NOTE: This archive references other sites on the World Wide Web. From time to time, an article's link may be moved or deleted from the host site. If you encounter an out-of-date link, please e-mail the payrollnews@canpay.com.

What's New?

October 2001 - Welcome to the latest edition of The Payroll News. As always, please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends and associates who are interested in keeping up with the latest changes in the Payroll industry. Or better yet, subscribe them for free using the Tell Someone About Us link.

Upcoming Events:

Listed here are recent changes in legislation on Federal and Provincial levels that may impact your payroll calculations. Please view the following list for changes that affect your region.

FEDERAL:

September 21, 2001 - Proposed EI Regulation Changes for Small Weeks - HRDC will pre-publish, in the Canada Gazette, the possibility of implementing the successful "Small Weeks" pilot project as a permanent and Canada-wide method of calculating Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. This proposed amendment would allow EI claimants to exclude low-earning weeks (less than $150) for benefit calculation purposes, encouraging people to accept all available work. (more)

September 5, 2001 - CCRA Announces Fourth Quarter Interest Rates - The CCRA has announced the prescribed interest rates that will apply to amounts owed them and to amounts they owe to individuals and corporations. For example, the interest rate charged on overdue taxes, Canada Pension Plan contributions, and Employment Insurance Premiums will be 9%. (more)

Alberta:

September 17, 2001 - Symposium on Changes to Workers' Compensation System - Representatives of employers, injured workers, labour unions and the public participated in a Workers' Compensation symposium in Edmonton on September 17 and 18. Employment Minister Clint Dunford said "The symposium is part of a public consultation process on the workers' compensation system that began in 1999. I want symposium participants to consider our proposals for greater accountability, clarity and confidence in the system before we proceed with changes. (More)

Newfoundland and Labrador:

September 18, 2001 - Internal Human Resource Initiative Introduced - Newfoundland Human Resources and Employment minister Gerald Smith has unveiled the Position Employee Training and Skills System (PETS) -- an innovative internal human resource initiative that will benefit employees of his department and the people they serve. PETS is a new approach to human resource planning, designed and developed completely in-house by the department's human resources and information technology divisions. Its computer-based approach will assist employees of the department in identifying their training, skills and knowledge needs in order to better serve clients. (More)

Nova Scotia:

September 24, 2001 - Workers' Compensation Review Meeting in Amherst - The Nova Scotia Workers' Compensation Review Committee will hold a public meeting in Amherst on Thursday, Sept. 27. The committee has been booking appointments with Nova Scotians interested in workers' compensation. Amherst is the third stop for the committee in a series of meetings taking place in 12 Nova Scotia communities. The committee is studying 28 questions regarding Nova Scotia's workers' compensation system and is seeking input from those involved in the system as well as from the general public. (More)

Ontario:

September 4, 2001 - Emergency Leave Information Bulletin - The Ontario government has released an information bulletin to provide information and guidelines on agreements that can be made between employers and employees under the new Employment Standards Act. (More)

The latest release of GrandMaster Suite incorporates a number of changes that make it even easier to use the program and perform your payroll tasks. Some recent changes to the program include:

• The Employee List Group Selection dialog box has been modified to include Select All and Deselect All options. These new options are very useful when you have a payroll with a large number of employees.
• A new Accumulator calculation code has been added to the available calculation methods. The new code (#17) will calculate a percentage of all employee hours during the work period.
• The Journal Entry Report has been modified to include the Munisoft for Windows export format. This option is useful if you import GrandMaster Suite data into your Munisoft Accounting application.
• Added the Statistics Canada Report on earnings. This report provides a summary of earnings based on the selected date range and the employee's Statistics Canada Code (and Zone).

Stay tuned to CanPay's Product News page to receive the latest information about all GrandMaster products!

• • •

September 24, 2001 - CanPay Holds Local Training Seminar - As part of National Payroll Week, CanPay was pleased to hold several training seminars for their GrandMaster software tools. The local seminars were held in Winnipeg on September 20th and 21st at the CanadInn East. GrandMaster Suite users were shown the latest features of the product and given the opportunity to speak firsthand with members of our Training and Technical Support staff. GrandMaster II users learned some of the finer points of their system and were shown a preview of the upcoming GrandMaster II for Windows (the Beta version is now available).

If you use a computer to keep track of your payroll data, you can easily file your T4, T4A and Releve 1 information on magnetic media. Instead of sending paper copies of this information, magnetic-media filing lets you send computer-generated diskettes, tapes, or cartridges.

Available since 1988, computerized filing has fast become the preferred method for several reasons:

• Eliminates Errors - Computerized filing eliminates the errors that can occur when data is transferred from paper to computer format. Your year-end information is more accurate because the data is retrieved directly from your diskette, tape or cartridge.
• Environmentally Friendly - You save paper by going directly to data. If you transfer your information from your computer to paper, CCRA still has to reconvert it from paper to computer form again.
• Saves Time and Cost - You save time and money by avoiding the printing times, paper sorting and mailing costs associated with paper forms (plus, the forms are free of charge from the CCRA). Multiple people and departments are usually involved by the time the printed forms leave your premises. Magnetic filing can generally be carried out by one individual, usually in a matter of minutes.
• Faster Processing - Since the CCRA does not have to convert paper copies back to computer format, you have faster data processing and shorter turnaround times.

When you are ready to move to magnetic filing, go to the CCRA website and download the Computer Specifications for Data Filed on Magnetic Media guide for your particular form. You will also need to ensure that your payroll processing program supports the creation of the magnetic media file.

CanPay produces the GrandMaster line of payroll processing tools, all of which support the magnetic media feature. The files that GrandMaster programs create can be read by all standard editing programs and are fully supported by CCRA. Click Here to learn more about the complete line of GrandMaster software solutions.