When you install the new Payroll program, it does not overwrite or delete your old version of Payroll. The reason for this is so you can still access your prior years information with the old version.

This is necessary because once you’ve converted your current year payroll files to the new 8.2.x version, you can no longer go under the File menu and choose the Year command to get to the previous years payroll. The new program only converts the current year.

The previous years are still available to you by accessing the old files using the old version of the program. If you don’t see the old shortcut/alias on your desktop or dock, you can still access it by following the path to where it resides. If, when you installed the old version, it installed to the default location, below is where you can find it:

Windows: C:/Program Files/Payroll – the application is the “pay” or “pay.exe”

Mac: Hard Drive/Applications/Payroll 8.1ƒ – the application is the “CheckMark Payroll”

Keep in mind the “OLD” application has the red checkmark in the icon.

And the “NEW” application has the green checkmark.

You can recreate a shortcut/alias to put back on your desktop or dock if you think you’ll need to be accessing 2010 and earlier data frequently. Once you open the application, if you had the preference set to “Open Last Company on Launch”, the last set of files you had open with this version will open up. If not, you would go under File to Open Company or Open Recent Company and locate the company files you wish to open. If you can’t find the files, you can use the “Find Company” command to locate the files and open them.

If you did not let the old program install to the default location, you will have to search your drive for the “pay” or “pay.exe” (Windows) or the “CheckMark Payroll” (Mac) to find where it’s located.