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Payroll services: Feature Article
When it comes to doing payroll many companies don't want to mess with it because of how complicated it can be. Not to mention that if you make one small mistake it can end up costing you some pretty hefty fines. If you are running your own business here are some of the reasons when you should actually outsource your payroll:
- When you want to make sure that you and the IRS won't meet under negative terms
- You want to avoid a tax penalty that can affect your bottom line
- You have frequent changes to payroll information, not to mention numerous hourly employees
- You can want to save the company money by only doing what you can do best, which isn't payroll
- You don't want to track and reconcile changes in personnel, deadlines and tax requirements on an on-going basis
- You have payroll taxes for multiple states
- You have to pay someone to do payroll internally and maintain their training so that they are kept up to date. But you also have to have a back up for this person to take over if the lead person is sick or on vacation.
So now that you have decided that outsourcing your payroll to a payroll service is going to be the best move that you can make you are going to need to select a payroll service. If you are going to outsource your payroll here are the steps that you should follow in order to choose the payroll service that best meets your needs.
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Step one:
You are going to want to get a list together of at least 3 payroll companies, but you can have more. Having five companies to choose from is the ideal number in most cases. In order to get these names of companies you can search the internet or you can ask other small business owners whom they use for payroll services. But another good resource that not many people think about is checking with your accountant. Keep in mind when choosing the companies that you want to compare you want to choose a few larger companies, but you also want to include a few smaller companies.
Helpful Resources: 1. Payroll Service Providers This website provides you with a detailed list of a variety of payroll service providers that meet certain standards that are set forth by the IRS. In order to make this list they had to pass some tests and other criteria. 2. Payroll Services Vs. SurePayroll Online Payroll Service 3. Payroll services price quotes 5. How to choose a payroll service provider 6. How to Choose a payroll services firm 8. Never Worry about Paychecks Again - How to Choose a Payroll Service 9. Payroll Service's Buyer's Guide 10. Selecting a Payroll Service Provider |
Step two:
Once you have gotten the list of companies together you are going to want to compare the various prices for each company and the services that they offer for their basic plans. You do not want to start comparing prices for the additional services, with the prices you are going to want to find the prices for just the basic service package that they offer. To do this you are going to want to make a simple chart that compares what is included in eacgh plan and how much each plan costs.
Step three:
You will want to call the customer service numbers for each of the companies or at least two of the companies to find out how long it will take them to re-run the payroll checks just in case there are any errors. You are also going to want to ask them how long their fees are good for, in addition to a few other questions. A list of other potential questions you can ask are included later in this article.
Step four:
Make sure that you get references from the companies that you are considering and make sure that you check with the companies that they give you. When talking to these companies you are going to want to ask them what kind of service they receive from the payroll company, how fast the service is and if they are happy with the service. Here are some questions that you want to ask the references:
- How responsive is the provider to your questions?
- Have you had any problems with accuracy?
- Have you used another payroll service? If yes, why did you switch?
- If you had to do it over again, would you choose the same company?
Step five:
Enroll in the service that you think best meets your needs. Even if you are not fully open for business yet you can still do a sample payroll for you and some of your employees (family). What you are going to want to do is call in a small payroll for yourself in the smallest amount possible just to see how smoothly and easy the process can be.
When it comes to choosing a payroll service for your business one of the best things that you can do before choosing the company is to call up the payroll service and ask them questions. This is a great thing to do because it can give you plenty of information about the company itself, but it will also help to give you a feel about how the company works and if things will end up running smoothly. If you are at a loss for the questions that you should ask here are some of the questions that you should ask them and the reason for asking those questions:
What do services cost? - For the most part the payroll providers charge a flat fee for the payroll processing period. How much they are going to charge depends on the varied services and products that your business needs. In most cases the smaller your business the more basic the plan is which means the cheaper the price.
What services are provided by a payroll processing provider? - Majority of the companies basic services will include payroll processing, check generation and distribution, payroll tax filing, and W-2 generation. With these companies most of them also offer additional services which can include direct deposit. 401(k) management, human resources management, and employee handbook development to name a few.
Which services are included in fees? - You need to make sure that you are asking what each payroll provider what they do and don't include in their fees, including additional charges that you might incur. When it comes to the services you are also going to want to find out how long it takes them to process the payroll, how much time they require. But you also want to find out what their policies are on last minute changes and what is included in reporting schedules that payroll processors provide.
What happens if a filing error is made? - You are going to want to make sure that if a filing error does occur for payroll that the people who are doing the payroll are willing to take financial responsibility for the filing errors that were made.
Can the payroll provider offer services to meet your company's future needs? - If you plan on expanding your company, but even if you don't it will end up growing in some aspect so you might want to see what other additional services that they have to offer such as direct deposit and 401(K) administration. Just so that you can pick a company that can meet your needs in the future.
How do I get the best deal? - These companies actually compete through price, customer service, and add-on options. So what you are going to want to do is to negotiate for additional services by knowing what other companies have to offer and for how much.
Here are some additional tips that you should keep in mind when it comes to choosing a payroll service.
Tip one:
When it comes to using a payroll service you are going to need to communicate with them on a regular basis so you are going to want to obtain a clear commitment to a high level of personalized customer service. But you are also going to want to get some assurance that you are not going to be dealing with some sales representative when you call in, but instead somebody who is familiar with your account and handles it regularly.
Tip two:
When getting the references you want to make sure that you get some of their clients who had problems with the company. The reason that you want to ask this is you want to see how the problems were solved and how they feel about still using the service and if the problem was handled to their satisfaction.
Tip three:
Make sure that you go over every aspect of the services that you require with the potential providers. You want to do this so that there are no questions as to what services your company requires and to make sure that the payroll service can meet all of your requirements. Make sure you ask them up front of they can handle everything that you require, if not don't be afraid to go else where. Never compromise on payroll services that you require.
Tip four:
When you are deciding on your provider you want to keep in mind the location of the payroll service. You should consider choosing one that is close to you in location so that if something does come up and the checks are going to be mailed late you can drive to the location and pick the checks up so that your employees are paid on time.
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