After all pay runs for the year create the year end wage file.  Tools – Routines – Payroll – Year End Closing.  Input the year and click Process.  In GP you can run this step as many times as needed.  So you can create the file and check reports, make adjustments via payroll manual check or adjusting entries and run the close again.  Here is a sample screen shot where I created the year end file again for 2014.

You can now proceed forward with pay runs in the new year.  You can print your year end wage report, edit w2′s, and print w2′s at any time.

To print the year end wage report go to Tools – Routines – Payroll – Year End Wage Report.

To edit W2′s go to Tools – Routines – Payroll – Edit W2′s.  Why would you need to edit W2′s.  You might need to typically correct a SSN for an employee, an employee address, or a state wage gross amount. If you change an SSA or address you are not correcting this in the master so you should also make those corrections in the payroll master cards.  State gross wages sometimes need to be corrected because at some companies it is popular to pay bonuses and not take federal and state taxes.  If you don’t take state taxes the gross for the state will not be correct on the W2.  I never recommend to run bonus pay without taking state tax.

Next you can print W2′s.  You can print W2′s and the W3 summary to plain paper and check them out if you like.  Or if your feeling lucky you can print a few copies to plain paper and make sure the boxes line up to the W2 forms you purchased for the year.  There are two formats I recommend.  The laser one wide single feed is a six part laser form, with two W2′s on the page.  Using this form you will print the W2′s six times.  If you use this form print the W2′s to the screen first.  Then you will leave the print screen open and just print six times from this screen; it will save you a lot of time.

The other popular format is the four up laser W2  which has four W2′s on each laser page.  If you use this form you will only print the W2′s once.

Here is a sample print screen below:

Make sure to double check your Federal identification number.  Also enter the control number; usually enter and start at 1 each time. Click your desired sort order.  And make sure to click the radio button for W2 forms otherwise you might just print the validation report all day which might become boring.

Once you have printed all your W2 forms run the program one more time and click on the radio button for W3 transmittal.  You can print this to plain paper or use the laser W3 form.