W2 - Preparation

Where In Payroll Do I Print/Export From?

You can print/export W2s from any folder of (USA) Payroll that you can see employees on.

If you activate USA Payroll you have access to all USA employees and can print/export any or all W2s from there.

If you activate a sub-payroll you can print/export W2s for employees of that sub-payroll.

Setting the W2 Year

On whatever payroll you decide to print/export from you must set the W2 Reporting Year to the year you wish to print/export W2s for.
To do this:

Use the window tabs to select Advanced - Payroll Settings.
Set the W2 Reporting Year to the correct year.

Setting the W2 Reporting Year.

The W2 List Window

W2 information can be viewed and/or printed/exported from the W2 List window. To view this window, select W2 List using the window tabs.

The images below show the W2 List window. The window contains a column for most of the boxes on the W2 form, and you can see the amounts that will be printed/exported.

Because there are so many columns it is best to set title columns to "lock" a few of the left-most columns so that you can scroll out to the right without losing track of which employee line you are on.
To do this:

Select (click on) the rightmost column you wish to set as a title column. (In the example windows shown, the Id column was chosen.)
Issue the Window>Title Columns>Set.

W3 (Summary) Information

The totals at the bottom of the table provide most of the information required to complete the W3.

Editing W2 Information - What You Can't Do

Earnings & Deduction Amounts

Most of the information in this window is obtained by adding up amounts on employee paychecks for the year displayed. You are not allowed to edit these amounts. The simple reason is this: If you were allowed to edit the information here, then the W2 forms you print would not match the data in your books and the integrity of your payroll system would be called into question.

If there are amounts on this window that seem incorrect then there must be one or more errors in the employee's paychecks. These errors must be addressed at their source to correct the information on this window.

Another alternative (which we do not recommend) is to choose the "display" option when printing W2s, edit the results in Excel, and then print the W2(s) from Excel. Again, this will mean that your printed W2s do not match the data in your books - we can't stop you from doing this, but you are "on your own" if questions arise after the fact.

The "Print W2" Column

This column is set by the system to either "yes" or "no" and cannot be edited.

It is set to "yes" if there is information to be reported on a W2 for that employee for the given W2 year. It is set to "no" if there is nothing to report on a W2 for the given year.

(The yes or no value is not related in any way to the employee's active status.)

The total at the bottom of the list reports the number of "yes" lines above.

Editing W2 Information - What You Can Do

A few of the columns can be edited. They are:

Employee first, middle, and last names
S.S.N. (Social Security Number)