State Agencies Bulletin No. 401

Subject
Summary of Payroll Upgrade-Related Bulletins and Information Sources
Date Issued
July 1, 2003

Purpose

To provide payroll users with a summary of upgrade-related bulletins and other resources available to assist in the transition to the upgraded Payroll System.

Overview

On August 4, 2003, New York State will begin using an upgraded version of the Payroll System (PayServ). The first checks to be processed using the new system will be the Institution check dated August 21, 2003, followed by the Administration check dated August 27, 2003. The new system is browser-based and has a different look and feel than the current payroll system (PaySR). While most of the functionality of the system remains the same, there are a few key differences. The panels are now web pages. The navigation around the pages is a little different but they contain nearly all the same information. Features have been added that make the information easier to use. More system edits have been included to assist users in entering data more accurately. These changes may make the process seem different, but most agency procedures will not change. In order to facilitate users’ transition to PayServ, several resources are available including:

  • Payroll Bulletins
  • End User Training and Training Guide
  • Web-Based Learning Assistant
  • Training Sandbox

Resources

Bulletins

A series of bulletins are being issued concurrently with this bulletin. Together, they provide an overview and highlight the changes for every major component of the payroll system that has changes. Additionally, a few upgrade-related bulletins were issued previously to prepare agencies for the transition. These remain important references.

The upgrade-specific bulletins are as follows:

Changes to Personal Data 402
Action/Reason Code Changes 403
Changes to Job Data 404
Job Requests, Transfer Requests and Job Request Status 405
Changes to Deduction Processing 406
Changes to Additional Pay Processing 407
Changes to Time Entry Pages and the Miscellaneous File 408
Changes to Contract Pay Page for Institution Teachers 409
Contract Pay for SUNY Employees in Pay Basis Code 21P 410
Changes to Contract Pay for CUNY Adjuncts 411
Changes to the General Comments Page and Hyperlink 412
Employee Certification by the Department of Civil Service (DCS) 413
Employee Certification Process for the Unified Court System (UCS) 414
Automatic Processing of Overpayments for Inactive Employees 415
Prior Year Tax Refunds Resulting from Workers’ Compensation Board Awards 416
Name Change of Paycheck Distribution and View Change of Department Budget Table Resulting From the Upgrade 417
Changes to Viewing Earnings Balances 418

These bulletins are designed to give users a quick reference to the new fields and to changes in the system that impact payroll processing. Where appropriate, most bulletins provide a brief overview describing how that component of the Payroll System functions. The bulletins then describe the key changes in system processing and agency requirements. The bulletins outline the new steps in the process. They do not provide comprehensive descriptions of processes that have not changed. If the process itself is new, such as viewing the new Workers Compensation Refund Summary, the entire procedure is documented. If the bulletin does not mention a change in procedure, the procedure remains the same.

Additional upgrade-related bulletins which have been or will be issued shortly include:

  • #391 Schedule for Agency Payroll Submission and Availability of Reports and Files to Accommodate the Payroll System Upgrade from PaySR to PayServ
  • #399 Payroll Reporting Tool – Control-D
  • Application Security Roles

Additional information was distributed as technical memos.

Web-Based Learning Assistant (WLA)

The WLA is an on-line help tool that provides step-by-step instructions for entering transactions. It also provides prerequisites and helpful hints for processing those transactions. When in the PayServ application, the user simply clicks on the “Help” button to access the WLA. The WLA provides information about the specific page the user is on and the definitions for all of the fields on that page. There is also a table of contents that can be used to search for a specific topic in the WLA.

End-User Training

Training is being provided to agency payroll users during July. Experienced agency users who have participated in a comprehensive train-the-trainer program will conduct end-user training. Participants will have the opportunity to become familiar with the navigation of the system, learn how to access and use the WLA, as well as view various changes in system functionality. A training guide provided to each end-user trainee in the class will be a valuable resource after the training.

Training Sandbox

The Training Sandbox, which is a full sized payroll database, provides a safe environment where users can become familiar with the new pages and test their skills before the new system becomes available. Since the sandbox is a test environment only, users are encouraged to explore this database and use it as a learning tool. Users’ security access to the sandbox mirrors their production access. Users are encouraged to verify that their access is correct in the Training Sandbox.

Questions

To resolve payroll processing questions, please contact the resource(s) listed in specific bulletins.

For problems logging into the Training Sandbox or into PayServ, please contact the OSC BITS Help Desk at (518) 486-6745.

Problems regarding Application Security, i.e. your access is not the same as it was in PaySR, should be directed to the Payroll Services mailbox. After August 24, 2003, users should contact their agency security coordinator to address application security issues.