Choose the Right Small Business Payroll Software

posted in: payroll software (Tags: , , ) - No Comments

09.02.10 8:58 am

Terry Cartwright asked:




Running a payroll for larger organisations with full time accounting staff is easy. Full time professionals are employed or the payroll function may be outsourced to a payroll bureau. For the small business the payroll task often falls to the proprietor demanding even more time to familiarise with current payroll legislation and a not insignificant amount of administration time that could be better spent making profits than number crunching. For small business organisations with five to ten employees calculating the income tax and national insurance contributions in producing the weekly payroll can easily take an hour or more each week. An hour that could be better spent earning profits or at the very least having an extra hour of free time each week. Free time that small business owner’s value at a premium since the majority of small business owners either work or think about work from dawn to dusk 7 days a week. A payroll software package to satisfy the PAYE requirements can be just one part of making that small business more efficient.

Small businesses that fail to operate a sound payroll system can produce a negative effect on the employees. Employees expect to be paid and provided the amount is a competitive rate would only rarely have an effect on staff relations. However operating a payroll system that does not provide each employee with a payslip is like telling your employee he has received a personal letter that was opened for him and discarded as not important. To the employee a payslip is very important. Every employer has a legal responsibility to provide employees with payslips and a P60 End of Year Employees Certificate. A payroll software solution satisfies employee’s essential needs and fulfills the legal requirements. Failure to provide employees with payslips can only reduce the respect hat employee has for his employer. Every employee must receive a payslip that shows the amount of income tax and national insurance deducted from the gross pay. Employers must also calculate the employer’s national insurance contribution. Employers not using a payroll software package such as available from DIY Accounting Payroll Software must design their own payslip to give to employees to satisfy legal requirements.

Running a PAYE system and operating a payroll in the UK can be a burdensome task to comply with all the relevant legislation. Employers operating a PAYE system without the use of payroll software need to be familiar with evolving requirements of HMCE through their website and the extensive payroll notes contained on the CD-Rom which is sent out annually. To fully appreciate all the technicalities and complete all the correct documents such as the P11 Deductions Working sheet is time consuming. It doesn’t have to be a problem. Payroll Software can automate this knowledge and functions and is available at insignificant cost. DIY Accounting Payroll Software package is available for up to 20 employees at a cost of £15 to £25. That is a payroll software package that could save a small business over an hour a week, for twenty employees more like two hours, for less than 50p per week. All small business owners should at least consider suitable efficient payroll software.

Many payroll software packages are written using databases and can put many small business owners off using them due to both the cost and the fear of the unknown complexity of using such a payroll package. Many payroll software packages written on a database provide an excellent solution but have a tendency to be extremely politically correct and cover all potential rules and regulations and consequently become more complex to operate as they can demand at least a minimum knowledge of the payroll system. There are other PAYE solutions. The DIY Accounting Payroll Software is written on excel spreadsheets requiring no payroll experience and a minimum of entries to produce all the essential calculations of income tax and employees and employers national insurance. In addition excel copies of the time consuming P11 Deductions working sheet, P60 Employees Certificate and the P35 Annual Employers Return are all automated to save the small business valuable administration time. A payroll software solution written on excel can also be used with an open office spreadsheet package but not least all the entries are visible and therefore transparent. Errors and mistakes can be easily corrected simply by changing the numbers on the payroll ensuring the payroll is produced both quickly and accurately. Payroll Software is an effective tool that should receive serious consideration by all small business proprietors.

Payroll Software also has the advantage because it can be simple and fast to use of avoiding late payments to the revenue and the consequent unwanted letters and potential fines this can invoke. By having all the information required for the monthly or quarterly revenue payments late penalties can be avoided and by producing the Annual Employers return on time small business owners can submit their returns online and receive a tax free online filing bonus. The current online foiling bonus being £150 and substantially more than the payroll software might have cost. And it’s Tax Free. As they say in Yorkshire. “If thar you ever gets owt for nowt, Tec it”



payroll tax software

Small Business Taxes – Are You Ready For the March 15 Deadline?

posted in: payroll software (Tags: , , ) - No Comments

09.01.10 10:07 pm

Wayne Davies asked:




If your small business is a corporation, March 15 is the most critical tax return deadline of the year – even more important than April 15. Find out why in this article.

First, some good news. The March 15 deadline is actually March 16. Go ahead and breathe a big sigh of relief, now that you know you have an extra 24 hours to get your act together. Here’s why: Whenever a federal tax deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday, the deadline is automatically moved to the next business day. Since March 15 is a Sunday, the deadline is changed to Monday March 16.

Second, more good news. Keep in mind that to comply with the March 16 deadline, the appropriate tax forms discussed below must be postmarked on or before that date. To file on time does not mean that the IRS must receive the return on or before that date.

Now let’s move on to discuss what you must do by March 16.

If your business is a corporation, whether a regular C corporation or an S corporation, March 16 is the deadline for filing your corporate income tax return. C corporations file Form 1120; S corporations file Form 1120S.

If you are unable to file your corporate income tax return by March 16, do not despair. You can obtain an automatic, “no questions asked” extension by filing Form 7004 on or before March 16. Form 7004 works for either C corporations or S corporations. It is also one of the easiest tax forms to complete and does not require a signature.

By filing Form 7004 you are given an additional six months to file the corporate income tax return. The March 16 deadline has been magically changed to September 15. Now you can do the return in the lazy hazy days of summer, if you like.

If you go the extension route, here are some words of caution. Don’t forget that filing an extension only extends the time to file the return. It is not an extension of time to pay any tax due on the return. For S corporations, this is usually not a problem, because S corporations typically don’t pay any corporate income tax. But for C corporations, if you have a balance due on the return and wait until September 15 to pay it, you will be charged late payment penalties and interest. So if you own a C corporation, do enough calculating to determine whether you will owe tax and make a payment if necessary by March 16.

For S corporations, also remember that you really need to prepare Form 1120S before you can properly prepare your personal income tax return. So don’t file Form 7004 and then file your personal return before doing the corporate return. As part of the corporate return, S corporations give each shareholder a Schedule K-1, which reports your share of the corporation’s profit or loss. That K-1 information must be transferred to your Form 1040. So if you file an extension for Form 1120S, you will also need to file an extension for your Form 1040, unless you happen to get the corporate return done by April 15.

payroll tax software

What is Payroll? Available Sage Payroll Training Courses

posted in: payroll software (Tags: , , ) - No Comments

08.31.10 9:40 pm

Gary Hupston asked:




What is payroll?

Payroll is the compilation of amounts of money due to employees of an Organisation. This involves the calculation of amounts earned, the application of all deductions and the payment of net amounts due both to employees and Tax Collection Authorities.

Payroll is an essential and vital part of all businesses because:

* Employees expect to receive a net amount of pay that reflects their full entitlement after authorised and

Modern Payroll Practices in Boise, Idaho

posted in: payroll software (Tags: , , ) - No Comments

08.31.10 4:32 am

Harry Slay asked:




In today’s business scene, several payroll service providers offer business operators the benefits of a fully streamlined payroll processing system. Companies choose to outsource payroll services through contractual providers instead of setting up their own payroll department, mainly due to the convenience of it all. This is because most, if not all of these outsourced payroll contractors take advantage of the benefits of using the Internet in processing payroll information.

Because of the prevalence of outsourcing payroll functions to third-party contractors, a number of business owners in the United States have jumped on the outsourcing bandwagon and opted to hire contractors for their payroll needs.

The city of Boise, Idaho for example, where the city government is one of the city’s largest employers, many outsourced payroll service providers have set up shop to provide local businesses with payroll services such as web-based automation and tax calculations.

Boise, Idaho, a city that is home to an estimated population of slightly above two hundred thousand residents, was voted third among the best places for business and careers in 2007 by Forbes Magazine. The city has also since put a premium on technology, being headquarters to almost 20 different call centers employing approximately 7000 workers. It is not surprising that outsourced payroll service providers in Boise, Idaho have used the Internet as a major tool in providing their services to the local industries.

Web-based applications working alongside highly efficient payroll service software ensures that business owners are able to manage payroll and tax information efficiently without acquiring high overhead costs. Local businesses are able to save time and money on outsourced payroll service providers instead of dedicated accounting firms, because payroll processing does not have to be a full-time job.

Payroll service software also allows business operators to access payroll and tax data from any computer that has access to the World Wide Web. This arrangement greatly reduces cost because business owners do not need to set up office structures to house their own payroll and accounting department.

Because of the many modernized payroll services Boise has, this city can be considered as one of the budding leaders in the field of outsourced payroll servicing. Many businesses have gained success because of the benefits gained from this strategic business decision.



payroll tax software

Resolving of Payroll Tax Problems

posted in: payroll software (Tags: , , ) - No Comments

08.30.10 3:42 am

Leo Miller asked:




When a business has employees, it must pay payroll taxes. The IRS views these taxes as partially a payment by the employee since part of the tax payment comes out of the paycheck of each employment. The IRS more or less views it as a robbery of the taxes taken from the employment check, if a business fails to make a payroll tax payment check. In such a situation the IRS reacts with a very insistent and corrective course of action. Frankly it is the matter of terrible. The first step the IRS will naturally take is to pursue tax lien. The lien is a nightmare because it carries with it something known as the 100 percent penalty. Basically, the IRS will figure out the amount of payroll tax and charge a penalty equal to 100 percent of this amount. The next step taken by the IRS is basically collection of the amount due. Agents will physically come to business and grab all assets in an effort to satisfy the amount due. It is ugly and business killer.

A Payroll Tax Problem leads to payroll tax liability and there is no worse liability. With payroll tax liability. The individuals in charge of collecting, managing and depositing payroll are personality liable for the debt. All employers in the Unite States are required to withhold payroll taxes from the pay provided to employees. Payroll taxes contain federal income tax, social security and Medicare taxes together are referred to as FICA tax, which stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. Most of the common Payroll Tax Problems occur from the employer not fully understanding all aspects of the required payroll taxes. To process their payroll employers must first calculate the gross pay for each employee. Then the different payroll tax amounts are subtracted from the gross pay amount, with the result being the net pay, which is the amount the paychecks are made out in.

Although there are many ways to run into difficulties with such a complex process, the most common Payroll Tax Problems employers experience include:

Past due to collection of payroll taxes and late filing of reports which can lead to penalties, interest charged and finally penalty of the business. Careless record keeping which can be difficult when dealing with an IRS audit. Since small business owners in the past are the largest source of uncontrolled taxes according to the IRS the agency is focusing their enforcement efforts on smaller businesses. Many Payroll Tax Problems are exposed during the course of these audits. Borrowing from payroll tax money which is against the law.

It is given that all legit businesses must deal with taxes and accept it as part of doing business. In addition business resources such as time money and finance have to be reluctantly abstracted to resolve tax law issues whenever they rise. It would be better for a business to work with third party law stiffs in preventing and resolving tax issues, this would permit a business to not worry about taxes and come on their core functions.



payroll tax software

New Tax Year, New Standard

posted in: payroll software (Tags: , , ) - No Comments

08.29.10 9:34 pm

Simon Parsons asked:






New Tax Year, New Standard

Many readers will be aware that I have been a critical friend of the payroll standard for many years. Personally involved in consultations for the creation of the original standard, it fell short of relevance for many employers and only touched on the basics. However, it allowed predominantly PC software and Internet services aimed at Small Enterprises to gain some official listing and free publicity.

Over the past year, and with the development of compulsory in-year requirements, the scope of inclusion has drifted towards larger and more specialised employers (yes, Pension payrolls are employers in the eyes of HM Revenue & Customs) and more towards the mainstream software and service providers for whom the original Inland Revenue Payroll Standard was not intended.

The main issues were applicability and a lack of inclusiveness, and in fairness to the past year of consultation process, HM Revenue & Customs has improved the Payroll Standard, making it more relevant, applicable and inclusive to the Payroll market and industry.

Some current standard-compliant products could have been considered as failing the basics of the Payroll Standard requirements themselves. Many do not actually offer electronic payments to HMRC and only offer links to information about the payments.

The types of concern or issues to specialists were:



Requirement for the calculation of National Insurance Contributions (NICs) even for pension payers who have no NICs liability.

Requirements of contracted-out variations in calculations even for employers who have no contracted-out pension scheme.

Requirement for Directors NICs even when the employer has no Directors (such as public sector, charities, partnerships, mutuals, etc).

Requirements for the filing of the P35 by the software, when this is an employer obligation and requires additional non-payroll information.

Requirements for the electronic payment of disbursements to the Collector of Taxes by the payroll software, even if these would normally be handled by a central finance function.

Monthly/Weekly employers’ software was required to also calculate 2 weekly and 4 weekly rules.

Etc.

On other items, the standard could have been considered short:



No requirement for in-year message capability (and none is still required until 2010 even though compulsion applies from 2009)

No requirement for multi-location employers for the handling of multi/part P14 submission

Etc.

With extremely capable and feature rich payroll/pension, services and Bureaus in effect excluded from achieving the former Payroll Standard, and following extensive industry and employer representative consultation, HM Revenue and Customs have revised and enhanced the Payroll Standard to enable it to be more relevant, applicable, and robust for the needs of the Payroll Industry as a whole.

The new all-singing, all-dancing HMRC Payroll Standard has been launched for the 2008/2009 tax year. New logos and options are now featured to enable employers to identify relevance for their needs and purposes.

We now have the:



Payroll Standard

Pensioner Payroll Standard

No longer are pension payrolls required to calculate NICs or Directors’ NICs, or deal with payroll frequencies that are irrelevant, yet the providers of such services may now be recognised and listed as meeting this new standard. This must be a positive move for the Pension Payment industry as many of the prior standard accredited list would fall short of the Pensioner Payroll requirements (they would not do the job).

Equally, the Payroll Standard has been split into elements with a Core standard applying to all listed products and ‘optional features’ of:



2 weekly, 4 weekly pay frequencies

Directors National Insurance

Contracted-out Pension Deductions

No longer does extremely capable and specialised software have to meet elements that just don’t apply. Local authority payrolls are no longer required to calculate Directors’ NICs for them to now receive accreditation. Small employer products no longer need to calculate frequencies that do not really apply to their particular market niche or offer contracted-out pension scheme deduction calculations where the employer has never had one.

Equally, a relaxation of some of the prior elements of the standard (some which were strictly policed and others which were not) have been applied – although software needs to provide information to employers for the completion of the P35 annual declaration. These can be completed via the free HMRC service as a single record submission and the compulsory requirement of the actual software making this submission has been removed from the requirements of meeting the payroll standard. This is also the case with regards to the practice with payments to the collector of taxes; the stated requirement has been revised to match what was actually happening with many accreditation list products. However, the preparation of electronic P14 files (Internet or EDI) remains compulsory.

Some additional requirements also form part of the new standard requirements at specific future points:



From 1 April 2009, products must be able to calculate Statutory Adoption Pay and the associated entitlement to Statutory Paternity Pay (the current standard had no such requirement!)

From 1 April 2010, recognise the electronic submission of P45(1), P45(3), and P46

So with the exception of the in-year filing anomaly (check your supplier carefully), this newly launched HMRC Payroll Standard is more accurate, relevant, applicable and especially inclusive to the payroll and pensioner payroll industry and market place as a whole – at last!



payroll tax software

Help With 1099 Filing and 941 Payroll Taxes

posted in: payroll software (Tags: , , ) - No Comments

08.29.10 9:01 pm

Richard Close asked:




If you had known it would be this hard…If you’re a small business owner, one of your constant headaches is making sure you’re filing your payroll taxes correctly. You have to make sure you’re taking out the right amounts in federal and social security taxes for your employees. You have to make sure you’re reporting correctly to the IRS, and you have to make sure you pay the IRS those taxes every quarter, even if the payment could hurt your business.

Accidents happen…What happens though if you make a mistake on your reporting? Or worse, what happens if you don’t pay on the taxes? What kind of help with payroll taxes can you get, and what can the IRS do to you?

As a former IRS-Hitman I can tell you that IRS revenue agents wait for small businesses to make a mistake on their payroll taxes. Small businesses, especially new ones can be a big payday for the IRS collectors once a debt from misfiled or un-filed payroll taxes occurs. So what help with payroll taxes is available?

The first step is admitting you need help. If you haven’t hired an accountant or a CPA to help with you payroll taxes, you should. Even if you or someone you know is good at book keeping, someone experienced with filing payroll taxes with the IRS can save you a lot of time and stress.

You need answers…But you want to know what help with payroll taxes there is after the IRS has targeted you. Don’t avoid the IRS; show that you’re willing to work with the revenue agents. Whether you’ve made a mistake filing or missed a quarterly payment, pay any amounts owed immediately.

Why is paying immediately so important? First of all interest and penalties start accruing on the debt immediately and that debt can balloon very, very quickly. Secondly the IRS doesn’t waste much time with small businesses before they start collection actions. They can shut your business down while they seize assets to pay off your debt if you can’t come up with the cash. And you will probably not be able to recover from the loss of production while the IRS collects their due.

Losing your shirt…If your tax problem stems from a crooked partner or accountant stealing or embezzling money you can get help with your payroll tax debt by appealing to the IRS for a Penalty Abatement. If a debt is caused by a catastrophic event that was beyond your control, such as theft or embezzlement, the penalties on the debt can be removed which can reduce your debt by up to 30%. And that could be the help with payroll taxes that you need to make the debt manageable enough to work something out with the IRS.

Now you have the smoking gun…Use it!

payroll tax software

Payroll Outsourcing Services

posted in: payroll software (Tags: , , ) - No Comments

08.29.10 6:59 am

Ross Bainbridge asked:




Payroll outsourcing services are the services provided by payroll outsourcing companies to their clients. Payroll outsourcing includes receipt and analysis of payroll data, reporting the payment of payroll taxes, issuing payment and reports to employees and reporting data to end user.

Payroll outsourcing services provide a ready solution in areas that are critical to the success of a business. They undertake the back office accounting and payroll work for all their clients and create a local presence by providing routine consultation and tax return. Payroll software provided by the outsourcing company will enable you to transmit your payroll data securely, easily and efficiently through the internet. You can view a pre-check register to verify that the payroll is perfect at every time. The software also helps you to input data and receipt online.

Services offered by different companies vary slightly. The services generally provided are full service payroll administration which takes care of direct deposit, tax filing, job costing, payroll updates, deductions, advances, W-2 filings, keeping track of tax law and implementing the necessary changes. A responsive, flexible service provider can in every way be a valuable associate for any business.

There are online services that provide additional options like web access, which allows you to view information and even make changes to such information online. The management and employees are allowed to access to view their benefits plans, enroll in benefits, read policies, and make changes to current data.

The greatest advantage of payroll outsourcing is that it allows the management and employees to focus on the business and make improvements, instead of wasting valuable time in tiresome work. Payroll outsourcing services are a great boon to companies which have split from the parent company and are just building up a payroll department.

payroll tax software

DIY Accounting Bookkeeping Spreadsheets Questions and Answers

posted in: payroll software (Tags: , , ) - No Comments

08.28.10 9:01 pm

Terry Cartwright asked:




Client asked for user name and authorisation code or password when attempting to download accounting software.

This problem is because a potential login area has been found not related to the accounting purchase. The client has made an erroneous assumption of how to access the accounting or payroll software. The correct solution if the client was not returned by paypal directly to the download page is to click the URL sent in the confirmation email which was sent following the accounting software purchase.

After payment client was not returned to the website to download the product

This can happen when payment is made by credit card or the paypal sequence is interrupted in some way. DIY Accounting do send a thank you email containing the download page from where the accounting or payroll software can be downloaded. How do I download the product from the website.

Firs step is to go to My Documents and make a new folder to receive the accounting files. Right click each of the links on the download page and save each accounting template directly to that folder on your computer hard drive. When spreadsheets are opened before saving the original links could be changed to temporary links. The accounting software files do not link together.

Problems with excel spreadsheets that have been downloaded link together but may not if the structure has been inadvertently changed.

If the name of an excel workbook has been changed the links from that file to other files will be broken unless the name change is made in a specific way, that way being to open all linking workbooks so that when the new file name is changed the linking structure is preserved. The names of the accounting workbooks are not changed, the simplest solution is to either change the file name back to the original file name provided the changed name had not been saved or download a new file with the original linked name.

If the accounting templates were opened first before saving then these files are stored on your computer with temporary links for you to view them. If that file is then subsequently saved then what is being saved is the temporary links not the original links which causes the files not to link together and the accounting software is prevented from updating the financial accounts template. The easiest solution is to delete the file and resave from the download page direct to your accounts folder without opening the files first. Ynable to open and view the accounting files.

If the excel program has not been installed the computer to which the accounting file shave been downloaded does not recognise the file type. Alternatively the excel spreadsheets will open if an open source spreadsheet package has been installed on the computer.

In a similar manner when the accounting templates are saved to a CD Rom the status changes from active to read only. This is because excel is not installed on the CD. The excel files automatically change back top being usable when the templates are then moved back to a computer where either excel or an open source spreadsheet package has been installed. Having saved the accounting templates from the download page when I click the file name my computer tries to connect to the internet.

This is because the client has often not actually downloaded the accounting workbooks to their computer but instead has saved the links from the download page. As these links are linked to the source of the templates which are stored on the internet the client is returned to that source. The solution is top revisit the download page and actually download each file to your computer by clicking the link to the accounting template and then clicking save in the dialogue box. When I open the monthly accounting template there are no tabs along the bottom of the page to navigate from one sheet to another.

The client has sometimes saved not the accounting spreadsheets but instead has saved the links and may consequently be viewing a single accounting spreadsheet and not the whole accounting workbook. The solution is to revisit the download page and right click each link to actually save the accounting workbooks to your computer.

It is also worth pointing out that when the square box at the top right of the worksheet has been clicked to reduce the size of the spreadsheet and that spreadsheet is located further down the computer screen so the bottom part is not visible then this may also result in the navigation tabs being hidden from view. This is corrected by clicking the square box to reveal a full page view.



payroll tax software

Arizona Payroll Software – Income Tax Changes

posted in: payroll software (Tags: , , ) - No Comments

08.28.10 2:54 pm

Lisa Heather asked:




Effective May 1, 2009 Arizona withholding options have changed. The amounts, on or after May 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010, required to be withheld for Arizona withholding purposes will continue to be a percentage of the federal withholding. The new percentage options are available by contacting the Arizona State Revenue Department. Amounts withheld on or after July 1, 2010 must be based on a table prescribed by the department. The department plans to have the new withholding tables available sometime in the late spring of 2010.

All current employees withholding options should be changed to the new applicable rate. Employers must notify their employees of the change and make available the revised Arizona form A-4 or A-4v if employees elect to choose a different rate.

A new employee must complete the revised 2009 Arizona Form A-4 within the first five days of employment to elect an Arizona withholding percentage. If the new employee does not complete the revised Arizona Form A-4, the employer must withhold Arizona income tax from the employee’s wages at the greater of the applicable minimum percentage (11.5% or 21.9%). A new employee who is an Arizona resident working outside of Arizona may elect voluntary Arizona income tax withholding for 2009 by completing the revised Arizona Form A-4V. The employer must withhold Arizona income tax from the employee’s compensation at the greater of either the percentage elected by the employee or the applicable minimum percentage (11.5% or 21.9%).

Tax table updates whether pertaining to state taxes or federal taxes can occur multiple times a year. With the new Arizona payroll taxes, comes the question for employers, how to make this modification easy. Automated payroll software can take the hassle out of tax table updates. Automatically receive updated tax tables when required. Generate employee payroll, pay checks, tax forms and reports with a comprehensive payroll software.

payroll tax software