To prepare a report and submit it using the data entry method, click the Online Reports button and then the Regular link under Data Entry. Note: When creating a data entry report, the current and next steps will display at the top of each page, to guide you through the reporting process.

On the first page, choose the employer code for which you are reporting from the drop-down menu. ECS will pre-fill the pay period end date (PPE) for the current reporting period. Please note: if this is not the correct report period end date you must change it on this page. This is normally the last day of the month for which you are reporting. As in your previous reporting method, you must submit a report for each employer code.

Click the Continue button to display the Data Entry: Enter Frequency screen. You will be asked to enter pay period begin (PPB) and end (PPE) dates for each frequency code that appears on your report.

If all employees have the same pay frequency, you'll only see one frequency code. If you have employees who are paid on pay frequencies of different lengths (for example, some employees are paid monthly, while others are paid bi-weekly) then you'll see payroll frequencies listed for each of these pay frequencies.

After completing the information, click on the Continue button to display the OPERS Report of Retirement Contributions.

The main body of the report contains 9 columns of information:

• Name has employee names, listed in alphabetical order, last name first. You may click a name to modify certain employee information.
• Pay period begin (PPB) code is a code that details changes to employee information, such as a new employee, or an employee returning from leave.
• Pay period end (PPE) code is a code that details a leave reason for an employee, such as the employee has quit, retired, or taken a leave of absence.
• ID Number is the employee's Social Security number.
• Frequency Code is how often the employee is paid.
• Pay Period Begin and Pay Period End are the dates for which you are currently reporting salary and contribution amounts for the employee. This information is pre-filled based on the dates you entered for the corresponding frequency code on the Enter Frequency page, but can be edited on this page as well.
• Earnable Salary is the employee's salary for the given pay period and is entered by you.
• Retirement Contribution is the employee's calculated contribution for the given pay period. This column is filled when you click Calculate Contributions, and can be overridden.
• Override Calculation is a check box field. To override a calculated retirement contribution, place a check in this box to make the retirement contribution field editable.

Three more fields appear below the list of employee data.

• Total Earnable Salary is the total of the Earnable Salary for all employees on the report.
• Total Contributions is the total of the Retirement Contribution column for all employees on the report.
• Calculated Employer Share uses the multiplier listed at the top of the page. ECS multiplies the retirement contribution by this multiplier for each individual listed on your report.

These items are cumulative for all pages of a report.

An optional comments field appears at the bottom of the page. You may use this field to notify OPERS of any additional information pertaining to the report you are submitting.

Much of the information on the report is pre-filled, based upon information you entered on the preceding pages or data maintained by OPERS. On this page, you'll primarily be concerned with entering information in the Earnable Salary column. You may use the tab key to move down the Earnable Salary column for faster data entry.

ECS will calculate Retirement Contribution amounts for you. Once you fill in the earnable salary for each employee, click Calculate Contributions.

Click Submit Report for Verification when you have finished completing all fields on all pages of the report.

On the Verify Report page, you'll see a summary of the information you entered on the main report page, including the total employee and employer contributions and any PPB and PPE codes. Please verify all information is correct, including the PPB and PPE codes (if applicable). Once you've reviewed the information, click the Submit to OPERS button to complete the process.

After you click Submit to OPERS, the Confirm Report page is displayed:

If you are registered for Online Payments and you are a designated Online Payments user, you'll have the option to schedule a payment for this report immediately, by clicking the Schedule Payment button.

By clicking the Done Button you will be given a list of options based upon which roles you are asinged in ECS.

By clicking one of the links presented you will be directed to the appropriate place within ECS to complete your next task without having to return to the Main Menu first.

If you are finished, click Logout to leave the ECS application.