If only you or only a few trusted employees use 21^st Century Payroll, your security needs are simple. You may not need any level of security provided by the software.

User Password Security

You may only need to configure User IDs for preferences that can differ from one user to the next. Each user logs in with a password that gives access to the entire system, unless additional security is in place (see below).

Company-wide Security

Use Accounts/Configure Company to set up security at the company level. You can set up a password for each company you maintain in 21^st Century Payroll to prevent unauthorized access to individual companies.

Command-level Security

But you'll definitely want to user System/User IDs plus System/Access Control if your company requires different levels of security for different employees. You can set up users or groups of users and control their access to an entire application (such as System, Accounts, or Payroll) or to individual commands (such as Customize Windows, Payroll/Configure/Employees, or Payroll/Print/Earnings Report). Access Control allows you to prevent unauthorized access to selected confidential company information.

Follow these steps to set up command-level security.

1. Double-click the zebra icon on your desktop to start up 21^st Century Payroll and use the "guest" user ID and a blank user password to log in.
2. Run the User IDs lesson to learn how to set up IDs for the people who use 21^st Century Payroll.

3. For setting security at more sophisticated levels, run the Access Control lesson.