Careers Employment Center - Employment services and jobs

The importance of payroll services for small to mid-sized companies is not hidden anymore. The higher percentage of companies adopting SaaS-based payroll service has raised curiosity among other businesses too. Some of the companies are taking these services to cut down business costs up to 40% and some are taking these services to unburden their in-house team. Whatever the reason is; payroll services are being accepted by all types of businesses without any second thought.

If you are keeping yourself away from payroll services, you can take out few minutes to read this article to know more about it. These are:
Cost-Cutting: Every business is looking forward to cut down business costs to achieve higher profits. While outsourcing payroll processing gives the best chance to reduce one department in the company, it is the best way to reduce administrative expenses.
Accuracy: Every company appreciates accurate results as it helps them to stay away from penalties but also helps them to keep employees happy. Even if the accurate results are obtained by third-party, they will not mind spending little money on payroll services. Moreover, online payroll system has automated payroll software that calculates the total payroll amount with accuracy.
Timeliness: Every employee expects to get paid on-time in each pay period. They will not accept any type of excuses for the delay in salary transferring. In-house employees are always bound to keep all the tasks up-to-date as well as on-time. In order to maintain timeliness, they try to finish the work quickly which often results into errors. Moreover, no one can deny the fact that automated systems are more accurate than manual calculations.
Tax Compliant: It is important to stay compliant with the latest tax laws. However, you can not be sure that your in-house members are staying tax compliant to provide accurate results. Therefore, online payroll service provider ensures accuracy by staying compliant with Federal, Local and State payroll tax laws. Moreover, you will save time and money incurred for training in-house employees for accurate payroll processing each month.
Free-up Time: It becomes complex to prepare checks for each employee every company. Therefore, direct deposits are introduced by payroll service provider which automatically sends the accurate amount to the employees' bank account. This also helps employee to get the amount in their bank account without any delay.

In addition to above points, the company will also save money in paying only fees to the payroll company. They will not have to pay for their vacation time, appraisals, sick time and other benefits which are entitled for in-house employees.

To learn more about Payroll, visit Payroll Services.

View the original article here

Employers are required by law to have a system in place for tracking employee attendance of all non-exempt and hourly-wage employees. Many businesses, both large and small, have been using manual time clocks for this purpose. Unfortunately, in this day and age, traditional card punching time clocks have become less effective in truly protecting employers and ensuring they are compliant with the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Modern time clock online systems offer a wide range of punch in options that include swipe cards, proximity readers, and the best of all biometric fingerprint recognition technologies. Employees punch in and out at the start and finish of each work day, as well as for extended breaks such as meal breaks or personal appointments.

Tracking employee attendance and maintaining work hour records are mandatory for employers by both state and federal laws. Every business organization is required to maintain some form of time record for non-exempt employees. This can either be a punch time card, a paper time sheet, or electronic record generated through an electronic employee system such as a time clock online. These stored time records should clearly specify the total number of hours for each day, as well as paid time off and sick leaves. Specific requirements in this regards may differ from state to state, so keep yourself well informed with the particular requirements of your state law.

Employee time documents should be maintained in such a way that the essential work hour data recorded by tracking employee attendance clearly indicates the following:

1. Details of the start and end of each payroll cycle

2. The name of every non-exempt employee paid

3. The number of hours worked by each employee, each day of the pay cycle

4. Total number of work hours during each payroll cycle for each employee

5. Separate details of hours paid at regular time, as well as at overtime

6. Details of missed scheduled days that are yet to be paid to the employee

7. Details of paid time off drawn by each employee

8. Details of bonuses, incentives or tips paid to each employee (if any)

It can be rather difficult to follow these steps when an employer is using manual time keeping methods. A better approach to ensure FLSA and other labor law compliance is to use a time clock online system so that all of your data is not only up-to-date, but is also accurate and to-the-minute. Whether you use an automated or manual system, it is recommended that you perform random audits of employee payroll records to make sure everything is in order.

Dawn Berry is a marketing manager at uAttend, one of today's fastest growing providers of employee time management solutions. Small business owners are on the lookout for cost effective tools for tracking employee attendance and streamline their administrative processes. An employee time clock from uAttend is just the thing to help them do so. uAttend's employee management solution features a wireless time clock online for small businesses that delivers exactly what any small business needs - flexible and affordable time and attendance management options with universal, online access to employee payroll data. In addition, uAttend offers free technical and customer support making it the preferred choice for small businesses.

View the original article here

Checks issued from banks may not suit a business for most purposes. Custom-designed checks that reflect the values and style of the company are a more preferred option. Most of the accounting software like Quicken, Peachtree, MYOB and QuickBooks provide the option to use custom-designed business checks.

QuickBooks is an accounting package that is used by most businesses. If you are one of them, all you need is a good supplier of business printed QuickBooks checks in order to start using your own custom-designed checks for your company. Find a supplier who can also provide business envelopes, deposit slips and endorsement stamps to match your checks. The QuickBooks software has a good collection of tutorials that teach you how to use printed business checks on your printer. The software is so intuitive that beginners as well as advanced users can make good use of its features.

For quick and easy ordering of supplies, choose a supplier who has an online presence. See if they have an inventory of printed business QuickBooks Checks in a wide variety of styles and colors. You should be able to choose a style that suits your specific requirement. If you cannot find the colors and style you are looking for, then move on to another supplier who has a better collection and variety of designs.

Choose a site that has an easy and intuitive ordering procedure. Especially when you need supplies in a hurry, a site that has a streamlined ordering procedure would be extremely useful. When you order once, all your contact details and preferences would be stored on the supplier's site. The next time you order supplies, you would not be required to enter your contact information all over again. Choose a site that offers this feature so that your ordering process in quick and smooth every time.

Many sites offer quick start packs that help you get started quickly with customized printed checks. They come with around 200 or more computer checks, about 100 deposit slips and an equal number of window envelopes, and an endorsement stamp. Choose a company that has such packages in order to get started quickly. Ensure that the supplier also has a good shipment system so that the packages you order reach you on time.

Once you locate a good supplier of printed business QuickBooks Checks, you can streamline your accounting process and speed up your check printing routines.

Visit http://www.checkomatic.com/ to order customized Quickbooks Checks in a variety of styles and designs.

View the original article here

The other day, I was talking to an individual about his small business, and he asked me what he should be paying his employees. Now mind you this is a small company with only two employees, and occasionally some part-time workers to handle some of the larger accounts which come up during the month. We were talking about how to trim costs off his business so that he could make more money. He was wondering how he might do that because his labor costs were the highest costs of all. Okay so let's talk about this for second shall we?

Now then, here's where perhaps a little philosophy is good, and I'd like to give you something to think about. Specifically I'd like to ask you a question; "in your business, do you consider your employees an asset to your company, or do you see them as merely cost?" How you answer this question says a lot about how you think when strategizing how to grow your business, it probably says a lot about your personal psychology, theory of commerce, and level of empathy as well, but I'm not here to address those issues today.

Rather, what I'd like to say is that; whereas, it is true that labor costs are real, and you need to watch those costs, you also need to understand that your employees are one of your greatest assets, and when they are happy and productive, it increases the efficiency of your business allowing you to make more money, and if they are on your same team with that set of ideals, your business will run a lot smoother. No, that's no guarantee of success, there's much more to running a business just that.

Nevertheless, if your employees feel that you are treating them unfairly, taking advantage of them, or completely disrespect them as human beings, you can't expect to get their best efforts out of them, especially when you're not looking. It really is nothing more than a matter of; buy-in. If your employees are in it to win it, to give great customer service, and to make your company great, for your benefit and theirs, it will surely show.

At that point, whether you pay them the minimum, or the maximum, or something in between with a little bonus here and there for excellence, well it can make all the difference. You can't pay people more money and expect them to work harder, more efficiently, or better, rather you need to build in a reward system, exercise a little bit of tough love management, but make sure they know you are on their team, so that they will be on yours. Indeed I hope you will please consider these words of wisdom, they were not easily learned. Think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Business Management Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

View the original article here

Time recording devices have been in existence since the late 19th century. Providing accurate time information, they are essential for payroll and discipline. Time recorders are an important cog in the machinery of modern businesses. By controlling and regulating the time habits of employees, a manager can use this to improve productivity. Most of the simple recorders are quick and efficient machines that require little or no training. However, with recent technological advances, there are an increasing number of more complicated time recording devices on the market that may need training and manuals.

Time recorders store important information and can automatically calculate things like hours worked and salaries accordingly. They also allow the manager to view which employees are arriving late, taking the longest breaks or leaving early. In short, this is a device that helps you to eradicate the wasting of time, and take action against regular offenders. The fact that employees know their timekeeping is now under scrutiny will encourage them to cut out lateness. It will lead to an increase in discipline, and make sure all employees are at their work station for their entire shift.

Although the function of all recorder is virtually identical, there are different types of recording machines on the market. From the simple clock card system to swipe card systems and biometric software, different devices will work for different companies. A small company consisting of less than 50 employees will be best served by the clock card system. Each employee carries his own specific card and clocks in every time he arrives at work and leaves the office. Repeating the procedure upon departure will ensure that the clock card prints the exact arrival and departure times thus allowing the HR manager to calculate important salary-related information.

Swipe card systems and biometric software represent a more advanced version of the simple time recorder. As the name suggests, the swipe card systems require an employee to run their card through the electrical device. The swipe card system can also double as a security system with access to the building and individual rooms limited to only those with a swipe card. The Biometric system does away with any form of cards or papers. Instead, the electronic device recognises a certain physical trait for each individual, normally a fingerprint or an eye scan. Even though the more advanced time recorders come with their own advantages, the essential function is still based around the need to increase productivity.

Amano Direct Sales best ID card Printers and Clock Cards for corporations for other Time Recording products please visit our website.

View the original article here

Are you finding it very difficult to manage your business because of the many different demands on your time and energy? You might have started your particular business in order to sell a product or service that you are very passionate about. However, you also need to get involved in the nitty gritty of running a company and this involves certain routine tasks such as payroll management. Thankfully, you can hire companies that offer payroll services to take care of this important but boring task so that you don't need to waste any time on it.

Payroll services are very important because they help ensure that your employees get their salary on time. It is important to pay people the correct salary without delay because this helps to keep them motivated to work. This in turn ensures that your business does very well. However, you might not want to hire a person just to do this job because this might work out to be too expensive. You too will not want to be bothered by this task since your time will be better spent on activities that actually generate revenues and increase your business.

You will save a lot of money and will be able to focus on your core strengths if you get a third party to manage your payroll processes because this is cheaper than hiring an expert to do the job. In fact, this task will also be done in the best manner possible because you will have experts managing it who know all the laws and regulations concerning managing the payroll.

They will handle all payroll related issues directly with the bank, which helps reduce the headache you get from your business. Many small businesses end up paying penalties because they make mistakes when managing their payroll. In addition, they tend to have delayed or incorrect filings because they do not pay adequate attention to this subject. These penalties can eat into profits at a time when your company can hardly afford the expense. This can easily be avoided with the help of companies offering payroll services since they know exactly what to do and when.

Make sure that you select a company that has a very good reputation in the market and which has been doing this work for a very long time. It's also a good idea to shop around for rates in order to reduce your operating costs.

Find out why it's a good idea for you to outsource your boring and cumbersome payroll services to a third party. Focus on the parts of the job that are your strength so that you can take your business to greater heights.

View the original article here

Time keeping quickly turns into a costly aspect of running a small business like yours when you don't get the help you needed immediately. This problem probably holds true for companies with employees working through flexible or rotating shifts. Tracking their logged hours and calculating their pay based on their irregular work schedules becomes a hassle when done manually and repeatedly. Of course, you'll reach more accurate results faster when you hire more staff to double-check the different times that your employees logged on and off at work. However, this seems too much of a burden for startup companies and small businesses. Rather than see additional labor costs included in their monthly budget, these business owners would rather make a one-time payment for a cost-effective and multi-functional tool in payroll management.

No More Old Dog Tricks in Re-Calculating Logged Hours of Work

In the old days, employees used to insert their time cards into a special clock that stamps the exact date and time for logging on and off work. Unfortunately, manual insertions led to cheating tricks, which involved clocking into work by proxy. In this case, an individual would ask a co-worker to insert their cards one after the other into the time clock. Thus, it would look like the first employee also clocked in early, but in truth, it was almost ten o'clock when he sat down at his desk. However, the recent developments in computer technology have turned this "cheat" and others like it into a relic of the analog-dependent past.

Now, there's a more reliable method in managing the monthly payroll that's free from overt manipulation of actual hours worked. If you wanted to make sure the hours summed up correctly and included all work done during a holiday or the night shift, you could take the less expensive route by using custom business software that helps you manage your payroll easily. Instead of spending more by hiring new staff to make sure your employees get paid accordingly, why not get custom-made software that's specially designed for your payroll needs? It runs on top of MS Excel, which you and everyone else already know to use. And so, you and your staff won't need any additional training, which leads to its faster implementation in your company's accounting system.

Quickly Redistribute the Work Load during Sudden Absences and Emergencies

Managing different sets of work schedules for different groups of employees at the same time becomes even more difficult to handle when changes had to be made frequently. On top of re-scheduling employees with approved vacation and maternity leaves, shift managers and business owners also had to deal with unexpected absences because of a sudden illness or a personal emergency.

Generally, sick workers had to call in an hour or two before the morning shift began and inform the shift supervisor that they'd be absent for that day. This leaves the manager barely enough time to call and ask another employee who'd be willing to come in as a reliever. Of course, the employee got paid for all his or her trouble; this extra pay would have been equivalent to a full day's wage for the absent worker, or it's the total overtime pay for an additional 8 hours of work.

Sometimes, a shift supervisor must be ready to fill in for an employee who had to leave immediately because of an emergency. An emergency leave often applies to urgent situations that require medical assistance. An example would be an employee who had an accident at work and must be brought to the nearest hospital as soon as possible. Naturally, the employee's injury automatically qualified the employee for a sick leave with pay.

In addition, the employer immediately presumes the employee's lengthy absence (about a week or two) because of the time required for complete healing and recovery. Another situation where an employee had to end his shift early usually involves someone closely related to him or her either by blood or by friendship. The emergency leave's purpose was to give ample time for the employee to go home straight or to quickly travel to the hospital where she was urgently needed by her child, her spouse, or her dearest friend.

Extend the Security and Usability Features of Your Payroll Management System

Using a bio-scanner or an RF ID strengthens the security of your time-keeping and payroll management system. A scanner or RF chip embedded in an ID card makes logging on and off your work shift a breeze. This method also prevents employees from knowing and accessing the computer where all of the employees' logs were stored. However, the bio-scanning device or the RF ID chips may cost too much for you to implement them in your workplace.

In contrast, you don't have to create a time-keeping and payroll system that consists of elaborate or expensive components. Find reliable Open Source tools in time-keeping and other freeware apps in payroll management that won't likely infect your PC with Trojans. Alternatively, you can customize an Excel spreadsheet template into your own time-keeping sheet, which you can further configure to automatically update data in other sheets. For example, every time the employee logs in or out from the time-keeping sheet, the corresponding total number of hours worked by that employee was also updated in real-time within your current payroll sheet. Moreover, you can add security to your time-keeping data by installing and running macros that prevented unauthorized editing of the logged times and dates.

Claire Ponsaran has been working as a freelance writer since 2009 for various businesses online. Most of what she's written belongs to popular niches, which include customized desktop apps and Windows-based business tools that function on top of the MS Office Suite.

View the original article here

Reimbursements are not so cut and dry, however, and there are many questions that must be considered when reimbursing employees:
What kind of expenses are reimbursable?How much is reimbursable?What kind of documentation is needed?Are the reimbursements subject to Tax Withholding?

Accountable Plan

Clients often ask whether expenses paid for by their employees can be reimbursed tax free. In order for reimbursements to be tax exempt, they must be paid under what's known as an "accountable plan," and the reimbursements must meet certain criteria.

In short, an "accountable plan" is one where employees must account for their expenses with documentation and reasoning. The following three elements are checked to determine whether or not employee reimbursements and advances are eligible to be made without FITW:
Business connectionAdequate substantiationExcess funds returned within reasonable time

For reimbursements and advances to be tax free, employees must prove their expense has a prudent business connection. The expense must be paid for or incurred by an employee while performing their duties as an employee. If advance is paid, it must be done so at a time when it is anticipated that an expense will take place.

Employees must also provide the employer with adequate substantiation, which typically comes in the form of a receipt, however, the substantiation rule is met as long as the employee provides the amount of the transaction, as well as its time and place. Additionally, the description of the business connection must be part of the substantiation.

We recommends companies put an expense report policy in place, requiring employees to submit expense reports detailing the information regarding the expense reimbursements, complete with receipts attached, prior to issuing reimbursements. It is always a good idea to have policies in place to standardize these kinds of processes within a company. These types of proactive procedures allow for more managerial control, and fewer compliance issues with the IRS and other tax agencies.

The final element for an "accountable plan" only applies to advances. This rule dictates that any advanced amount in excess of the substantiated expense must be returned to the employer within a reasonable amount of time. A reasonable time can be determined as either being a fixed amount of time, usually within 30 days from when the expense is incurred, or on a periodic basis where the employer provides the employee with periodic statements showing the expenses that must be substantiated. These statements are usually quarterly, and employees should not take more than 120 days to substantiate outstanding expense advances.

PayMatic Payroll Service is a full service payroll bureau based in Monsey, NY providing payroll, HR and time and attendance solutions custom fit to your business needs. Additionally, PayMatic Payroll's team of certified HR professionals can answer questions in regards to wage and hour law, legal compliance and personnel issues in all 50 states.

PayMatic Payroll Service specializes in payroll for small and mid size businesses in all 50 states and has been providing complete payroll peace of mind since 2007.

Please visit us at http://www.paymaticinc.com/ for more information about PayMatic Payroll.

View the original article here

Everyone makes mistakes, but in payroll it seems like there are a lot of mistakes to be made. Below is a list of 13 of the most common payroll mistakes I have seen and compiled them into a single list. I hope they are helpful to you and can help improve your own payroll system for your business!

First, Not backing up your system. Since the person who manages your payroll is most likely human, you can rest assured they will not be able to work every day. Make sure that you have some means of still operating your payroll program without them. You also need to have a manual means of recording payroll in the event of a technological malfunction.

Second, Failure to Issue 1099's. When hiring a vendor or independent contractor, it is important to remember if you pay them more than 600 dollars for their services, they have to file a 1099. Harsh penalties are subject to anyone who doesn't provide this form, as it is an integral part of your outside employment and tax records.

Next, Incorrectly Classifying Employees. Making sure that your employees are correctly classified is imperative to not only keeping good tax records, but different employee types are subject to different payments and/or benefits packages. Make sure you adhere to all your state and federal laws in regards to how your employees are classified and structured within your business.

Improperly Labeled Independent Contract Workers is another mistake. Labeling all your employees independent contract workers is not a good way to avoid giving them compensation. The status of employment is also watched closely by the IRS, and improperly labeling employees is a good way to get audited and can greatly impact your worker's income taxes and tax withholding.

Choosing Exempt or Non-exempt. Employees who are classified as exempt are not required to accumulate overtime. Simply putting an employee on salary does NOT exempt them from overtime. Classifying an employee's status requires you to be familiar with federal and state laws, and can be different for different jobs.

Excluding Travel and Commuting Expenses for Employees. As a general rule of thumb, traveling and commuting expenses accrued are not considered taxable income to a subordinate. If said employee is traveling to a work site not located in his permanent residence, however, than his travel and commuting benefits will need to be provided.

Miscalculating Unemployment for State Taxes is a very common mistake. Being late or miscalculating your state's Unemployment Taxes can cost your business its unemployment tax credit, which can be up to 5.4%. You can also face a lawsuit if notice is not provided for employees who have been laid off of their unemployment benefits.

Improperly Recording Overtime can be a killer. There are state and federal regulations on overtime pay. It is not limited to 1.5 times the hourly wage of the employee and may carry even more calculations to be accurate.

Security for Employee Paychecks against scammers. Technology has helped make businesses big and small be more self sufficient and have more advanced tools for their activities. This same technology is being used to cheat you in some situations as well. Check fraud is a very real occurrence, and you have to make sure your business is protected by way of watermarks or any other kinds of security paper methods. Because of this fact more businesses are paying their employees through direct deposit, which bypasses the paper method of fraud completely.

Mishandling Employee's Debts from Wages can be crippling. It is vital to withhold any type of wage garnishments, tax levies, child support, or any other court-ordered paycheck withdraws. Be sure you confirm with the state that is ordering the payment that you are deducting the employees check correctly.

Lack of or Unsatisfactory Record and Data Acquisition is deadly for your business. Almost 2% of all total payroll costs are contributed to errors in record-keeping. The Internal Revenue Service demands you retain four years of records at least, and some states require even further archiving.

Don't forget about not Properly Recording Taxable Items. Federal tax laws requires you to consider prizes and awards fringe benefits subject to income and employment tax withholding. Gift cards are considered as cash and should never be excluded from taxable wages.

And finally, not Meeting Timetables for Taxes: Depending on how late a company is on reporting their taxes, they may be subject to late deposit penalties and interest rates. Depending on how late the tax payments are, the range can vary from 2% to up to 20%

Mr. Holbert is a representative of payrollbuilder.com. These articles are for informational purposes and should only be reproduced in it's entirety and given proper acknowledgment. Visit my blog at http://www.payrollbuilder.blogspot.com/

View the original article here

Many times, no matter how many employees a business may have, it can seem as if there isn't enough manpower or time to get everything done. When this occurs, many things are put on the backburner. For example, imagine a business with 70 employees. They aren't necessarily struggling, but they aren't making nearly as much money as many of the big corporations in the country. They don't have much money to waste, and any money they can save makes a world of difference. Having to hire a staff or even a single person to perform payroll services can be quite costly to this particular kind of small business. It can be much more cost effective to research professional payroll services, find a suitable choice, and just let them take care of it.

Some people may think this is no different than a company hiring their own staff member. In their eyes, the staff member must be paid, just like the professional company. Therefore, there really isn't much saving involved with this particular choice. However, this couldn't be further from the truth.

One reason is because of all of the extra costs and expenses that come along with hiring full-time employees. For example, many businesses cover health costs for their workers. It's not that they necessarily have to, but it can be difficult to attract high-caliber workers without offering some type of health coverage.

Many companies also offer their employees paid vacations. So, in other words, they are paying someone for time that they aren't actually working and contributing to the business. This isn't to say that workers don't deserve these types of perks. However, a business can really save by not having to offer this type of benefit.

Having full-time employees also means having to provide office space and supplies. This may not seem like a big deal, but if someone were to add up the cost of office supplies per worker over the course of the year, they would be surprised to see how much money is spent.

As previously stated, there are a lot of costs that come along with hiring employees. Therefore, if a company can cut back on the amount of full-time workers that they have, they can definitely save money. So, when it comes to something like payroll services, it is often best to solicit the help of an outside company. This way, the only thing that must be paid is a fee that doesn't include health coverage, paid vacation time and other expenses.

This isn't to discourage businesses from hiring full-time workers, when they actually need them. It's understood that most businesses need at least a small group of full-time employees. However, there are times when getting help from an external company is the best bet, particularly for smaller businesses that don't have a great deal of payroll paperwork to process in the first case.

For small companies in New Orleans payroll services can be a big help. If you're thinking about this option for your own company, visit the following for more information: http://www.payrollrx.com/.

View the original article here

Payroll is the amount of money which is spent by the company for paying the wages of all employees every month. Big organizations have their in-house payroll department that makes complicated and time-consuming payroll calculations for all the employees. However, small or medium-sized companies do not make an investment in setting up another department but assign duties to the administration department. The lack of knowledge and expertise in making complicated payroll calculations which are also compliant with latest payroll tax laws leads to errors.

In order to eliminate errors due to human involvement, online payroll services are introduced wherein calculations are done by automated payroll software to give timely and accurate results. The reason is because every employee anxiously waits for their salary and incentives, and desires to get paid on time. Inability to pay timely and accurately results into loss of trust of employees for the organization.

Hence, small to mid-sized businesses are hiring online payroll services to relieve themselves from all tensions related to payroll. There are many service providers who provide SaaS-based payroll system wherein data of each employee is put into the system to calculate the gross salary amount by making necessary deductions each month. However, it is not necessary that every employee has similar pay period and can be weekly, biweekly and monthly. Therefore, it is important to segregate the number of employees in terms of their pay period. The gross income calculated at the month-end can vary each month by considering overtime, compensations, commissions and other incentives.

Once the gross salary is calculated, the online payroll service provider calculates the amount to be deducted in terms of Federal, Local and State payroll taxes. The accuracy in calculating, paying and filing of payroll taxes is vital to avoid any type of complications, penalties and notices by the IRS department.

While you have outsourced payroll services, you can be sure of the accuracy of payroll and payroll taxes. Even if the company receives any notice by the IRS department, the notice is sent to the service provider to tackle directly with the concerned department. This ensures that these companies are efficient in carrying out payroll calculations and are responsible for any type of notices due to late payment or inaccurate payroll tax payment.

If you want to save your precious time and want to stay away from complexities involved with payroll process, you can also rely on a reputed online payroll company. This will not only help you to avoid errors but will help you to keep your employees and administrative department satisfied.

To learn more about Payroll, visit Payroll Services.

View the original article here

Recently, the U.S. Department of Labor has had to deal with a rash of wage-theft lawsuits. The department found it necessary to file charges against numerous employers who short-changed employees in the area of overtime compensation. Experts who work these cases on a daily basis tell us that the number one issue is the miscalculation of overtime pay. A device as simple as an employee time clock might prevent many of these legal cases from ever coming to trial. When employers fail to pay workers for overtime, or when they misclassify hours worked, they often find themselves on the wrong end of a federal government lawsuit.

Whenever a company does not pay a worker for overtime, or regular hours worked, the issue is referred to as wage theft. Typically, when an employee doctors a time card in order to defraud his employer, that practice is called time theft. Recent government litigation has shown that the two most common practices, which lead to wage theft could be prevented by simple employee time clocks. A recent major case was filed by the Department of Labor against one of the nation's largest retailers. The retailer ended up having to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in back pay to workers who had not been properly compensated for overtime.

An employee time clock, properly used, might have prevented that major case from seeing the light of day. When both companies and workers are vigilant, and use sophisticated employee time clock devices, such problems are avoided altogether. Due to the spate of lawsuits, more companies are installing modern time clock devices and software in order to prevent a trip to the courthouse.

Quality time and attendance systems, like biometric access systems, can measure every second of each worker's time, and categorize that time correctly. If a problem arises, it is easily fixed. No longer do owners and employees need worry about paycheck accuracy. Many high-tech systems in use today are able to prevent identity theft as well.

Wage theft continues to be a huge legal issue for companies, but with the advent of sophisticated time and attendance software, the problem is likely to abate. Time clock systems are inexpensive, especially considering what management and labor can save in terms of legal costs, hours lost, and frustration avoided. Some of the best attendance systems use biometric data to prevent unauthorized access and employee time theft.

Looking for quality time clocks to help your business? Consider one of several affordable and quality models from Time Clocks & More.

View the original article here

It's a tough market for job-seekers, and continuing reports of a lack of employment opportunities coupled with rising redundancies can make the future look bleak.

Working as a contractor or a temporary worker is one way to help beat the recession blues, by taking your employment prospects into your own hands. However, there is no denying that it can be daunting, especially when it comes to sorting your finances and paperwork. An Umbrella Company can provide you with payroll and employment services, acting as a contractor accountant and taking over some of the administration obligations that you would otherwise be responsible as a sole trader or self-employed individual.

When you join an umbrella payroll you become a flexible employee, making you eligible for benefits such as paternity/maternity pay and holiday pay too. At the same time you will be able to retain some of the great benefits of working as a contractor, such as greater autonomy over where and when you work, as well as developing your own brand and offering your own unique service.

Bringing together a group of contractors underneath a single employment umbrella, joining an umbrella payroll can provide you with the some of the benefits of a limited company without all the hassle.

As contractor accountants, Umbrella Companies can be very valuable indeed. Getting onto an umbrella payroll can increase the tax efficiency of your earnings, enabling you to get tax relief on some expenses, reducing your costs in the long run. This is a benefit you would not find if you were taken on to an agency payroll.

An umbrella company will deduct any taxes directly from you pay and make sure it goes straight to HMRC and allow you to avoid the implications of IR35 or MSC legislation.

You will have to pay a fee to enjoy the benefits of joining an Umbrella Company, usually a small amount per week during periods of work. How much this fee is will depend on the Umbrella Company you choose to operate with, with a wide range of providers available.

It's proved to be a tough start to the decade for employment opportunities, but as employers cut back on permanent staff it may prove to be a window of opportunity for contractors, as demand for temporary services may rise quickly. Working as a contractor can give you peace of mind that redundancy is not on the cards, operating alongside an umbrella company could prove to be an unbeatable combination.

An Umbrella Company can provide employment and payroll services giving you a helping hand with some of the more taxing elements of self-employment.

View the original article here

Small business owners are a courageous breed. Their adventure in business is filled with many different challenges and surprises. One surprise for most of those just starting out as entrepreneurs is the mountain of taxes that they will have to deal with in their new positions.

The different taxes that the business owners have to manage are:

Source Deductions - when you begin paying employees, this money is withheld by the business owners from their employee's wages for submission to the Government of Canada.

GST - when you begin selling your products and services, you will need to charge this tax on each sale transaction. This is money that is collected from your customers for submission to the Government of Canada.

Business Taxes - money submitted from the revenues of a business to the local municipal government. This is similar to property taxes on your home.

Provincial Taxes - the tax that is charged by the provincial government based on the profit of a corporation.

Federal Taxes - the tax that is charged by the federal government based on the profit of a corporation.

Personal Taxes - the tax that is charged by the federal and provincial governments on the income of the business owners.

While all of these taxes are important to pay, small business owners often have the challenge of trying to apply limited funds to unlimited taxes. This is especially true for companies that are struggling to become profitable.

The main rule to remember is this. Source Deductions and GST have to be paid first. In the case of these two taxes, the government considers the small business owner to be an agent for the government. The money that is collected is being held in trust by the business owner for the government. Ignoring this can lead to serious trouble.

To put it another way, consider how you would feel if you found out that the GST taxes collected by a business was being used to purchase a bigger car for the business owner. Or maybe the tax withheld on your salary was being used as a down payment on a summer home. It becomes pretty clear when one considers this that paying these amounts to the government is very important.

Once the Source Deductions and GST have been paid, then the other taxes have to be paid in no particular order. When presented with limited funds and unlimited taxes, I have written post dated cheques to all of these different tax departments with pretty good success. By doing this, the business owner shows that they are trying their best to deal with the outstanding amount that is owed. Although this is not a perfect solution, it is better than not paying at all.

So in short, there are a lot of different levels of taxes that the Canadian small business owner has to deal with. Ignoring the payment of source deductions and GST is foolish. When faced with limited cash, try paying the taxes using post dated cheques.

Gerald Hunt B.Sc. MBA is a small business accountant. He is the owner of the Padgett Business Services® franchise in Southeast Calgary and Okotoks. Padgett Business Services® provides bookkeeping, accounting and tax services to small owner operated businesses. Sign up for the Small Biz Builder Newsletter for informative tax and accounting tips at http://www.smallbizcalgary.com/

View the original article here

If you put off doing the payroll often, it may be time for you to look into a payroll agency. Getting outside help allows you to lift the burden off of yourself so that you have time to do all of the other things that go into running your business. Further, it also keeps you from having to keep up with all the legislation that surrounds doing the payroll.

Not only does outsourcing to a payroll service allow business owners to focus on the actual running of the business, but it also allows them to avoid the hassles that come along with doing the payroll: researching to ensure they are in compliance with all legislation and answering difficult questions like, "How long should I keep an employee's work history?" or "What do I do when I fire someone?" and "What do I do if a member of my staff wants paid vacation time - what are the legal requirements here?"

These are the questions that can be answered by a payroll agency. Instead of doing the payroll yourself, or spending a large amount of money to hire a full-time HR or payroll person full-time, you can simply go online and work with an agency right away, and even receive up to the minute reports and cost breakdowns.

Outsourcing the payroll not only means you no longer have to worry about keeping up to date with the laws for payroll processing and knowing when it's time to file T-4's or "ROEs"; it also means streamlining all of your processes and possibly even converting payment systems over to direct deposit. This is one of the areas where you'll find your outsourced agency can help greatly.

A payment system that includes direct deposit allows you to immediately, quickly and easily pay your employees without having to write any checks or wait for them to be cashed. This system not only allows the business owner to put the time usually spent buying and writing checks towards something more productive, but it also saves employees the time they would normally spend going to the bank to cash their pay checks.

Outsourcing the payroll, all in all, is a viable solution for businesses large and small. These days, when everything can be done online, there is no reason for any business owner to spend inordinate amounts of time stressing about the process involved with paying staff. That time is better spent working to bring more revenue into the business, instead of researching and implementing the correct legal ways to pay others. Let a payroll service do the work for you at a nominal costs, and see your own productivity and revenue generation skyrocket!

Georgina C Clatworthy is a freelance writer writing about business, outsourcing and HR.

View the original article here

Payroll management is one of the least favorite tasks of business owners or managers. A hair-pulling difficult and complex task that takes time away from what they should be doing, managing the business. And this is where outsourcing their payroll services comes in. However, from a strictly financial perspective, one could wonder when does it really make sense to outsource payroll operations?

Here are some reasons why outsourcing payroll services may be a great solution for your small business:

-Cost. Outsourcing payroll services is one way for businesses, especially SMEs, to dramatically reduce their payroll processing costs. This removes the need in keeping a part time or full time employee dedicated to the task. There is also no longer a need to invest in the payroll software, training, and maintenance required to do payroll in-house, although big businesses can afford to maintain big payroll departments. However, an in-house payroll service is a money burner for small businesses.

The total cost of operating and maintaining an in-house payroll processing service can be considerable, even for a small business. The cost to outsource your payroll operations to a service should not even come close to the cost of an employee, giving you a very good chance of saving money. At the most basic level, consider what you are spending and do the math. Figure out how many hours your employees are devoting to payroll-related activities, calculate how much this is going to cost you in terms of wages and benefit costs and compare the amount to the plans offered by several payroll-services providers. Also, don't forget to factor in the labor cost your business spends on tasks like preparing, printing and distributing checks; creating tax documents, filing tax payments and the like as well as related printer costs and the space itself where the payroll professional works. The result will probably surprise you.

-Accuracy. Errors in payroll can be painful and costly, angering employees and, more worryingly, the government. In fact, nearly half of all small businesses incur IRS fines because of inaccurate or late filings. Because outsourced payroll providers have more sophisticated systems in place as well as have the expertise and training, they are far less likely to make serious errors or even avoid them. Also, as they may offer protection against large IRS penalties, if a big mistake is made, financial restitution can be sought from the service provider, which is something you can't do with your own employees. So, make sure to check the agreement to see if they offer this protection.

-Reliability. With a payroll service, payroll gets done on time without excuses. Output speed, timeliness and payroll quality are not affected by vacations and illnesses. Also, outside processors have systems put in place to prevent errors or catch them if they occur. These eliminate the need to explain to employees why their payroll checks aren't ready on time or have errors.

-Productivity. Payroll management is time-consuming. With the removal of this burden, your employees will now be more focused on doing more productive things, and you may even be given the opportunity to trim your staff's size.

Outsourcing your payroll service is really a cost effective and efficient solution in running the administrative part of your business, not only enabling you to have more time to manage your business but also is cost-effective and more productive.

Shoebooks is a premium provider of accounting online solutions for SME businesses in Australia. Check out Shoebooks accounting software for business and experience the advantages of Shoebooks Australia accounting software. Shoebooks is located at 127 Chestnut St, Cremorne VIC 3121, Australia. Call Shoebooks at +613-9818-1515.

View the original article here

No matter what business you run, how many employees you have, or how you decide to operate, there is one thing that every business needs to consider and that's payroll. You have two options when it comes to your payroll, and they are to perform your entire payroll in-house or outsource your payroll to an external company. This article will look at which option is the most cost effective for businesses.

The legal side

Payroll is no light hearted affair and there are legislations in place to ensure that businesses are using the correct procedure. This legislation regularly evolves and it is your responsibility, as a business, to keep up to date with any changes. If you want to do your payroll in-house then you will need to ensure that you know all the legislation and keep up with the changes. This takes up time, effort and money. If you outsource your payroll then you will not need to worry about legislation, as the company you outsource to will be responsible for keeping you in line with the law.

Staff costs

Perhaps one of the greatest costs to a business deciding to do payroll in-house are the staffing costs. It may be the case that you are fully knowledgeable of the payroll procedure, but if not, you'll need to employ a couple of payroll whiz kids to help you out. This will result in your business having to spend funds on recruitment, training, salaries, holidays, pensions, and other general staffing costs. Using an outsource payroll company means you don't need to have in-house staff or deal with the associated expenses.

IT expenditure

Aside from staffing costs, IT costs can also be quite substantial for those opting for in-house payroll. You will need to consider the costs for hardware, software, upgrades, maintenance, and other possible IT expenses such as on-going support. If you decide on an external company for your payroll, then you'll be eliminating these costs.

Other expenses

There are a few other lesser expenses associated with in-house payroll. Stationery may not cost a great deal on its own, but when you consider that you will need to purchase items such as ink cartridges, paper, pens, envelopes, and payslips, then you can easily see where the costs begin to add up. Again, outsourcing your payroll rids you of these expenses.

In-house vs. outsource

Overall, outsourcing payroll can be a much more cost effective option if you only have a handful of staff. Of course external companies will charge you for their payroll services, but often the fee they charge can work out to be much more inexpensive than all of the costs mentioned here. SME's will benefit the most from outsourcing, whereas larger companies with considerable staff levels will probably benefit from using an in-house team.

If you'd like to find out if outsourcing is right for your business then head on over to Trace Payroll. They have a great calculator for totalling up your payroll costs, letting you evaluate whether outsourcing will be a cost effective option. They also provide a quality, dedicated outsource payroll service at competitive prices.

http://www.tracepayroll.com/

View the original article here

Most of the businesses are talking about outsourcing payroll to an online payroll service provider. Do you feel motivated and looking out for a partner for your business? Before you start looking for a payroll company rigorously, you should actually find out whether you are in need to outsource payroll or not.

There are few questioned compiled here so that you can answer them to come to a conclusion for your small business. These are:
Is your payroll processing eating up a lot of your precious time?Do you find it difficult to take out time for managing other core business responsibilities?Have your company recently received payroll tax penalties?Do you find difficulty in tracking the right time to pay payroll taxes?Are your efficient in-house employees making errors in payroll processing?Are you involved in writing payroll checks and re-correcting them every month?Are you spending time and money in training in-house employees about changing payroll tax rules and regulations?Do you want to eliminate the process of writing checks and want to pay only by direct deposit?Are you planning to implement a new benefit program for your employees, which can add complexity to your payroll deductions?Did you forget to process payroll on-time last month?Are you planning to hire new employees in the next financial period?Do you invest a lot of time in tracking previous payroll summary records?Do you have inadequate data to calculate sick time and vacation time left for employees?

There are many other questions which can be asked in relation to payroll processing. If you find the answer 'YES' to almost all the questions, its high time to outsource your payroll process to another company.

When you hire an online payroll service provider, they will make sure that your payroll is processed on time by eliminating all the chances of errors. The online payroll service provider has automated payroll software that provides accurate payroll results. Moreover, they have a system to make accurate deductions for payroll taxes to avoid any chance of getting notices or penalties by the IRS department.

Many businesses have realized that outsourcing to payroll company has helped them to save their money. You can also analyze your business requirements and take the action that is beneficial for reducing expenditure along with keeping the employees happy and satisfied. If you want to save your precious time then you can rely on a reputed online payroll company.

To learn more about Payroll, visit Payroll Services.

View the original article here