PeopleSoft HRMS Reporting

by Adam Bromwich

Overview

Make your company's PeopleSoft investment pay off! Create the accurate, insightful reports you need, first time, every time, with PeopleSoft HRMS Reporting-the only complete guide to PeopleSoft reporting.

• The Complete and Authoritative Guide to Retrieving Data from PeopleSoft's Human Resource Management System

PeopleSoft specialist Adam Bromwich presents authoritative guidance on the successful design of PeopleSoft HRMS databases and reports for superior performance, ease of use, and value. Learn how the PeopleSoft database is organized-functionally and technically; review its key tables; and understand how PeopleSoft's online capabilities are linked to the relational database beneath them.

 

Discover how you can:

• Access your data directly, using Structured Query Language (SQL) and via PeopleSoft's powerful Structured Query Reports (SQR) language
• Design better tables and reports for HR, Payroll, and Benefits
• Construct more comprehensive queries
• Avoid expensive pitfalls in PeopleSoft table design

Bromwich reveals the hidden decisions PeopleSoft HR developers must make. How does calculating a payroll affect paycheck data? When does an effective dated table cause major headaches? Where is the accurate data stored and which tables should be left alone? You'll find common routines for retrieving functional data, techniques for slashing costly debugging and maintenance, and much more.

 

PeopleSoft HRMS Reporting is the only independent guide to real-world PeopleSoft reporting. And it's based on the unmatched experience of one of the world's leading PeopleSoft experts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780137015702
Publisher:	Pearson Education
Publication date:	09/09/1999
Series:	Prentice Hall PTR Enterprise Resource Planning Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	464
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Adam Bromwich is a consultant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers specializing in PeopleSoft implementations.

Table of Contents

I. PEOPLESOFT BASICS.

1. PeopleSoft HRMS: The Basics.

An Introduction to the PeopleSoft HRMS Database. Types of Tables. Base Table (i.e.,PS_PERSONAL_DATA, PS_JOB). Control Table (i.e.,PS_EARNINGS_TBL). Views (i.e.,PS_BENEFITS_VW). Reporting Tables (i.e.,PS_EMPLOYEES). Application Tables (i.e.,PSTREENODE). The Non-Table: Sub-Records. The Core Base Tables. Using the Application Designer To Find Table Definitions. Querying Tables. Cross-Referencing Fields. Cross-Referencing Panels and Tables. Looking for Comments. Searching the Code. PeopleSoft Processes. Dissecting a PeopleSoft Table. Identifying the Elements: A Look at a Table. PeopleSoft HRMS Basics: A Review.

2. Effective Dating.

The Effective Date Defined. Considering the Desired Results when Using Effective Dates. The Basic Effective-Date Sub-Query. Using an As-Of Date To Exclude Future Rows. Using Additional Criteria with A Sub-Query.

3. Understanding Control Tables.

Structure of a Control Table. Adding a Control Table to A Query. Using Effective Status. Merging Effective Dated Data across Tables (Point-in-Time Queries). Finding Translate Values.

4. Reporting Tables–An Overview.

Reporting Tables–An Overview. The Employees Table (PS_EMPLOYEES). The Benefits Plan Data Table (PS_BEN_PLAN_DATA). The Benefits Personal Data Table (PS_BEN_PER_DATA). The Employees Table. Improving the PS_EMPLOYEES Table. The Benefits Tables. Looking at PS_BEN_PLAN_DATA. Using the Benefits Tables Together: PS_BENEFITS_DATA. Enrollment Date. Views. Keeping a Level Head: Positives and Negatives. Views You Can Use.

5. System-Wide Key Structure.

The PeopleSoft Business Unit. Using Business Units with SetIDs. The Set ID. Relational Requirements. Determining the Appropriate SetID in a Query.

II. HUMAN RESOURCES.

6. Personal Information.

Personal Data. Identifying Employees: The Employee ID. The PeopleSoft Name Format. The Resident Address and Phone. Non-Employees on PS_PERSONAL_DATA. Original Hire Date. Birth Information. Education Status. Referrals. Citizenship Status. Strange, but Important Fields. Personal Data for Other Countries. Understanding Effective-Dated Personal Data. Name Differences. Using Social Security Numbers In PeopleSoft. The NID Table and Identifiers. National IDs. Querying the National ID.

7. The Job Table.

Identifying Jobs on PS_JOB. Storing History: Effective Sequence. When Did It Happen? Tracking Actions. Actions and Action Reasons. Overlapping Changes. Job Table Flags. Linking Employees to Common Data. Entry Dates. Human Resources Settings. Payroll Settings. Company and Paygroup. Tracking Hourly Employees and FTE. Other Payroll Identifiers. Compensation. Benefits Settings. Benefits Status. Benefits Base Rate. Custom Fields. FLSA Status.

8. Status.

The Employee Status Field. The Status Date. Finding the Date of the First Action. The Long-Term Disability Issue. Using Two Job Table Rows. Simplifying Job Table Data with a Modification.

9. Compensation History.

Determining the Rate. Detecting Changes in Pay.

10. Position/Job History.

The Jobcode Table. Major Fields on the JobCode Table. JobCode History. Position Management. Position Tables and the Job Table.

11. Corporate Hierarchy.

Understanding the Use of Departments. The Department Table. Basic Department Settings. Manager ID. General Ledger Account Number. The Department Tree. Behind the Scenes. Queries That Use the Tree. PeopleSoft Query Method. Tree Navigation Alternative. Storing Department Tree History.

12. Employment Information.

The Employment Table. Multiple Sets of Employment Data. Multiple Benefits Selections. Employees on Global Assignments. Dates of Employment. Hire/Rehire Date. Length of Service. Expected Return from Leave of Absence. Using Termination Date and Last Day Worked. Pay Increases. Probation Date. Position Management Fields. Business Title. Reports-To Position Number. Supervisor ID. Phone Subrecord. Payroll Settings. Deductions and Deduction Subsets. Paycheck Distribution. Paycheck Name. Payroll System. Benefits Administration Flag.

13. Background Information.

Competencies vs Accomplishments. Accomplishments. Accomplishment Values. Identifying an Accomplishment. Employee Accomplishments. Linking Accomplishments by Category.

III. PAYROLL.

14. Working with Payroll Data.

Payroll Tables. Looking at a Specific Payroll Run. Using the Paycheck Table with Payroll Queries. Payroll Keys. The Current Payroll. Pay Run ID. Payroll Dates. Multiple Jobs. Taking Deductions. General Ledger. The Payroll Process. 1. Paysheets. 2. Payroll Calculation. 3. Payroll Confirmation. Error Resolution. Identifying Payroll Process Achievements. Batch Processing Payroll Data. Associating Batch Requirements with Payroll Dates. Accumulators and Buckets.

15. The Paycheck.

How Do Checks Get Created? The Paycheck Table. The Rest of the Payroll Keys. Alternate Keys for Finding a Check. Delivering Paychecks. Paycheck Accounting. How Much Did I Get? Different Kinds of Paychecks. Adjustments. Reprints. Online Check. Manual Check. Final Checks.

16. Earnings.

Defining Earnings. Earn Codes. Defining an Earning: The Earnings Table. Retrieving Earnings for an Employee. The Pay Earnings Table. Feeding PeopleSoft.

17. Deductions.

Getting to Know Deductions. Deduction Code and Class. Defining a Deduction: The Deduction Table. Enrolling Employees in Deductions. The General Deduction Tables. Verifying Eligibility. Retrieving Deductions. The Pay Deduction Table. The Query.

18. Taxes.

Tax Locations. State and Locality. The Other States. Tax Location Code. Defining a Tax. Tax Class. Local Taxes. State and Federal Taxes. Tax Type/ Rates. Employee Tax Elections. Special Withholding/Allowances. FICA and EIC. W-2 Settings. State Settings. Local Settings. Retrieving Taxes. The Pay Tax Table.

19. Garnishments.

Setting Up Garnishments. Employee Garnishment Specifications. Retrieving Garnishments. The Pay Garnish Table. An Accounts Payable Interface.

20. Year-End Processing: The W-2.

The W-2 Design. W-2 Parameters. Auditing Data Using Delivered Reports. Limitations and Multiple W-2s. Using W-2 Tables.

IV. BENEFITS.

21. Navigating Benefits.

An Introduction to Benefits. Understanding Benefits Administration. Basic Benefits Terminology and Setup. Benefit Plans and Plan Type. Benefits Programs. Defining a Benefit Program. Defining Plan and Plan Type Settings for a Program. Linking Plans with a Program Using Options. Specifying Benefit Plan Settings. Special Plan Type Rows. Retrieving Common Benefit Plan Characteristics. Benefit Program Costs. Benefits Control Tables. Base Benefits Control Tables. Benefits Administration Control Tables. A Control Table Summary: Looking at Benefits ID Fields. The Benefits Administration Process. BAS Activity/ Manual Entry. On-Demand Event Maintenance. Tracking PeopleSoft Benefits. Benefits Interfaces. Benefits Reports.

22. Health and Life Plan Elections.

Health Enrollments. Elections. Dates. Determining the Current Enrollments. Finding the Most Recent Transaction Date. Finding the Enrollment Date. Locating a 'Termination'. Life Plans. Determining Coverage Amounts. Coverage Groups.

23. Dependents and Beneficiaries.

How Are Dependents and Beneficiaries Stored? Locating All Dependents for a Participant. Using Dependent/Beneficiary Type. Specifying relationships. The National ID. Determining Dependent Coverage. Dependent Enrollment Date.

24. Rates.

Rate Tables. Age. Service. Salary. Flat Rate. Service Steps. Calculation Rules. Looking Up a Rate.

V. QUERY AND SQR TOOLS.

25. PeopleSoft Query.

Query Basics. Accessing and Setting Up Query. Creating a Query. Outputting/Viewing the Query. Advanced Query Topics. Aggregating Totals. Finding Distinct. Custom Sub-Queries. Joining Tables with Unions. Using PeopleSoft Trees. Expressions. Prompts/Parameters. Issues (status records, others).

26. Using SQR with PeopleSoft.

Other References. Why SQR? Using SQR with PeopleSoft. Considering Validations. Types of SQRs. Basic SQR Nested Query. Understanding Delivered SQR Programs. Common Modules. Basic Common Module Calls. Running Delivered SQRs. Delivered Parameter Processing. Customization. Common Modules to Build. Template. Debugging SQR Programs. Advanced SQR Features. Understanding the Printing Process. Dynamic SQL Clauses. Arrays.

Appendix A: Reporting Tables.

Employees. Benefits_data.

Appendix B: PeopleSoft Query Performance/Fast Security.

Query Security Overview. The Fast Security Solution.

Appendix C: Delivered SQR Common Modules.
Index.

Preface

Preface

All too often individuals are not aware of what is going on at the other end of an implementation. Programmers do not understand the reasons behind requirements, and human resources professionals (the users) do not understand the limitations of the application. When PeopleSoft users and programmers understand each other's concerns, a better product results every time. This book bridges this gap. The material in the chapters that follow answers questions related to specific human resources issues, and then goes on to explain how to implement real solutions. The philosophy is simple — technical and functional individuals should be exposed to as much of the other's viewpoint as possible. You cannot separate the two without generating greater confusion.

As a result, this book is organized by function: human resources, payroll, and benefits. Within each function the structure, features and pitfalls of the PeopleSoft database are explained in detail.

There are many items that are not covered in depth. The online application, where users enter transactions and process data, is better left to PeopleSoft's documentation and online PeopleBooks literature. The PeopleTools, which assist in one-time tasks such as modifying a panel or uploading converted data, are also well-documented elsewhere.

Why are these items not covered in this book? Because they have little to do with the issues that truly make or break an implementation. The PeopleSoft online application and tools are important skills, but they do not reveal the underlying data structure — if anything, they conceal it. And this creates misunderstandings between those who interact every day with the online application, and those who report on the data directly.

This book also does not provide detailed explanations of standard reporting languages. You will note, however, that examples of reporting code are often shown to clarify an important issue or provide a solution. These examples assume a basic knowledge of how a relational database is organized. A rudimentary understanding of Structured Query Language (SQL) is also useful, even if it is limited to the basic meanings of the SELECT/FROM/WHERE terminology.

Knowledge of basic Structured Query Reporting (SQR) language, a language provided with PeopleSoft, is only necessary for the final chapter, Chapter 26. This final chapter demonstrates some advanced SQR techniques and also details many of the advantages and pitfalls of using SQR.

In sum, this book contains a great deal of information, much of it garnered from experience. It does not contain everything — to do so would occupy volumes and volumes. Instead, this book is a detailed guide to the PeopleSoft database, concentrating only on the areas you will encounter the most. It explains how the underlying database relates to the core PeopleSoft functions, such as payroll calculation and benefits administration. It explains each table and field, and how they relate to one another. This book is not simply a reference tool — it is a critical guide to how PeopleSoft works behind the scenes.

To help you derive benefits from this book long after you've purchased and read it, go to the Prentice Hall PTR ERP Series Companion Website. This website is designed to keep you up-to-date with the latest tools, techniques, information, and data on Enterprise Resource Planning technologies. You'll find this Companion Website to be a great information kiosk, one that you may go back to again and again and again. So go to: http://www.phptr/erp