 035: |
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25.20.10.b | Other Payroll Systems |
Accounts used by other payroll systems vary:
Higher education agencies with their own payroll systems may utilize other accounts as either allowed by law or with approval by the Office of Financial Management. |
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25.20.10.c | For treasury and treasury trust accounts, OST redeposits amounts for canceled warrants back to Account 035 where the original disbursements were made. Agencies must complete the disposition of these amounts. The returned amounts are either reissued from Account 035 or transferred back to the accounts originally charged with the payroll expenditures/expenses. Refer to Subsection 85.38.50 for procedures regarding warrants canceled by OST after being outstanding 180 days. For local accounts, payroll checks that are returned should either be reissued or canceled as appropriate. Payroll checks are normally valid 180 days after issuance and should be canceled when they remain outstanding beyond such time. For federal work study students, federal requirements may differ. Refer to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 34, Section 668.164(h) at: www.ecfr.gov.
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25.20.10.d |
Reconciliations |
Agencies are to accurately record and reconcile all payroll activity, regardless of the account(s) used. Refer to Subsection 85.34.10 for accounting entries and reconciliation requirements. |
25.20.20
June 1, 2006 |
Required payroll records and reports |
The following list shows the records required for payroll accounting. (Equivalent records by another name are acceptable alternatives.) Refer to state and internal agency policies for applicable record retention requirements. The general record retention schedule for state agencies can be found at: http://www.sos.wa.gov/archives/recordsmanagement/default.aspx. The IRS also has records and retention requirements. Refer to Publications 15 (Circular E, Employer's Tax Guide) and 15A (Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide) for the appropriate tax year on record keeping requirements.
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25.20.30
June 1, 2006 |
Agency required payroll certifications |
25.20.30.a |
Certification Requirements |
RCW 41.06.270 specifies two conditions an agency must meet before paying an employee. The agency head (or authorized designee) must certify that the payroll meets these conditions using the following language:
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As an alternative, in instances where an agency is using the Human Resource Management System and the payroll includes a mid-period transfer and charges belonging to another agency, the following language may be used: | |
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25.20.30.b |
Agency Required Records to Support Payroll Certification |
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25.20.40
July 1, 2011 |
Payment and reconciliation of deductions and employer's costs |
25.20.40.a |
Agencies are to design payroll procedures to produce accurate payment of payroll deductions and employer costs to vendors on a timely basis. |
25.20.40.b |
Pay other state agencies by journal voucher or interagency payment whenever possible. |
25.20.40.c |
Timely reconciliations are recommended for: |
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25.20.50
January 1, 2012 |
Employee transfers between agencies |
When an employee accepts an appointment with a different employer, WAC 357-22-025 requires the most recent former employer to provide employee information to the new employer in a transmittal package developed by Office of Financial Management (OFM) State Human Resources. Both the terminating and new employing state agencies should make a concerted effort to ensure the employee doesn’t suffer a lapse in wage when there is an immediate continuing employment transfer. The terminating agency must transfer at a minimum, the following documents to the new agency’s designated office promptly: |
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25.20.50.a |
Agency Termination Documentation The original document that terminates the employee from the transferring agency. |
25.20.50.b |
Employee Deduction Authorizations
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25.20.50.c |
Leave Balances Employee leave records for vacation, personal holiday, sick, shared leave, and any other leave balances. |
25.20.50.d |
Interagency Transmittals Use the following OFM forms (or equivalent) to transmit employee records between state agencies:
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