Identify Phase
Overview
The Identify phase determines which payees belong in the calendar run. It applies pay group membership, calendar selection criteria, and control rules before any payroll or absence calculation begins.
Identify Sequence
Inputs Used During Identify
| Input | How it affects selection |
|---|---|
| Calendar pay group | Defines the candidate payee population |
| Calendar payee selection criteria | Narrows the population to active, listed, or specially selected payees |
| Listed payees | Allows manual inclusion of named payees on the calendar |
| Stream or group list | Limits the processing scope for the current run |
| Suspend Active option | May suspend payees from an already open run so they can be processed in the new run |
What Identify Creates
| Record | Purpose |
|---|---|
GP_PYE_PRC_STAT | Tracks payee-level process status |
GP_PYE_SEG_STAT | Tracks segment-level state when segmentation applies |
The system creates two important status sets during Identify:
- one selection status per payee per calendar
- one calculation status per payee per calendar segment
Selection Status Basics
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Active | Payee was active at least one day in the calendar |
| Inactive | Payee was inactive but selected because of positive input, retro, or forwarding |
| Suspended by User | User suspended the payee for the run |
| Suspended by System | Payee is already tied to another open calendar group |
| Cancelled | User explicitly cancelled the payee from the run |
If a payee simply no longer qualifies for selection, such as after a transfer to another pay group, the system generally deletes the payee's process records rather than retaining an excluded status history.
Identify Runs Once, Then Iterative Triggers Take Over
For a normal run, Identify is executed once per calendar group or stream. After that, the system uses iterative triggers during later Calculate runs to pick up changes such as:
- new hires
- terminated or transferred payees
- new positive input
- changes that affect eligibility or recalculation
This is why you normally do not rerun Identify unless you cancel the run.
Suspend Active Behavior
The run control page includes a Suspend Active behavior for special situations. When it is active, the system checks whether a payee belongs to another open calendar group:
- if the payee is in another open group and is not frozen there, the system suspends the payee from the old run so the payee can be identified in the new run
- if the payee is frozen in the old run, the system suspends the payee in the new run instead
This is especially relevant for one-time bonus or special-payment processing.
What To Review After Identify
- missing payees that should have been identified
- unexpected payees caused by broad selection logic
- system-suspended payees caused by another open calendar group
- list-based selection errors
- segment counts that look wrong before calculation begins
Key Takeaways
- Identify is population control, not calculation.
- The first status records are created here and drive the rest of the lifecycle.
- If Identify is wrong, Calculate will only fail more expensively.