Archive for the ‘Accounting’ category

How Outsourcing Payroll Is Beneficial

September 16th, 2011

Many businesses have recently realized that outsourcing payroll services are not only meant for big-sized companies but have same importance also for small and mid-sized companies. Since a growing business requires extra time to focus on business operations, outsourcing to an online payroll service provider can be considered as a good option.

Almost all outsourcing payroll companies offer similar type of services, but some are rated higher than the rest due to their accurate, timely and outstanding customer support service. Let’s understand the reasons why you should go for outsourcing payroll for your small business before you begin your search for a reliable company:

  1. Already over-burdened payroll clerks and assistants are more likely to make errors. Outsourcing relieves in-house employees from making time-consuming and critical payroll calculations. This shifts the focus of employees to accomplishing more crucial business tasks.
  2. Payroll service providers generally deal with calculating payroll in an accurate and timely manner. Hence, there is very little concern as to how correct the payroll is. Moreover, the service provider always maintains confidentiality of payroll information of your business.
  3. Outsourcing payroll will also keep you away from worries related to filing and paying federal, state and local payroll taxes. Moreover, they will always keep you updated with latest tax laws and regulations. This will eliminate all the penalties that are associated in incorrect calculation of payroll due to changes in tax laws from time to time.
  4. Online payroll service eliminates the need to maintain paperwork. In addition to this, they maintain employees’ records safely in their system and have disaster recovery plan to deal with unfortunate situations.
  5. Many payroll service providers offer many additional services along with payroll and tax filing solution such as clergy payroll, nanny payroll, accounting software integration, time clock integration and so on. You can ask for such additional services for your business from payroll service provider. » Read more: How Outsourcing Payroll Is Beneficial

Taking Online Payroll Service As a SaaS Solution

September 16th, 2011

Many businesses have started relying on online payroll solution since the latter guarantees accuracy, timeliness and safe payroll process every month. Using SaaS-based online payroll service is not only cost-effective for your small business but also provides access to information anytime and from anywhere.

The power of Internet has made it convenient now to access your information from laptops and mobile devices even if you are on the go. By accessing your information anytime, you can process your payroll at your most convenient time. You can store all your payroll details within your password-protected online account and can view previous paychecks and other details with just a few clicks.

By using an online service, you will also contribute a lot to your environment since there would be no more need for hard copies of pay slips of the employees. Moreover, it is a time-saving task as you will not have to waste time in distributing a whole bundle of pay slips to employees one by one. Instead of this traditional process, you will provide all the details in electronic format that can be accessed online by employees with the help of their specific username and password. Once you have reviewed and approved the payroll report online, the salary will be sent directly to the bank account of the respective employees. You will no longer have to worry about security and confidentiality of details during each pay period.

If you make a comparison of security measures of an internal department and SaaS-based payroll providers, you will understand just how different they are. The latter has very secure encrypted system to safeguard your data from all types of threats. Moreover, a well-trusted disaster recovery system is in place to ensure that the payroll process runs on time smoothly even during unforeseen critical conditions.

While the payroll software is not installed on your personal system, you do not have to worry about maintaining and updating it regularly for it to work smoothly each pay period. All the requirements are fulfilled by the online payroll service provider including keeping the payroll software up-to-date to provide accurate results. Although, if you get any email by any agency regarding any changes, you can share the same with the payroll company so that they can make the necessary changes in their system.

With SaaS payroll service provider, you will not have to make any maintenance costs, set up payroll department and run the risk of errors and penalties. You will be paying the salary on time to all the employees thus, keeping them happy and satisfied always.

Selecting Payroll and Payroll Tax Service Providers

September 16th, 2011

Payroll operations are not limited to handing out paychecks on pay day but also involve critical calculations concerning the pay as well as other benefits of every employee depending on the number of hours or days worked.

Payroll processing is a time-consuming and complex procedure involving calculation of pay in an accurate and timely manner. Unfortunately, manual calculations are more likely to have errors. Hence, it is preferable to outsource to online payroll service providers who can deal with payroll process with accuracy.

As you look for information about payroll service providers, you would probably come across hundreds of articles on factors to consider when choosing a payroll service provider but none on how to choose a payroll tax service provider. The payroll tax-filing solution involves state tax reporting, filing quarterly and annual payroll taxes, year-end W-2s and other tax regulation services.

Although online payroll service providers usually offer payroll tax-filing solutions, the following features must also be present in order to have tension-free payroll process every month.

  1. Security: Whether you are a small or mid-sized business, keeping information confidential is a need which must be fulfilled by payroll tax service provider. You can inquire about security encryption methods the provider uses to secure your data.
  2. Customer Support System: Payroll tax-filing system is a complex part of payroll service. Therefore, full customer support that is available 24/7 is essential. Along with that, you should also be able to contact a representative over phone during office hours. This will help you to have immediate assistance if ever you have payroll related tax issues.
  3. Compliance: It is one of the most important aspects in payroll tax filing as laws tend to change with time that it, sometimes, becomes quite difficult to stay updated with compliance regulations. Choosing a reliable company can eliminate losses or penalties due to legal complications. The payroll tax-filing company will always stay compliant with law regulations. » Read more: Selecting Payroll and Payroll Tax Service Providers