5 Really Important Things You Must Do Now to Prepare for Year-End

As your BFFs in payroll, we understand that year-end can be a little (ahem) stressful. We also know that, when it comes to accurately filing your T4s, T4As and RL-1s, the secret sauce is all in your payroll data.

So we’ve created this list of items for you to review within your Wagepoint account to ensure a smooth and compliant year-end for your small business or accounting/bookkeeping clients.

While you can go through these steps anytime before January, our best BFF-y advice is that you start this process as early as possible so that you can spot any potential red flags with enough time to make corrections, ask questions and avoid last-minute headaches.

1. Make sure that you’ve finalized at least two (2) payrolls within Wagepoint in the 2021 calendar year.

That’s the magic number needed in order to submit your year-end documents (T4s, T4As and RL-1s) using Wagepoint. If you’re not sure whether you ran two payrolls, have a peek at your reports to confirm that you qualify. If not, don’t worry! Going through this list early means you should still have enough time to run additional payrolls in this calendar year.

2. Choose your own adventure (aka toggle setting).

This one is key! Please confirm that you’ve correctly set your “Auto-submit tax forms” status in Settings > Account Settings to indicate how you’d like your year-end forms handled.

• The toggle is set to “Yes” by default, unless you have changed this setting in the past. Set the toggle to “Yes” if you wish for Wagepoint to automatically file your year-end forms with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Revenu Québec (RQ) on your behalf.
• Set the toggle to “No” if you wish to DIY,  submitting your own tax forms to the government and your employees.
• Please note that you will not be able to change the auto-submit tax form setting in your account during the submission period: February 22, 2021 from 12 am ET until March 1, 2021 at 12 am ET.

3. Review your reports.

If preemptively spotting year-end errors feels as daunting as finding Waldo, we’ve got a report for that. Run these reports now to get a “big picture” view of your year-end data.

• Use the Year-to-date report (Reports > More > Year to date report) to see all your employees’ year-end data up to the latest pay run. You can use this to do checks throughout the year so you know what to expect at year-end, as well as a final review in November/December.
• NEW! Use the new T4/T4A/RL-1 export to view, in spreadsheet (CVS) form, all of your year-end information for your employees/contractors as it will appear on their actual T4s, T4As and RL-1s. Think of it as a quick balance check that will show you all your data at a glance and allow you to spot and correct any errors before submitting the real deal. To create it, navigate to Reports > More > Reports library and scroll down to “T4/T4A/RL1 Data Export (2021)”. All three files (if applicable), will be available for download at once.

⚡ A little heads up:  RL-1 summaries must be received at the Revenu Québec office on or before February 28, 2022. Please mail or courier them early enough to allow for timely delivery. 

• Compare the Remittance report (Reports > More > Remittance report) in Wagepoint against the Statement of Account you receive from the CRA / RQ.
• Please also take time this month to confirm payroll account numbers and remittance schedules.

4. Verify employee details.

A tiny mistake in an employee’s information can create headaches when submitting your year-end forms, especially if this happens for multiple employees at once. To keep your year-end smooth sailing, now is the perfect time to verify details for all active and terminated employees. Check for things like first name, last name, SIN, address and tax settings.

• If you will require a T4 or RL-1 for an employee that has not yet been added to your payroll account, please ensure that you enter this person’s data in the app before you run your last payroll for 2021. Learn more.
• If you will require a T4A for a contractor that has not yet been added to your payroll account, please ensure that you enter this person’s data in the app before you run your last payroll for 2021. Learn more.

Special note for contractors in Québec

Wagepoint is unable to produce T4As or RL-1s for contractors in Québec without an RQ number. As the employer, you will need to produce, and submit, these year-end documents outside of Wagepoint.

⚡ Now is a great time to make sure that all of your employees are able to access their Wagepoint employee portals, where their T4s, T4As or RL-1s will be posted in 2022. Ask your team to test whether they are able to log in. No luck? You can easily view each employee/contractor’s user ID and set a temporary password for their account. Follow these instructions. 

5. Think early about bonus runs.

Many employers leave bonus payroll runs until the last week of the year, to coincide with holidays, year-end bonuses and more. But doing so can be risky if you plan to have the bonus payroll included in the employee’s 2021 T4, T4A or RL-1. That’s because the payment date could fall in 2022 if the payroll is processed late in 2021 (especially due to holiday bank closures, which could impact processing timelines.)

To ensure that year-end documents reflect your bonus amounts, please process any bonus payroll runs:

• Before December 24, 2021 so that it is paid before January 1, 2022 (Direct deposit).
• Before December 30, 2021 so that it is paid before December 31, 2021 (Cheque or e-transfer).

Bonus tip for accounting and bookkeeping partners

November is a great time to also start thinking about your year-end support plan for your clients. Consider designating a payroll specialist (or two!) on your team that can help to guide your clients through the year-end process and address their specific scenarios. Of course, Wagepoint will be here to support you and your people, too.

We’re here to help.

Contact Wagepoint’s customer support by submitting a ticket directly within the app, or sending us an email to support@wagepoint.com.

⚡ Want to learn more?

Access other important year-end goodies in your Year-End Survival KIT.

• 2022 Statutory Holidays In Canada
• When Should I Process Payroll For The 2021-2022 Winter Holidays?
• 5 Really Important Things You Must Do Now to Prepare for Year-End
• Timelines and Tips for 2021 Year-End Documents (T4s, T4As and RL-1s)
• A Canadian Small Business Employer’s Guide to T4s, T4As and RL-1s
• Notes on Taxes and Remittances
• Worker’s Compensation Rates for 2022
• Year-End Payroll Checklist (Canadian Accounting Partner)
• Year-End Payroll Checklist (Canadian Small Business)
• Wagepoint’s Holiday Availability (Canada)
• Don’t Be Haunted By Payroll Errors This Year-End

Written by Kasia Wind

Kasia Wind is a Strategic Communications and Projects Manager at Wagepoint. As a kid, she wanted to become a talk show host like Jenny Jones (it didn't work out). A believer that storytelling is the best way to connect, Kasia has created content for audiences including small businesses, bodybuilders and doctors. Oddly, her own stories often involve getting injured in hilarious ways.

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