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Should I Migrate to the SQL Sage HRMS (Abra) Version?
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Transcript of Should I Migrate to the SQL Sage HRMS (Abra) Version?
Should I Migrate From Abra Suite to Sage HRMS SQL?
_______________________Thursday, June 26, 2014
Paralea Boose, CPA, CITPSr. Business Analyst/Consultant
Today’s Presenter
Paralea BooseCPA, CITP, CGMASr. Business Analyst, Certified Trainer
and Sage Business Partner
• Over 25 years in accounting, HR solutions
• Sage Certified trainer and consultant for Abra HRMS plus some ERP solutions as well
• Prior industry roles include Controller, Regional Financial Manager, and Staff Accountant
• 14+ years of experience with Sage HRMS
Agenda
Differences in platforms What will I gain? What will I lose? How long will it take to migrate? What happens to my Crystal Reports?
Difference in Platforms
Abra Suite is a FoxPro database
Sage HRMS is a SQL database
SQL offers more security options on your network SQL offers better backup/restore routines for your IT Department
SQL has better scalability, and can handle many more transactions
SQL offers faster search results and report computations
SQL has built‐in file corruption protection
Difference in Platforms
Employee Self Service will be a new implementation and setup due to database structure changes but will look virtually the same; Sage is working on ability to upgrade ESS Suite to ESS SQL
Payroll will be an entirely new implementation!
Setups are different
Screens are different
Tasks are different
Processes are similar but different
What do I gain? HR/Time Off/Train
Small changes to HR, Time Off and Train Screens and tasks will still appear basically the same
Time Off can store different Maximum Available and Maximum Carry Over amounts by seniority level instead of by plan
Store Alternate Email address for each employee Store a Vacation/Time Off Service Date to use in Time Off
Step rates in salary grades Access to Canadian forms and OHS screens if install Canadian portion
What do I gain? Payroll
Establish a Pay tab for employees Payroll defaults from here, timecards are only used for exceptions (deduction overrides, hourly employees whose hours fluctuate each week, etc.)
Overtime Schedules Calculate overtime on earnings codes
Worker’s Comp Schedules/Groups Allows for workers comp rates to be grouped by state, etc.
Shift Schedules/Groups Allows for multiple sets of shift schedules
What do I gain? Payroll More pay frequencies Only exist on payroll side, not HR Can do 10/yr, 13/yr, 22/yr and quarterly—good for earnings paid quarterly, such as ER HSA contributions
Time cards are not required, but you can store reusable timecards on employees if necessary Can pay employees based on their set up without entering time card information
Timecards also have the ability to annualize taxes on things like commissions and quarterly bonuses
Direct Deposit Calculations Can be a flat amount Can be percentage of gross earnings or net paycheck Can be any combination of the above
What do I gain? Payroll More information on the Pre‐Check Register before finalizing payroll Shows GL accounts for all earnings, deductions and taxes Shows the calculation base dollars for all taxes and deductions that
are a percent of earnings Shows all employer calculations for each employee (taxes,
earnings, deductions) Several different earnings types in addition to wages Accruals to interface to Time Off module and do payroll accruals on
hours worked Benefits type to handle employer paid benefits, fringe benefits Sales Commission and Piece Rate earnings
Six levels of rate schedules Progressive/Non‐Progressive calculation options
What do I gain? Payroll Salary Earnings codes options Can pay salaried people either Flat or Fixed amounts per pay period
instead of rate x hours to equal pay period amount Can choose whether or not earnings or deductions print on the check stubs
Add‐on solution for custom check stock printing, including self‐seal check stock
Ability to pay one or more employees through payroll process without paying all employees Can send by direct deposit if employee has direct deposit set up No need for “On Demand Check”
Creating the ACH file also provides a report of exactly what is in the ACH file for reconciliation
What do I gain? Payroll Void multiple checks at once, even an entire payroll Tax withholding screen adapts to the tax being entered Only have fields that pertain to that tax
Option to warn or to error out on closed months Ability to delete earnings/deductions/taxes from employee profile without affecting history
Utilities to add earnings/deductions/taxes to a group of employees
Utilities to update earnings/deductions/taxes for a group of employees
Includes ability to import into timecard entry from a specific format
What do I gain? Payroll
Integration from HR to Payroll is now a process Allows for payroll to bring changes over timely Allows payroll to see changes coming from the HR side
GL Structure no longer a jigsaw puzzle Enter actual GL accounts into GL setup Enter different segments to GL such as division and department Option to set distribution codes and use on employees to change
GL accounts based on an org level Option to use cost center overrides for GL subaccounts and
update cost center based on org level Warning or error if GL account combination is invalid
What do I lose? Payroll and System Each EIN can only be one payroll company Each payroll employer is stored in its own database
Enterprise Setup Options in Payroll Each company has to be set up—no sharing of codes since they are
in separate databases Employee can only get a live check or direct deposit, not both If employee has direct deposit line items, balance of check will go
to the last direct deposit line item used, not to a live check Pay Groups Payroll is processed based on the frequency of payroll Selection lists can be established to separate payroll into multiple
pays per frequency Employees can be chosen individually, by a range of ids, or by class
fields (similar to organization levels) to be processed
What do I lose? Payroll and System
Backup and Restore no longer an option inside software Due to nature of backups on SQL SQL Server backups save and restore much more quickly IT will need to be involved in backups and restore
However, there is less of a need for backups during payroll—SQL platform is more stable
Gross Up Calculator Retroactive Pay Could be replaced with a Crystal Report
Secure Query to payroll details (check history, earnings, deductions) Queries will need to be replaced with Crystal Reports
What do I lose? Payroll and System Trial Payroll and Final Payroll
Sync from HR, enter timecards if necessary, calculate and print…it’s that simple!
Trial Quarter Close and Final Quarter Close New software is date driven for reporting As long as the period is open in the GL portion you can process a check for
any employee for any date at any time Quarterly reporting could be an issue if you pay an employee in a quarter that has already been filed
No closing process at all – just choose to print your reports and specify the date or quarter
What do I lose? Self Service
Self Service Changes No longer an option in ESS to update W4 information (can replace
with HR Actions to accomplish) W2 history will be gone – Aatrix has ability to provide electronic
copies of W2s for employees Note that only current calendar year check history is normally
brought into the new SQL version for payroll reporting so not all check history may translate to the new ESS Can opt to leave the existing ESS open
Sage has a hosted option called Sage Source (some things for a fee) Not yet compatible with SQL Server 2012, but coming
How Long to Migrate? HR/Time Off/Train installs only: Approximately two days after installation of the software Plan for Abra Suite to not be available during the migration
Abra Suite with Payroll: 3 months average for a re‐implementation of payroll All new setups in payroll, plus time for testing prior to Go Live Go Live date drives how much history is converted
At January 1, no payroll history is brought over Ideally Go Live should be at the beginning of a quarter to make reporting easier but can go live at any point during the year
Conversions are usually entered manually, but can be automated for a price, depending on the number of employees with history
Currently there is no end of life date for Abra Suite
What Happens to My Crystal Reports?
Sage HRMS still uses Crystal Reports 2008 Existing HR/Time Off/Train reports Only need to change to the new data source Files and field names do not change
Existing Payroll Reports Custom Payroll reports will notmigrate Custom Payroll reports will need to be reviewed to determine if
they can be rewritten Data files and fields are different than Suite File structure and how history is stored is different
Paralea Boose, CPA, CITP, CGMA, Sr. Business Analyst/Certified Trainer
(919) 714‐8785
Steve Hamel, Business Analyst/Certified Trainer
(785) 783‐8961
John Guglielmo, Account Executive
(800) 719‐3307 Ext 3978
Ideas welcome!www.netatwork.com/hr_webinar_series.asp
Lynda Dixon, CPA, CGMA, Business Analyst/Certified Trainer
(919) 714‐8792