Performing payroll accounting

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Performing payroll accounting

 

Once payroll checks have been:

calculated

processed

printed

the final payroll step is:

👉 Payroll Accounting

This procedure performs:

final payroll posting

payroll total updates

General Ledger accounting

liability updates

payroll history processing

and officially closes the payroll cycle.

⚠️ Payroll processing is NOT complete until Payroll Accounting has been performed.


Accessing Payroll Accounting

After payroll checks have been created:

👉 select:

Payroll Processing

Accounting

from the Payroll menu.

The system will then perform:

👉 final payroll processing

for the payroll period currently open.


What Payroll Accounting Does

Payroll Accounting performs several critical functions automatically.

These include:

Updating employee payroll totals

Updating deduction balances

Posting payroll expenses

Posting payroll liabilities

Updating payroll history

Updating General Ledger accounts

Updating withholding totals

Finalizing payroll records

Closing the payroll batch

This step officially commits the payroll information into the accounting system.


Integrated General Ledger Posting

MLS 2026 is a fully integrated accounting system.

When Payroll Accounting is performed:

👉 payroll transactions are automatically posted

to:

expense accounts

payroll liability accounts

tax withholding accounts

deduction liability accounts

bank accounts

based on the:

👉 payroll General Ledger defaults

configured during payroll setup.


Why Payroll Accounting Is Required

⚠️ Payroll Accounting must be performed to maintain:

accurate payroll totals

employee balances

deduction records

General Ledger integrity

Without Payroll Accounting:

payroll totals remain incomplete

accounting balances may be incorrect

liabilities may not update properly

payroll reports may become inaccurate


Open Payroll Protection

MLS 2026 protects the payroll system from overlapping payroll periods.

If Payroll Accounting has NOT been completed:

👉 the system will NOT allow another payroll period to begin.

This protection helps prevent:

duplicate payroll processing

accounting corruption

payroll overlap errors

incorrect employee totals


Typical Payroll Processing Sequence

The normal payroll cycle is:

1.Gather payroll activity

2.Calculate Gross Pay

3.Review payroll earnings

4.Calculate deductions and withholding

5.Review Net Pay

6.Print payroll checks

7.Perform Payroll Accounting

8.Print payroll reports

9.Backup payroll data

⚠️ Skipping Payroll Accounting interrupts the payroll cycle.


Important Accounting Recommendation

Before performing Payroll Accounting:

👉 verify:

payroll totals

payroll checks

deductions

withholding

General Ledger defaults

because once accounting is processed:

payroll records become part of permanent accounting history.

Corrections after accounting is finalized are generally more difficult and may require:

payroll adjustments

reversing entries

accounting corrections


Recommended Final Payroll Review

Before running Payroll Accounting:

Review:

Gross Pay totals

Net Pay totals

tax withholding

payroll deductions

payroll advances

check amounts

employee payroll reports

General Ledger defaults

This final review helps prevent:

accounting discrepancies

tax reporting errors

payroll correction work


Payroll Data Integrity

The Payroll Accounting process is one of the most important safeguards in MLS 2026.

It ensures:

payroll records remain balanced

accounting stays synchronized

liabilities remain accurate

employee totals are maintained properly

This integration is one of the major strengths of the MLS payroll system.


Recommended Best Practices

When performing Payroll Accounting:

Verify payroll completely before final processing

Confirm payroll checks printed correctly

Review deduction and withholding totals

Verify General Ledger defaults

Print payroll reports before closing

Backup payroll data after processing

Reconcile payroll bank activity regularly


Recommended Companion Sections

This section works closely with:

Gross Pay Processing and Review

Payroll Withholding Calculations and Net Pay

Writing Payroll Checks

Payroll Tax Setup

General Ledger Processing

Payroll Reports

Payroll Troubleshooting

Together, these sections provide a complete payroll accounting and payroll management workflow within MLS 2026.