Payroll Service Bureau

Contact Information

Pamela Benos, CPA, Director
Voice: (804) 225-3096
Email: pamela.benos@doa.virginia.gov
  • 2022 PSB Operations Calendar
    [Jan]

Communication and Handling Updates

Fiscal Officers, Alternate Certifiers and H/R Partners,

Thank you for your patience as we continue to work through new challenges. Like many of you, Bureau staff continue to work off-site, remotely. Please partner effectively with us by following the guidance below.

Please continue to convey materials to the Bureau via the Bureau secure portal. USMail or Courier can no longer be used since we are working off-site. Conveyance via the secure portal ensures that all Bureau staff can access materials for processing rather than limited to the parties emailed directly.

Fiscal Officers reviewed those with portal access and updated additional parties needing access. If additional access changes are needed, please email me (provide the name and email address of those needing access).

When sending scans, please group and scan similar items in separate scans, if possible. For example if you have multiple common items to send at one time, please send a separate scan of all direct deposit items, a separate scan of tax forms, and a separate scan of all other materials. Doing so will help us more efficiently process the materials.

For direct deposit changes, please remember to review direct deposit forms prior to sending. Invalid forms cannot be accepted or processed. The Direct Deposit review checklist (https://www.doa.virginia.gov/onlineservices/PayrollServiceBureau/Agency-Use-Direct-Deposit-Form-Review-Checklist.pdf) will continue to be used, and examples of how to correctly complete the direct deposit forms are available at this link (https://www.doa.virginia.gov/onlineservices/PayrollServiceBureau/Direct-Deposit-Form-Completion-Examples.pdf).

Sincerely,
Pam Benos

Links

Reference Tools

  • Direct Deposit Form Completion Examples [PDF]
  • Direct Deposit Form Review Checklist [PDF]

Background

In Chapter 912 of the FY 97/98 Appropriation Act, the General Assembly approved the establishment of a service center at the Department of Accounts for processing agency level Payroll, Leave Accounting and certain Benefits data entry functions for selected agencies. This service center, known as the Payroll Service Bureau ("Bureau"), was created to achieve economies of scale, while alleviating agencies' administrative burdens.

In July 1996, the Bureau began operations, supporting approximately 1,780 employees in 17 agencies. Since that time, it has grown to its present support level of approximately 24,000 employees in 65 agencies.

Overview

The Bureau is comprised of a staff of thirty, including a director, three assistant directors, two accounting analyst seniors, sixteen payroll accountants (Payroll/ Benefits Analysts) and eight senior payroll accountants (Payroll/Benefits Analyst Seniors), with each Payroll/Benefits Analyst supporting an average of 1200 salaried and wage employees. To ensure strong customer service levels, each agency is assigned a Payroll/Benefits Analyst and a Payroll/Benefits Analyst Senior, who are responsible for coordinating activities and communications with the participating agency's personnel and for performing the services delineated below.

Services Offered by the Bureau

  • Payroll Processing - Payroll processing, including VSDP benefit calculations, and preparation of all payroll-related certifications and reconciliations.
  • Leave Accounting - Provided the participating agency uses the CIPPS Leave Accounting System, the Bureau performs leave data entry, review and audit of leave information, and prepares the annual Leave Liability Attachment required by DOA's Financial Reporting directives.
  • Reconciliations and Information Returns - The Bureau prepares the following reconciliations and information returns on behalf of the participating agency. Items requiring agency authorization are forwarded to the agency in sufficient time to allow management's review prior to the submission deadline. Other items are forwarded directly to the requesting authority.
Items Forwarded to Agency for Authorization Prior to Submission to Requesting Authority
  • Healthcare Reconciliation
  • Quarterly Certification of Taxable Wages
  • Quarterly VEC Unemployment Return and Work Site Reporting
  • Fiscal Year-end Leave Liability Attachment for CIPPS Leave System User Agencies
  • Annual Certification of W-2 Totals
  • 1,500 Hour Wage Employee Tracking
Items Directly Submitted to Requesting Authority
  • Reconciliation of VRS Retirement, Group Life and Long Term Disability Expenses
  • Non-Virginia State Withholding remittance of taxes
  • EPR Reporting
  • CIPPS/PMIS Compare Explanations
  • Gross Pay Difference Justifications
  • Control Totals of Taxable Wages and Taxes Withheld
  • "10 to 33" Reconciliation of Taxable Wages
  • Preparation of annual information returns for reciprocal states
A detailed description of the services provided by the Bureau, the PSB Scope of Services (formerly known as the "Business Process Overview") is available at this link . This document includes the delineation of participating agency and Bureau responsibilities.