How To Setup Big Red Book Payroll

We recommend having a look at the Help section in Big Red Book Payroll, which has:

Help File: This is a User Guide/Manual to Big Red Book Payroll. A shortcut to the ‘BRB Payroll Manual’ should also appear on your desktop after installing Big Red Book Payroll.

Links to various resources: e.g. Renewing ROS Certificate, ROS, and the Department of Social Protection website.

Please click the button below for a Video Guide to install Big Red Book Payroll.

This utility can be used to import employee data and company settings from last year’s version of Big Red Book Payroll into this year’s version. This action can only be carried out before any employees are set up in this year’s version.

To import go to Utilities > Import 2023 data. You can choose This PC or Backup File.

This PC:

This can be used when last year’s version is installed on the same PC.

Once you select This PC, highlight the company that you want to import and click Import.

It will give you the option to Carry Forward various things. You can tick what you wish to Carry Forward (if anything) and click Start.

Once the import has completed, it will give the following message indicating that the employees will be set to Emergency Tax Basis, and you can click OK.

PAYE information such as USC Rates, USC Rate Thresholds, Tax Credits and Standard Rate Cutoff points are not carried over and are obtained from the Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN). It is therefore vital that an RPN Lookup is run before you process any payruns.

From a Backup File:

This can be used when this year’s version of Big Red Book Payroll is on a different machine from last years, or if it is in a different location.

Once you select Backup File, you can click the folder to the right and select the backup file that you wish to import. Then click Restore and Import.

It will give you the option to Carry Forward various things. You can tick what you wish to Carry Forward (if anything) and click Start.

Once the import has completed, it will give the following message indicating that the employees will be set to Emergency Tax Basis, and you can click OK.

PAYE information such as USC Rates, USC Rate Thresholds, Tax Credits and Standard Rate Cutoff points are not carried over and are obtained from the Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN). It is therefore vital that an RPN Lookup is run before you process any payruns.

In Big Red Book Payroll click the Settings Icon, and then click the Company Information tab.

You can then fill in the various boxes, such as Company Name, Address, Employer Registered Number etc.

ROS Certificate File:

Click the folder to the right of that box and you can select your ROS Certificate on your machine. It is important to do this so that you can do RPN Lookups and Submissions etc when needed.

Payroll Agent?

If you are a Payroll Agent, you can type your Agent TAIN into the Agent TAIN box.

Check Connectivity:

You can use the Check Connectivity button to check that the Employer Registration and Digital Certificate are valid to connect to. Checking Connectivity also displays the Expiry date of the Digital Certificate.

CSO Declaration:

There is also a section for information required for the creation of a CSO Survey.

In Big Red Book Payroll click the Settings Icon, and then click on the Rate of Pay tab.

In this section you can set up the different Rate of Pay and how they are handled.

Breaking down the Rate of Pay:

Description:

This appears on the timesheets screen and on the payslip, e.g. Normal Hours, Overtime etc.

Taxable:

Tick if the Rate of Pay is Taxable, leave unticked if it is not taxable.

PRSI Exempt:

Tick if the Rate of Pay is PRSI exempt, leave unticked if it is not PRSI exempt.

USC Exempt:

Tick if the Rate of Pay is USC exempt, leave unticked if it is not USC exempt.

BIK:

Tick if the Rate of Pay is a BIK (Benefit in Kind), leave unticked if it is not a BIK.

Med Ins:

Tick if the BIK is for Medical Insurance, leave unticked if the BIK is not for Medical Insurance.

PHI:

This stands for Permanent Health Insurance. Our Help File has a section on this in more detail which is worth reading.

Shares:

Tick if the BIK is for Share-based remuneration in the company, leave unticked if it is not. Share-based remuneration might not be subject to Employer PRSI.

Lump Sum:

Tick if the Rate of Pay is a lump sum for an employee retiring or leaving work, leave unticked if it is not.

Excl from Gross Pay:

Tick this if the Rate of Pay is to be excluded from Gross Pay, if it is not to be then leave it unticked.

CSO Type:

A drop-down list is given of the CSO Types applicable. A CSO Type should be assigned to each Rate of Pay. This is required for accurate calculation of data for the CSO Earnings, Hours & Cost of Employment Survey.

Expense of Benefit Report Type:

If you are adding a Rate of Pay relating to ERR (Enhanced Reporting Requirements) select the Expense of Benefit Report Type that applies to that rate of pay. It will assign a Rate Code automatically.

Rate and Rate Type:

The Rate and Rate Type columns work together to determine how to calculate a particular Rate of Pay. We will break this down into its own section next.

Rate and Rate Type explanation:

With Rate Type there is a choice of Multiplier OR Amount.

Multiplier:

If the Rate Type is Multiplier, then that payment is the Rate x the employee’s Basic Rate box

Example 1: Basic Rate (from the Employee screen) of €20 x Rate 1 = €20. So, €20 x Units 40 (on timesheet) = €800

Example 2: Basic Rate (from the Employee screen) of €20 x Rate 1.5 (e.g. time and a half) = €30. So, €30 x Units 40 (on timesheet) = €1200

Amount:

If the Rate Type is Amount, then that particular Rate of Pay is treated as a literal amount e.g. expenses. The Basic Rate (from the Employee screen) is not part of the calculation.

Examples 3: Rate 1 x Amount entered on timesheet (e.g. 50) = €50

Example 4: Rate 1.5 x Amount entered on timesheet (e.g. 50) = €75

Adding and editing Rates of Pay:

Adding more Rates of Pay:

To add a new rate of pay, click on the last Rate of Pay, and press the down arrow key on the keyboard or click the Add button on screen, click Yes, and a new line will appear, and you can fill in the relevant details.

Editing Rates of Pay:

There are some Rates of Pay already set up. These can be changed as required. Double click a field to change it.

Importing Time Sheets:

The option to Setup Time Sheet Import is at the bottom of this window.

Where a payment/contribution/benefit is subject either income tax, USC or PRSI, it should generally always be included in Gross Pay. Non-taxable payments will generally be excluded from Gross Pay.

This may not be a complete list and is offered for guidance only. Any queries regarding Gross Pay should be made with an accountant, tax expert or Revenue.

Permanent Health Insurance (PHI)/Income Continuance

This list is correct as of December 1st 2022.

In Big Red Book Payroll click the Settings Icon, and then click on the Departments tab.

The Departments section simply stores a list of departments, which can be used as cost centres for employees. Employees can be assigned to any department.

Simply type the name of the department in the Department box and click Save. To add a new department, click on the last department/entry, and press the down arrow key on your keyboard and a new line should appear.

In Big Red Book Payroll click the Settings Icon, and then click on the Accounts tab.

This section is used to present account system information on the Weekly Tax Summary report to aid posting journal entries to an accounts system. You can type in the relevant Nominal Account Codes beside the relevant sections. Please note that the Big Red Book Payroll does not link or send information to your accounts system.

Example of the report:

This feature is used only when starting to use Big Red Book Payroll in the middle of the tax year where payments have already been made to employees and submitted to Revenue.

To switch on this setting, click Settings, then click the Other tab, and tick Mid Year Startup Company, and click Save.

Please note that data entered to Mid-Year Startup is for setup purposes only. The details are not included in the system reports until at least one payrun has been processed. Once a payrun has been processed for an employee, the mid-year startup option will be disabled for that employee and may not be amended.

Entering information into Mid-Year Startup:

To set up employees in the middle of the tax year, the following steps should be taken:
From your existing Payroll system or Tax Cards get the following for each employee:
Employee PRSI
Employer PRSI
Gross Taxable Pay
Gross Pay
Gross Pay subject to PRSI (for employee)
Tax Paid
Gross Pay subject to USC
USC Paid
PRSI Classes and weeks at each Class
LPT start date
LPT amount paid

You would set up the employee details as usual, but then you would go to the PAYE/PRSI History tab.

Then on the right-hand side is the Mid-Year Startup section, where you can enter the figures/information. Once that is done, click Save & Close.

The employee may then be processed in Big Red Book Payroll from that point forward as normal, and the Mid-Year figures can be taken into account in Big Red Book Payroll’s calculating of Tax and PRSI and USC.

In Big Red Book Payroll click the Settings Icon, and then click on the PayPath tab.

You may need to contact your bank:

To register with your bank for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and/or SEPA

There are two formats available in Big Red Book Payroll for PayPath: SEPA and Standard 18. You can verify with your bank which one to use.

You may need to contact you bank to get an Owner Identifier (for Standard 18) or a SEPA Originator Number (for SEPA), unique to you, which is necessary for the bank to process the PayPath file you will produce.

The Settings > Paypath Screen

SEPA or Standard 18:
Big Red Book Payroll allows you to use Standard 18 or SEPA.

If you wish to use SEPA:

To use SEPA tick Use SEPA

SEPA OIN

This is the SEPA Originator Identifier Number. This is provided by your bank when you register for SEPA, sometimes referred to as ‘Creditor Identifier’.

BIC:

The Bank Identifer Code for your bank.

IBAN:

The International Bank Account Number for your bank account.

File Reference:

Each SEPA file must have a unique File Reference, this enables the bank to check for duplicate files being submitted and is also used when reporting any issues with a transaction. When a file is being submitted the system will append the date and time to this reference.

Treatment of non-standard letters in Bank Account Name:

This varies by bank. The options are to Leave, Replace or Strip Out any characters outside the standard character set.

If you wish to use Standard 18:

Volume Serial Number (Identifier).
There is no set format for ‘Volume Serial Number’, it can be any six letters or numbers. Spaces are not allowed. All zeros are not allowed.
Other information to enter:
You can also enter your, Bank Account Name, Bank Branch Sort Code and Owner Identifier.

Default Paypath File Location (Applicable to both SEPA and Standard 18):
You can select somewhere on your PC where you would like the Paypath files to save when you create them.

Other Information:

Ensure to click Save when you are happy with the information entered to the Paypath screen.

When all the necessary information is provided you will be able to produce a Paypath file with your payroll information which you can upload to your bank to make the payments to your employees by Credit Transfer.

It’s important to note that while Big Red Book Payroll does allow you to create paypath files on your machine, Big Red Book Payroll does NOT send/upload the file for you to your bank account.

In Big Red Book Payroll click the Settings Icon, and then click on the PRSA tab.

Before you can setup PRSA details for employees you must first setup PRSA Providers and Schemes to which they will subscribe.

To Add a PRSA Provider click on the Add button. The following screen will appear and details of the PRSA Provider and the Schemes they offer can be added. Click Save when done.

The new PRSA schemes will now be available in the PRSA Setup tab in Employee Details.

In Big Red Book Payroll click the Settings Icon, and then click on the Preferences tab.

On this tab you can:

Select the Default Wage Interval.

Select the Payslip Language.

Screen Font Size (The default font size is 8 – you can select 9 or 10 to increase the font size for the Employee and Time-sheet entry screens.)

Set the Default Backup Location.

ROS Files Save Location: Set the location where ROS files will be saved.

Time Sheet Import Files Location: Set the default location for Time Sheet Import Files.

Ensure to click Save once you are happy with any changes you make to that screen.

In Big Red Book Payroll click the Settings Icon, and then click on the Email Settings tab.

Sent Items and BCC:

When you send payslips by emails from Big Red Payroll, they may or may not show in your Sent Items folder in your email account.

You can still track them however, by entering your email address into the BCC Emails To box. That way it will send a copy of the payslips when you email them, to your email address.

Message:

If you want to put a message into the email, you can type it into the Body box e.g. ‘Please find payslip attached’.

Keeping PDFs of Payslips after sending them:

Tick the Keep Payslip PDFs after sending if you want Big Red Book Payroll to save a PDF of the payslip into a folder on your machine.

Email Method:

Under Email Method there are two options. Select the one you wish to use: SMTP Server OR Email Client.

SMTP Server

You can select this option if you wish to send emails directly from your email server, or from the likes of gmail, office365 etc.

Enter the:

Outgoing Mail Server:

For example gmail’s is smtp.gmail.com

From Email:

The email address you wish to send the emails from.

Port:

The Port/ Port Number, e.g. 25, 465, or 587

ISP Defaults:

The ‘ISP Defaults’ button allows you to select the default SMTP server and Port for some of the most common email providers e.g. gmail, office365 etc.

Does the Outgoing Server require Authentication?

If the outgoing server requires authentication, then enter the User Name and Password:

User Name:

This might be the email address you are sending the emails from, or it might be the portion of that email address before the @ symbol, for example support@bigredbook.com would be support

Password:

This might be your email password or you may be required to create an App Password within your email account, and to enter that App Password into the password box. There is a Show Password button which allows you to see the password you typed.

Click Save when you are happy with the settings you selected.

Email Client

You can choose this option if you wish to send the emails via your email program (i.e. from the default email program installed on your machine).

Emails will be created one at a time and displayed for Review, where you can click Send on each to send. Or to skip the display of each email you can select the option Send without reviewing each email?’ Depending on your Email Client (Outlook, Eudora etc.) and security settings on your system you may have to confirm ‘Allow’ for each email as it is sent.

A copy will likely be made in your Sent Items folder in your email account.
Click Save when you are happy with the settings you selected.

Employee Email Settings:

Next, go to Employees, and select an employee that you wish to email a payslip to, and click the Bank/email/payslip tab.

Email Payslip:

Tick the ‘Email Payslip?’ box.

Email address:

Enter the email address of the employee.

Email for payslips:

Enter the email address of the employee.

Payslip Password:

Enter a unique 4 characters password for the employee, which they will need in order to able to open the PDF of the payslip when they receive the email.

Payslip Note:

You can add a note to the payslip for that employee e.g. please see holiday pay.

Click Save & Close once you are happy with your selection.