Deductions & Garnishments are the amounts taken out of an employee's pay — benefits like medical insurance and 401(k), as well as court-ordered garnishments. Setting them up per employee tells payroll exactly what to withhold from each paycheck.
Where to find Deductions
From the left sidebar choose HR & Payroll, then Deductions.
What you see on this screen
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Employee | The person the deduction applies to. |
| Deduction | What's being withheld — e.g. Medical (BCBS PPO), 401(k) 4% match. |
| Category | How it's treated — Pre-Tax, Post-Tax, Garnishment, or Benefit. |
| Method | How the amount is figured — a Flat Amount, a % of Gross, or a % of Net. |
| Amount | The dollar amount or percentage per pay period. |
| Frequency | How often it's taken. |
| Status | Whether the deduction is currently active. |
| Effective / End Date | When it starts and, if applicable, stops. |
An employee can have several deductions (for example a flat medical premium plus a percentage 401(k) contribution).
Adding and editing
Click Add to set up a deduction — choose the employee, name what's being deducted, pick its category and method, and enter the amount and effective date. Right-click a row for its actions. The same deductions are also editable per person on the Deductions tab of the Employee detail dialog.
Effective dates
Deductions are date-ranged: a deduction only comes out of paychecks whose pay period falls between its Effective and End dates. To stop a benefit, set its end date rather than deleting it — the history of what was withheld stays intact.
The Pre-Tax vs Post-Tax category matters: pre-tax deductions reduce taxable wages, so they affect the taxes withheld. Garnishments are court-ordered post-tax withholdings — enter them exactly as the order specifies. Set each one correctly.
How Deductions connect to the rest of the app
- Payroll. When a run is processed, each employee's active deductions are withheld from gross pay to produce net pay, and pre-tax items reduce the taxable base. See Payroll.
- General Ledger. When the run posts, withheld deduction amounts are credited to the deduction liability account configured in your payroll posting settings (HR & Payroll → Payroll Posting) until they're remitted to the benefit provider or court.
- Employees. The Deductions column on the Employees grid shows how many each person has.
Permissions
Viewing requires HR view access; adding or editing deductions requires the manage permission. This is sensitive pay data — access is usually limited to HR and payroll roles.
Tips & best practices
- End-date, don't delete. A benefit an employee dropped should stop via its end date so past paychecks still explain themselves.
- Double-check garnishment terms. The order dictates the method (flat vs percentage) and the amount — enter it verbatim.
- Review after open enrollment. Benefit changes usually mean a batch of new effective-dated rows starting on the plan-year date.
Common questions
Why isn't a deduction coming out of a paycheck? Check that it's active and that the pay period falls inside its effective date range.
What's the difference between % of Gross and % of Net? Gross is pay before anything is taken out; net is what's left after taxes and other deductions. Most percentage benefits (like 401(k)) are % of gross; some garnishments are calculated on net.