Introduction
There is a service available for all customers where Empeon will send a check or ACH payment to the 3rd-party payee (Agency) that administrates or provides the mandated deductions or deduction benefits for employees. An agency can also be tied to Memo types of earnings usually used to track employer provided benefits. When using this Agency service, the employer does not have to make payments for the associated employee deductions or benefits themselves. This article outlines how to set up Agency codes so they can be applied on a deduction code or the employee level deduction setup. Once an Agency is identified and linked with a deduction, Empeon will address the payments as needed.
Agency Set Up
To associate an Agency to a deduction or benefit for Empeon to handle payment, the Agency information must first be set up on the company level. This entails entering the agency's contact information, establishing the payment method, and the frequency the payment will be sent.
To set up an Agency, navigate to the Agencies Card within Company Setup: Company tab > Payroll > Earnings & Rates Card.
Within the Agencies Card, it will show any Agency that has been set up within the system as well as the option to add a new one. In the top right corner, there is a blue button labeled "+ New Agency" to add a new Agency.
When setting up a new Agency, you will be prompted with the following required fields to enter within its general settings:
- Code - Enter a code for this agency. This code will be the system's coding/reports record for all payments sent to the agency. The code can't be more than 10 characters and shouldn't include special characters.
- Name - The text that is in this field is what will be on the payee line of the check that is sent to the Agency. Therefore, make sure that the name identified in this field is exactly the entity that the Agency wants the check to be made out to.
- Address, City, State, Zip Code - Physical check payments will be sent to the address identified in these fields. Therefore, be sure to key in the exact address that the Agency requires that the payment be sent.
Once you have filled out the fields on this screen, click 'Next' to configure how payment will be transmitted to this Agency. On this screen, you will be prompted with the following fields:
- Payment Method - This will establish how the Agency will be paid. There are three options to choose from: Check, ACH, and ACH-Child Support. Payments sent by physical check are mailed via first class US Postal Service. If choosing an ACH payment, be sure to enter the exact Routing and Account number needed to ensure the ACH payment goes through to the intended party. Child Support ACH payments usually need to have an FIPS code identified, contact Empeon Customer Service for assistance in acquiring the correct FIPS code.
- Payment Frequency - Establish the frequency that payments that will be sent to the agency. The frequency of agency payments does not need to match the frequency in which the deduction is taken. For example, Union Dues may be deducted from employees every payroll, but the payment to the Agency (the Union) can be set to only send the check at the last payroll of the month. The check will include all the Union deductions taken for that same month.
- Important Note: There are technical considerations that must be reviewed when changing payment frequencies for existing Agencies that are actively being paid from Empeon. For any circumstances where you want to change an existing Agency's payment frequency to a different frequency, be sure to first contact Empeon Customer Service for guidance.
- Empeon debits the employer's payroll account for agency related deductions every payroll, regardless of the frequency that the agency payment is sent.
- Suppress SSN - The Agency payment stub will list each employee and their payments that total to the check's amount. This is so the Agency can confirm the employees and amounts paid that are associated with the Agency check. By default, to help the Agency identify each individual involved the SSN is listed alongside the employee’s name. Click this option to not display the SSN if that is your preference.
- Last Paid - When an Agency is first set up this will automatically default to 'Never'. However, once the agency is applied to their first payment and on, this field will be populated with the date that a payment was last sent.
- Important Note: Though this field can be manually overridden, Empeon strongly recommends not to do so in order to avoid payment errors. For any questions you have about the last payment date shown in this field, contact Empeon Customer Service.
Once you have filled out the fields on this screen, click 'Save'. The Agency is now set up within the system and available to be linked to earnings or deductions. For instructions on how to link an Agency to a deduction, please review Empeon's Employee Profile Deduction Setup article.