Payroll Services

Payroll services assist or assume responsibility for all aspects of payroll for another company. This arrangement is often beneficial for employers who care about their time and want accurate and timely payment of their employees and payroll taxes. A payroll service provider may help business owners eliminate expensive tax laws and penalties, thus saving them money.

What Is Payroll?

The term payroll refers to the total amount an employer must pay their employees at a given time or date. The process of compensating employees for their work for their organizations can also be defined as this. 20% of small business owners reported spending more than six hours a month handling payroll taxes.

Arguably Payroll is the most important administrative task associated with running a successful small business. Getting paid on time and accurately reflects the financial stability and reputation of a company. When paychecks are not made on time or errors occur, employees may lose trust in the company. The more accurate and timely paychecks are, the more engaged and motivated employees are.

Payroll processing services leave no margin for error. Payroll service specialists should use the right tools and design the right process to ensure success for their business. Human Resources and Accounting experts often manage payroll. Employee data is collected and entered by Human Resources, and tax forms, wages, and benefits are calculated by Accounting. Every business owner needs a payroll solution and they can find that within an outsourced, full-service payroll company.

Payroll can be a very challenging process, as it affects the entirety of your company. A few common challenges include:

Manual Payroll Processing

Processing by hand with spreadsheets and ledgers can be a very cost-friendly option and appropriate for very small businesses. Unfortunately, this process can be very tedious and accident-prone. This approach can put your business and employees at risk and what you are saving upfront might end up costing you additional fees. Growing businesses should automate their processes using payroll software or a payroll service provider.

Constantly Changing Employee and Regulatory Laws

It would be nice if rules and regulations were not constantly changing but unfortunately, payroll needs to be aligned with federal, state, and local regulations. If you do not conform to their regulatory changes and incorrectly calculate employee pay or tax liabilities, you will face substantial fines and penalties. Satisfactory payroll service providers should automatically remain up to date with adjusting regulations

Under or Overpayments

Every employee looks forward to payday. It is unfortunate when employees are underpaid or even overpaid, it causes frustration and a lack of confidence in their payroll manager. If you don’t catch these issues as they come up, it can cause issues in the year-end accounting. Automated payroll solutions can help by decreasing the chance of errors often found in manual payroll data entry. Outsourced payroll services often provide a comprehensive report before payroll is run that makes it easy for the HR manager or business owner to check that the payroll is accurate prior to sending.

Privacy and Confidentiality

Data breaches have become very common in this day in age. Unfortunately, payroll does not exist without highly sensitive data such as bank account and social security numbers, home addresses, and pay rates. Every business needs a clear policy regarding their employee’s private information and strict internal control over access to pay-related information.

Managing Changes

Every change within the employee information, the business, and the government can create payroll problems. When employees move, it creates a new tax jurisdiction. That’s a big change in terms of payroll- new salary, new tax withholdings. These are new calculations to be made and that creates an opportunity for human error. With payroll, an automated system that allows for self-service abilities would allow employees to update their information using a mobile app and relieve the burden on your payroll staff.

Payroll Software Integration

Manually transferring data among systems can be a massive manual undertaking and lead to data integrity issues. Your payroll system should integrate into your systems of apps – specifically, it should be connected to your accounting system and require little to no manual intervention.

Additionally, the payroll system connects the user to all their HR applications for an easier onboarding process. It creates a smoother experience for the employees and business owners, as there is a flow between data in one system to the next. It also eliminates the risk of manual errors, as there is a vetting process.

Payroll is just the beginning of why any company should create an integrated system for all apps. If you are unsure of how to get your payroll system integrated into the rest of your HR and Accounting processes reach out to Milestone. We offer payroll services as well as system implementation and can help make sure your back office is as integrated and automated as possible.

What Do Payroll Services Include?

Payroll services can be an overwhelming process to do alone as it can be very time-consuming and hard to understand. When you outsource the payroll you are able to have trained professionals to consider the needs of employees, your business, and legal requirements. Payroll services are the outsourced management of compensation for employees in an organization. 

A list of tasks payroll providers take care of include: 

• Processing employee hours
• Cutting checks
• Depositing funds
• Make sure all employees are paid correctly and on time. 

Employees benefit from having payroll services as they will be able to have customer support and a specific contact person to support any and all of an individual’s unique needs. With Full-service Payroll, tax filing, and tax payments, payroll is processed in minutes with taxes calculated and paid automatically for you. Forms such as the W-2 and 1099 are completed and automatically sent to your employees.

Payroll services must determine a process to achieve those services and help you answer major questions that impact your payroll each pay period. These questions include:

• Pay schedule: When will you pay employees? Will your payday be weekly, biweekly, or semimonthly?
• Types of employees: Are your employees full-time vs part-time? Are your employees exempt vs nonexempt?
• Time Tracking: Do your employees need to track work hours? If so, how will you do it and when will they need to be reported to you?
• Benefits: Will you be offering health benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, and workers’ comp for your employees? Who will pay for them? If employees are paying for them partially or in full, how will you manage the payroll deductions?
• Tax Filing: How often will you need to pay payroll taxes, and which ones are you subject to? Will you need to pay state taxes? Local? Who will find out the rates in advance so you know how much to withhold?
• Payroll processing and calculations: Will you calculate and process payroll using Excel, by hand, with a calculator, or with a payroll service?
• Paychecks: Will you be cutting checks or paying via direct deposit? Pay cards? Cash?

When you introduce a payroll service provider to your system, you have answers to all your questions. It takes back the daunting project from the business owner and ensures accuracy.

Does HR Help with Payroll? 

Yes, payroll is a function that typically falls under HR and/or accounting. Human resources, or HR, guarantees that a business’s employees are onboarded, trained, and empowered to do their best work. Core HR services include compliance, talent acquisition, performance management, onboarding, new hire reporting, benefits administration, learning, and development.

HR can also overlap with payroll, as HR manages salary increases, bonuses and incentives, and paid time off (PTO). Payroll is an internal-facing function of the business which usually would fall under HR support but it would also fit under Accounting practices. Accounting functions and knowledge are necessary to run payroll, such as reconciliations and posting to the general ledger, which falls under the accounting department’s responsibilities. You have to find the perfect mix of professionals who are experts in both accounting and human resources.

To minimize the risk of accounting errors and mishandled financial data, you should not allow non-accountants to access your accounting system. Employee information should not be handled by people who lack HR tools training because they run the risk of serious privacy violations. There are many Accounting and HR solutions to payroll, but you have to first decide what needs you must have met.

Best Online Payroll Services for Small Business

No small business owner goes into business wanting to spend all their time managing payroll. They want to focus on growing their business and building their team… Nevertheless, payroll is an essential aspect of running any business. It can be challenging and outside of many entrepreneurs’ toolboxes, but it’s vital to get right. Not having a solid process can lead to big mistakes like noncompliance with tax and labor laws and damaging employee morale.

Because of this, 45% of small businesses use payroll services according to the National Small Business Association small business Taxation Survey. The best payroll services for small businesses is one that is user-friendly and intuitive for entrepreneurs. The ease of use is the most important aspect, you don’t want to add to a small business owner’s plate, you want to take off of it.

For small business owners, we recommend a payroll service (like the one Milestone offers), not just payroll software. Payroll service will provide a dedicated payroll processing rep that runs reports and can help the business owner make adjustments on the fly. In today’s world with virtual employees that live in various different states, a payroll manager is responsible for managing the different tax implications for different states. Getting new employees set up becomes a breeze and business owners rest easy knowing their payroll is done on time and accurately. 

What Is the Average Payroll Cost?

The average payroll cost per month can be as small as $25 to as high as $200, as a general cost, with an additional cost per person from $5 to $25 per employee. Payroll service providers often offer several different need-based packages, and the pricing of software-based payroll services can vary from platform to platform. 

• How often do you use payroll?
• The number of employees on payroll
• Direct Deposit
• Geographically dispersed workforce
• Tax assistance
• Employee benefits such as workers’ compensation and healthcare
• Employee self-service functionality

Direct Deposit for Small Businesses

Direct deposit is an electronic payment of funds from one bank account to another. Employers transfer funds from their business accounts to their employees’ accounts. It’s convenient, safe, and reliable for your employees. In fact, it is the most popular method of payment with More than 93% of U.S. workers receiving their pay by direct deposit, according to the American Payroll Association.

Payroll services with direct deposit can also save you money compared to setting up direct deposit with your bank and managing your own payroll. Depending on the size of the business and the type of bank account, direct deposit provider setup fees range from $50 to $149. Additionally, banks can charge a flat fee per pay period plus a fee for each employee payment.

How Do I Set Up Direct Deposit for Payroll?

The process is very simple but can vary from bank to bank. The entire process takes one to two business days, according to the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA).

1. The employer initiates a direct deposit with your business bank.
2. The bank will take any and all direct deposits and send them in collections to the Automated Clearing House (ACH), the U.S. financial network that oversees these types of transactions.
3. The ACH will receive the direct deposit orders and send them to the banks of your employees.
4. Those banks will receive the orders and credit your employees’ accounts accordingly. When your employee’s account is credited, the employer’s back is then debited the corresponding amount.

What Are The Best Payroll Services?

The best payroll services for small businesses is one that is user-friendly and intuitive for entrepreneurs. The ease of use is the most important aspect, you don’t want to add to a small business owner’s plate, you want to take off of it. You want your payroll system to be a central hub for your company of any size. 

With Milestone, you will have peace of mind knowing your payroll is done right. There is no margin for error when it comes to payroll processing. In addition to accuracy and timeliness, employee satisfaction is crucial. Ensure success by using the right tools and designing the right process with our payroll experts. With Customized pricing based on the level of service, any number of employees, and the pay cycle frequency, Milestone can own your payroll function so you don’t have to worry about it.

Milestone experts can help you with…

• Payroll Administration

Payroll can take up so much of your time as a business owner. Let Milestone help you get back to what you do best. At Milestone, we are Payroll experts. For companies of all sizes, we have deep payroll processing and optimization experience. With our payroll administration services, you can keep your business running smoothly and get your time back! 

• State & Local Registrations

Milestone can guide you through the maze of federal, state, and local requirements. It can be even more complex when you are hiring employees in multiple states! Be confident you are ready to onboard, pay, and work with employees located anywhere around the country! 

• System Selection & Implementation

Implementing a new payroll software can be a very complex decision. Milestone will help you select the best system for your business. Milestone utilizes the best-in-class technology, to make the process seamless for your employees. Milestone will implement and onboard the new systems and even run the day to say execution. 

American Payroll Association

The American Payroll Association, or APA, is the national organization for payroll education, training, and publication. Since its founding in the 1980s, they have been on a mission to increase payroll specialists’ professional skills through education and community. When you join this organization you have access to payroll conferences, seminars, certifications, and a wealth of information. The APA publishes a library of resource texts and newsletters, in addition to organizing nearly 300 payroll seminars and conferences each year. Every year, more than 18,000 professionals attend APA training sessions. APA membership is open to anyone working in payroll services.

Process Payroll The Simple Way With Milestone

Milestone’s team of experienced payroll professionals can help your company find the perfect payroll software for your needs and complete all of your payroll tasks in a timely manner every month. Never worry about compliance issues or making payroll again. With Milestone, you can gain peace of mind and spend your time focusing on other aspects of your company that need your attention.

Contact us to learn more about the Milestone difference and unleash your back office.