Adding an Employee (or two) This Year?
If you are adding your first or new employees in 2014, it is important to know that payroll processing will now be a part of your operations. So now is the time to look at handling payroll operations as economic and employment realities, along with advances in technology, play a big part in payroll processing and payroll services. 
The legalities of payroll change annually at a minimum, and employers must stay on top of them to stay in compliance. Payroll is further complicated by laws, rules, and regulations at different levels, including local, state and federal, prompting many businesses, especially small businesses, to use outside payroll services. Tax and revenue governing bodies can implement changes quickly and in-house payroll processors are required to act in tight timeframes to stay in compliance. Additionally, new laws like the Affordable Care Act further complicate payroll reporting and processing. These complexities aren't going away in 2014, and there aren't any efforts by the government to simplify them either.
Affordable Care Act and Payroll
Yes, it's still out there. The Affordable Care Act has implications beyond health benefits that extend into payroll processing. Many employers who had no benefits offerings now have to figure out how to incorporate the new required coverage by early 2014. This has added administrative layers including deductions and tracking where there were none previously. Businesses have to get up to speed quickly or face a slew of administrative, legal, and financial difficulties.
Heading into 2014, the ACA has raised the need to link payroll and HR systems for many employers to efficiently and affordably track things like employee headcount, full-time employee status, benefit affordability and other issues. Payroll services are responding to this need and their reporting tools will be key for many employers to handle new administrative requirements of the ACA.
Paperless is Popular
Direct deposit and employee self service options are very effective paperless payroll solutions, but still generate some paper with paycheck stubs and W2's. Technology has continued to evolve to make payroll totally paperless in addition to the current methods. Look for better paperless processes than paycards that enable small businesses to go 100 percent paper-free to save money, time and resources. Some payroll services may even offer incentives for going completely paperless. Improvements in employee self service options, better HRIS integration with payroll and cloud-related services will make payroll more efficient and cost-effective going forward.
If your growth plans in 2014 include adding employees, add Off-Site Business Services Payroll Services to keep you, and your new employees, Happy this New Year!
Kimberly Shannon
