Your employees count on you to figure out their paychecks and then distribute them in an orderly, timely manner. As a small business owner or as an employer whose employees work from a distance or online, you might find life easier if you could do your employee payroll at home. Fortunately for you, there are websites and software programs that will allow you to work from your own home office. Here are the steps toward processing payroll you’ll need to know:
Before payroll
Now that you’ve hired your employees, you need to file with the proper agencies and collect their identification numbers. After you’ve completed those steps, you should know how much you plan to pay them, how much money comes out of their checks for the variety of taxes, and how much has been taken out for other reasons such as social security.
Online services versus software
An online program like Intuit Online Payroll costs about ten dollars a month and can create paychecks online quickly and easily without forcing you to install software. It allows you to print paychecks on your home printer or to directly deposit the money into your employees’ bank accounts for free. One advantage to an online service like this one is that you can do payroll with any computer, anywhere, at any time, so if you are on the road, you can still make sure your employees are paid on time.
When to start
Begin the payroll process a few days before the date that pay is due. If you start early, you have time to make sure that there are no mistakes and that direct deposits are made on time. An online payroll program will help you here.
Pay period
Be mindful of the actual time that the employees worked within the designated pay period when figuring out each individual paycheck. Some employers pay weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Make sure to let your employees know when each pay period ends so they can figure accordingly.
Other adjustments
Your online payroll should help you figure out adjustments such as sick days, changes in pay rate, vacation days, personal days, etc. It should also keep track of deductions for insurance and 401(k).
Even though you are relying on an online service to help you with payroll from home, you will still want to check up and make sure that everything is running smoothly. For instance, you should call the bank to make certain that the direct deposits made it safely, even if you received confirmation from your system that they did. Check on the amounts so that you are absolutely sure that the right amount went to the right employee. It wouldn’t hurt to keep hard copies of all your files as well, which you can keep at home as well as at your office. Your employees will thank you for it in the long run. After all, you hold their financial lives in your hands! Remember that a happy employee will make your business life much easier!
Sarah Danielson is a contributing writer for www.payweb.com, which handles all payroll related services online for business of all sizes.
