Local Payroll Help Available for Small Businesses
Many people open their own businesses because they are fantastic in their field and they want to provide a great product or service in their communities. In many cases, they come to realize it takes more than proficiency in their field to run a successful business. Between managing others, handling business administrative tasks and ensuring compliance with government agencies, they can easily get bogged down and distracted from the business itself.
Luckily there is help available for small business owners and you don’t have to learn on the fly. Our company offers payroll services and we’re based in the Bay Area. We employ a team of payroll pros who handle the needs of many companies, and we’re proud to help several local small businesses thrive by assisting with their payroll.
In the sections to follow, we will provide a few tips to help you effectively process payroll as a small business owner. Payroll is much more complex than simply adding up hours worked and cutting checks, so we hope these tips provide some insight into the process and its importance to your business.
Create a Payroll Policy
If you don’t already, it’s important to have a written policy regarding payroll. This can be a simple document which states when people are paid, how they’re paid, what qualifies for bonuses and other pertinent payroll information. This is important to ensure a consistent standard in your business and to offer payroll transparency for your team members.
Correctly Report to Revenue Agencies
When you form a new business, the first thing you should do is file for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) with the IRS. This EIN will identify your business and you can think of it like a social security number for your company. You will also have to file for a state tax ID number, and sometimes there is a local requirement as well. You must report many things to these agencies, like new hires, periodic revenue and other tax information, on top of paying the taxes you owe as an employer.
Practice Risk Management
Payroll operations are tricky and can be subject to fraud or cyber crimes. As the business owner, you might think your people are above trying to fraud the payroll system, but payroll fraud is a common occurrence and can happen when people add bogus hours worked, clock in for one another and even create fake employees. To guard against this practice, it’s best to regularly audit your payroll for any anomalies.
Consider Outsourcing
While the tips above will help you run a successful payroll operation, they are also time consuming and can take your focus off your business. In many cases, our clients report a massive savings by outsourcing rather than performing payroll in house, and they gain the benefit of accurate reporting, limiting payroll fraud opportunities and gaining the time back to focus on their operations.
If you need assistance with payroll so you can work to make your small business thrive, we’re here to help. To learn more about our services, check out our website or give us a call today.
