HRMG Blog – Sage Abra Payroll, HR, & Timekeeping News

Harold Ford, Director of Professional Services at HRMG Solutions, will be speaking about the latest and greatest HR Technology tools and how to harness them to promote strategic thinking within HR departments. 

We are excited to announce Harold will be a speaker at a new Technology Conference for the Pennsylvania Community Providers Association in Harrisburg on March 16th and 17th.  For more information please visit their website at  http://www.paproviders.org/Pages/tech_conference.shtml

In addition, Harold will be speaking on April 12th at the Lehigh Valley SHRM Chapter.  Please register at http://shrmlv.shrm.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/?a=37&z=8

He will also be speaking at the Annual Lancaster County Area HRM Spring Professional Development Seminar on April 1st.  Please contact the LCAHRM at http://www.lcahrm.org/events.asp

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I’ve had a few clients ask “why are some of our employee paycheck’s net pay lower in 2011 when the tax cuts were extended, and the government reduced Social Security Tax withheld?” and I’ve tried to answer as detailed as I can for them. For some employee’s (typically those making less than $20K a year), the net pay may actually decrease due to the changes in the IRS Publication 15 from 2010 and 2011.

In short, although President Bush’s tax cuts were extended, some of President Obama’s were not. “Making Work Pay” expired on 12/31/2010, which started back in 2009. Anyone making less than $20K a year will probably see an increase to their overall tax withholding, rather than less due to the expiration of that act, even with the reduction in Social Security.

Now for the long version:

The Tax Relief Act of 2010 was extended for 2 years, and all that really did was keep the first tax % at 10% (the current rates are 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, and 35%, and would have changed to 15%, 28%, 31%, 36%, and 39.6% if the law wasn’t extended). It did not stop the taxable brackets from changing. If you compare IRS Publication 15 from 2010 and 2011, you will see that the wage brackets start lower this year.  For example, the single tax bracket started taxing wages at $6,050 in 2010, but in 2011 it will start taxing at $2,100. This is the same with most of the brackets for both married and single. This is actually a move lower like they were back before 2009 (02/21/09 there was a shift to raise the first bracket due to “Making Work Pay”).

EXAMPLE: If you were a single employee with no exemptions and no pretax deductions that made $35,000 in 2010, you would have been taxed $4,123.75 for the year. In 2011, the same example will be taxed $4,510. Both fit in the 15% tax bracket, but the bracket “Over” and “But Not Over” amounts have shifted down, and therefore they will pay taxes sooner on money. On a weekly pay, it ‘s the difference of $7.43 extra.

In the example above, the employee would have paid $2,170 in Social Security Tax in 2010, however in 2011 they will only pay $1,470. In this scenario, the employee has $13.46 less withheld in Social Security tax every week, causing an increase in overall net pay of $6.03.

Review Page 37 of 2011’s Publication 15 from the IRS (look at the Annual Pay Period rates) and compare it to page 40 of the 2010’s Publication 15. Run a few scenario’s on wages and you will see the differences. There’s also a great article on this at http://www.mydollarplan.com/payroll-tax-cut/.

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As many of you know, Harold Ford, our Professional Services Manager at HRMG Solutions, is an accomplished and knowledgeable speaker on Human Resource and Payroll matters.  Now he is a much sought after speaker.  His current calendar has him invited to address the following meetings in 2011 on the topics including “Getting Strategic with Technology”, “Social Media in HR” and “HR Technology Trends”.

You can hear Harold speak at:

Lehigh Valley SHRM http://shrmlv.shrm.org

Central Pennsylvania SHRM http://www.hrpcpa.org/

Lancaster County SHRM http://www.lcahrm.org/

Pennsylvania Community Providers Association http://www.paproviders.org/

Please check with the organization for dates and times.

If you are looking for a great speaker for your Human Resource meeting, contact me at pnolte@hrmgsolutions.com.

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In my discussions with customers, I am finding the rate of retiring employees is beginning to pick up.

Very often the position which becomes vacant is one of significant responsibilities.  Replacing valuable executives can be a time-consuming and arduous task.  Just the volume of resumes alone can be  daunting.

 On November 18th at 2:00pm we are holding a webcast to address the issues of hiring in today’s job market.  Our host will be Visibility Software, the makers of Cyber Recruiter, a recruiting software tool designed specifically for the online world of recruitment today.

If you know positions will be coming vacant in your organization and want to know more about how to efficiently manage the recquisition and hiring process online, please join us by registering at http://www.hrmgsolutions.com/webcasts.asp

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We will be holding a season of webcasts to introduce you to add-ons for your Sage Abra system.  Keep watching our weekly emails for details:

SmartCash PayCards from Motivano

Cyber Train from Visibility Software

Cyber Recruiter from Visibility Software

PAM – Performance Appraisal Management from Perryman Software

HR Actions from Delphia Consulting

Galaxy Time Collection from Galaxy Technologies

Document Imaging from API

KnowledgeSync from EBS

Contact Paula at 610-941-2176  for more details of the events.

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If you want to hear Harold Ford share his knowledge about Sage Abra HRMS and general HR topics, here are the events in which  he is currently scheduled to participate:

Back by popular demand, Harold will be repeating his Abra v9 Upgrade Advice Primer webcasts on the following dates:

Friday Sept 10th, 10-11am

Friday October 8th, 9-10am

Friday November 12th, 10-11am

Friday December 10th, 10-11am

To register go to http://www.dresserassociates.com/sage-abra-training/training-sessions.asp

Additional webcasts requested by customers- Social Recruiting:

Friday, September 17th, 10-11am

Friday, October 8th, 10-11am

If you attend the PA State SHRM Conference on Sept 27th

you have the chance to hear Harold speak on “Building Strategies with HR Technology”.

Tuesday, October 12th at the Lancaster County Association for Human Resources Management, he is speaking on “Social Media and HR”

If you miss him there, he is repeating the topic for the Berks County SHRM on February 8th, 2011.

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

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Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Sage Abra Version 9

If you are currently using Version 7.8, 7.7 or lower of Sage Abra HRIS, in the next few weeks you will be receiving Version 9 upgrade discs for your system.

We are receiving a lot of questions from customers, so here are some answers which may help you prepare:

1. Should we schedule with a Sage Abra business partner for assistance with this upgrade?
Unlike previous upgrades which were straightforward in nature, there are several complex preparation steps which significantly impact the running of the new software and  we strongly advise you seek assistance to move forward.  To get on the schedule with HRMG Solutions, please email back for more details. No – this upgrade is in the FoxPro database. 

2. Does this upgrade mean we are upgrading to SQL and leaving FoxPro? No – this upgrade is in the FoxPro database. 

3.  Is this upgrade free? �
If you are on a current Sage Abra Tech Support Maintenance Contract this upgrade software is included as part of your service.�
Installing the upgrade requires technical expertise.  If you wish to purchase an upgrade assistance package from HRMG Solutions, please email back to be placed on our list for a quote for assistance. 


3.  Is this upgrade free? ¦lt;br /> If you are on a current Sage Abra Tech Support Maintenance Contract this upgrade software is included as part of your service.¦lt;br /> Installing the upgrade requires technical expertise.  If you wish to purchase an upgrade assistance package from HRMG Solutions, please email back to be placed on our list for a quote for assistance. 

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Later this week I’ll be sending out our usual weekly informational email for HRMG Sage Abra customers.  This week it is our quarterly newsletter and the content is especially useful for getting an idea of the changes coming in the new Version 9/10 of Abra HRIS, including an idea of changes coming in Crystal reporting. 

There is also a useful rundown of compliance issues tracked in Abra HR and Payroll plus a quick tip on setting up an audit trail for OSHA compliance.

On the back of the newsletter you will find examples of the value of adding the alerting module Sage KnowledgeSync to your system.  You can download a free trial of the software to give it a test run.  If you would like to know more, please email or give us a call at 610-941-2119.

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Join us Wednesday, May 26th, from 2-3pm EDT for an informational webcast on the basics of document imaging and management for HR professionals. JoAnn Jacobson from Advanced Processing and Imaging, Inc. will focus on the basics of document imaging and how it might work for you using Sage Abra software. Please click on the link below to register. Hope you see you there!

Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/850562432

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I have worked with Kathleen Weiss for several years now and I have found her to be knowledgeable and inciteful on many HR topics. For this reason,  I have invited her to be the first of a series of HRMG guest bloggers who will contribute to the HR, payroll, recruiting or training content on our blog. She is Director of Human Resources for SWK Technologies, an Alliance Partner with HRMG Solutions on the Sage MAS accounting side of the family. To read the full article, be sure to use the link to click through to her SWK Insider Newsletter. Enjoy!

Ted Morse, President

HRMG Solutions, Inc.

Dear Kathleen:
Q – How do we help our managers provide performance guidance without destroying the moral of the employee?

A – Negative feedback is difficult for anyone to receive, especially if it is delivered in an abrasive or discouraging way. The purpose of feedback – whether coaching, mentoring or discipline – is so the employee will rise to the level of performance needed for the success of that position. Conveying the employee’s weakness, while keeping the employee motivated, is an essential part of being a good leader.

Try these basic steps:

1. Take a deep breath. It’s often difficult to give criticism, especially when you work closely with your employees. Realize that providing constructive feedback is part of management’s job on behalf of the company to improve operations. It’s not always comfortable, but a necessity of any business.
2. Step back from the situation for a moment and approach it from a perspective of curiosity. Many managers make the mistake of pouncing too quickly without asking questions. Did the employee perform poorly because s(he) needs additional training? Has the performance been great and suddenly faltered? Think about the entire situation and performance history of the employee.
3. Just the facts. Keep your discussion strictly fact based. Point out specific situations. This is not personal; it’s business and it’s best to keep it that way. Here are some examples: read more.. 

“Dear Kathleen” is a monthly Human Resources advice column written by Kathleen Weiss, SPHR, Director of Human Resources for SWK Technologies, Inc.

To Ask Kathleen an HR question, contact her at kathleen.weiss@swktech.com. SWK’s HR Advisor services provide cost-effective human resources solutions to small businesses.

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