1. Modify Records Procedure
2. Modify Records Dialog Box

MODIFYING RECORDS

The Modify Records function is one of the most powerful features of TimeTrax. This function allows you to select a specific group of records, change one or more of the factors (tax rate, WC rate, etc.) used to calculate the original costs, recalculate the costs with the new factor, and then produce a variance report itemizing the difference between the original costs and the new costs. Upon your review and approval, you can authorize TimeTrax to update the selected records as modified, thus giving you the ability to run any report with the new costs. As a safeguard, the program even keeps a separate record of the original records, thus allowing you the ability to "roll back" the changes to the original calculations.

The Modify Records function is ideal for situations where you have identified that a factor being used in past calculations was inadvertently inaccurate or recently revised without your knowledge. SOme examples of these situations are:

1. Your WC auditor advises you that one or more of the WC rates you have been using in TimeTrax have been changed for a period of time, either up or down, and you need to revise the records retroactively to produce corrected reports with the correct rates.
2. Your WC auditor advises you that you have been using the wrong WC Class for a certain type of cost code or for an employee, and you need to change the classification in the prior records and produce corrected reports with the correct classifications.
3. Your insurance agent advises you that you several months into the new insurance year that you have received a lower WC Modifier effective from the beginning of the insurance year (this happens all the time) and you need to change the Modifier in the prior records to the correct Modifier.
4. Your accountant advises you that your State Unemployment Insurance rate was reduced effective a few months ago, and you need to change the effected records and produce the variance report to adjust your cost to reflect the lower rate.
5. You discover that you have accidentally been using the wrong tax rate, and you need to correct the effected records with the new rate and create a variance report to post the difference into your bookkeeping.

The above scenarios represent just a few of the possible situations where you may need to make revisions to prior cost records and post the resulting variance into your bookkeeping. As you can observe, these scenarios reflect situations that can and do occur in any company's books. The Modify Records function is designed to deal with these situations and keep your payroll cost and WC reports accurate.

MODIFY RECORDS PROCEDURE

Precisely because the above situations only appear on rare occasions, we don't expect that you will need to access the power of the Modify Records function very often. However, because the feature is so powerful with it's ability to make wholesale changes to large groups of records in an instant, we urge caution during it's use. The first step in using the Modify Records function is:

1. Always review the features of the function before engaging in the revision of a set of records.
2. Plan in advance exactly what you need to change and review it's necessity twice before using the function.
3. Establish in advance exactly what records you wish to effect, the date ranges, and the effected factor.
4. Consider if the proposed modification is worth the effort? Will the change result in meaningful changes, or is it more intelligent to simply book the difference as "Undistributed Payroll Cost".

The following chart illustrate the filter, sort and factors of the Modify Records function.

After you have considered the necessity of modifying your records and you have planned what and how the records are to be effected, you are ready to begin the procedure

1. Select Records | Modify Records
2. Select the desired records to be changed by using the From and To dates, the employee, the cost codes and the WC class as necessary. You can select just the criteria you wish. For example, if you want to change the WC modifier, then you would want all the records between a selected dates. If you want to change a WC rate, then you would select the dates and the WC class.
3. Review the records carefully to verify that they are the records you wish to change. You may use the "Sort by" feature to assist you in reviewing the records you have selected.
4. Select what factor you wish to change from the "What to Change" list.
5. Enter the new factor in the "Change to..." field.
6. Select the Variance Report to review the proposed difference between the prior factor and the new factor you have entered.
7. You must either Accept or Reject the Variance report to continue. You may print the report for further examination. If the report is incorrect in any way, select Reject and start again.
8. Select G/L Report to review the proposed General Ledger report representing the actual general ledger entry you will make into your bookkeeping to effect the change in the costs resulting from your modifications. This report will give you some idea of the number of G/L entries you will need to make to effect the proposed modification, which, if the number is sizable, may lead you to decide not to effect the modification after all.
9. You must either accept or reject the General Ledger report to continue. This is sometimes a good time to review the total dollar amount of your modification, which, if it's rather small, may lead you to decide not to effect the modification after all. You may print the report for further examination. If the entries are not as you desired, then select Reject and start again.
10. If everything is correct at this point, select Finish to complete your modification. Even after this selection, TimeTrax will give you one additional change to change your mind.
11. Once you have completed the process, you may review the G/L report resulting from the modification, and all past modifications, from the Reports | Modified Records Reports menu.

ENTERING MODIFICATIONS into BOOKKEEPING

After you have effected the modifications to the costs in the TimeTrax records, you will need to print the General Ledger report for the modification. This report can be found under Reports | Modified Records Reports.

Upon printing the report, you will need to make an General Journal entry into your bookkeeping system reflecting the effect of the modifications to your cost accounts. All bookkeeping programs have this ability. In QuickBooks Pro 2000 it's under Banking | Make Journal Entry. The other side of the entry will generally be your owner or stockholder equity account. If you are no doubt, consult your accountant.

MODIFY RECORDS DIALOG BOX

Using the Modify Records function is relatively straight forward:

1. First, get a clear understanding of what setting you need to modify, and what is the date range of the effected records.
2. Open the Modify Records dialog box, and select the date range and other factors to filter the records down to just those you want to change.  As you filter the data, the resulting records will be displayed in the dialog box for your review.
3. You may also sort the displayed records by a number of criteria as displayed in the Sort by list.  This will also help you identify the records you want to modify.
4. Once you have identified the desired records, select what factor you want to change, then enter the new number (percent, dollar amount, etc.)
5. Next, select the Variance Report button to review a report on the screen of the records you are modifying, the old setting and the new setting.  This Variance Report is intended to give you another opportunity to review your impending modifications.  You may print the report, and you may also Reject the report, either of which will return you to the Modify Records dialog box without effecting any changes to your existing data.
6. We strongly suggest you print a copy of the report for your records, which you may need if you discover later that you made a mistake and you want to reverse the modifications.
7. Next, select the G/L Report button to review a General Ledger report that will display the selected records and the difference in cost between the existing setting and the new setting.  You my print the report, and you may also Reject the report, either of which will return you to the Modify Records dialog box without effecting any changes to your existing data.
8. If you decide that everything is correct, you MUST print a copy of the General Ledger Report before proceeding.  You will need this report to post the effects of the changes into your bookkeeping, and this is your only opportunity where TimeTrax will have both the old and the new settings together.  Remember, after you Finish the Modify Process, the old settings will be replaced by the new settings.
9. If everything is correct, then select the Finish button to record your changes.  From that point, the selected records will be changed.