As year-end approaches more and more companies are waking up to the impact of Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting and asking how it is handled in Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Who is impacted by the ACA employer mandate?

First of all, the only companies immediately not affected by implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate are those with fewer than 50 full-time employees or 50 full-time equivalents.

So that means that many of our clients are affected and need to be prepared.

What needs to be done by January 1, 2015?

Determining initial eligibility for continuing employees with respect to meeting the 30-hour threshold for full-time designation must be done prior to January 1, 2015. This means that, by January 1, 2015, you need to:

  • Have determined eligibility of continuing employees for employer-provided health care coverage.
  • Offered coverage to all full-time employees, including variable-hour employees determined to be full-time.
  • Signed up the employees that accepted this coverage, with the coverage being effective no later than January 1, 2015.

Are there exceptions?

The only exceptions to this requirement above are companies that have non-calendar year plans which were in place on December 27, 2012 and have since had no alternation as to the plan start and end dates. For the limited period of time in 2015 where such a plan will go from 2014 to 2015, those employers will be exempt from Shared Responsibility Payments penalties until the new plan year begins in 2015.  

For 2015 only, employers with more than 50 full-time employees and equivalents but fewer than 100 will not be required to submit reporting to the IRS in January 2016 about employee data in 2015. Those employers will, however, still be required to provide their ACA-defined employees with IRS Form 1095-C.

In what scenarios will Microsoft’s ACA changes work for Dynamics GP Payroll?

Microsoft’s ACA changes will work for Dynamics GP Payroll if:

  • Payroll is processed on a single database.
  • You have a stable workforce of primarily full-time employees who are paid above-minimum wage.
  • You have a limited number of part-time employees, all of whom have consistent hours.
  • You are running Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 or Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 R2.  (Add on tools work with previous versions)

What is not included in Microsoft’s ACA changes for Dynamics GP?

  • Microsoft will track data for hours worked and deductions.  Additional fields will be added in the Human Resources module for dependents and coverage type.   Microsoft will not include reporting to track eligibility and affordability. This must be done manually or with an add on tool.
  • Though Dynamics GP will be generating forms for distribution to full-time employees, determining ACA full-time status of employees will NOT be automated in GP.
  • Dynamics GP will not handle reporting for multiple payroll databases, however it should be possible using SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services) or an add on tool can be used.
  • An ACA reality is that annual reporting for companies that are commonly controlled or affiliated must be done on a consolidated basis and that determination of individual employee eligibility must be done on an aggregated basis.  This should able be possible using SSRS or an add on tool can be used.

What add-on tools are available for ACA reporting in Dynamics GP?

There are several tools available as add-on options to extend the ACA reporting functionality in Microsoft Dynamics GP. We suggest that you evaluate:

Read Sypnio Interview: All the Facts About Affordable Care Act (ACA) Reporting in Microsoft Dynamics GP

 

At CAL Business Solutions we want to give our clients suggestions to help them navigate the tricky waters of ACA compliance. However, we are Dynamics GP software experts, not ACA experts.

NOTE: You should ALWAYS speak to your tax professional for complete details to confirm compliance.

CAL clients can contact us for Microsoft Dynamics GP year end and payroll processing assistance at support@calszone.com or 860-485-0910 x3.

Attend the CAL Year End Closing Webinar Training on Thursday December 11, 2014. Details & Registration

 

By CAL Business Solutions, Connecticut Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner,  www.calszone.com