How-To

How to Close Out the Year in Infor Lawson Payroll: A 5-Step W-2 Checklist

A practical year-end checklist for Infor Lawson payroll teams: lock the calendar, reconcile totals, clean up employee data, test the updates and review W-2s before release.

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Watch on the live page: How to close out the year in Infor Lawson payroll (1:06)

How-To · Episode H05

Presented by an AI presenter. Written and reviewed by Cendien.

5 steps in this how-to

  1. Lock down the calendar — Confirm final pay dates, cutoffs, and who signs off on each step.
  2. Reconcile year-to-date totals — Compare wages, taxes and deductions against quarterly filings and the general ledger.
  3. Clean up employee data — Fix addresses, tax IDs and missing information while it is still easy to correct.
  4. Apply the year-end updates in test first — Load the tax and form updates in test and run a trial set of W-2s.
  5. Review, then release — Check a sample of W-2s line by line, then produce and file them on time.
Read the transcript

Here's a quick how-to from Cendien: closing out the year in Infor Lawson payroll. Step one: lock down the calendar. Confirm your final pay dates, cutoffs, and who signs off on each step. Step two: reconcile year-to-date totals. Compare wages, taxes and deductions against your quarterly filings and the general ledger before anything is printed. Step three: clean up employee data. Fix addresses, tax IDs and missing information now, while it is still easy to correct. Step four: apply the year-end updates in test first. Load the tax and form updates in a test environment and run a trial set of W-2s. Step five: review, then release. Check a sample of W-2s line by line, then produce and file them on time. If you'd like help with your year-end close, talk to us at cendien.com.

Year-end is the one payroll cycle where small data problems turn into corrected W-2s, amended filings and a lot of employee questions. Most of that risk can be removed with a calendar, a reconciliation and a test run, done in the right order.

This checklist walks through the five steps our ERP team follows to close out the year in Infor Lawson payroll. Watch the one-minute video for the overview, then use the detail below as your working list.

Step 1: Lock down the calendar

  • Confirm the final pay dates and cutoffs for the year, including any off-cycle or bonus runs.
  • Name an owner for each step: who reconciles, who approves, who produces and files the forms.
  • Work back from the filing deadlines so testing and review are not squeezed into the last week.

Step 2: Reconcile year-to-date totals

  • Compare wages, taxes and deductions in Lawson against your quarterly tax filings.
  • Tie payroll to the general ledger and explain every difference before anything is printed.
  • Look at taxable wage bases and benefit deductions that affect W-2 boxes, not just gross pay.

Step 3: Clean up employee data

  • Fix addresses, names and tax IDs so forms reach the right person with the right identifiers.
  • Review employees who moved, changed status or left during the year.
  • Correct it now, in Lawson, rather than on the form. Fixes made after release are harder and slower.

Step 4: Apply the year-end updates in test first

  • Load the tax and form updates for the new year in a test environment that reflects production.
  • Run a trial set of W-2s and compare totals to your reconciliation from Step 2.
  • Record each step and setting so the production run is a repeat, not an experiment.

Step 5: Review, then release

  • Check a sample of W-2s line by line, including employees in several states and with unusual deductions.
  • Get sign-off from the owner named in Step 1.
  • Produce, distribute and file on time, and keep the reconciliation as your audit trail.

Frequently asked questions

When should year-end preparation start?

Earlier than most teams expect. Calendar, data clean-up and reconciliation can all start in the fourth quarter, well before the final payroll runs.

What if the trial W-2s do not match our reconciliation?

Do not release. Differences usually point to configuration or employee data issues. Resolve them in test, re-run, and only then produce the final forms.

Need a team that knows Lawson payroll?

Cendien's ERP team supports Infor Lawson and CloudSuite clients with HR and payroll, financials, reporting and integrations. Talk to our Infor team or read more about our Infor Lawson and CloudSuite support.

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