Summary

Organizations that employee more than 50 full-time equivalent employees, and some smaller entities, must provide Affordable Care Act (ACA) reports to the IRS and organization employees. Springbrook is leveraging the power of the cloud to help Springbrook, KVS and SoftRight clients generate the required 1094-C export files and 1095-C printed reports.

To learn more about the Affordable Care Act process, please log in to Success Community and visit the Affordable Care Act Playbook at: 

https://success.springbrooksoftware.com/s/article/Affordable-Care-Act-Playbook

Step by Step

1     Open or create a new Affordable Care Act batch.

• Open the Affordable Care Act Batches window (PR> Affordable Care Act). The Batches window will display all the open ACA batches.
• Select a batch and click DETAILS to open the selected batch.
• Select a batch and click the Delete button to delete the selected batch. All ACA transactions in the batch will be deleted.
• Click the Create New Batch button to create a new batch. This will open the Create Batch window.
  • If there are open batches in the ACA process, you can create a new batch without affecting the open batches.
• The Batch Month and Batch Year fields default to the current date and are used for reference only and do not affect the transaction or journal entry date of the transactions in the batch.
• Click CREATE to create the new ACA batch.

2     Open the Batch Overview page.

• The Batch Overview page provides a general overview of the selected batch.
• The left navigation menu displays all the steps in the Affordable Care Act process.
• In the main section you'll see information about batch steps that are currently processing, next available batch steps, and the last completed batch step.
  • Batch steps that are currently processing will display a blue indicator bar to alert you that the step has not yet completed.
  • Once the preceding batch step is complete, the next available batch steps will be enabled and you can select the next step you would like to run.
    • While some batch steps are optional, any batch step that includes the Required tag must be completed before the batch is allowed to proceed through to the Commit step.
• The Batch Outputs section on the right will display any reports or exports that have already been generated in the ACA process.

3     Import ACA data.

• Open the Import window (PR> Affordable Care Act> Import).
• The Import step is used to import Springbrook data into the ACA tool. Organizations will often use this step to import dependent data that is not in Springbrook, to import custom employee data files, or to import correction batch data.
  • Click VIEW LAYOUT/FORMAT to view format and content information related to these import files.
• The Employee File field is used to import an employee data file.
  • The data included in the Employee file can be edited on the Edit Employees step after being imported.
• The Dependent File field is used to import a dependent data file.
  • The data included in the Dependent file can be edited on the Edit Employees step after being imported.
• The Coverage File field is used to import the Coverage File generated by the Export step in a prior Affordable Care Act batch.
• Any combination of these three files can be imported and all the imported data can be edited later in the process. Click the Select File button to browse to the desired import files or drag-and-drop the file the right of the button.
• The Employment Cutoff Date field is used to limit the employees included in the batch to only those that were employed AFTER the specified date. For example, if you are processing ACA reports for 2022, you would enter 01/01/2022 in this field to filter out employees that left the organization earlier.
• The Sort Order field is used to determine if the imported records will be sorted by employee number, employee name, or employee social security number.
• Check the Resubmission toggle if you are importing corrections through a resubmission batch.
  • This will enable the Resubmission ID field where you will enter the receipt ID that was provided by the IRS when the ACA site accepted the original submission.
• Click the Submit button when complete to import the specified files.

4     Generate the ACA batch.

• Open the Generate window (PR> Affordable Care Act> Generate).
• If you imported your ACA data in the previous step, skip the Generate step and proceed to the Edit Employees step below.
• The Generate step is used to generate the initial ACA coverage values and to pull ACA employee and dependent data from existing employee information in the database. This data can be edited in the following steps.
• Enter the Calendar Year you would like to process for the ACA.
• The Sort Order field is used to determine if the generated records will be sorted by employee number, employee name, or employee social security number.
• Check the Self insured coverage provided toggle to automatically create a dependent record for any self-insured employee. This dependent record will be included on the Edit Employees step below. The Edit Employees step will also include any dependents set up on the employee record (HR> Maintenance> Employee).
  • If this toggle is not checked, dependents will not be automatically pulled into the Edit Employees step but can be added individually.
• Click the Submit button to generate the ACA coverage values and data.

5     View and edit the Employee information included in the ACA batch.

• Open the Edit Employees window (PR> Affordable Care Act> Edit Employees).
• The Edit Employees step is used to view and edit the employee and dependent data that will populate the 1095-C printed reports.
• The Employees section will display all of the employee data imported into the process.
• Click + EMPLOYEE and select Employee to add employees to the batch that were not included in the import file.
  • This will open the Employee Selection window. Enter the employee details in the search criteria section and click the Search button to display the search results in the data grid below.
  • Highlight an employee and click the Select button to add that employee to the ACA batch.
• Once the employee record appears in the Employees section, click EDIT to open the Edit Employee ACA screen and edit the coverage details for the selected employee.
  • The Edit Employee ACA screen displays the employee details, coverage selections, and dependent details.
    • In the Employee section, all the employee details other than Employee Number can be edited.
      • When the Self Insured toggle is checked, the Dependents tab will be automatically updated:
        • Any dependents associated with the employee on the employee record (HR> Maintenance> Employee) will be added to the Dependents tab. If a dependent on the HR employee record is already present on the Dependents tab, it will not be added a second time.
        • A dependent line item will be automatically created for the employee themselves on the Dependents tab. This dependent line item will exactly match the employee details above.
        • If the Self Insured toggle is unchecked, the Dependents tab will be cleared.
    • In the Coverage section, the Coverage Amount, Coverage Type, and Safe Harbor value can be changed for each month. To update multiple months, check the toggle next to each month, click UPDATE SELECTED, and make the changes that will apply to all the selected months.
    • In the Dependents section, all dependent details can be edited. Click CREATE DEPENDENT to add a new dependent to the employee record. Select an existing dependent and click DELETE to remove the dependent from the employee record.
• In order to update the ACA coverage details on multiple employees on the Edit Employees step, check the toggle next to all the desired employees, click UPDATE SELECTED, and choose Coverage, Plan Start Month, or Self Insured from the drop-down menu. Each one of these options will open a new window where you can make the change to all the selected employees.
• Click + EMPLOYEE and select External Employee from the drop-down menu and to add an employee that has retired or left the organization.
  • Because external employees are not included in the Employee Maintenance window, this option will create a new row that will need to be manually completed for the external employee.
• Click REMOVE to remove a selected employee from the window. This will also remove any dependents associated with that employee.
• Once all the desired employees are added to the data grid and all the coverage and dependent data is accurate, proceed to the Edit Employer step.

6     View and edit the Employer information included in the ACA batch.

• Open the Edit Employer window (PR> Affordable Care Act> Edit Employer).
• The Edit Employer step is used to edit the employer ACA data that must be submitted to the IRS via the 1094-C export file.
• The details entered in the Employer and Contact tabs and the Applicable Large Employer section will differ from organization to organization. Please refer to the IRS document https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i109495c.pdf - for details regarding how your organization should update these sections.
• The Employer tab is used to enter the details associated with the 1094-C file that your organization will submit to the IRS. Please see the form linked above for more details about these options.
  • The Request Type field is used to enter an optional request type for the form.
  • Check the Authoritative toggle to identify the 1094-C form generated in this batch as the authoritative transmittal form.
  • Check the Aggregated group toggle to identify the 1094-C form generated in this batch as part of an Aggregated ALE Group.
    • Checking this toggle will enable the Government Entity and Aggregate Entities tabs. See those sections below for more information.
    • Check this toggle will also check the Aggregated Group toggles for each of the months in the Monthly Employer Data grid below.
  • Check the Qualifying offer toggle is used to identify the 1094-C form generated in this batch as a Qualifying Offer Method form for full-time employees who received a qualifying offer for all 12 months of the calendar year and did not enroll in employer-sponsored, self-insured coverage.
  • Check the 98% offer method toggle if the employer is eligible for and is using the 98% Offer Method.
• The Contact tab is used to enter the contract details for agency representative preparing the form.
• The Government Entity and Aggregate Entity tabs are used to enter the address and Employer Identification Number data when generating an aggregated group 1094-C form.
• The Monthly Employer Data grid displays the Minimum Essential Coverage, Total Employee Count, Eligible Full-Time Employee Count, Transition Relief, and Aggregated Group information for each month in the calendar year.
• Once all the employer data is updated and accurate, click the Save button to proceed.

7     Print a Proof List.

• Open the Proof List window (PR> Affordable Care Act> Proof List).
• The Proof List includes the data that will be displayed in the 1095-C report. It will display the Name, Employee Number, SSN, Address, City, State, and ZIP associated with each employee record included in the batch. The report will also display the Coverage Amount, Coverage Type, and Safe Harbor status for every month included in the year specified above.
• The SSN Format drop-down menu is used to specify how the social security numbers on the employee records will display on the report.
  • Select Do not print if the social security numbers should not display on the report. The SSN column will still display on the report, but the social security numbers will display as ***-**-****.
  • Select Print Full SSN if the entire social security number should display on the report.
  • Select Print Last 4 Digits if the last four digits of each employee record should display on the report.
• Check the Page Break toggle to include a page break after each employee record.
• Once the required report settings have been specified, click the Print button to print your report.
• Click the options arrow on the right side of the Print button to see other print options.
  • Select PDF to print the report in the default Springbrook format.
  • Select Excel to export the report data to an Excel spreadsheet as unformatted data.
  • Select Excel (Formatted) to export the report data to an Excel spreadsheet that includes much of the Springbrook formatting found on the printed version of the report.
• Click the Schedule icon next to the Print button in order to schedule the report to generate at a later date and time.
  • Enter a Date and Time to generate the report and click SUBMIT.
• Review the Proof List Report and return to the Edit ACA step to modify the values if necessary. If all of the ACA records are correct, proceed to the Forms step to generate the forms.

8     Print the 1095-C Forms.

• Open the Print ACA Forms window (PR> Affordable Care Act> Forms).
• The Forms window will automatically populate with the general organization information specified on the SS System Setup window. This information can be edited.
• The 1095-C report consists of two pages for every employee included in the batch. The system will print the entire 1095-C report, so you will not need to order form stock before processing these forms.
• Once the required report settings have been specified, click the Print button   to print your report.
• Click the options arrow on the right side of the Print button to see other print options.
  • Select PDF to print the report in the default Springbrook format.
  • Select Excel to export the report data to an Excel spreadsheet as unformatted data.
  • Select Excel (Formatted) to export the report data to an Excel spreadsheet that includes much of the Springbrook formatting found on the printed version of the report.
• Click the Schedule icon next to the Print button in order to schedule the report to generate at a later date and time.
  • Enter a Date and Time to generate the report and click SUBMIT.

9     Generate the export files.

• Open the Export ACA window (PR> Affordable Care Act> Export).
• The Form Type drop-down menu is used to specify the 1094/1095C file format for employees covered by your agency or the 1094/1095B file format for employees covered via other plans.
• The 1094/1095C export generates four export files:
  • One ACA 1094-C .xml file that your organization will need to submit to the IRS.
    • Please refer to the IRS Affordable Care Act Tax Provisions for Employers website - https://www.irs.gov/Affordable-Care-Act/Employers - for format or content details related to this file.
  • Three .csv files that include employee, dependent and coverage details. These files are for your records. They can also be imported back into the ACA process through the Import step should you need to run the ACA process again.
• The 1094/1095B export generates two export files:
  • One ACA 1094-B .xml file and one manifest file. Both will need to be submitted to the IRS.
• Click EXPORT SETTINGS to view format and content information related to these files.
• Specify the export file details and click the Submit button to create the export files.

10     Commit the ACA batch.

• After you have printed the 1095-C forms and generated the 1094-C files, commit the batch to complete the process.
• Open the Commit window (PR> Affordable Care Act> Commit).
• Click the Commit button to commit the batch.
• Springbrook recommends agencies DO NOT commit the ACA batch until all records are ready for submission.