EmployER Fields

[Richard C]

It looks as though we can only enter a maximum of 10 fields in the EmployER Fields in Peachtree 2002. I have many different unions we employ through, and have now found the need for an additional 3-4 fields. Can this be done?

[dringstrom]

You're right that you're limited to 10 fields. However, the EmployEE screen offers additional fields. Can you set up your calculations there?

[Richard C]

Unfortunately the needed fields are not employee deductions, just employer. I have only been able to set-up 2 of the 4 unions we use, due to this limitation.

[dringstrom]

Unfortunately, you may have to do a calculation outside the software and record the additional employer liabilities via a journal entry.

[bluegal]

It is unfortunate that Peachtree does not provide more fields; I only deal with one union, and could do my entire union report with ER fields if there were enough available.

What I've done is just create one that adds all the employer fringes based on total-hours-paid; one on fringes calculated on the gross; one for the pension; and one for the health and welfare. Then I set up formulas based on "type" (different journeyman and apprentice amounts). At least I get all of the GL entries done each week through payroll....

Then I use Crystal Reports to do the actual union report to send, pulling the hours, pay, union dues deducted from the checks, etc. and calculating the rest with new formulas in Crystal to separate the different benefits lumped together in the ER amounts of total-hours-paid benefits and on-gross benefits.

Peachtree makes things SO much harder than they need to be:confused:

[Deborah Bean]

I agree that Peachtree makes SOME things harder, but on the whole you have more functionality than any similarly priced product. These things can be done in other products, but require extensive customization costs. Have you looked at the price of some of these other products?

It looks as if "bluegal" has come up with a good solution in the meantime. Crystal is not that expensive or you could see of PAWCOM might work for you in this area.

[bluegal]

If Peachtree would have given us many more standard Crystal Reports (including payroll) to start with, it would have been a huge help to just be able to modify them instead of starting over, given the way the data tables are laid out. Practically none of the standard reports are presented in Crystal for modification. for those of us who have little programming experience, trying to extract the Peachtree payroll data is quite a challenge.

Interestingly enough, I was able to pull the data and set up the same union report in my 12-year-OLD DOS version of Peachtree's PDQ very easily; that's why it's frustrating that it's so much harder in the NEW version...