Remote Payroll Services For Small Businesses And Startups

Small Business Payroll Services

No small business owner starts a company to manage payroll. The focus is growing the business and building a strong team, yet payroll remains one of the most critical administrative responsibilities. From calculating payroll taxes to choosing the right small business payroll software, errors can increase payroll cost, create compliance risks, and hurt morale.

Without a reliable system to run payroll and process payroll accurately—or support from a trusted payroll company—mistakes can quickly impact both employees and the business.

Thankfully, managing payroll isn’t as difficult as it seems, since there are great options available. Outsourcing small business payroll services is the best option for any business owner who wants to spend time running the company instead of dealing with payroll headaches. These services allow small business owners to sleep well at night, knowing their finances are in an expert’s hands.

What Is Payroll?

Payroll is a business’s obligation to pay employees—and contractors—accurately and on time for a defined pay period. All compensation counts as a payroll expense, including bonuses, commissions, and stock options.

Using the right small business payroll software gives business owners clearer payroll insights and flexible small business payroll options, making it easier to manage pay and pay contractors correctly.

A small business owner needs to be focused on growing the company, not learning how to pay employees or file taxes. The time and resources needed to learn these skills effectively would be better spent on activities that drive profit and growth. This is where business payroll services come in. These outsourced services allow small business owners to focus their efforts on running a successful operation, while still ensuring that all of their payroll needs are handled properly.

Small business payroll services include: 

• Tracking time
• Calculating employee gross wages
• Subtracting taxes and other deductions 
• Paying employees
• Filing and depositing taxes
• Keeping important records and information safe

Can I Do My Own Payroll for My Small Business?

Yes, you can run your own payroll, but shouldn’t!

Rather than using small business payroll services, many small business owners do payroll manually to save money. You can save a few hundred dollars by running payroll without a payroll service provider , but you’ll pay much more in fees and tax penalties in the long run.

Why Use a Small Business Payroll Service?

Managing payroll can be difficult and time-consuming to handle alone as a small business owner. Payroll service professionals take care of your payroll function. This means that you no longer have to worry about making sure it meets the needs of your employees, your small business, and the law. There are a number of benefits of using payroll services: 

1. Convenience, convenience, convenience

Outsourced small business payroll services take care of the rest after the business submits hours, deductions, and salaries. Payroll experts will use the right tools and design the right process to ensure success.

2. Efficacy and productivity

Businesses can access direct deposits and employee retirement plans through most payroll software managed by a payroll service. This option expands capabilities beyond an internal team. W2 forms, employee taxes, and management reports are also included in most payroll services.

3. Precision is key

Because small business payroll experts specialize in payroll, they have quality assurance processes that keep payroll accurate and on time. You can count on them to keep your payroll numbers up-to-date every time!

4. Conformity with regulations

State and federal legal requirements constantly change with regard to payroll, and these changes can be hard to keep track of as a business owner. You can save money on legal fees by outsourcing payroll to an organization that specializes in this area.

How Much Does Gusto Payroll Software Cost?

Milestone recommends Gusto for payroll services for small businesses and teams. Gusto is a modern Human Resource solution that offers payroll, employee benefits, hiring, management resources, and more — all in one place. Gusto’s mission is to empower your team with a single trusted system, competitive compensation tools, and expert guidance. Gusto payroll is an affordable option for a small business with straightforward and simple needs.

Features of Gusto include:

• A great option for single-state business 
• Very easy employee and contractor payroll
• Detailed support guides with step-by-step instructions
• An automated onboarding solution
• Automatic tax filing and compliance guidance
• Integrated free checking and high-yield savings accounts with paycheck advance for employees

Gusto is moving toward being a full-service HR software but has limited integrations at this point. It is the most cost-effective option and can be very user-friendly for employees and managers.

Gusto offers three subscription categories:: Simple, Plus & Premium:

• Simple 

A streamlined set of automatic payroll features and benefits integrations priced at $40 per month + $6 per month per person.

• Plus 

Comprehensive payroll, benefits, and HR tools for employers priced at $80 per month + $12 per month per person.

• Premium 

Scalable payroll and benefits, expert HR, and dedicated support for the complex needs of growing teams priced individually per business. 

What Is The Best Online Payroll Services Provider for Small Businesses?

Online payroll services that are intuitive and user-friendly are best for small businesses. In a small business, ease of use is of the utmost importance. 

Count on Milestone to handle your small business payroll correctly. Payroll processing leaves no room for error, as mistakes can cause tax penalties and employee dissatisfaction. Let our payroll experts help you design the right process and use the right tools to ensure success. Milestone can handle your payroll function so you don’t have to worry about it, with customized pricing based on service level, number of employees, and pay cycle frequency.

At Milestone, we are Payroll experts. With deep payroll processing and optimization experience, we can help companies of all sizes. Get your time back with our payroll administration services! Milestone can help you navigate the maze of federal, state, and local requirements. Hiring employees in multiple states can be complicated, but we can simplify the process. Be confident you are capable of onboarding, paying, and working with employees around the country.

Payroll software implementation can be a very complex decision. Your business needs a system that meets your needs. Milestone will assist you in choosing the right one. To make the process seamless for your employees, Milestone utilizes best-in-class technology. Implementation and onboarding of the newly implemented systems will be handled by Milestone, as well as day-to-day operations. 

What Are Payroll Taxes?

Payroll taxes are taxes paid by employees on their wages and salaries. Social insurance programs, such as Medicare and Social Security, are financed by these taxes. Federal, state, and local governments generate 23% of their revenue from social insurance taxes, according to the Tax Foundation research. It is extremely critical to make sure payroll taxes are paid on time and to the right agencies. If you don’t make your payments on time, you could get fined heavily.

Small businesses are responsible for deducting the correct amount of taxes from their employee’s wages. They also need to calculate their own share of taxes, deposit the payments, and file returns in a timely manner with government agencies. Each pay period, you are required to pay the following taxes:

• Social Security and Medicare taxes
• Federal income tax
• State and local income tax
• Federal and state unemployment

Getting Help with Employer Payroll Taxes

The process of tax filing can quickly become complicated with all of the numbers involved. That’s why many small businesses work with a small business payroll service to save time and energy, provide required tax forms, and ensure compliance with national and local tax laws.

What Is the Cheapest Payroll Service for Small Business?

With many cheap payroll providers on the market, Wave is the cheapest payroll system for small businesses. With its free version, you can track unlimited income and expenses, connect unlimited banks and credit cards, send credit card invoices, make bank payments, and generate accounting reports. With Wave, you can easily manage payroll and pay your employees on time.

The price breakdown is $35 monthly & $6 per active employee. For one employee, Wave is the cheapest payroll service at $41 per month. It includes:

• Providing direct deposit, T4s, and full tax remittances to employees.
• A guarantee that you will receive accurate results.
• A step-by-step guide for setting it up.
• Forms and documents that are easily accessible.

It is imperative to note that if you use cheap payroll software to run payroll, you run very significant risks. In the accounting industry, there is little room for error, and you usually get what you pay for. Accounting plays a crucial role in business decision-making and compliance. Investing in better accounting software will, therefore, pay off in the long run. Gusto is our small business recommendation.

Do I Need a Payroll Service for My Small Business?

Yes; most small businesses benefit from using a payroll service. The right small business payroll software provides clear payroll insights, simplifies compliance, and offers flexible small business payroll options for paying employees and contractors.

A payroll service helps you pay contractors accurately, reduce errors, and save time as your business grows.

Milestone Offers the Best Payroll Services for Small Businesses

At Milestone, we are Payroll experts. We stand out in the world of payroll service providers with experience, expertise, and reliability. We can handle your small business payroll processing to free up your time and provide peace of mind. We offer customized pricing based on service level, number of employees, and pay cycle frequency. Contact us today to talk about how we can streamline the payroll process at your company.

Contact us to learn more about the Milestone difference and unleash your back office. There is a reason we are known for offering the best payroll services for small businesses.