Payroll and Job Costing are two areas that constantly interact, yet they often feel like they speak completely different languages. If you have ever looked at the GL entries created during payroll posting and wondered “Where did these numbers come from?” — you are not alone.

This guide breaks that mystery down.

By the end, you will have a clear picture of how payroll flows through the GL and into Job Cost, giving you the confidence to troubleshoot entries, understand reports, and communicate more effectively with accounting and project teams.

1. What You Need on the Timecard

To send payroll costs to Job Cost, each timecard line must have:

·      Job

·      Phase

If either one is missing, nothing goes to Job Cost.

2. What Happens When Payroll Posts?

When payroll is posted, the system creates two journal entries:

·      Journal Entry #1: Records payroll costs

·      Journal Entry #2: Moves those costs to Job Cost

Example 1 – An office employee not charged to the job

The PR Department houses the GL Accounts by Earn types (which can group types). On the Earning Types Tab, you will see Earnings Expense on the grid along with JC Applied Earnings which we will chat about momentarily.

On the Liability Types Tab, you will see the Burden Expense. PR Earning Codes (Regular, Overtime, Bonus) will hold the Earn Type. PR Deductions/Liabilities, every deduction, and liability must have a credit account.

The PR Department is where you assign GL accounts for earnings and liabilities. The PR Department will not have direct cost accounts assigned to it, here you will assign indirect or general & administrative accounts.

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DEBIT________________________/___________ CREDIT

Earnings Expense                                           Cash(PR Group)                                

Burden Expense                                             Deductions (PR Deductions/Liability)

                                                                        Liabilities (PR Deductions/Liability)

Example 2 – A field employee charged to the job – simple example

The PR Department houses the GL Accounts by Earn types (which can group types). On the Earning Types Tab, you will see Earnings Expense on the grid along with JC Applied earnings.

PR Earning Codes (Regular, Overtime, Bonus) will hold the JC Cost Type, this is what drives the Cost Type assigned when a timecard is entered with a job and phase, an example would be CT: 1 Labor.

Same as the office employee for the first part

The first JE is for what happens based in payroll. The second moves values from payroll to job cost.

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PR Department

DEBIT______________________/________ CREDIT

Earnings Expense                                   Cash(PR Group)                                

Burden Expense                                      Deductions (PR Deductions/Liability)

                                                                Liabilities (PR Deductions/Liability)

Reversal Entry

DEBIT____________________/__________CREDIT

JC Applied Earnings                             Earning Expense                                  

JC Applied Burden                                Burden Expense

JC Department

The Job Cost Department is where you assign the debit GL accounts. JC Applied Burden is the credit account when sending payroll items to Job Cost. The JC Department contains the GL Accounts for the direct cost. Cost Types are used to setup the open and closed WIP (work in progress) accounts for each cost type you specify.

By using a JC Liability Template, you can use this to define how Payroll burden (Employer-paid Liabilities) is charged to Job Cost. Once you have defined the liability templates you plan to use, you can assign them to jobs in JC Jobs.

DEBIT___________________/____________________________  CREDIT

JC Dept Earnings (Cost Type or Overrides)                       JC Applied Earnings                                  

JC Dept Liabilities (Cost Type or Overrides)                     JC Applied Burden

Once you understand that payroll uses PR Department accounts for the first journal entry and JC Department accounts for the second, the whole payroll‑to‑job‑cost process becomes much easier to follow. When the cost moves to Job Cost, the JC Department accounts receive the debits, and the JC Applied accounts take the credits, showing the cost leaving payroll and landing on the job. With those two entries and where the accounts come from, you can quickly trace how payroll flows into Job Cost, troubleshoot issues, and read job cost reports with confidence.

As always, if you need assistance with any Vista processes, please visit our website ConstrucTech Consulting and Book a Call with one of our consultants.  

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