The expense account for payroll entries follows an account retrieval hierarchy based on the Job Cost and Payroll settings. For Payroll costs that apply to a job, the expense account retrieves first from Job Cost when Distribute to JC is selected on Pays, Fringes and Taxes. To review the Job Cost retrieval settings, in the Job Cost File menu, select Company Settings, JC Settings and click GL Entry. In the Cost account section, the Retrieval method determines which expense account prefills for an invoice:

Note: If the Retrieve account prefix from job checkbox is checked, the GL prefix specified on the job is combined with the base account based on the retrieval method.

• By job: The expense account prefills from the Job Setup window (Setup, Jobs - AP and GL tab). If there is no account specified on the job, then the expense account prefills from the Default account (File, Company Settings, JC Settings, GL Entry).
• By Cost Code: The expense account prefills from the Cost Code Setup window (Setup, Cost Codes - General tab). If there is no account specified on the job, then the expense account prefills from the Default account (File, Company Settings, JC Settings, GL Entry).
• By category (if used): The expense account prefills from the Category Setup window (Setup, Categories - General tab). If there is no account specified on the category, the expense account prefills from the Default account (File, Company Settings, JC Settings, GL Entry).
• Use default account: The expense account prefills from the Default account (File, Company Settings, JC Settings, GL Entry).
• Use hierarchy: The expense account prefills from the first Job Cost source that contains an account in a search hierarchy as follows:
  • Category (If using categories)
  • Cost Code
  • Job
  • Default Account

For entries that do not apply to a job, or if a valid account is not retrieved from Job Cost, the payroll expense account retrieval hierarchy retrieves the expense account. To determine the expense account retrieved for entries not related to a job:

Determine if you are set to retrieve prefixes for your GL Accounts:

1. From the Payroll File menu, select Company Settings, PR Settings.
2. Click GL Entry Settings and note the check box for Retrieve prefixes.

If Retrieve Prefixes is selected, the GL prefix and base account can be retrieved separately.

The base account is retrieved as follows:

• Equipment Cost
  Note: The full account is retrieved from the Equipment Cost module.
• The pay, fringe, or tax setup Expense account field (Setup, Pays, Fringes, or Taxes).
  Note: You can specify the full account or just base account.

The prefix is retrieved as follows:

• The Department from the payroll time entry (Setup, Departments).
• The Pay Group assigned to the check (Setup, Pay groups).

If Retrieve Prefixes is not selected, the expense account is retrieved as follows:

• Equipment Cost (if applicable).
• The Pay, Fringe, or Tax Setup Expense Account field.
• The Department (Setup, Departments, Pay Expense Account or Burden Expense Account).
• The Pay Group (Setup, Pay Groups, Pay Expense Account or Burden Expense Account).
• The Default Earnings expense account or Burden expense account (File, Company Settings, PR Settings, GL Entry Settings).

If no valid accounts are retrievable, the program uses the default Earnings expense account for pays or Burden expense account for taxes and fringes (File, Company settings, PR Settings, GL Entry Settings).

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How do I determine the source of an expense account for my payroll entries?
How are General Ledger accounts determined for Payroll entries?
Payroll posted to the suspense account or wrong account in General Ledger