Quarterly Wage - Best Practices

Verify Human Resources Profile setup

• Verify the information in the following fields on the Human Resources Profile page:

  • Client

  • System

  • Company

• Verify the information in the following fields on the Human Resources Profile - State page: 

  • Federal EIN

  • State Employer Account Number

  • Blocking Factor

• Verify the information in the fields on the Federal/State Reporting tab of the Human Resources Profile page. 

Prepare and sanitize employee data

• Run data quality checks on employee records and ensure the following fields are populated correctly before generating the report:

  • General section: Social Security, First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Suffix

  • Employment tab: Hire Date, Last Day Worked

  • Personnel tab: Location

• Verify the information on the Payroll tab on the Employee Information page.

• Verify the information in the following fields on the Payroll Information - State Required page:

  • Weeks Paid Tot

  • Worksite Code

  • Qtrwage Rpt

Verify W2 Employer Setup

Ensure the fields on the W2 Wizard: W2 Parameters page are complete and populated correctly.

Verify Payroll Data

• Ensure all payroll calculations for the reporting quarter are complete.

• Confirm that check history records exist for all pay runs in the quarter.

• Verify that quarterly earnings in the payroll table are accurate.

Use the correct Pay Runs

• When loading data, specify the exact pay runs for each month of the quarter.

• Do not use asterisks (*) as wildcards for pay run selection.

• Include all pay runs that should be counted for monthly employment indicators.

Review existing data before loading

• If records already exist for the reporting quarter/year, the system will prompt to delete them before loading.

• Consider exporting or reviewing existing data before overwriting if manual corrections were made.

Run the load process before each report

Always load fresh data from the check history before creating the electronic file.

Review and correct the loaded data

On the OH Quarterly Wage page, review the loaded records:

• Verify the record count matches expectations.

• Check for employees with unusual wage amounts.

• Correct any data issues before generating the electronic file.

Update Weeks Paid as needed

• Use the Weeks option to mass-update the Weeks Paid Tot field on the Payroll Information - State Required page for multiple employees at once.

• The valid range is 0-14 weeks per quarter.

• Weeks greater than 13 will be automatically capped at 13 during the load process.

Manually add missing employees

Use the Add Record option on the OH Quarterly Wage page to manually add employees who were not loaded automatically. This may be necessary for:

• Employees paid outside the normal payroll process.

• Coaches or contractors with special payment arrangements.

Generate the Hard Copy report first

Run the hard copy report before creating the electronic file. Review the report for:

• Correct employee count

• Accurate wage totals

• Proper quarterly totals

Verify totals

• Compare the report totals against your payroll records.

• Ensure the total quarterly wages match your expectations.

• Verify the month-by-month employee counts are accurate.

Check the error log

• After creating the report, check if any employees were excluded.

• If the message "Some employees not reported" appears, review the error log file.

• Correct any employees with negative quarterly wages before regenerating.

Validate the State UI Account Number

Ensure the State ID Code contains only numeric digits (no dashes).

ODJFS will reject files with dashes in the State UI Account Number.

Review the electronic file name

The default file name is L<first 7 digits of State ID Code><last 2 digits of reporting year><reporting quarter>.txt.

Verify the file name contains the correct State ID Code, year, and quarter.

Validate before submission

• Open the generated .txt file and verify the record structure.

• Confirm the A (Address), E (Employer), S (Employee), T (Total), and F (Final) records are present.

• Verify employee SSNs are formatted correctly (9 digits, no dashes).

Missing employees

Verify all employees have valid information on the Payroll Information - State Required page and are not flagged for exclusion.

Incorrect weeks paid

Review and update the Weeks Paid Tot field on the Payroll Information - State Required page.

Negative wages error

Investigate and correct check history adjustments that result in negative quarterly totals.

Rejected file due to dashes

Ensure the State ID Code contains only numbers with no dashes or special characters.

Wrong quarter data

Always verify the Reporting Quarter and Reporting Year on the OH Quarterly Wage - Setup page before loading and reporting.

Duplicate employees

The system automatically combines wages for employees with the same employee number. Verify this is the desired behavior.

Run the report after the quarter-end payroll is complete

• Wait until all payroll for the quarter has been calculated and finalized.

• Ensure any payroll adjustments or corrections for the quarter are complete.

Allow time for corrections

• Generate the report at least one week before the ODJFS deadline.

• This allows time to identify and correct any data issues.

Keep backup copies

• Save a copy of the electronic file before submission.

• Print and retain the hard copy report for your records.