This is a quick and ready document, just to get the hang of this document creation process on SCN.If this actually helps somebody, that is an added bonus. I will consider editing and expanding on it at a future date.
This gives a brief guide to closing down payroll for a UK Payroll area. For simplicity, it is assumed to be a Monthly paid Payroll area. This covers the period for Payroll Closedown - That is to say, it is assumed that all payroll related data for this period has already been entered, payroll has been run a few times, results checked, errors corrected and so on. Therefore all that remains is to carry out final simulations and close down the payroll.
This is not intended to be a detailed guide on the various transactions involved. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the payroll process.
1) Release Payroll
Transaction - PA03.
Set the Payroll Area to "Released for Payroll"
2) Run Payroll
Transaction - PC00_M08_CALC
Execute Payroll and ensure that there are no rejections. By this stage, there should be no rejections as all errors would have been identified and addressed before arriving at this point.
3) Simulate Posting
Transaction - PC00_M99_CIPE
Ensure that the Payroll Posting program does not end up with any rejections, and also does not create any incorrect documents. Posting errors are usually hard to correct after exiting the Payroll, and hence it is imperative that we identify any potential posting errors at this stage. This would allows us to re-run payroll if required.
4) Simulate Pre - DME
Transaction - PC00_M08_CDTA.
This is a quick check to ensure that the Pre-DME is error free. It gives an opportunity to reconcile the number of people processed in payroll and the number of payments made. There should not be any errors, or transfers that were not performed.
The only "error" that is acceptable is "F11 No transfer data for personnel number xxxxxxxx". This signifies that the employee has been processed in payroll, but does not have any Net pay.
5) Simulate FPS - RTI Submission
Transaction Code - PC00_M08_RTI_FPS
It is very important to simulate this transaction before exiting payroll. Errors in FPS submission usually require the re-running of payroll to rectify them, and therefore it is essential to carry out an error free simulation before Payroll has been exited.
Execute first, with only the ALV option selected. On the output screen ensure there are no rejections. Go to Extras> Error list on the menu bar and verify there are no business errors.
Now, execute again with the "Test in Live" option and both ALV and XML selected. Again verify there are no rejections, and the Extras >Error List and Extras>XML errors, do not show any.
Click on the B2A manager, highlight the line and then select the " Execute" button. The screen should show a succesful confirmation.
Important Note - There are occasions where SAP comes back with an ambiguous message, such as "Waiting, Poll Again". In this case, it is always worthwhile, to call up the HMRC help line and confirm that the Test in Live file has been received successfully, before proceeding with the rest of the payroll process.It would be dangerous to assume that the submission has been trouble free, although, in the majority of cases, it is simply a delay in communication from the HMRC gateway back to the SAP system.
If the above simulations are successful, Great!, you are now ready to Exit the Payroll.
6) Exit Payroll
Transaction - PA03
Set the Set the Payroll Area to "Exit Payroll", taking care to look out for any warning messages which warn about incorrect or locked personnel numbers still existing in the payroll area.
7) Live Pre-DME
Transaction - PC00_M08_CDTA
Execute the transaction in live mode, and make a note of the parameter id generated.
😎 Generate the BACS file
Transaction PC00_M99_FPAYM
Use the parameter ID and date generated in the previous step to generate the BACS file. All organizations are likely to have their own individual governance process around this step. It is normal to run a Cash Breakdown report or a Wagetype Reporter to reconcile the BACS amounts with the payments generated in Payroll.
9) Generate Payslips.
Transaction - PC00_M08_HRF
This is the transaction used by organizations that utilise a HRFORMS payslip. However there are other methods available, and it is also possible that a custom transaction is used by certain companies for their payslips.
10) Live FPS - RTI Submission
Transaction - PC00_M08_RTI_FPS
If you have come this far, you will not expect to see any rejections at this stage.
On the output screen, select the B2A manager, and submit the FPS.
Again, it is normal to get a succesful confirmation message from the HMRC gateway that says "OK, Final Confirmation by IR". if the message received is ambiguous, it is recommended to contact HMRC and verify that the submission has been received by them error free.
It is worthwhile to download the FPS report and save it in excel for future reference, as this is not saved or available once the following month has been run.
10a) Employer Payment Submission
Transaction - PC00_M08_RTI_EPS
This is the YTD submission that must be made every month.
The values populated in this report can be extracted by running a Wagetype Reporter - ensure that the values are cumulative Year - to - Date values.
This report has a Test in Live option, but in this case there is very little added value to use this. Submit via the B2A manager to HMRC and ensure a successful confirmation is received.
11) Live Posting to Finance
Transaction - PC00_M99_CIPE
Finally we are in a position to post payroll results to accounting, and close down yet another payroll process. As our simulations have been successful, we will expect to see an error free live posting to accounting.
