Summary

The COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) process is used to adjust the minimum and maximum step amount on grades as well as modify the step an employee belongs to. A COLA batch cannot be processed while a Pay Adjustments batch is open. COLA increases can be processed either by selected labor grades or globally.

The COLA process will not automatically change the grade step that an employee is assigned to, but the grade step an employee is attached to can be changed manually in the Edit Employee COLA step.

Step by Step

1     Open or create a new COLA batch.

• Open the COLA window (PR> COLA). The Batches window will display all the open COLA 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 uncommitted COLA adjustment data 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 COLA 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 COLA 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 COLA 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 COLA process.

3     Select the grades to apply the COLA increase to.

• Open the Select Grades window (PR> COLA> Select Grades).
• Click ADD GRADES to open the Grade Selection screen.
  • Select all grades to be increased and click the Select button to return to the Select Grades step. The selected grades do not have to have the same percentage increase so all COLA increases can be processed in one batch.
• Check the Update Salary amount for Hourly employees toggle if you would like to calculate salary values for any hourly employees included in the batch.
• Select an Effective Date for the increases to take effect. This will default to the current date.
• In the Increase Type column, select either Percentage or Flat.
• Enter the appropriate increase in the Increase Amount column.
• Click the Submit button when complete.

4     Test for COLA batch exceptions.

• Open the Exceptions window (PR> COLA> Exceptions).
• The Exceptions window will display any exceptions that resulted from the batch generate step.
• See the Description field for a detailed description of the exception.

5     Edit the employee Grade/Step information.

• Open the Edit Grade/Step window (PR> COLA> Edit Grade/Step).
• The Edit Grade/Steps window will display the COLA increase applied to the minimum and maximum step amount of the grades selected during the select grade process.
• The New Low Amount and New High Amount columns are editable which allows rounding to be adjusted when needed.
• Click the Save button when complete.

6     Print the Grade/Step Proof List report.

• Open the Grade/Step Proof List report window (PR> COLA> Grade/Step Proof List).
• Check the Page break by Grade toggle to organize the report output by grade.
• The report will display the Grade, Steps, Current Amount, Proposed Amount, and the Last COLA Date.
• 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.

7     Edit an employee's COLA.

• Open the Edit Employee COLA window (PR> COLA> Edit Employee COLA).
• The COLA process will not automatically change the grade/step that an employee is assigned to, but the grade/step an employee is attached to can be changed manually in the Edit Employee COLA step. If you modify the step an employee is attached to, their annual wages must fall between the new step minimum and maximum.
• Using the Edit Employee COLA window, specific employees can be adjusted if needed. Changes here will overwrite the changes to the employee only, not the master grade/step tables.
• The COLA process will not change an employee’s step unless a new step is entered.
• You can modify the values in the New Step and Proposed Amount fields.
• Click the Save button when complete.

8     Print the Employee Proof List report.

• Open the Employee Proof List window (PR> COLA> Employee Proof List).
• Specify how the report will be displayed with the Sort By, Page Break, and SSN Display drop-down menus.
• The report will display the Employee Number, Employee Name, Social Security Number, Last COLA date, Grade, Current Step, Proposed Step, Current Amount, and Proposed Amount.
• 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 work flows. This is an optional step.

• The Generate Work Flows step applies if only certain employees are allowed to commit a COLA batch. For example, if you are a department clerk, but only the department head is allowed to actually commit a COLA batch, then run the Generate Work Flows step to notify the department head that a batch is ready to be committed. If you do not use work flows, skip to the Letters step and continue to process the batch.
• Select Generate Work Flows on the menu. This will open an information window asking you to confirm your selection.
• Click the Submit button to generate the work flows. This will create a job on the Jobs Viewer window. Once the job is complete, the work flow will be created.
• Work flows are created and maintained on the Work Flow Maintenance window (SS> Work Flow> Work Flow Templates).

10     Review the work flows. This step is only required when using work flows.

• The Review Work Flows step is used to view the COLA adjustments before committing the batch and is used in conjunction with the Generate Work Flows step. For example, a department clerk runs the Generate Work Flows step to notify the department head that the COLA adjustments are ready to be approved. The department head receives an email that the batch is ready to be committed, so they review the COLA proof list and then commit the batch.
• Open the Review Work Flows screen to review the COLA adjustments in the batch (PR> COLA> Review Work Flows).
• The Review Work Flows screen displays the work flow generated by the Generate Work Flows step (PR> COLA> Generate Work Flows).
• The Status column displays the status of the work flow. If the work flow is waiting to be approved, the Status will be New.
• The Author column displays the department clerk that created the work flow (this is the employee that ran the Generate Work Flows step). If the COLA batch is rejected, this is the employee that will receive the notification email that the batch has been rejected.
• The type of work flow generated during the Generate Work Flows step determines what needs to be done to the COLA adjustments before the batch can be committed.
  • If the work flow is set up as an action step on your role (SS> Work Flow> Work Flow Templates), you will have to approve or reject the COLA adjustments in the batch before you can commit the batch.
  • If the work flow is set up as an information step on your role (SS> Work Flow> Work Flow Templates), the commit step will be enabled and the batch will be ready to commit. When the work flow is set up as an information step, skip the Review Work Flows step and continue to process the batch.

11     Print the COLA letters. This is an optional step.

• Open the Print Letters window (PR> COLA> Print Letters).
• The Form drop-down menu is used to select the Word merge form that will be used for the letters.
• Click the Department Code field search button to select the department that you would like to generate forms for.
• Specify how the forms will be organized with the Sort drop-down menu.
  • Forms from both the HR and PR modules can be selected when generating COLA letters.
• 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.

12     Commit the COLA batch.

• Open the Commit window (PR> COLA> Commit).
• Click the Continue button or press ENTER to commit the batch.  
  • If you click the Cancel button, you can still commit the batch via the Commit button.
• Upon commit, the grade/step tables will be updated with the new rates. The employee’s rates on the financial tab and on the default time cards will also be updated with the new rate.
• If the amount matches the old salary when the default timecards are updated, the default timecard amount will be populated with the new salary amount rather than the hourly rate multiplied by the hours.