Payroll Services - Tarleton State University

Payroll Procedures

Budget Verification Document-BVD
Supplemental Pay
Hourly Payroll Preparation Report-HPPR
Overtime
Time Sheets and Procedures
Communication Allowance

(Budget Verification Document) BVD

The Budget Verification Document is a computer printout containing all pertinent information needed for department heads to verify payments to be processed for monthly paid employees. Employees are listed on the BVD by ad loc, and include monthly salary amounts, paying accounts, pay periods, etc. This detail is the department head's official authorization to the Payroll Office to pay the listed employees for the month. Department heads are requested to verify the information, note any adjustments or discrepancies, sign the document, and return it to payroll by the due date.

In order for the Payroll Office to process the monthly payroll correctly, any pending action that might affect an employee's monthly payment should be noted on the BVD. If an employee is not listed and the required Personnel/Budget Action form has been approved and processed, please write them in on the BVD with all necessary information (i.e. name, SSN, PIN, title code, and paying account). Do not use whiteout to make corrections.

If a change occurs after the BVD has been returned to payroll, both the Payroll and Human Resources Offices should be notified as soon as possible. It is vital that information be shared so that employee payments can be processed accurately and corrections can be handled in a timely manner.

Please be aware that budgeted employees should not begin work until the hiring paperwork has been processed. Late submission could result in the employee not getting paid on time.

Supplemental Pay

Payment of anything other than regular monthly pay will be processed on biweekly payrolls. (i.e. overloads, professional services, pay due from prior pay periods, overtime, and lump sum vacation pay). Monthly communication allowances will be paid on the last biweekly payroll of each month. (Some supplemental payments issued will be printed checks, while others may be direct deposit.)

IRS procedures require a federal tax on some types of supplemental wages at a flat 25% rate, including but not limited to: additional compensation, bonuses, payments for accumulated sick leave, vacation pay-outs, severence pay, back pay, awards, and communication allowances.

Hourly Payroll Preparation Report (HPPR)

The Hourly Payroll Preparation Report is a computer printout of all student and non-budgeted hourly employees paid on a biweekly basis. Supervisors will collect time sheets from their hourly employees, total the two-week time period, and write the total hours to be paid on the HPPR in ink. If corrections need to be made, draw a line through the incorrect number and write the correct number above it. Initial the correction. (Do not use whiteout to make corrections)

Each page of the HPPR should be totaled at the bottom of the page. (If there are multiple pages, a grand total for all pages is not necessary.) An authorized departmental representative signs the HPPR and the form is returned to the Payroll Office by noon on the due date.

Hourly employees not listed on the HPPR's cannot be paid or written in until the required Personnel Action Form has been processed and the departmental copies returned to the department by Human Resources.

Please be aware that hourly employees should not work until all the required paperwork has been completed. Late submission could result in the employee not getting paid on time.

Overtime

Tarleton State University requires employees being paid for worked overtime to submit to the payroll office a weekly overtime form. The form is similar to the form required by the human resources department for the banking of compensatory time earned. The payroll overtime form allows employees to submit their overtime hours at the end of the week in which the overtime is worked for payment on the next available biweekly pay date.

The university procedure requiring each department to obtain approval, in advance, for all overtime worked for their employees has not changed. This procedure requires a memo approved by the appropriate vice president or equivalent to be on file in the payroll office prior to overtime being worked.

Employees must process all overtime worked, using the new overtime form. After the overtime form has been approved by the employing department, with all necessary signatures, and received by the payroll office, overtime payment will be processed on the next available biweekly payroll.

Payment of overtime to students and non-budgeted temporary employees has not changed and will still be handled on the hourly preparation report (HPPR).

Overtime Form

Time sheets

All hourly and non-budgeted hourly employees are required to fill out time sheets. Time sheets serve as permanent records of employment and are used to verify service for various government agencies. Time sheets are subject to audits performed periodically by the State Auditor's Office and auditors of The Texas A&M University System. The employing department should maintain time sheets as long as employees remain actively employed. When the employee has been terminated, all time sheets should be forwarded to the Human Resources Offices along with the terminating Personnel Action Form.

The official workweek for hourly and non-budgeted employees begins on Thursday and ends on Wednesday. A sample time sheet is available online.

Time Sheet Procedures

Time sheets must be completed in ink or typed.
Time sheets must be fully completed including employee name, SSN/UIN, paying account, hourly pay rate, week beginning dates, and the employee status section in the top left corner. (Week beginning dates should include month, day, and year.)
Both the employee and the authorized supervisor/department head must sign time sheets in ink. (Authorized supervisor/department head must be on the account signature card maintained by Accounts Payable in the Business Services Office.)
Employees may not work more than 40 hours per week (Thursday through Wednesday) even if employed by more than one department. The only exception will be with advance approval granted by the department's vice president. The original approved overtime request must be on file in the Payroll Office prior to the overtime being turned in on the HPPR.
Employees who work for more than one department cannot submit overlapping work hours.
A separate time sheet must be completed for each account the employee is paid from.
Both the employee and the supervisor should initial changes to the time sheet. Do not use whiteout for corrections or changes.
Hours worked are rounded to the nearest quarter hour and written as .25, .50, and .75. (i.e. student works from 8:15 to 9:52. 9:52 is rounded to 9:45. Total time worked is 1.5 hours.) Each week is totaled separately. If more than 40 hours have been worked in a one-week period, hours must be separated into regular hours and overtime hours. Totals for the two weeks on the time sheet are combined and written in the space for "Two Week Total Reported on HPPR". The two-week total is then written on the HPPR, which is forwarded to the Payroll Office for payment.

Communication Allowance

As per Tarleton State University Rule 25.99.08.T1.01 (effective 9/1/05; revised 9/01/06), communication allowances may be approved for employee’s whose job duties necessitate purchase of and operation of personal communication devices such as cellular telephones or personal digital assistant (PDA) devices. These allowances may be comprised of a one-time communication equipment purchase allowance and/or a monthly communication plan allowance. The communication allowances will be processed as supplemental payments paid on regularly scheduled biweekly payrolls.

The approved maximums for the one-time equipment purchase allowance are:

Cellular Telephone: One-time instrument, battery and activation fee allowance. Up to $130
Personal Digital Assistant (PDA): One-time instrument and activation fee allowance. Up to $249
Telephone/PDA Combination: One-time instrument, battery and activation fee allowance. Up to $550

In order to receive payment for the One-Time Communication Equipment Allowance, the employee must submit to the department head for approval the One-Time Communication Equipment Allowance form with a receipt (as proof of purchase) attached.

When approved, the department head will complete a Supplemental Monthly Budget Verification document. This document must include the employee Pin Number, UIN, the employee name, the amount of the allowance to be paid to the employee (up to the maximum amount allowed), and the account number to be charged for the payment. The form must be signed by the department head, the receipt must be attached to the document, and both are forwarded to the payroll office for processing. Copies of the Supplemental Monthly Budget Verification document and the receipt should be retained by the department in the employee’s personnel file along with the One-Time Communication Equipment Allowance form.

The monthly communication plan allowances are:

$60 monthly based on up to 450 minutes of business use
$90 monthly based on 451 – 900 minutes of business use
$120 monthly based on 901 – 1900 minutes of business use
$150 monthly based on 1901 or more minutes of business use

In order to receive payment for the monthly communication allowance, the employee must fill out a Communication Service Allowance Enrollment form and submit the form to the department head for approval. The department head will assign an account number to be charged for the monthly payments and forward the approved form to the payroll office for processing. A copy of the form should be retained by the department in the employee’s personnel file. Once set up by the payroll office, the monthly allowance will automatically process on the last biweekly payroll of each month. In order to cancel the monthly allowance, the department head must submit a cancellation to the payroll office before the last biweekly payroll has processed. If an employee transfers or is promoted into a different Pin Number, a new form for the employee must be sent forward to the payroll office taking the appropriate action.

Please note: Increases to the monthly allowance are restricted and should only be requested effective with the new fiscal year (September - August).

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