Payroll processing can be a very stressful job function for management. If your employees are paid hourly, you need to keep very careful records and have to be diligent in order to make sure that they are always correctly. There are federal employment laws that govern the processing of payroll and the retaining of specific pieces of information regarding the number of hours that each of your employees worked during every time period.
In order to maintain these records efficiently, you will most likely be using some type of payroll software. For one thing, electronic records require far less space than paper records. For another, it is more likely for a paper record to turn up missing than it is for an electronic record to ever disappear without a trace. If you want to have accurate records, you should be using payroll software.
If you have a lot of hourly employees, consider installing a time tracking device such as a time clock. Using this technology, you will have an accurate record of when the employees came and left the office. There are many time tracking devices that can be easily integrated with payroll software.
There are many payroll software options for businesses of all sizes. Each software package comes with different features. The one key similarity is that using payroll software will remove the need for accountants or other staff to calculate manually the cost of taxes, benefits, etc. These software packages are set up by state and have the ability to automatically withhold specific amounts and percentages from each employee. Additionally, the software can generate a pay stub, indicating the amount the employee is being paid and the amounts that are being withheld.
Once you have calculated the withholdings, there are reporting functions associated with the processing of payroll. You must report how much tax was withheld from each employee and give a total amount for the company. You must remit the taxes to the taxing authority at the appropriate time. You must use the money allocated for benefits premiums to fund employee benefits. You must file reports on a quarterly basis in most places, although sometimes the local authorities want them monthly.
You would get many of the same benefits by hiring a payroll company or accountant as you would with payroll software. However, the software is much less expensive and truly enables you to oversee every step of the payroll process. When you need to manage your payroll and keep expenses low, then you can use payroll software to manage your payroll. You will have immediate access to the payroll information that you need, when you need it. And you will spend much less money in the process.
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