For employees who have temporary work visas, pay attention to expiration dates, since employers are responsible for knowing when to update employment forms without official notice. Earlier in the article, we touched on the fact that one of the main tenets of managing payroll is also keeping records. To stay compliant (and to have a backup in the event any workers have questions), maintain all of your payroll transactions, including employee hours, wages, tax withholdings, and benefits. In some cases, you may need to have these documents available should your business be subject to an IRS audit. For more information on the different rules, we have a guide, plus some tips on how to keep it all organized. However, with some planning, you can manage this process yourself, hire an outside company, or hire a team to do it for you.

Keep up-to-date employee records

Set up and track employee paid time off and manage paid, unpaid, sick, and vacation time. Managing payroll covers a lot of territory, but here are the minimum main tenets that most employers have in place. You’ll also need to make sure that you have an employer identification number (EIN). The IRS issues the primary EIN and you can apply online for free. You will also most likely need a state tax number from the state’s tax assessor. Wave PayrollPlans start at $20 per month (base) and $6 per person per month.

1. If you’ve received court orders for wage garnishments, consider using payroll software with garnishment management services to stay in compliance and avoid penalties.
2. Employees can be paid based on a salary or hourly based on a time sheet.
3. Part of getting management in place is getting a records system in place.
4. If managing payroll becomes too complex, hiring a specialist can save you time and reduce the risk of errors.
5. Some providers can also help make sure that important payroll forms, such as Form 941 which are filed each quarter, and Form 940 which is filed on time at the end of each year.

Our payroll software also includes same-day direct deposit and automatic tax filing, which is backed by tax penalty protection. They do all the heavy lifting with taxes and withholdings for a small fee. They pay the appropriate person, tax body or benefits program while all you need to do is tell them who gets paid for how many hours or what salary.

Stay up to date on state, local, and federal taxes

Then, stay on top of your payroll by regularly updating records and tracking employee hours so that when it comes time to run payroll it can be a smooth, accurate process. When it comes to general employee benefits, over half provide workers’ compensation insurance, followed by a third of SMBs offering a retirement savings plan. In larger companies, payroll is typically managed by the HR department or a dedicated payroll administrator.

Why use QuickBooks Online Payroll software?

Here are some ways that businesses handle this responsibility. Once again, we caught up with Billie Anne Grigg to share her thoughts on taking the DIY route for business owners that prefer to handle this task themselves. You will also need to keep in mind state tax deposit deadlines, although the good news is that most states follow the federal depositor guidelines. Kimberlee Leonard has 22 years of experience as a freelance writer. Her work has been featured on US News and World Report, Business.com and Fit Small Business.

Having a payroll management process in place is important to the success of a business because it goes beyond paying employees accurately and on time. Whether you choose to handle payroll yourself, hire a specialist, or use advanced software, having this portion of your business buttoned up will keep you informed, organized, and compliant. To manage this, you can sync up payroll, so that you pay premiums based on how many employees you have with pay-as-you-go workers’ compensation. When managing it all, the takeaway is that benefits and some required insurance should be something to think about.

Taxes done for you

When setting up payroll for your small business, you’ll find a lot of details come down to whatever payroll system you’ve chosen to implement. We’ll get more into those in a minute, but first, here are a few general steps for setting up payroll. The payroll process can vary for each business, but there are some core functions that need to be completed with each payroll run. We believe everyone should be able to loan account definition make financial decisions with confidence.

All QuickBooks Online Payroll plans offer full-service payroll. That means, in addition to automated payroll, you’ll receive full-service features. Applying for and obtaining an EIN is essential for reporting taxes and other documentation to the IRS. It’s something you are going to want to take care of before hiring employees. This ID number is putting an official stamp on your business venture.