Best Practices

  • Personnel ID - Personnel IDs are key identifiers for employees in OpenRDA, so it is imperative that each employee has a unique ID. While most of our customers incorporate the employee's name into his/her ID, RDA recommends that you use a non-name-dependent set of alpha-numeric characters. By following this best practice, you will avoid having to change IDs when employees' names change (due to marriage, divorce, etc.), or when employees have similar names. For Enterprise customers, and those with the associated add-on bundle, the Manage Personnel IDs feature can be implemented, so that numeric Personnel IDs are created, and new hires will automatically be assigned the next available number.
  • Existing IDs - If you do not manage IDs as described above, RDA recommends that prior to adding a new employee, you verify that the Personnel ID you are planning on creating, and the SSN you were provided by the new hire, do not already exist in the database. By following this best practice, you will avoid the multi-step, problematic process of deleting duplicate employees and/or overwriting an existing employee. In Personnel Demographics, click the Browse button to bring up a list of employees. To ensure you are looking at current and non-current employees, click the Search binoculars, and on the Select tab, flag the Select when Current Employee True and Select when Current Employee False booleans. Click the Select binoculars, and make sure your desired Personnel ID does not exist. Next, click on the Range tab, and range on the Social Security Number provided. If you get No Records Selected, you know you are entering a unique SSN, and the employee does not already exist in the database.
  • Current Employees - Only those employees designated as Current Employees will come into payroll. To make sure all new employees are flagged as Current Employees, flag this field on a blank Add Personnel screen, and save defaults to your site directory.

Add Personnel

  • HR → Personnel → Add → Personnel
  • Populate the Personnel ID and SSN fields at the top of the window; IDs will automatically populate for customers with Managed IDs
  • Populate all other required fields, as well as optional fields, as desired, on all tabs
  • Note that not all customers will have all fields described


FIELDSOpt.Rec.Req.Description
Personnel ID——♦Unique alpha-numeric ID for the employee; refer to the first Best Practice bullet above; the next available number will default for customers set up with Managed Personnel IDs
SSN——♦Social Security Number
Old Employee ID♦——Rarely used; if desired for tracking purposes, enter the employee # assigned to the employee in a previous database
Opt. = Optional  Rec. = Recommended  Req. = Required


*This is only for those that are using ESS 2.0. The user is automatically created when adding personnel going forward.

Personal Tab

FIELDSOpt.Rec.Req.Description
Last Name—♦—Employee's legal last name; it will appear on his/her checks/direct deposit transmittals and Form W-2
First—♦—Employee's legal first name; it will appear on his/her checks/direct deposit transmittals and Form W-2
Middle—♦—Employee's legal middle name or initial; it will appear on his/her checks/direct deposit transmittals and Form W-2
Lineage—♦—Employee's legal lineage, if any; for example: Jr., Sr., II,; it will appear on his/her checks/direct deposit transmittals and Form W-2
Alternate Name♦——The name the employee goes by; it will not appear on checks/transmittals or Form W-2
Salutation♦——For example: Mr., Mrs., Dr.; it will not appear on checks/transmittals or Form W-2
Date of Birth——♦

Birth date

Marital Status♦——Actual marital status, not what employee claims for tax filing
Gender♦——Click the drop-down to select the employee's gender
Ethnic Code——♦Click Load to search for employee's ethnicity; pulls from Personnel → Setup → Ethnic Codes
Home Phone♦——

Home phone number

Work Phone♦——

Work phone number

Extension♦——

Work phone extension

Cell Phone♦——Employee's cell phone number; this is the phone to which text messages will be sent if initiated in the Personnel module
Carrier♦——Click Load to search for employee's cell phone provider
Accepts Text Message Responsibilities♦——Denotes employee's agreement to receive text messages from employer through OpenRDA
Prefers Text Message♦——Facilitates text messages to be sent to the employee, instead of emails, when messages are initiated in the Personnel module
Email Address♦——Work email address; where DD transmittals will be emailed
Request Printed Direct Deposit♦——Flag for employees that do not want DD transmittals emailed; this field is available for selection when printing and emailing
Opt. = Optional  Rec. = Recommended  Req. = Required


Spouse Info Tab

FIELDSOpt.Rec.Req.Description
Spouse Last Name♦——

Spouse's last name

First♦——

Spouse's first name

Middle♦——

Spouse's middle name

Lineage♦——Spouse's lineage; for example: Jr., Sr., II, III
Spouse SSN♦——Spouse's Social Security Number
Spouse Date of Birth♦——Spouse's birthdate; required if employee has VRS Optional Life coverage for their spouse
Opt. = Optional  Rec. = Recommended  Req. = Required


Status Tab

FIELDSOpt.Rec.Req.Description
Employee Status——♦Click Load to search for employee's status; determines whether employee is payable; pulls from Personnel → Setup → Personnel Status
Current Employee—♦—Flag to denote that the employee is current/active; this flag controls whether the employee will pull into payroll
Smoker♦——Flag to denote whether the employee is a smoker; this is optional tracking for group health insurance purposes
Pay Location——♦Click Load to search for the location where the employee receives their pay check/direct deposit transmittal; pulls from Payroll (or Position Tracking) → Setup → Locations
Personnel Class——♦Click Load to search for the employee's class
Total Current Salary♦——The employee's total annual salary may be maintained here for the purposes of being displayed in the Personnel module and being available for inclusion on Personnel reports
Military Service Status♦——Active, Retired, etc.
Opt. = Optional  Rec. = Recommended  Req. = Required


Identifiers Tab

FIELDSOpt.Rec.Req.Description
Works with Medicaid Students♦——Flag to denote that the employee works with Medicaid-eligible students
Child Abuse Awareness♦——Flag to denote that the employee has taken a child abuse awareness class
Highest Certification♦——From the drop-down list of choices, select the highest certification/education the employee has obtained; each certification and its details can be maintained in the employee's saved Personnel Demographic record, under Personnel -> Certifications
Teacher Evaluator♦——Name of the person who evaluates the employee
Aide With♦——Name of the person for whom the employee aides
Aide Is♦——Name of the person who aides the employee
School Grade♦——The grade that the employee teaches
School Subject♦——The subject that the employee teaches
Primary Language♦——The employee's primary language
Opt. = Optional  Rec. = Recommended  Req. = Required


Longevity Tab

FIELDSOpt.Rec.Req.Description
Hire Date——♦Employee's first day of work
Rehire Date♦——The employee's first day back to work if rehired
Adjusted DOE——♦Date of Employment; auto-populates with entry made in Hire Date field; can be manually adjusted
Seniority Date♦——Date the employee achieved seniority
Years in District♦——Number of years the employee has worked in the district
In State♦——Number of years the employee has worked in the state
Out of State♦——Number of years the employee has worked outside the state
Military/Other♦——Number of years the employee served in the military
Termination Date—♦—Employee's last day of work
Calculated Longevity———Number of years the employee has worked for you; auto-populates; by default, calculates solely on Adjusted DOE, but based on Generic Setup Variable, can also include Years in District, In State and/or Military
Longevity Notes♦——Enter any notes related to the employee's hire, retirement, termination, and/or years worked in the district, state or military
Opt. = Optional  Rec. = Recommended  Req. = Required


Benefits Tab

FIELDSOpt.Rec.Req.Description
Direct Deposit♦——Flag to include the employee on a list of employees that are paid via direct deposit; this is purely for tracking/reporting purposes
Dock Immediately♦——Flag to include the employee on a list of employees that should be docked if they take more time off than they have earned; the $ amounts to dock will not automatically calculate in payroll or elsewhere due to this setting
Medical Support Indicator♦——Flag to denote that family medical insurance coverage is available to the employee by the employer
Group Health Insurance Eligibility Date♦——Enter the date on which the employee became eligible for the employer's group-sponsored health insurance
Group Health Insurance Eligible♦——Flag this boolean at the time that employee is eligible for the employer's group-sponsored health insurance
Group Health Insurance Participating♦——Flag this boolean at the time the employee is participating in the employer's group-sponsored health insurance
Coverage Code♦——From the drop-down, select the ACA Coverage Code that applies to the employee
HICN Number♦——Medical Health Insurance Claim Number
Spouse HICN Number♦——Spouse's Medical Health Insurance Claim Number
Status Change Code♦——From the drop-down, which pulls from Setup -> Status Change Codes, select the option that is applicable to the employee
Status Change Date♦——The date that the Status Change occurred
Deduction Class♦——Click Load to assign the appropriate class of deductions to the employee; Enterprise customers and customers with multiple EIN's will have multiple Deduction Classes from which to choose (created in Position Tracking module)
Retirement Plan♦——Flag to denote employee's participation in a retirement plan; flagging this field will mark an “X” in the Retirement Plan box on Form W-2 (an “X” will automatically appear on the W-2 if the employee has a retirement deduction for the tax year in OpenRDA)
Retirement Eligibility Date♦——

The date on which the employee is eligible for the employer's retirement plan

Retirement Eligibility Ending Date♦——

The date on which the employee's eligibility for the employer's retirement plan ended

Retirement Plan Participant♦——

Flag to denote that the employee is participating in the employer's retirement plan

Retirement Employee ID♦——

The ID that is associated with the employee in the employer's retirement plan

Leave Class
♦
—
—
Populate, along with Default Leave Job Number, to add leave to the employee's primary job while in Add Personnel
Default Leave Job Number
♦
—
—
Populate, along with Leave Class, to add leave to the employee's primary job while in Add Personnel (usually Job Number 1)
Sick Bank
♦
—
—
Flag to include the employee on a list of employees that participate in the employer's sick bank
Date Joined
♦
—

—		Enter the date the employee joined the sick bank
Opt. = Optional  Rec. = Recommended  Req. = Required


Filing Tab
FIELDSOpt.Rec.Req.Description
Federal Filing Status——♦Click the drop-down to select the filing status the employee indicated on Form W-4; choose Single if the employee indicated “Married, but withhold at higher Single rate”
State Filing Status——♦Click Load to select the filing status the employee indicated on the state withholding form; if no state form, make the same as the Federal Filing Status; pulls from Personnel → Setup → State Filing Status; for states with one tax table, select Unified
State Exemptions——♦Total number of allowances claimed on state form; if no state form, make the same as the Federal Exemptions
State Dependents——♦Total number of dependents claimed on state form; if no state form, or no such field, leave blank
Citizenship Status♦——

From the drop-down, select the applicable choice for the employee, if you would like to track this in Personnel

Alien Number♦——

If the employee has an alien number, and you want to track it in Personnel, enter it here

Expiration Date♦——

If the employee has an alien number, and you want to track it in Personnel, enter the expiration date here

Nationality♦——

If you want to track the employee's nationality in Personnel, enter it here

Place of Birth♦——

If you want to track the employee's birthplace in Personnel, enter it here

Evidence Verifying Place + Date of Birth♦——

If tracking in Personnel is desired, enter the document type(s) that were used to verify the employee's birthplace and date of birth

Opt. = Optional  Rec. = Recommended  Req. = Required


Address Tab

FIELDSOpt.Rec.Req.Description
Address 1—♦—Legal physical address (line 1); this will print on Form W-2
Address 2—♦—Legal physical address (line 2); this will print on Form W-2
City/State/Zip—♦—Legal physical city/state/zip; this will print on Form W-2
County♦——If you want to track the county in which the employee lives, click Load and select the appropriate option; options pull from Setup -> County Types
Home Email Address♦——

This field is separate from the Email Address field on the Personal tab, which is the address to which direct deposit transmittals and W-2s can be sent;this field can be used to maintain an additional address for the employee if desired

Copy to Mailing Address♦——Flag to populate the legal address in the mailing address fields at the bottom of the Address tab
Copy to Emergency Address♦——Flag to populate the legal address in the emergency address fields on the Emergency Contact tab
Mailing Address 1—♦—Will appear on employee's pay checks/direct deposit transmittals and W-2
Mailing Address 2—♦—Will appear on employee's pay checks/direct deposit transmittals and W-2
Mailing City/State/Zip—♦—Will appear on employee's pay checks/direct deposit transmittals and W-2
Opt. = Optional  Rec. = Recommended  Req. = Required


Emergency Information Tab

FIELDSOpt.Rec.Req.Description
Emergency Notification Name♦——Name of person to contact in the event of an emergency with the employee
Phone Number♦——Phone number of the person listed in the Emergency Notification Name field
Emergency Address 1♦——Address (line 1) of the person listed in the Emergency Notification Name field
Address 2♦——Address (line 2) of the person listed in the Emergency Notification Name field
Emergency City/State/Zip♦——City/State/Zip of the person listed in the Emergency Notification Name field
Emergency Physician♦——Name of the doctor to contact in the event of an emergency with the employee
Physician Phone Number♦——Phone number of the doctor listed in the Emergency Notification Name field
Emergency Hospital♦——Name of hospital to contact in the event of an emergency with the employee
Hospital Phone Number♦——Phone number of the Emergency Hospital
Emergency Notes♦——Any notes regarding medical conditions that could lead to a possible emergency with the employee
Opt. = Optional  Rec. = Recommended  Req. = Required


Comments Tab

FIELDSOpt.Rec.Req.Description
♦——Enter any miscellaneous comments about the employee
Opt. = Optional  Rec. = Recommended  Req. = Required


  • Click the Save button
  • If an Invalid Key Values box appears, click Continue, and populate the required field(s) referenced. If a red Save Error box appears, click Cancel, and populate the required field(s) referenced. If a yellow Save Warning box appears, click Save if you don't want to populate the referenced field(s), or click Cancel if you do want to populate the referenced field(s).
  • NOTE: A Save Warning will appear if the Personnel ID already exists – DO NOT SAVE through this warning. Doing so will overwrite the existing employee's information with the new employee's data. Cancel out of the warning, and change the Personnel ID to be unique.

Next Step