Preparation Checklists for W2s, ACA, and 1099s in Skyward

It’s that time of year again. With 2018 just a few short weeks away, now is the time to complete final preparations for W2s, the ACA, and 1099s.

You can check out SkyDoc for more detailed documentation about each of these processes, but we’ve created a game plan you can start with now. Our goal is to help you close out the fourth quarter in peak form so you can hit the ground running next year.

1.	If this is the first time you’re going to be filing with the IRS, be sure you have your TCC code. Note that it can take up to two weeks to get this code.

2.	Make sure all your deduction and benefit information values are flagged correctly. This can be done on the code setup or while creating the W2 audit.

3.	When running the W2 audit, verify the employer setup information for printed W2s.

Run the W2 audit to ensure your employees are set up correctly and that all pay, deductions, and benefits to be reported on the W2s are correct. Also, be sure all deductions and benefits that need to be reported on are selected.

Run a report of your W2 workfile for fatal exceptions only. If any fatal exceptions are encountered, fix these in Employee Profile or through manual checks.
Run a report of all employees in your W2 workfile to verify their W2 records.
If your district’s employees have local taxes, run the W2 Annual Wage and Tax Summary Report and the W2 Annual Wage and Withholding Report.
Exceptions you encounter may include: social security exceptions, address truncation, negative amounts encountered on the W2, federal and state wages differing by more than $1, etc. You can either make these corrections in Employee Profile or through manual checks.

Decide how you want to make printed W2s available. There are three options:

Employee-printed: You can reduce costs by delivering W2s, 1099s, and 1095s to employees electronically via Employee Access. Note that if an employee prefers, he or she can still choose to print the forms, but you’ll save money by not automatically printing one for everyone. If you choose this route, you can configure settings to notify employees in Employee Access.
District-printed: If you prefer to print and distribute your own forms, one of your options is to place an order through Nelco.
Skyward-printed: We would also be happy to print your forms. If you’d like to place an order, go to https://support.skyward.com/ and log in. Then, from the Bulletin Board tab, choose W2/1099/1095 Processing Information For 2017.

	If this is the first time you’re going to be filing with the IRS, be sure you have your TCC code. Note that it can take up to two weeks to get this code.
	If you haven’t previously submitted your 1094s/1095s electronically, create and send your ACA File Communication Test. This test gets you into production status so you can submit forms electronically. If you’ve submitted electronically in previous years, you can skip this step.
	If you’ve been tracking employee hours, use the ACA Hours Tracker to help ensure your offer of coverage codes are correct.
	Run the ACA 1095 Tracker to ensure all employees have the correct offer of coverage codes for each month of the year. If your district is self-insured, ensure each month’s offer of coverage code has the correct covered individuals.
	If you discover any mistakes or discrepancies in your offer of coverage codes, go back to Employee Profile and make any necessary changes.
	Decide how you want to make printed 1095s available. There are three options: Employee-printed: You can reduce costs by delivering W2s, 1099s, and 1095s to employees electronically via Employee Access. Note that if an employee prefers, he or she can still choose to print the forms, but you’ll save money by not automatically printing one for everyone. If you choose this route, you can configure settings to notify employees in Employee Access. District-printed: If you prefer to print and distribute your own forms, one of your options is to place an order through Nelco. Skyward-printed: We would also be happy to print your forms. If you’d like to place an order, go to https://support.skyward.com/ and log in. Then, from the Bulletin Board tab, choose W2/1099/1095 Processing Information For 2017.

	Use Vendor Browse or Data Mining to verify that 1099 information is correct for each of the vendors you plan to submit a form for.
	Run the Vendor Payment Report for all vendors, including SBAA vendors if applicable.
	Run the same vendor payment report for only 1099 and SBAA vendors that have payments over $600.
	Compare the report results to see if you’re missing any vendors or payments from the second report. For any missing vendors in the second report, go back and make sure vendor 1099 information from step 1 is set up correctly. For any missing payments, go back to the invoices and make sure they are all marked as 1099-reportable.
	Decide how you want to make printed 1099s available. There are two options: District-printed: If you prefer to print and distribute your own forms, one of your options is to place an order through Nelco. Skyward-printed: We would also be happy to print your forms. If you’d like to place an order, go to https://support.skyward.com/ and log in. Then, from the Bulletin Board tab, choose W2/1099/1095 Processing Information For 2017.

Prepping for W2s, the ACA, and 1099s

Read more from Skyward