Strategic Steps to Follow When Hiring a Payroll Processing Company

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Payroll processing service providers offer services levels of varying quality. Certain payroll processing service providers are super customer service oriented, and others teach their customers how to use their system and are not much help to speak of after that when problems arise. Here are a set of positive payroll processing attributes businesses and organizations like county governments need to seek and find in place when choosing a payroll processing provider.

Payroll Processing Service Level Components: In addition to managing your company’s FICO taxes, FICA taxes, workmen’s compensation, and payroll processing, factor in if the company provides payroll debit cards, paper payroll checks, and a selection of payroll payment choices. You will also want to know if the company provides services that include several payroll wages rates, management of unemployment insurance and quality payroll reporting reports.
User-Friendly: Payroll services should be easy to use for its users. The
dashboard should be intuitive where payroll processing and other functions are straight forward, including running reports and adding new staff onto the system.
Price Affordability: Logically companies desire finding a service that fits into their budget. On top of price, learn if the service requires a long-term contract. These days many payroll processing agreements offered by payroll service providers are not set up as long-term contracts, but as month to month. Be sure to confirm if you pay for the service monthly, or on a pay period basis. The payroll payment frequency will affect a business directly financially. This could impact how much it will cost the business per year to pay for payroll processing services.
Good Standing: Locate a payroll processing provider with a solid business record and a positive set of reviews online from more than one review source. By doing your due diligence on the companies you are considering you will know the company you choose has been doing a great job for the companies they do payroll processing for and that they have a good reputation.

Payroll System Integration: If the payroll processing service provider integrates the system they offer via direct integration or by open API, you must have a system that works with your company’s bookkeeping, time keeping and accounting system.
Customer Service: Seek out a system has a reputation for providing excellent ongoing personal customer service. Check with the company’s you are interviewing to hire for to be your payroll service provider will assign a dedicated customer service representative to your business.
Downtime & Maintenance: Payroll service providers today are online which means they are cloud-based. If your payroll service provider’s system goes down, you will not be able to do payroll for that payroll period. Ask the payroll service provider you are considering hiring to do your payroll how often their system does down, and how many times they go down due to scheduled maintenance.
Employee Online Payroll Dashboard: Online payroll service providers offer a employee online dashboard that gives them access to prior period paycheck stubs, year-end W-2s, paid time off totals and sick leave information.
Supplemental Services: Many payroll service companies provide a suite of services that include benefits management, human resources management and government timekeeping services.

Take the time to do your due diligence when making the decision to hire a payroll processing provider. Be sure to create an outline of the list of services your company needs such as payroll processing, benefits management, timekeeping, human resources. From there make a list of companies to consider hiring for the services your company needs. Check out each on using the list provided here, make notes about each one and then use your notes to make a relative comparison of the companies to make a smart choice for your company’s payroll service provider.

Payroll Processing Needs for Small Businesses in 2021

June 5, 2021

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Payroll Processing Needs for Small Businesses in 2021 by The Payroll Company 505-944-0105

Are you in the market for the best payroll processing solution for your small business? With a range of options available, may be difficult to decide which one suits your needs – both now and in the future.

Our advice is to choose a system that:

Fits with your budget. No matter how effective a payroll processing solution or service may be, if it’s draining your company finances, then it’s not worth the investment. As a small business owner, you are especially aware of the need to be economically prudent, and to find a payroll platform that meets your needs for a reasonable price.

Is scalable (and mobile). As your business grows, so should your payroll system. Look for a flexible solution that allows you to add or utilize new features as they become more important to your company. Of value: systems that allow your employees to view and edit contact details and other pertinent information. Another fantastic feature: mobile access. Free yourself from the burden of having to sit at your desktop to take care of your payroll needs.

Processes payrolls immediately. Whether you have one employee or 1,000, you need to make sure paychecks are delivered on time – either in hard copy or via direct deposit. Timely payroll processing should be a given with any platform you choose.

Provides help when you need it. From time to time, you may need help from an expert – whether it’s learning a new element of the payroll processing functionality or understanding some of the complexities of tax, benefits, and so on. Look for a platform that offers live customer support.

Contact The Payroll Company today at 505-944-0105 to learn more about our payroll processing platforms.

10 Payroll and HR Challenges for 2020 & Beyond – Part Three

November 6, 2020

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10 Payroll and HR Challenges for 2020 and Beyond by The Payroll Company 505-944-0151 d

Employers faced several payroll and human resources regulatory challenges in 2020 and will do so in 2021 and beyond. Business owners and human resources departments need to become informed and plan accordingly each year.

With these key factors in mind, here are the top compliance subject challenges that both employers and HR departments need to aware of and plan for each year.

Employee Privacy

Conducting business in 2020 means employers must be aware, knowledgeable and adhere to any privacy laws or regulations their company must comply with. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) goes into effect in 2020. It is front and center in the media and it is an act employers need be ready for in the coming year, 2021. Businesses that meet the CCPA criteria thresholds are mandated by the act to supply employees with a privacy policy notice. The Attorney General of the State of California will put out a complete set of guidelines for employers to follow towards the end of 2020.

Biometrics today are being employed to recognize staff and record worked hours. The upside of biometrics recorded of an employee cannot be edited, as other ways of identifying employees can be changed like employee identification cards and passwords. With those facts in mind, employers employing biometrics to identify employees and keep track of their time worked need to be knowledgeable about state regulations covering biometrics employee tracking and record keeping.

Health Care Reform.

The current administration has made several changes to health care regulation. The changes has made have impact several health plans, insurances and reimbursement regulations including, the Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements, Short Term Limited Duration Insurance and Association Health Plans. Other changes made are the elimination of the federal penalty connected to the individual mandate.

Additional changes include the removal of the federal penalty under the individual mandate. The changes made have initiated states to go to court to control and oversee the health care coverage mandates in their state’s region such as rolling out an individual mandate for their state or by reducing the impact federal rules have in their vicinity. Because of these changes made by states, companies might be able to have updated choices and regulation compliance regarding employees’ health care choices, mostly related to where they reside. However, the options may be convoluted and hard to understand. Employers in 2020 must be sure aware of the most recent federal laws, current administration regulation mandates or initiated changes and any other compliance requirements they must meet regarding insurance and employee rights.

The major challenges for employers in Payroll and Human Resources in 2020 and beyond are going to expand as our workplaces become more complex and technologically oriented. The best approach to stay in line regarding all these topics and subjects is to review each of them quarterly, check to see if there have been any new changes in the last 90 days and then make changes to your companies policies, rules and regulation compliance strategies where and when necessary.

10 Payroll and HR Challenges for 2020 & Beyond – Part Two

November 5, 2020

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With these key factors in mind, here are the top compliance subject challenges that both employers and HR departments need to aware of and plan for each year.

Worker Classification

In the U.S. courts and local and state legislatures worker classifications are being ruled on by enforcing agencies. The most controversial legislation for workers that are gig economy workers, such as rideshare gig workers, is California AB5, which took effect in January 2020. For workers to be classified as an independent contractor in the state employers need to show a worker meets the standards of a three part test under the new law.

Multiple Payment Options Available to Businesses.

During 2020 strong growth of payment service providers used to received and send monies will keep going. New advancements coming about are the release of Clearinghouse’s Real Time Payments network and the growth of the same-day ACH for companies and product featuring pay-on-demand permitting workers to get paid as they earn their wages. Non-cash payments will become the norm instead of the exception. Electronic payment options are easy and user-friendly. The eliminate the need for a bank account, but they provide the same advantages. Companies seeking to better their weekly cash flow by way of quicker payment methods and helping employees through non-cash payment methods should meet with a payroll processing company, or their bank to find out more about all the payment methods available today in 2020.

10 Payroll and HR Challenges for 2020 & Beyond – Part One

November 4, 2020

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10 Payroll and HR Challenges for 2020 and Beyond by The Payroll Company 505-944-0151

With these key factors in mind, here are the top compliance subject challenges that both employers and HR departments need to aware of and plan for each year.

W-4 Form Changes

There was a forced revision of key federal withholding process brought about by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. These changes resulted in a new Form w-4 for the 2020 tax year. The largest updates that are part of the forced changes include getting rid of withholding allowances and the allowed method of additional tax withholding by taxpayers when filing taxes after the year that tax reform legislation is initiated. Starting in 2020 all new employee hires are required to complete the new form. Employees already on the books do not have to complete the new Form W-4, but they can change their withholding because of the new form. Adjustments made to payroll withholdings completed in Jan. 1, 2020 are required to be made with the new Form W-4. Employers are required to calculate employee tax withholdings using the old Form W-4 and the new Form W-4. Since the new Form W-4 release along with updated withholding tables, States around the country required to figure out if the will revise their tax system predicated on the 2020 Federal tax withholding table changes, retain the process they are using now or create an updated withholding method. A handful of States in the U.S. have made their decision on how they are going to manage withholdings, but most States have not yet determined what they are going to do.

Final Overtime Rule

The U.S. Department of Labor issue its long time coming Final Overtime Rule. The new rule changed the U.S. federal regulations overseeing employees due minimum wage and overtime pay under the auspices of federal wage and hour law. Along with several changes, the Final Overtime Rule increased the ‘standard salary’ for the following job classifications which include executive, administrative and professional white-collar exemptions from the existing enforced wage level of $455 per week to $684 per week. This means that employee would be making the standard of $35,568 per year for a full year of work worker. This ruling took effect on Jan. 1, 2020. The ruling permits employers to make up to 10% of the standard salary level in a full year using non-discretionary bonuses and specific payment incentives which can include commissions.

Top Preventable Highly Expensive Payroll Administration Errors – Part Two

September 16, 2020

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Top Preventable Highly Expensive Payroll Processing Management Mistakes by The Payroll Company 505-944-0105

Payroll mistakes can be very costly for any business. The mistakes normally occur within a company’s payroll department. Payroll mistakes can mean $1000’s of dollars in expensive fines and penalties from the IRS, a downturn in employee morale, and potentially they can cost a business its existence. The primary reasons these problems happen are due to errors made by company’s doing payroll themselves. Featured here are the top preventable payroll processing and administration errors and what to do about them.

Employee Overtime Hours Regulation Rules

When hours worked by company staff exceed 40 hours, there are state and federal laws that dictate overtime pay be paid. There may be certain state, federal or locale rules on regulations governing overtime, but overall rules and laws ordinarily mean the commonly followed practice is to pay time and half for employees working more than 40 hours. But, due to the fact there are multiple laws and certain exceptions where overtime statutes come into play, this area is part of payroll processing where errors happen quite often.

Payroll Deductions for Court Awarded Legally Mandated Payroll Garnishments

Because payroll garnishments are not a regular task for company payroll departments to deal with, it is a payroll processing area ripe for mistakes. Income garnishments mandate employers must comply with the court order. If an employer does not comply with the order or if they make mistakes, the company may be fined or charged penalties.

Payroll Rules and Laws Regulatory Conformity

It is fact of payroll that rules, laws, and regulations are in a constant state of flux and businesses must always be up to date and comply with any changes. Large changes occur virtually every year on either the state or federal level and many times both. Businesses normally work to be current with respect new payroll rules, laws and changes in the tax code, but many times there are such are large number of regulatory compliance updates that need to be done that mistakes get made which can be costly to the business in fines and lost time.

Tax Code Regulatory Rules on Employee Classifications

Particularly now in 2020, businesses employee multiple workers falling under several classifications. Workers are comprised of full-time employees, part-time employees, permanent part-time employees, gig-economy contract employees and a variety of different types of industry vendors. Because of the plethora of types of workers and multiple job classifications, this may result in major payroll mistakes and problems that cannot be ignored.

Businesses workers must be properly classified for vitally important tax reasons. If an employee is not classified correctly, it the outcome can turn into taxes due not being paid. The IRS will mandate the business pay the taxes that were not paid on employee income and most likely on top of the taxes owed there will be additional penalties and fines added to the total. This is the last thing any business needs because it can be crippling and destroy the business.

Compliance with Federal Payroll Tax Deposits and Payments

Each month on the 15^th, businesses know that federal tax deposits must be submitted to the IRS if the company collects taxes from the paychecks of its employees. The IRS will levy fines and penalties on tardy payroll tax deposits. The penalties are 0.5% of the business’ monthly payroll taxes due and 25% penalty for seriously tardy tax deposits.

Summing it All Up

Payroll processing and payroll management is complicated and difficult to stay in compliance with. Businesses deal with several payroll issues including the costly mistakes, expense and lost productivity when payroll in-house does payroll, payroll record keeping, integration with human resources and employee benefits, tracking employee time-off and sick leave, the complexity of payroll deductions, and compliance with federal payroll tax deposits and payments, just to name a few. Ultimately a business must get current and stay current with all aspects of payroll and its management, but it is difficult to do. The best solution to resolve most if not all the problems mentioned here is to hire a payroll processing company that offers an all-in-one solution. Going that route is easy, its not that expensive, and the company will be better off for it.

Top Preventable Highly Expensive Payroll Processing Administration Errors – Part One

September 3, 2020

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In-house Payroll Department Administrative Employee

Across the country, many businesses big, medium, and small, process payroll internally and regrettably manually. When payroll is done manually it normally involves timecards, paper reports and difficult tedious processing time managed by a payroll clerk or a human resources department. Mistakes get made when adding up payroll hours and then calculating the taxes due, insurance premiums owed and then generating company employee paychecks. Mistakes in any error can be drastically costly.

Document Record Keeping for Payroll

Maintaining proper employee and payroll records is legally required. Keeping all the records in an organized way that works and is correct is critical. Doing it right can be as easy as setting up an easy follow system along with maintaining all records in a separate location or keeping them electronically, instead of maintaining a hard copy record of both reports and payroll checks.

Setting Up Payroll and Integrating it up with the Human Resources Records

When it comes to payroll processing programs, personnel systems and company benefits it is found that the software technology for each area cannot be integrated. Ideally each of these programs should be able to “talk to each other” through integrated software programming.

Employee Paid Time Off and Sick Leave

Calculating employee sick leave and paid time off by hand is a ongoing job that is ripe for errors. Timecards are still around, as are basic electronic time sheets, but they are both ways of doing time keeping ripe for mistakes as well. On top of payroll problems and grave mistakes is the ever present need to track employee time off and sick leave, which can lead to ineffective management of a business because not knowing when people are working or who is sick can lead to poor business results, which can mean grave issues for business.

The Critical Importance and Complexity of Payroll Deductions

Processing payroll is a basic task. However, payroll clerks, payroll departments and business owner can tell you, the deductions employees have coming out of their check is technically difficult and requires certain intricate configuration. Because there are multiple employment laws related to both federal and state income tax deductions, it is simple for employees and businesses handling payroll processing to make mistakes. On top of payroll processing being and intricate job, it happens to be a component for a business where errors occur while completing the task.

Summing it All Up

The Importance of Payroll to Small Business in 2020

June 2, 2020

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The Importance of Payroll to Businesses in 2020

Small business owners where multiple hats while running their company and 2020 is no different. Those hats include payroll, human resources, management, and sales just to name a few. Completing payroll is easily one of the most critical duties a small owner must do to run a successful business. Employees must be able to count on getting their wages on pay day with zero interruptions. Payroll impacts all components of a small business from the confidence about the company employees to the solvency of the company.

Employee Confidence

Employee confidence is tied directly to timely payroll. Large businesses are not as transparent about their financial stability as small businesses. Employees in small businesses are closer to most working aspects of the business they work for including sales, billing, collections, human resources, and payroll. In a small business if payroll is not paid on time or if payroll checks start bouncing at the bank, employees will naturally become concerned about the financial stability of the company. Employees will begin to back away from performing their job duties on time or effectively if they see they are not getting paid for work performed. For employee confidence in a business to stay positive, payroll must be paid on time.

Employee Compensation

A critical component of payroll is that gives each employee direct satisfaction about their value to a small business. Payroll demonstrates and documents each employee’s complete compensation. Employee compensation in payroll includes company paid benefits, commissions, insurances, and salary. At most companies, each employee monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually, complete a performance review with the owner, their manage or their department supervisor. If an employee is doing well and meeting or exceeding their agreed job goals, they may be given an increase in salary or an annual bonus, and some instances, both are rewarded. Employee benefits also demonstrate employee’s value to the business. Small businesses that pay employee benefits like health insurance, life insurance and stocks, show to employees directly how much they mean to the company.

Payroll is a Time-Consuming Task

Small business owners spend a considerable amount of time doing payroll. Payroll has to be completed on time weekly, every two weeks or two times a month. Payroll must be 100% accurate. By law, employees are required to be paid the exact amount due to them for the time they provide their labor. Tax withholdings, insurances, and other payroll deductions all must be the correct amount and must be paid on time. To make sure payroll is paid on time and done 100% accurately and to free up a considerable amount of time, small business owners should consider outsourcing payroll.

Timely State and Federal Tax Payments

Payroll must be done correctly for business to keep in compliance with state and federal tax obligations. Penalties for not paying payroll taxes on time are significant. Employees must complete their W-4 withhold forms and it is the responsibility of small business owner to make certain of it. Employee personal taxes withholding is determined by how W-4 withholding forms are completed. Additionally, small business owner must be sure they are withholding and sending the correct amount of FICA taxes monthly and annually from payroll. Legislation can and does get enacted annually that impacts FICA amounts for withholding. It is the employers; responsibility to make sure they are complying when it comes to withholding payroll taxes. Again, this is a perfect example of why it makes sense to outsource payroll processing. Hiring a payroll processing company, like the Payroll Company, is the perfect solution to handle your small business’ payroll in 2020,

How to Improve Your Company’s Payroll Efficiency in 2020

January 4, 2020

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How to Improve Your Company's Payroll Efficiency in 2020
- By the Payroll Company 505-944-0105 — How to Improve Your Company’s Payroll Efficiency in 2020
– By the Payroll Company 505-944-0105

Working with an online payroll processing system to run your company’s payroll is not too difficult, if you select the correct payroll system provider for your company that makes the most sense. The system must have the functional features, data and reporting capabilities your company needs to run its payroll effectively. Certain online payroll providers like, the Payroll Company, for example, offer dedicated employee online portals which provide limited feature access that allows staff to update basic employee details, such as number of exemptions and employee benefit payroll deductions, for example.

Online Payroll Calendar Importance

Simplifying and improving payroll data entry is just the start. If the data needed to complete payroll does not arrive in a timely fashion, it can turn any payroll period into a disaster, no matter how amazing the new payroll processing system is subscribed to by a company. Company’s must have a payroll calendar so everyone in the company knows when payroll is due and when it will be paid.

Developing a payroll calendar is simple process that is not too time consuming. In some instances, if the new online payroll processing system a company signs up for doesn’t include a payroll calendar development tool, an excel spreadsheet will work. Most payroll software provider companies, like Albuquerque, NM, based payroll processing company, the Payroll Company, have a payroll calendar tool built into its payroll processing software.

Payroll Integration with Important Company Systems

Payroll is interdependent in most companies with several standard company business systems and department. Those systems and departments including tax, bookkeeping, accounting, timekeeping, benefits management and human resources. When a company processes payroll manually it is like juggling multiple balls in the air, which is close to impossible. To make this happen effectively and do it correctly mean all the information for each department and business system would need to be very organized and easy to access.

Signing in on for an effective payroll software program will bring all these tasks and integration into one system that ties it all together.

The top online payroll processing software packages include dynamic user-friendly integration components ready to use immediately. The minimal system that makes the most sense to sign up with must be able to connect with your company’s accounting and bookkeeping software and keep track of attendance. The system should viewable in one place from both desktop and mobile. If it has these features, it means users can handle payroll from anywhere and be able to view reports as well anytime of the day or night.

For company’s that want to implement high-level integration there are payroll software programs that feature application programming interface capabilities. This type of system allows subscribers to develop specific integration that meets the exact needs of the company, instead of just the canned features the systems includes out of the box.

Scheduled and Random Audits of Company’s Payroll System

Reviewing company payroll on a regular basis is a plain prudent strategy every business should follow. Auditing payroll should be part of a company’s ongoing monthly task list and it should also be done randomly as well. Since the beginning of time in business payroll has been a place where fraud has been perpetrated by unscrupulous people. It is much better to trust your staff, but then verify to confirm the monies being issued by payroll employee rolls match up with the company’s accounting, bookkeeping, and human resources records.

When doing a payroll audit, review the company’s payroll rules and polices. Be sure to be seek out any policies that cause misunderstanding and then change them where it makes sense to make the rules as user-friendly and easy to comply with as possible. Discuss your payroll audit with the company and ask for direct discussion and comments about issues, problems or concerns. Two sets of eyes or more are always better than one. The company staff can help identify payroll problems and bring them to the company’s attention. Do this on a regular basis to be certain all issues and problems are dealt with well and immediately.

Moving forward, complete an analysis of each phase in the company’s payroll process to check that it’s operation effectively. Consider each phase of the payroll process and then decide if each phase is needed or not.

Lastly, be certain your company’s payroll software is operating correctly. Test all integrations connected to it to see if there are any problems or real-life business mistakes that need to be corrected immediately. When it comes to critical areas like timekeeping, payroll tax compliance these areas have long lasting implications both financially and legally. Testing the company’s payroll software to check and see if it is set up and operating correctly is just smart business that will help your business stay in line in all areas connected to it and the company.

If you need assistance picking the best payroll service to meet your company’s needs, it makes sense to explore several new ones and then make the switch to one that will help your company in the best way possible.

The Biggest Employment Issues for Employers During 2019 – Part Two

July 3, 2019