1. Finance

5 Steps for Running Payroll a Small Business

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Small firms can handle payroll, despite appearances. Employers can't hand out cash or write checks on payday due to tax and employment rules. Starting with your first employee, you must carefully manage payroll. If you are interested in best Payroll Services in Islamabad that are related to Accounting, please let us know.

Here's how to set up payroll and what your options are. You'll learn how to regularly, compliantly, and correctly pay your employees.

 

Five-Step Payroll Process

Once payroll is set up, there are five steps to running it, no matter who or how. These tasks can be outsourced to an accountant or automated by a payroll service. Unless you administer payroll, it's easy to overlook these tasks.

To ensure a full explanation, we'll cover how to process payroll in five steps as a DIY project.

Calculate Hours and Gross Pay:

Based on salary and employment duties, the FLSA classifies workers as exempt or non-exempt. You can compute exempt workers' gross compensation by dividing their yearly income by the number of pay periods. Non-exempt hourly workers' gross compensation is calculated by multiplying their hours worked by their hourly rate. Overtime compensation is 1.5 times an employee's hourly wage.

A HRIS can make time and attendance monitoring more precise and convenient than punch clocks, paper timesheets, or spreadsheets. Paid and unpaid time off can be included.

Gross remuneration includes stipends, incentives, and gratuities.

Deduct benefits and withhold taxes

This is where payroll becomes difficult. Deductions and withholdings aren't the same. Withholding taxes and benefits.

First, subtract insurance premiums, HSA, FSA, 401(k), and any pre-tax deductions.

Calculate federal income tax, Social Security tax, and Medicare tax to withhold from each employee's paycheck based on Form W-4. State and municipal taxation may apply. These taxes apply to gross pay minus pre-tax deductions. The IRS website includes a Tax Withholding Estimator.

Subtract post-tax deductions including Roth IRA contributions, disability insurance payments, and union dues. After taxes, child support, tax arrears, and debt repayments are garnished.

An accountant or payroll service provider can help with this phase.

Pay Employees:

Net pay is an employee's “take-home pay” after perks and taxes are deducted from gross pay.

Smaller businesses may prefer cash or paper checks, but most find direct deposit more easy and cost-effective as they grow. Most states require businesses to give employees a pay stub outlining their net compensation, including hours, pay rate, deductions, and withholdings.

Pay taxes:

Those taxes you withheld from workers' paychecks must still be paid. Monthly or biweekly, employers must deposit payroll taxes. Visit the IRS website to learn your business's deposit schedule.

Employers use Form 941 to pay federal taxes and report taxes deducted from workers' salaries. Quarterly, file Form 941. IRS Form 941 is fillable in PDF. 

Unemployment taxes cannot be withheld from employees' paychecks. Employers must file Form 940 to comply with FUTA. IRS Form 940 is fillable in PDF. 

Employers must produce, provide, and file Form W-2 for each employee annually. Individual tax returns require the W-2 Wage and Tax Statement. The IRS website has a PDF of Form W-2. 

As with withholding taxes, an accountant or payroll provider can reduce errors and hassle. Costly noncompliance.

Maintain and Retain Records:

Employers must keep correct payroll records by law.

Keep tax documents for four years. According to the IRS, these records should include:

The EIN.

Wage, annuity, and pension amounts and dates.

  • Reported tips.
  • In-kind wages' market worth.
  • Employees' names, addresses, SSNs, and jobs.
  • Undeliverable employee W-2 copies.
  • Employment dates.
  • How much and how often you or third-party payers paid employees and recipients while sick or injured.
  • Tax withholding certificates for employees and recipients (Forms W-4, W-4P, W-4S, and W-4V).
  • Deposit dates and amounts.
  • Filings copies.
  • TIPS RECORDS
  • Verified records of fringe benefits.

The Labor Department requires employers to preserve time cards, wage rate tables, job assessments, collective bargaining agreements, work schedules, and wage change records for two years.

A sophisticated, all-in-one HRIS can help you comply with federal and state payroll laws.

Payroll is a crucial corporate activity, even if you'd prefer focus on other strategic goals. You must pay your employees well to achieve your goals and correctly to safeguard your bottom line.

In addition, we have best Accountants in Islamabad, which provides accounting services in the country of Pakistan. Taxation, bookkeeping, payroll, VAT, and other accounting services are available in the Website.

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