How to reconcile payroll reports in Sage 100 2018+ for accurate year-end processing.
It guides you through comparing the Quarterly Tax Report with earnings, tax forms, and W‑2 data.
Resolution
CAUTION:
Use caution when working with the below product functionality. Always create a backup of your data before proceeding with advanced solutions. If necessary, seek the assistance of a qualified Sage business partner, network administrator, or Sage customer support analyst.
CAUTION:
Sage support can't assist with third-party products, hardware, report customizations, or state and federal tax questions. Refer to our Scope of Support for more info. Contact your Sage business partner, network administrator, or accountant for assistance.
Reconcile quarterly tax report gross wages to earnings report
Review quarterly tax report
Open Payroll Reports, Quarterly Tax Report.
Select Year= 2025 and Quarter= 4 in the dropdown boxes.
Use the Federal Totals page for comparisons.
Review earnings report
Open Payroll, Reports, Earnings Report.
Run the report for the fourth quarter.
Use Year to Date amounts for cafeteria and pension deductions.
Gross wages on both reports must match for the same period.
Reconcile gross wages to subject wages
Understand wage differences
Subject wages represent wages taxed for a specific tax.
Gross wages reduce when pre-tax deductions exist.
Gross wages minus pre-tax deductions equal subject wages.
Review deduction impact
Cafeteria and pension deductions reduce federal taxable wages.
Pension deductions reduce Social Security and Medicare wages.
Both deductions reduce state wages.
TIP:
Use the Tax Rule Inquiry utility to review how tax rules affect wages and deductions.
Known issues affecting wage reconciliation
Manual check reversals can create incorrect wage totals.
Changes to tax rules during the year cause inconsistencies.
CAUTION:
Back up your company before editing the Tax Summary.
Reconcile tax calculations on quarterly tax report
Compare calculated and liability totals
Use the Federal Totals page to compare:
Calculated totals
Liability totals
Calculated totals equal subject wages multiplied by the tax rate. Liability totals reflect amounts posted to payroll history.
Review rounding differences
Small differences occur due to rounding.
Identify discrepancies
Verify calculated taxes match liability totals.
Investigate differences greater than a few cents.
Example:
Social Security: $19,050 × 6.2% = $1,181.10
Medicare: $19,050 × 1.45% = $276.23
Investigate employee-level issues
Look for an asterisk (*) in the VAR column.
Review employees pay history by opening Payroll, Main, Employee Maintenance, Pay History tab.
TIP:
Run the report for individual employees to isolate discrepancies.
TIP:
Liability totals match amounts withheld from employees.
Known issues affecting tax reconciliation
Manual tax overrides during payroll entry cause incorrect totals.
Payroll update 2.20.0 created issues corrected in version 2.20.1.0.
NOTE:
Failure to reconcile reports can cause rejection during filing.
Reconcile quarterly tax report to Form 941
Validate federal and state tax reporting
Wages and taxes flow from the Quarterly Tax Report into tax forms.
Compare totals using line references on Form 941.
Match amounts using the same line numbers shown on the report.
Use color-coded values to confirm alignment.
Reconcile quarterly tax report to Form W‑2
Validate W‑2 reporting values
Wages and taxes flow into the Form W‑2 grid during processing.
Match report totals to W‑2 box numbers.
Final reconciliation practices
Prepare before year-end processing
NOTE:
Reports can be generated in November and reconciled. Any discrepancies can be addressed. Provides opportunity to become familiar with the steps in this article.
Reconcile reports before closing the year in Payroll Period End Processing.
Follow compliance guidance
These steps don’t provide tax advice. Consult a CPA or tax professional for complex scenarios.