USPS Calendar Year-end Closing Checklist
This checklist outlines the steps to be taken to close USPS for the calendar year-end.
NWOCA W2 Printing Deadline
Monday, January 26, 2026
W2 Reprints are $5.00 each plus postage.
Preliminary Calendar Year-End Closing
The following pre-closing steps can be completed any time prior to or during the processing of the last payroll of the calendar year.
Go to Reports/W2 SSN Verification/Create Submission File and click Generate Submission File.
Log into the SSA-Business Services Online website
Submit this file using the Social Security Number Verification Service option.
Once file is received back from SSA and saved somewhere on your computer, go to Reports/W2 SSN Verification/Results Report.
Report Title = W2 SSN Verification Results (can be changed if desired).
Report Format = PDF or CSV.
Sort By = Employee SSN or Employee Name.
Click on 'Choose File' and browse to locate your file.
Click on ‘Generate W2 SSN Verification Results Report.’
Review the report for errors.
Be sure to run Life Insurance Premium Pay types for employee's with life insurance premiums over $50,000 before or during your last payroll of the calendar year. See Reporting Taxable Amount of Life Insurance Premiums for further details.
If the Life Insurance Premium Pay Type was NOT USED prior to the last pay of the calendar year, the Life Insurance (NC1) payment amount must be entered under the Core/Adjustment Journal in order for the Life Insurance amount to show correctly on the W2 form and to insure that the Quarter balances. The W2 Report will automatically adjust the Federal, State, City, Medicare, etc. gross and taxable gross amounts. No manual adjustments are needed for the Gross and Taxable Gross amounts, however the Medicare withholding must be paid. Create the adjustments for the Medicare payroll item(s).
The Board will need to pay for both Employee and Employer portion of Medicare and the employee can reimburse the district.
The software provides the ability to withhold city tax on non-cash earnings. This can be activated by checking the "Tax Non Cash Earn" field on the city tax record in the Core/Payroll Item Configuration program. City taxes may also need to be paid if the employee is not a resident of the city where the tax is deducted.
Go to Payroll/ Payroll Payments - Future or Current
Click Create
Employee = Select the appropriate employee.
Compensation = Select the appropriate compensation.
Description = Enter if desired.
Pay Type = Adoption Assistance.
Units = 1.
Rate = Amount of adoption assistance needing to be reported on the employee's W2.
Click Save.
Go to Core/Employee
Add all Legal Name fields to grid using the More button. Legal Name option is located at bottom of More options.
Use filter a..z in each field, i.e. Last Name, First Name, Middle Name, Suffix to see if any names exist.
Verify names if populated.
Go to Core/Payroll Item Configuration
Filter the grid by entering OSDI in the Type field
Review the 'W2 abbreviation' column to verify the codes are accurate.
The OSDI code should also be listed on the OSDI Code field in the payroll item configuration.
Go to Core/Payroll Item Configuration
Filter the grid by entering City Tax in the Type field
Review the 'W2 abbreviation' column to verify there is a value in the W2 abbreviation field.
Indiana requirements include: A Payroll Item Configuration City Tax record for the county tax record and a Payee address with IN as the state. The Payroll Item record for your employees for Indiana County tax will need to have a Deduction Type of “R” for Residence and the Indiana code from the Indiana W2 Instructions, Appendix A. The Indiana Code will need to be put in the Payroll Item Code 1 field.
The codes are currently 01 – 92. If using 1 – 9, it must be entered as 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09.
The website for the County Codes is below, Page 13:
Go to Core/Payroll Item Configuration
Filter the grid by entering city in the Type field
View each city not being reported through CCA or RITA
Verify the appropriate code is entered in the Tax Entity Code field
The information cannot be filed electronically or printed as a paper copy, unless the entity code is present.
Verify the RITA Code and Description are entered.
Go to Core/Payroll Item Configuration
Filter the grid by entering City in the Type field.
Verify the appropriate RITA assigned code is entered in the RITA field and the appropriate RITA assigned description is entered in the RITA Description field
For the employees having the City tax withheld, verify their Payroll Item Deduction Type field is marked as Employment or Residence.
Go to Core/Payroll Item.
Select City under the Select Payroll item dropdown.
Verify the Deduction Type is set to Employment or Residence.
Verify the CCA assigned code, CCA Description, and Report to CCA checkbox.
Got to Core/Payroll Item Configuration.
Filter the grid by entering City in the Type field.
Verify the CCA assigned code is entered in the CCA field, the CCA assigned description is entered in the CCA Description, and the Report To CCA check box is checked.
Any district that reports to the CCA must also make sure that they review the Appendices that the CCA has published. City codes MUST be in for cities on these lists, regardless if they are a CCA city or not. These cities get reported in the file that is sent to CCA and must be coded.
Go to Appendix A, B, or C to check for the correct assigned code https://www.ccaohio.gov/sites/default/files/2025-10/dfdict2025.pdf
If CCA city is in Appendix A, they need the following in Payroll Item Configuration for CCA: Valid CCA code, valid CCA city name, and box checked on "Report to CCA".
If any city is not in Appendix A but in Appendix B, Payroll Item Configuration should be: Valid CCA code, valid CCA city name, and box Unchecked on "Report to CCA".
If any city is not in Appendix A, B, or C, Payroll Item Configuration should be: Valid CCA code left blank, valid CCA city name*, and box Unchecked on "Report to CCA".
*The valid CCA city name should be entered based on the name found in the Ohio Municipal Income Tax Rate Table found at (aka The Finder):
REQUIRED For the employees having the CCA or any other city tax withheld, verify their Payroll Item Deduction Type field is marked as Employment or Residence.
Go to Core/Payroll Item.
Select City under the Select Payroll Item dropdown
Verify the Deduction Type is set to Employment or Residence.
REQUIRED Verify employee's addresses to make sure you are following the guidelines set up by the US Postal Service in Publication 28: https://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub28/pub28.pdf
Go to Core/Payroll Item Configuration
Filter the grid by entering 'State Tax' in the Type field
View each State Payroll Item
Verify the State ID field is filled in and correct.
Go to Core/Payroll Item Configuration
Filter the grid by entering 'health' in the Type field
View the HSA record
Verify the Annuity Type is set to Other
This amount will be placed in Box 12 with code W.
Go to System/Configuration/W2 configuration.
Verify the 'District will Submit Own W2s Files' is CHECKED
District has option to check box for: "Include only last 4 digits of employee's SSN on W-2 forms and XML".
Verify Company Information is accurate.
Verify or complete all information under Contact Information.
Verify or complete all information in the Submitter Information.
Click the box for "Submitter Name and Address same as Company".
Save.
The Submitter EIN is the Federal ID used when registering with Social Security Administration-Business Services Online (SSA-BSO)
The Submitter User Id is the unique Id assigned when registering with the Social Security Administration-Business Services Online (SSA-BSO)
Month End Closing
A complete Month-End Checklist can be found by clicking here.
Quarter End Closing
A complete Quarter-End Checklist can be found by clicking here.
Go to Reports/ODJFS Reporting/ODJFS Report
Choose the 4th Quarter and Generate the Report.
Check all totals carefully for accuracy.
If necessary, adjustment can be made using the Core/Adjustments screen.
When all data is correct, go to Reports/ODJFS Report, click on the Generate Submission File option.
Upload the ODJFS_YY_QQ.TXT file to The Source (Ohio Department of Job and Family Services)
Select ICESA as the file type.
In order to upload the file you must have an account with The Source. To register for an account if you do not already have one click here.
Go to Reports/Quarter Report
Year- Should be defaulted to current year
Quarter-Should be defaulted to current quarter (4th)
Sort By- Choose sorting option from drop down
Click Generate Report
In the "Totals Summary" section of the Quarter Report, the gross and adjusted gross should balance using a manual calculation.
Gross
‾ Annuities
Calculated Adjusted Gross
Payee checks and electronic payments for the quarter should equal the total Payroll Items showing on the Quarter Report.
Be sure to verify the electronic transfers of Federal and Medicare payments as well. This should be true for every Payroll Item code.
The total gross showing on Quarter Report should equal the total of all Payroll Disbursement Checks created during Payroll Posting to USAS for the quarter.
Once balanced if a hard copy of the report is desired print the Quarter Report.
Go to Reports/ W2Reports/W2 Report and Submission.
Output type should be set to Report.
Check the report for Employee with Errors only Checkbox.
Verify report.
Run Again unchecking the Report Employees with errors only.
Verify and balance report
Balance W2 Report and Submission.
Complete and balance the W2Report Reconciliation Worksheet for the quarter following the directions on the worksheet.
Balance the Payroll Item totals (taxes and annuities) on the W2Report with the totals from the Payables Reports from the quarter.
Balance the gross amounts on the W2Report with Pay Reports for the quarter.
Federal Total Gross on W2 Report minus Insurance minus Medicare Pickup = Quarter Report/Totals Summary/YTD Total Gross
These amounts may not balance due to the way W2Report handles certain amounts (e.g. Medicare pickup.)
If errors are discovered, check employees that had exception processing during the quarter such as voided checks, error adjustments, or manual changes made through Core/Adjustments.
The Audit Report (Reports/Audit Report) can be useful in identifying these problems.
Start Date- Enter a start date you wish to begin your audit from.
End Date- Enter an end date you wish to process the report through.
Select Specific Objects, or leave all in Available box to run for all Objects
Select Specific Users, or leave all in Available box to run for all Users.
Select Operation
Added
Modified
Deleted
All
Select Sort Option
Date
Username
Click Generate Report
Go to Processing/Outstanding Payables and verify that there are no outstanding Payroll Items. (Screen should be empty)
The total of all Employer Distribution amounts (if tracked on the system) should equal the total of all USAS accounts payable checks to the vendor or deduction company.
For City Withholdings, take the total gross times the percentage to be sure the tax withheld and submitted are correct.
Mobile employees could cause discrepancies
Go to Home or Reports/Report Manager
OAPSE Report -see instructions below to add this report if you do not have it.
Select Generate
Format -Excel Data
Query Options - Enter your OAPSE Payroll Item code(s)
Click Generate Report
Review data for accuracy and requirements from OAPSE
Save in your files for reporting of Annual Wages to OAPSE.
STOP:
If you need to begin January payroll processing BEFORE completing W2 processing, do the following:
Leave the December posting period OPEN (December does NOT have to be Current for W2 Processing).
Go to Core/Posting Period, click Create.
Calendar Month = January
Calendar Year = YYYY
Current = Mark the checkbox to make the January posting period CURRENT.
Click Create
Verify the banner in the upper right hand corner states January YYYY.
Process your January Payroll.
When you are ready to process your W2s, you may do so at any time beginning with Step 24.
W2 Processing Final Checking and Adjustments
Steps 24-32 in the W2 Processing section below are a repeat of Steps 5-13 in the Preliminary Calendar Year End Closing section of the checklist.
If Steps 5-13 were not already completed, please assure Steps 24-32 are completed now, otherwise you can skip to Step 33.
Go to Core/Employee
Add all Legal Name fields to grid using the More button. Legal Name option is located at bottom of More options.
Use filter a..z in each field, i.e. Last Name, First Name, Middle Name, Suffix to see if any names exist.
Verify names if populated.
Go to Core/Payroll Item Configuration
Filter the grid by entering OSDI in the Type field
Review the 'W2 abbreviation' column to verify the codes are accurate.
The OSDI code should also be listed on the OSDI Code field in the payroll item configuration.
Go to Core/Payroll Item Configuration
Filter the grid by entering City Tax in the Type field
Review the 'W2 abbreviation' column to verify there is a value in the W2 abbreviation field.
Indiana requirements include: A Payroll Item Configuration City Tax record for the county tax record and a Payee address with IN as the state. The Payroll Item record for your employees for Indiana County tax will need to have a Deduction Type of “R” for Residence and the Indiana code from the Indiana W2 Instructions, Appendix A. The Indiana Code will need to be put in the Payroll Item Code 1 field.
The codes are currently 01 – 92. If using 1 – 9, it must be entered as 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09.
The website for the County Codes is below, Page 13:
Go to Core/Payroll Item Configuration
Filter the grid by entering city in the Type field
View each city not being reported through CCA or RITA
Verify the appropriate code is entered in the Tax Entity Code field
The information cannot be filed electronically or printed as a paper copy, unless the entity code is present.
Verify the RITA Code and Description are entered.
Go to Core/Payroll Item Configuration
Filter the grid by entering City in the Type field.
Verify the appropriate RITA assigned code is entered in the RITA field and the appropriate RITA assigned description is entered in the RITA Description field
For the employees having the City tax withheld, verify their Payroll Item Deduction Type field is marked as Employment or Residence.
Go to Core/Payroll Item.
Select City under the Select Payroll item dropdown.
Verify the Deduction Type is set to Employment or Residence.
Verify the CCA assigned code, CCA Description, and Report to CCA checkbox.
Got to Core/Payroll Item Configuration.
Filter the grid by entering City in the Type field.
Verify the CCA assigned code is entered in the CCA field, the CCA assigned description is entered in the CCA Description, and the Report To CCA check box is checked.
Any district that reports to the CCA must also make sure that they review the Appendices that the CCA has published. City codes MUST be in for cities on these lists, regardless if they are a CCA city or not. These cities get reported in the file that is sent to CCA and must be coded.
Go to Appendix A, B, or C to check for the correct assigned code https://www.ccaohio.gov/sites/default/files/2025-10/dfdict2025.pdf
If CCA city is in Appendix A, they need the following in Payroll Item Configuration for CCA: Valid CCA code, valid CCA city name, and box checked on "Report to CCA".
If any city is not in Appendix A but in Appendix B, Payroll Item Configuration should be: Valid CCA code, valid CCA city name, and box Unchecked on "Report to CCA".
If any city is not in Appendix A, B, or C, Payroll Item Configuration should be: Valid CCA code left blank, valid CCA city name*, and box Unchecked on "Report to CCA".
*The valid CCA city name should be entered based on the name found in the Ohio Municipal Income Tax Rate Table found at (aka The Finder):
REQUIRED For the employees having the CCA or any other city tax withheld, verify their Payroll Item Deduction Type field is marked as Employment or Residence.
Go to Core/Payroll Item.
Select City under the Select Payroll Item dropdown
Verify the Deduction Type is set to Employment or Residence.
REQUIRED Verify employee's addresses to make sure you are following the guidelines set up by the US Postal Service in Publication 28: https://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub28/pub28.pdf
Go to Core/Payroll Item Configuration
Filter the grid by entering 'State Tax' in the Type field
View each State Payroll Item
Verify the State ID field is filled in and correct.
Go to Core/Payroll Item Configuration
Filter the grid by entering 'health' in the Type field
View the HSA record
Verify the Annuity Type is set to Other
This amount will be placed in Box 12 with code W.
Go to System/Configuration/W2 configuration.
Verify the 'District will Submit Own W2s Files' is CHECKED
District has option to check box for: "Include only last 4 digits of employee's SSN on W-2 forms and XML".