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Thursday, December 10, 2015

Do Your Own Payroll

One of the best ways for small businesses to save some money is to do their own payroll.  While you might be worried that you need to be an accountant or hire an accountant to process your payroll, there is really no need.

There are several online payroll software programs that can help you process your payroll, taxes, and W2s all on your own.  These programs calculate the federal and state taxes for you, including what should be taken out of each employee's check and what your company's tax liability is for each payroll.  You still have to complete and file your returns. But, at least you know the calculations are correct. A good program to use is Intuit online payroll program.  This program allows you to process your payroll from any computer, so you don't have to be at the office or even in the country to process your payroll.  All you need to do is get on a computer and enter in the hours. So, you could be on the beach in the Caribbean and still get your payroll done on time.

Payroll software or programs take the element of error out of your payroll process.  You enter in the information from each employee's W2 and the wage rate, and the program will calculate the correct amount of taxes.  Doing payroll by hand leaves a ton of room for error and also takes quite a bit of time.  With a program, you payroll is calculated in seconds.

Depending on the program you choose, the program can also calculate your quarterly payroll tax returns, annual returns, and W2s.  The program may even send you reminders of when each return is due.  While you might have to pay between 50 to 100 dollars a month for your payroll software, if you choose an online program,  and have a fair number of employees, the cost is still way less than what you would pay an accountant.

When you do your own payroll, you also learn all about the taxes that you pay and can know for sure that all the IRS forms that you need to complete are being done on-time and correct.  When you leave it up to someone else and don't understand what needs to be done on the financial side of your company, you run the risk of someone talking advantage of your ignorance and actually not doing everything he/she should be doing as your accountant.

Save some money and educate yourself on the payroll process and tax obligations for your company to protect you and your company.


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