Improve Your Payroll Services -
Without Increasing Your Payroll
With the economy inching upward, you have recently discovered your business is growing and there's a need to add new employees. That good news comes with the realization that more time, and probably more trained staff, is needed to process more employee paychecks.
Computations can be a maze of paperwork, transfers of funds to different bank accounts, employee savings accounts, and different government agencies. All businesses are required by law to pay certain employee taxes, and to provide end-of-year wage reports (for example, W-2 forms). These tax amounts can change when employee gets married, has a child, or elects to change exemption status for any reason, and the implementation of new regulations (for example, the increase in the federal minimum wage) usually requires immediate compliance. Filing late or error-filled documents results in expensive penalties and fees.
Outsourcing payroll is not only convenient, it can also lead to significant cost savings since most payroll companies will be able to find tax savings you may have missed. A payroll company can also aid in reporting on job costs, as well as offer up-to-date staffing information such as employee sick and vacation time, productivity (based on sales made or jobs completed) and other important data that can aid you in strategic decision making. Some of the most popular payroll service options include:
Tax Processing: Most basic payroll processing packages will include the computation and payment of employment taxes. Payroll companies typically also compute withholding amounts based on employee salaries and W-4 forms.
Cost Reporting: Reporting services can help you determine how employee costs (wages, benefits, commissions, etc.) contribute to total business expenses. Businesses that offer commissions and bonuses to employees can tell if these incentive structures are working as intended.
Direct Deposit: Depositing employee wages directly into bank accounts is a highly valued feature. Most banks actually require direct deposit as a condition of offering "free" checking accounts. Direct deposit also especially convenient for companies that hire seasonal staff or those with many employees that are not scheduled regularly- it saves workers the extra trip to pick up a check if they are not scheduled for a shift.
Online Account Access: Both business owners and employees can opt for an online access payroll package, which allows you access to pay information at any time. For businesses, this feature is especially convenient- you can track payroll information from any location, and make changes that are implemented immediately.
Benefits of Outsourcing
Outsourcing payroll is a smart idea for any business owner that doesn't have the time or expertise to perform complex tax calculations. You get access to expert knowledge for a low price. Here are a few more benefits of outsourcing payroll:
Staffing concerns: Outsourcing is much more cost effective than hiring an in-office payroll bookkeeper. Smaller businesses often don't have the budget to hire a full-time bookkeeper. An outsourced payroll firm performs all of these duties: preparing employee paychecks, depositing tax amounts, and administering employee benefits.
Expert knowledge: Payroll calculations can be difficult and complex for many business owners who are not familiar with tax regulations and accounting principles. Hiring a payroll company is one of the best ways to make sure calculations are done correctly.
Save time and money: By eliminating the need to perform payroll functions yourself, you'll save a tremendous amount of time- and a lot of cash. Smart business owners assign certain tasks to the employees that will perform the job the most effectively. Outsourcing payroll is the same- a payroll company can process employee checks, administer benefits, and perform other tasks much more effectively than most small business owners would be able to do on their own. Administrative functions can be difficult for many business owners: they take up valuable time and can interfere with the process of actual business management. Hiring a payroll company allows you to leave the administrative tasks and tedious paperwork to an expert, freeing up time for business owners and managers to perform other tasks that are essential to the running of the business.
Hiring Off Site Business Services is the solution to many of these issues. We can handle a variety of payroll and paycheck processing issues. We calculate tax amounts, process employee paychecks, and even generate job and project cost reports. You'll save both the time it would take to process payroll documents and any costs associated with learning how to do it yourself.
Kimberly Shannon
