Informative Items and Employer Contributions : Buk Colombia

Objective:

This article aims to guide Buk users in the process of creating and using of two essential categories: The informative Items and employer contributions. It will explore the various functionalities and applications these items can have within the context of compensation and pay stubs, as well as the informational potential they offer within the platform.

Definitions:

Informative Items: These are tools within Buk that allow companies to introduce additional data into pay stubs without directly affecting the final amounts. Common examples include indicating the value provided on a meal card or the daily value for vacation provision.

Employer Contributions: These items refer to additional contributions that a company can make on behalf of its employee. An example might be contributions to a supplementary insurance.

Scope / Limitations:

These tools are designed to provide greater flexibility and clarity in pay stubs and other related documents. It's important to remember that informative items, by their nature, do not affect the final figures of the pay stub. Conversely, employer contributions may or may not have a direct financial impact, depending on how they are structured.

Legal Basis and Applications:

Buk provides these options to help companies comply with local regulations and offer additional transparency to their employees. Informative items and employer contributions can be used to meet specific regulations, provide additional benefits to employees, or simply offer a more complete picture of the compensations and benefits granted.

Creation Process on the Platform:

The creation of an informative item or employer contribution is done by navigating from "Administration" to the "Items" module and selecting the "Others" option. Once there, click on "New" and choose whether to create a new "Informative" or "Employer Contribution."

When selecting "Employer Contribution," you can define a new contribution where you will need to fill in or complete the following fields:

Field name	Description	Image
Name	This is the specific title or name of the contribution that will appear in the "Employer Contributions" section.
Code	Unique identification code associated with the contribution. It must be composed of letters, numbers and underscores.
Calculation Method	Fixed: Standard and constant amount that is added regardless of the days worked by the employee. Pro rated Leave: The amount is based on the days the person worked. Formulated: The amount is calculated based on a formula.
Amount to Add	Same for all: When adding an item, the same amount will be determined for all employees. Different for each person: When adding an item, you will have the option to add an amount. This allows you to add different amounts for the same item.
Amount	If you define that the newsletter will be "Equal for All" set the amount to be allocated in this box.
Currency	Pesos or UF.
Effective Day	This is an informational field that indicates the start date of the item, which coincides with the currently selected month on the platform.
Account	Number of the account where the contribution will be recorded in the centralization.
Contra Account	Account used to offset the accounting movement of the contribution.

Additionally, you will have the option to adapt the contribution to your specific needs using the advanced configurations described below:

Field name	Description	Image
Limit by data sets	By checking this box, the item will be visible to users not limited by data sets or those selected in any data set.
Limit by Area	By checking this box, the item will be available in the areas selected in the "Select Sub-areas" box.
LRE Grouping	Allows selecting the grouping that the item will have in the Electronic Payment Register (LRE). Without this information, the file cannot be correctly generated as it will lack the necessary information for proper reporting. For more information, click on the following link to the User Manual shared by the DT.
Payment Register Grouping	Allows grouping payroll items in the Payment Register so that the register can be issued in organized columns grouping common items.
Expiration Date	Allows setting the end date of validity for the created earning or deduction.
End Date	If you select to set an End of Validity, add the end month in this field.
Benefits	Allows to establish the adding of the item through benefits.
Payee	Select if the objective is to allow the item payment to a third party.
Allow Negative Values	Allows the item value to be negative and reflect in the pay stub. If not active, an error will appear in case of negative values in the item.
Calculation Order	Sets the order to calculate the item, i.e., before or after a specific item.
Description of Calculation for Pay stub Attachment	The description entered in this field will appear on the pay stub as a detail or attachment for the employees to whom this item has been added. This field is used to provide detailed explanations of calculations or specific concepts related to certain items, allowing employees to understand the item contained in their pay stub in more detail.

Once ready, press "Save" and the contribution will be configured.

Now, to create a new informative item you must follow the same path but select "Informative" when you press the "New" button. In that view you will find certain fields that will allow you to set up the item, which are:

Field name	Description	Image
Name	This is the specific title or name of the contribution that will appear in the "Employer Contributions" section.
Code	Unique identification code associated with the contribution. It must be composed of letters, numbers and underscores.
Amount to Add	Same for all: When adding an item, the same amount will be determined for all employees. Different for each person: When adding an item, you will have the option to add an amount. This allows you to add different amounts for the same item.
Amount	If you define that the newsletter will be "Equal for All" set the amount to be allocated in this box.
Decimals for Calculation	It sets the number of decimals with which the result of the item's calculation will be stored
Effective Day	This is an informational field whose function is to inform about the start date of the item, which coincides with the month currently selected on the platform.
Account	Number of the account where the contribution will be recorded in the centralization.

By default, informative items will have a dedicated section for formulating. With the help of variables, you can create a formula that determines a relevant data. This data will not affect the pay stub calculations and can be easily exported through the exporters or reports.

Once you have completed your formula, you will have the option to view and validate it using the "Preview Calculation" button. If you want to add or modify additional characteristics to the informative item, go to "Advanced Settings." Below, we present the fields or checkboxes that will be available for you to complete or select.

Field name	Description	Image
Limit by data sets	By checking this box, the item will be visible to users not limited by data sets or those selected in any data set.
Limit by Area	By checking this box, the item will be available in the areas selected in the "Select Sub-areas" box.
Payment Register Grouping	Allows grouping payroll items in the Payment Register so that the register can be issued in organized columns grouping common items.
Expiration Date	Allows setting the end date of validity for the created earning or deduction.
End Date	If you select to set an End of Validity, add the end month in this field.
Benefits	Allows to establish the adding of the item through benefits.
Self-Add	Check this box if you want this informative item to be automatically added when creating new employees.
Payee	Select if the objective is to allow the item payment to a third party.
Allow Negative Values	Allows the item value to be negative and reflect in the pay stub. If not active, an error will appear in case of negative values in the item.
Calculation Section	Specify in which section of the pay stub the informative item will be calculated The options are: Subject to SS deductions, Not subject to SS deductions, Legal Deductions, Other Deductions, or Employer Contributions.
Calculate at the end of the section	Check this box to calculate the informative item after the selected "section."
Calculation Order	Sets the order to calculate the item, i.e., before or after a specific item.
Include Value in Attachment?	Allows displaying the item and its value in the pay stub attachment. You can choose: "Do not include," "Include if different from zero," or "Always include."
Description of Calculation for Pay stub Attachment	The description entered in this field will appear on the pay stub as a detail or attachment for the employees to whom this item has been added. This field is used to provide detailed explanations of calculations or specific concepts related to certain items, allowing employees to understand the item contained in their pay stub in more detail.

Once ready and everything is configured, save the informative item using the "Save" button.

Editing Process on the Platform:

After you have configured an item, if you want to modify any details, go to "Administration." Then click on "Items" and then on "Others". In the "Select an Item" field, expand the list or input the name of the item you want to edit. Upon selecting it, a box will appear with details such as the total number of added items, the type of calculation, and its validity.

Next, you will find several icons. The lock icon allows you to lock the item. The deactivate button lets you add an end date of validity. Additionally, the three dots icon provides options to "Delete" or "Edit" the item.

Any change made, whether an edit, deactivation, deletion, or locking of the item, will cause the platform to update the employees' pay stubs to reflect these changes.

Adding process on the Platform:

To add a contribution or an informative item on the platform you can do it individually or in bulk.

Individually: To add an item to an employee, access their profile and go to the "Items" tab. Then select the "Others" option. In that section, you will find two categories: "Informative Items" and "Employer Contributions." Depending on the type of item you want to add, choose the corresponding box. Finally, click on the "New" button to continue the process.

Next, select the item you wish to add and specify the starting month. If necessary, also define the end month and the corresponding amount. In the "Advanced Settings" section, you will have the option to add "Details" to the added item, as well as a "Cost Center." Once you have filled in all the details, click the "Save" button to complete the adding process of the contribution or informative item.

When adding it, you can review the informative item in this section where you can also edit the item using the pencil icon (✏️), suspend it using the pause button (⏸️), and delete it using the trash can (?️).

In Bulk: To add the informative item or contribution in bulk, go from "Informative" to "Importers" by clicking on "Importers" again.

In this view, you will find the "Items" importer, where you will have two loading options: Selecting the specific item to Upload or selecting the option to "Upload Multiple Types of Bonuses Simultaneously".

Additionally, you will need to define certain options that will allow you to set the installments, validity, and other aspects, which are described below:

Field name	Description	Image
Type of installments	Single installment: The item will be added only once in the pay stub and will not be added for the following months. Add Number of installments in Template: The amount will be added in the pay stub for the month and will be repeated in the consecutive months according to the number of assigned installments. No End Date: The item will be added for an indefinite period of time, so it will be paid every month.
Allow loading items in the future	You can add an item in the current month that will be paid in a later month.
Overwrite Amounts of Already Added Items	In this option, you can update the values of the added items. Note that if you set the value to zero, the item will be hidden in the pay stub or profile but it will not be removed.
Overwrite Custom Attributes Values of the Added Items	In this option, you will be able to update the values of the custom attributes in the item-adding process. Note that if you leave it blank, the attribute value will be deleted.
Recalculate Pay stubs	You must select the option to update the pay stubs automatically when uploading the template.
Accept payees	Choose this option if you want to pay the item to a third party.

Once ready, download the template, fill in the required information, and upload it from "Select File." When the upload is complete, you will have loaded your items in bulk.

Required Modules:

Base: People Management Essential Plan
Modules Compensations

Necessary or Associated General Settings:

To start working on the creation and customization of Employer Contributions and Informative Items, you need to have the following general settings active: "Enable definition of customized employer contributions" to customize Employer Contributions
"Enable definition of informative items" to create informative items
"Enable Formulated Bonuses" to formulate the informative items.

Key words:

Employer contributions, employer contributions, informative, items, add, remove, edit, amount, formula, advanced options, in bulk, attachment, calculation.

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