Even for businesses with only a handful employees, payroll is an essential function that must be kept on track at all times. However, payroll management is a huge task for smaller businesses, who without the right expertise and time, struggle to keep up to date with every crucial aspect of it.
Choosing how often to pay your employees isn’t as simple as picking a schedule randomly; the payroll schedule you opt for can actually have a significant impact on your business and its cash flow, and careful consideration should be made before deciding.
All employers need to run payroll – even smaller businesses – but that doesn’t mean that it’s an easy process, and that you might not have a whole bunch of questions about how it works and what you need to do as an employer.
Nowadays, businesses have been forced to evolve in order to become less decentralized and a lot more flexible, especially in light of the way in which the entire world is more connected now than ever before.
Nowadays, businesses have been forced to evolve in order to become less decentralized and a lot more flexible, especially in light of the way in which the entire world is more connected now than ever before.
Payroll can be incredibly complex, even if you only employ a small number of people, and without professional intervention and assistance, mistakes can easily occur, and problems can quickly build up.
Employees need to be paid, no matter how busy you are as the owner of a company, and no matter how many employees you may have. And as no business can function without them, ensuring that employees are paid accurately for the work they’ve carried out for you, and in a timely manner, is absolutely imperative.
When compared to bigger companies, small businesses face a whole host of unique challenges, many of which they may not have the funds or resources to handle effectively in the same manner as a large business might.
As arguably one of the trickiest administrative functions of any organization, the tiniest and seemingly inconsequential of mistakes can take the whole payroll process down, and even force employees to work overtime to make the necessary corrections. When payroll mistakes go completely unnoticed on the other hand, you can enter into the dangerous territory of non-compliance, and even incur fines and costly legal action.
It’s an unfortunate reality that in many instances, payroll fraud isn’t detected, or even suspected, until large amounts of money have gone missing, and it can even take years for timesheet fraud or ghost employees to become apparent.
If you’re in the process of starting up your own business and are ready to take on employees, here are a few of the most basic payroll pointers to get you started. For more detailed information, you should seek advice from a professional company offering specialized payroll services.
If you’re a small business owner with employees, hiring an outsourced payroll service is always going to be beneficial, regardless of how many people you actually employ. Not only does outsourcing relieve you of the burden of running payroll, but it also alleviates the stress of maintaining compliance, and filing state, federal and local taxes on time, and accurately.
People have been paid for the services they offer and the jobs they complete for as long as humans have been in existence, and the concept of recording and tracking payroll is by no means a modern one. The way in which this is done has naturally evolved as businesses have, and payroll is now largely computerised and high tech. The laws regarding payroll have also evolved over time, and now more than ever, it’s vital that you remain payroll compliant to avoid costly penalties and disgruntled employees.
Payroll is vital for the smooth running of any business, and is about so much more than calculating employee salaries – although that alone can be a daunting task depending on the size of your company. As such, many businesses seek help to make sure they get payroll right, and remain within the confines of the various tax and employee laws.
Running a small business can provide great financial comfort in times of economic hardship - even more so if it’s a success - but it also requires a lot of dedication, hard work, time, and maintenance. Even small businesses have employees to pay, accounts to balance and financial decisions to make that can impact its very success, and every overhead cost has to be counted and justified.
When you're a small business owner, you know that payroll is one of the most important things you have to handle. It's not just about paying your employees and ensuring they receive their wages; it's also about having accurate records for tax purposes. The last thing you want to do is pay an employee incorrectly or miss out on paying them altogether.
As a business owner, how often do you review your bonus and overtime pay programs? While these may be expected expenses, they are often the source of payroll leakage that unless examined regularly, can lead to a loss in revenue and productivity.
Back at the beginning of November - as you’ll doubtless already know - the bill language was unveiled for the much discussed and long awaited, federal tax reform. One important provision highlighted in the bill, would lower the pass-through rate for business income to 25%, leaving the top individual tax rate at 39.6%,
Naturally, as an employer it’s your responsibility to ensure that your employees are paid accurately and in a timely manner, irrespective of how many workers you have. You must be aware of all laws pertaining to payroll and stay up to date with the myriad changes to these laws that can occur throughout the year. You also need to understand payroll taxes and be sure to file accurately and on time to avoid costly penalties. For most employers, payroll can be a minefield and the sensible solution would seem to be that of hiring a payroll professional to help you get it right.
While the process itself may seem easy – you’ve just hired your first employee and you need to pay them – if you’re new to business and payroll, you may find that it’s not clear exactly what you should be doing and how to go about it. There may be many words and phrases that you’re not familiar with, such as ‘pay periods’, ‘unemployment tax’ and ‘Form 941’ to name but a few.
It’s no secret that payroll compliance requirements can be complicated, and that managing payroll using an in-house team can be demanding at the best of times. Even for businesses with a smaller workforce, payroll must still be accurate, and always processed in a timely and efficient manner; get it wrong and your employees will soon let you know about it!
Every business owner must start somewhere, and even if you have grown up around business owners or your family runs a business that you are involved in, going it alone can be a whole different kettle of fish. While it’s highly advisable that new business owners seek professional help and guidance when setting up their company and preparing to take on and pay a workforce, there are a few basics that it can be helpful to understand before you begin intake proceedings.
The short answer to this question will always be a definitive, yes, but let’s look at the benefits of outsourcing payroll in a little more detail, and as a small business owner, you can make an informed decision as to whether you should choose to outsource this vital element of your company:
There are millions of companies throughout the U.S. outsourcing their payroll, but why do so many businesses choose to do this, and how does it benefit them? Read on to know more about the benefits of outsourcing payroll and learn how it could help your company:
Small businesses are said to employ almost half of all workers in the U.S. and if you run a business with employees, then your payroll is likely to be a little different this year; here are the top 10 changes to payroll for 2019:
Human resources departments within most companies are responsible for much more than simply processing payroll or handling the open enrolment season every year. Whether a business is large or small, human resources can play a large and often essential role in developing company strategy and handling all aspects of the employee-centred activities of an organisation.
As a business owner or manager, it can be tiresome to have to enter employee salary details into the payroll software, and then manually enter it into the accounting system, too. Without integration between the different software, this will always be a thankless and time-consuming task. In duplicating data from the payroll software to your general ledger, aside from it being a lengthy task, there is also ample room for error, and as all good business owners and managers should know, errors can cost a company more than just money.
Both time consuming and complex, payroll for employees is the bane of many a small business owners’ life, yet as a necessity, it has to be dealt with one way or the other. Fortunately, there are a number of ways in which you can simplify payroll, while still ensuring that your employees are paid; read on to know more:
Keeping up to date on federal and state policy issues and laws with respect to Human Resources and payroll, is a constant, ongoing task for HR professionals, and many small businesses outsource this element of their operations to ensure that they’re always compliant.
Employees who arrive late, take longer than permitted for their lunch breaks or slip out of work early, can cost your business dearly, with up to 20 hours of productivity being lost in some cases. So, what can you and your business do to help prevent this and get back all those lost hours? The solution is to make your employees more accountable by implementing an effective time and attendance management system.
Contrary to what some non-business minds may tell you, when put in place effectively, outsourcing payroll can be a fantastic way of cutting costs and giving a business an even better return on their investment. Read on to know more:
Name, phone number and address of child care facility or individual ... Once your status is 'Accepted', your tax return will be filed with the IRS and your state. ...
HR is a vital element of any successful business, but if it’s not run well, it can cause innumerable problems. One way of preventing the following mistakes is to hire an outsourced Human Resources provider who can take care of your payroll, too. Here are just 4 of the many costly HR mistakes you definitely don’t want to make:
Timekeeping and payroll are two elements of a business that are inherent to its success and making both as simple and effective as they can possibly be, is the first step towards a business being productive and profitable. Nowadays, more and more small businesses are turning to online systems to track and manage employee timekeeping and payroll, and there are multiple advantages, most of which can be found below:
Time management in the workplace is imperative, and when it is not managed effectively, it can have disastrous effects on a company. From negative employee morale, labor law compliance and payroll processing efficiencies to employee productivity, poor time management is bad news for business and can hold back company growth and profits.
Employee Assistance Programs, or EAP’s, are confidential workplace services paid for by employers that help their staff deal with a variety of stressors that may affect their daily performance and/or physical and mental wellbeing. Problems within the family, worries about money or relationship struggles can all have a detrimental effect upon employees and their ability to perform in a productive manner within the workplace, and over time, such concerns can have a very real impact upon a company.
Starting a new business can be a stressful time and there will be a lot of different things to think about. One of these may centre around whether your company really needs Human Resources, and you may not even be fully aware of what HR can do for your business. Below we look at their role in more detail and see how they can help with such important things as employee benefits, payroll and even conflicts among colleagues or between staff and employer.
While it might seem obvious that a company should carry out background checks before they take on any new workers, you’d be surprised to learn how few do. One common reason cited for not doing so stems from the cost; using the services of a pre-employment background check company naturally increases the overall cost of hiring, but this is not a valid excuse. The benefits of carrying out official background checks have been proven to outweigh the initial expenditure, and companies who have done so go on to reap the rewards of having a trustworthy network of employees who have no hidden surprises up their sleeves. Not to mention the fact that if your company becomes known as one that doesn’t carry out such checks, your staff will quickly be comprised of those with poor criminal and employment records.
Often shortened to ‘workers comp,’ the system of workers compensation that providesmedical care and protection of income to those employees who fall ill or injure themselves as a result of their job, is one that greatly benefits both employer and employee.
Human resources compliance best practices are a set of actions that an organization should take to ensure its compliance with federal, state and local laws. The term "best practices" refers to a standard that has been proven effective in improving performance or efficiency. It can apply to any organization that must comply with the same laws or regulations.
Investing in background checks for potential employees can often be worthwhile, but without really knowing what you’re looking for and understanding what type of action you’re permitted to take based upon the findings, they’re not always as helpful as they might seem.
With technology and workplace practices advancing at an increased pace every year (if not every month), the need for professionals to keep apace of developments and new techniques to be able to perform their roles effectively, is growing. The most effective way to ensure that this happens and employees are able to increase their knowledge and skillset, is with regular, ongoing training.
Employees are facing a lot of stress these days, and financial worries are often at the forefront of their minds. The cost of living is growing exponentially, and more and more American workers are struggling to manage their debts and support their families with less money, and more expense. As a result, planning for the future has taken something of a backseat, and saving for retirement couldn’t be further from most employees minds, no matter their age.
Tracking employee time and attendance sometimes gets left by the wayside as company’s focus their energies on other aspects of their business that they deem more important. And, as technology continues to change the way we do business, time and attendance can seem like an old-fashioned system, at least for those who haven’t yet explored the many new ways of tracking the hours their employees are working. No longer consisting of paper time cards and making ‘buddy punching’ virtually impossible, automated systems that use time and attendance software can help you track your employees time, and make your workplace a more productive and efficient one for everyone.
The U.S. is suffering from a stress epidemic quite unlike any other, with recent studies showing that more than ¾’s of the population suffer on a regular basis from stress related to work. Resulting in both mental and physical illness - or at the very least, exacerbating existing mental and physical health conditions – work-related stress can not only cause immense suffering for the individual, but for employers and entire companies, also. Stressed out employees typically aren’t as productive in their roles, and often struggle to work well as part of a team. For employers, this is of course bad news, and with mental health and stress related conditions taking up to as much as 8% of spending nationally on healthcare, it’s a financial headache, as well.
Employee background checks should be carried out by all employers, irrespective of the size and nature of their business, and using a third party to help navigate and control this, is usually beneficial.
Small businesses must deal with a lot of tasks related to HR, and without a department devoted entirely to it, or the help of a third party, they can become overwhelming, fast.
HR professionals face a variety of demands at the best of times, but with the global pandemic shaking up the way many businesses operate, the past few months have proved even more challenging for them. Not only have they been forced to make sense of new regulations and guidance that sometimes changed from day to day, but they’ve had to manage dwindling – or in some fortunate cases, increasing – workforces, and often, in-house HR pros were (and continue to be) understaffed and under resourced.
If you’re the owner of a business, anyone working for you should be covered by workers compensation insurance, whether they’re only part-time, employed on a seasonal basis, or even a family member, and it’s important to remember that whenever your business is open, you must have insurance in place.