Human Resources — #bookkeeping

How Your Business Can Benefit From Outsourcing Payroll 0

Outsourcing companies play a crucial role in the growth of businesses. It’s now commonplace to see major players in the marketing world commission outsourcing firms to handle core and non-core responsibilities.

With the complexities and intricacies involved in payroll, a lot of companies and businesses are now resorting to a permanent solution: hiring payroll providers. This decision, over time, has proven to be a wise and sustainable choice.

If you’re wondering whether your business will benefit from a payroll outsourcing service like Consultant In-A-Box, you’ve come to the right place.

Benefits of outsourcing payroll

Below are some key areas your business will benefit from payroll outsourcing.

Saves Time

When it comes to businesses, time is directly proportional to money. A lot of time goes into payroll processing that it is often difficult to keep up with other core responsibilities.

Manually processing payroll requires undivided attention. An employee’s net salary needs to be calculated accurately, deducting taxes, pension and healthcare, and including several allowances. And that’s just a single employee.

The action needs to be repeated for the remaining employees, and that can be mentally exhausting. Outsourcing this vital responsibility to payroll providers will save time that can be channeled into a venture that is more productive.

Reduces mistakes

Another benefit of outsourcing payroll providers is that administrative and financial mistakes are reduced to the barest minimum. For instance, when an employee’s work hours aren’t imputed correctly on the timesheet, it may result in a salary decrease (which affects the worker negatively), or an increase (which affects your business).

When an employee receives less of their deserving pay, they may decide to seek resolution in the court of law, and this invariably impacts your business.

To refrain from making costly mistakes like this, the expert service of a payroll provider is necessary.

Improves data security

When it comes to payroll processing, there are so many dangers involved. Some of them include payroll fraud (which affects 27% of all businesses worldwide), identity theft, and embezzlement of funds.

Even if you’re confident about the security of your payroll software, one can never be too confident in matters that pertain to money.

Contracting a payroll outsourcing service like Consultants In-A-Box will ensure that your company’s data is well protected. Leading payroll providers make use of state-of-the-art tech to store payroll information that cannot be breached.

You can rest assured that your business won’t suffer a financial hit internally when you hire a payroll provider.

Leverages on modern technology

Everyone is saving their data information to cloud-based systems, and it is only necessary to hire a payroll provider with a cloud-based system. Modern payroll outsourcing services utilize these systems to foster data security and manage information.

This invariably means increased payroll efficiency, reduced financial costs, and hitch-free processing of payments.

Offers Professionalism

Payroll outsourcing services are leading experts in the field of payroll processing. These companies understand and navigate the many complexities in payroll and give their best to clients. Some of their impressive responsibilities may be tasking for the administrative officer in your firm. They include:

• Adhering to federal and state tax laws.
• Accurately deducting social security, FICA, and healthcare fees.
• Updating W-9 forms to accurately make tax deductions.

Ensures compliance with government laws

It’s difficult to keep up with all the federal and state laws pertaining to employee allowance. Your business needs to remain on the side of the law always. That’s why it’s so beneficial to hire the services of a payroll outsourcing firm.

Consultants In-A-Box is a leading payroll outsourcing service whose mission is to provide lasting solutions to the financial needs of your business. Do contact us today.

How to Protect Your Business Against Fradulent Payroll Providers 0

Many businesses, small or big, are suffering from a different kind of pandemic today: payroll fraud. A record 27% of businesses the world over are currently under attack from this accounting fraud. While this fraud can be typically traced to workers with ill intentions working within a business, it is often advised to hire the services of a professional payroll provider.

Payroll providers are expert agencies that offer effective and safe payroll processing for businesses. While they are tasked with navigating all the intricacies involved in payroll systems, can they really be trusted with your company’s financing?

While there are reputable payroll providers like Consultants In-A-Box out there to entrust your business payroll processing, we can’t help to disclose that there have been a couple of bad eggs in the business, soiling the hard and success of good payroll outsourcing companies.

In this article, you will learn how these fraudulent payroll providers operate and how you can prevent your business from one.

Causes of Payroll Fraud

Fraudulent payroll providers cripple the finances of many businesses through the following methods:

• Ghost employees - If your business is fairly large, it is tasking to know all your employees by name or the actual number of your staff size. Fraudulent payroll providers exploit this common flaw by creating a fictional worker(s) and inputting their information along with genuine workers on the payroll list. The company ends up paying that ghost worker’s salary which is collected by the payroll providers. In some cases, these providers may use the names and details of former employees to trick businesses into paying them.
• Falsification of timesheets - Some fraudulent payroll systems deliberately increase the number of work hours by a staff (whom they must’ve connived with) to have a bigger paycheck.
• Payroll impersonation - Fraudulent payroll providers may ask your employees to update payroll data through a phishing website made to look genuine. They’d steal this information and make alterations to it on the genuine website.
• False commission - It’s commonplace to see some businesses giving commissions to employees. A deceitful payroll provider can deliberately increase the commission of workers to make them earn a larger pay. This stunt is pulled by illegally increases the target sales and other marketing bonuses.

With the aforementioned ways in which businesses can be affected by fraudulent payroll providers, how do you ensure your business is well protected?

How To Protect Your Business From Fraudulent Payroll Providers

The steps below will guide you on how to prevent payroll fraud from scandalous providers:

• Properly vet payroll providers. This is the important step to make before hiring a payroll provider to handle your company’s payroll. Ensure that they’re adhering to the regulations of the SEC and can also provide proof of their liability insurance. Also, ensure that their customer service is top-notch. Your business deserves nothing short of the best.
• Check out reviews. When selecting a payroll provider to work for your business, you should the internet for user reviews. Reviews reveal a lot about a payroll provider you’re planning to work with.
• Request for further certifications. You need to request for further verification from governmental agencies before hiring a payroll provider.

We at Consultants In-A-Box take pride as permanent solutions to your business’ payroll problems. We combine professionalism with a wealth of experience to deliver the very best for your employees and business. Do reach out to us today.

Paychex vs. Gusto: Which One Is Best for You? 0

Introducing a simple accounting software into the daily operation of your business is essential to the future success of your business. It’s something most business owners don’t think about when first starting out, but becomes more of a necessity as your business grows.

If you’ve been scouring the web for the best payroll and human resources software, you’ve likely realized that you have a world of options available to you. Navigating through these options can be difficult since they all market themselves as the best for your business.

Today, we’re going to detail two of the most popular accounting software programs available to businesses today -- Paychex and Gusto. We’ll discuss what they are, as well as the various benefits and downfalls that come with them.

By the time we’re done with this comparison, you’ll have a much better idea of which one works best for you. As a result, you’ll feel much more confident in your accounting department and will gain a large amount of your time back.

Let’s get started.

What is Paychex?

Paychex is known as the ‘big brother’ compared to Gusto because it’s been around longer and is a much more reputable brand. It’s known as an all-in-one solution that can provide help with HR services, payroll management, and administration tasks.

Paychex was founded in 1971 by Tom Golisano. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, it’s been around for nearly 50 years and has learned a lot in the industry. It’s designed to increase the amount of automation inside the workplace, giving you and your employees more time to focus on things that are most important.

Understanding the Benefits

Paychex definitely has much more capability when it comes to larger businesses. It’s certainly designed to meet the needs of businesses with 1-100 employees but can even support businesses with as much as 1,000+ employees.

Some of the features it’s capable of include: payroll, taxes, employee time, attendance, analytics, reports, hiring, health insurance, applicant tracking, HR services, employee benefits, employee screening, payment processing, expense management, and retirement plan benefits.

Paychex combines the benefits of a digital-based platform with the effects of a human-powered element. While many payroll and HR software programs feature fully-digital solutions, you get much more with Paychex.

Understanding the Downfalls

As great as Paychex is, there are some downfalls you should be aware of -- much like any accounting software. For example, some users have noted that the timesheet approval process takes too long and it lacks customization when running reports.

You also can’t print off your own checks, though you can have Paychex send their own checks in the mail. This is largely going to hurt employers that want to send a physical check, instead of a direct deposit.

Finally, many users say they didn’t enjoy the steep learning curve associated with Paychex. While they do admit it has a variety of benefits once understood, they mention getting there as being a bit difficult.

What is Gusto?

Gusto is the much newer accounting software on the market. It was introduced in 2012 as a cloud-based platform designed for small businesses looking for help with their payroll, HR, and administration operation/management.

Gusto is a more affordable option compared to Paychex, though it doesn’t come with as many features. It’s better suited for small businesses that don’t plan on growing anytime soon, if at all. For that reason, it’s a great option for self-employed individuals and sole proprietorships.

That’s not to say Gusto is perfect, though. They have their fair share of benefits and downfalls, just like Paychex did. Don’t worry, we’ll take a look at both of them as well, that way you get the full picture before deciding which one is best for you. 

Understanding the Benefits

There’s a lot to like about Gusto as a simple accounting software solution. One of the things we like most about it is the beautiful and easy-to-use interface. It’s one of the best in the industry and provides an excellent experience when managing payroll and HR tasks.

While Paychex required a bit of a learning curve, Gusto doesn’t require much. Their payroll programs are super easy to learn and don’t require you to spend a lot of time training your employees in each department.

There are also four types of payroll you can manage -- regular payroll, bonuses, off-cycle payroll, and termination. It also supports an autorun, which allows you to set your Gusto payroll to run automatically without needing you involved.

Understanding the Downfalls

While there’s a lot to like about Gusto, there are also some downfalls you should consider before making a final decision on Gusto or Paychex. Some of these downfalls could be the reason you choose one over the other, so it’s important to take everything into consideration.

The first major downfall is the fact that Gusto is a US-only service. That means if your business is headquartered outside of the United States, it won’t be of much use to you. In addition to that, it can be rather pricey for those that are in the United States.

Finally, you should be aware that it doesn’t have a mobile app. This takes some of the accessibility away, making it harder to manage when on-the-go -- which most business owners are these days.

Which One is Best for You?

Now that you’ve learned more about what each accounting software has to offer your business, you should have a better idea of which one’s better suited to meet your business’ needs. It’s an extremely important decision, so don’t rush yourself into a commitment.

If you’re still struggling to determine which one you should incorporate into your operations, Consultants In-A-Box can help. We’ve assisted a wide range of companies to find the right accounting software and we can’t wait to do the same for you.

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help and how you can start to take better control of your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly payroll or HR tasks.

Here’s How Integrated Payroll Services and Time Tracking Can Optimize Your Business 0

Did you know that integrated payroll services and time tracking software can help you improve the efficiency and accuracy of your bookkeeping procedures? At Consultants In-A-Box, we understand how time-consuming and frustrating managing these areas of your business can be -- that’s why we’re here to help!

Since most business owners use separate software for their payroll management, human resources department, and time-tracking, the first step in taking control of these procedures is finding a way to house these things under one roof.

With integrated payroll systems, you don’t have to worry about making costly mistakes that could’ve been avoided with a more efficient process. You’ll have everything you need right in front of you and a majority of your responsibilities are automated.

Why Should We Avoid Manual Time-Tracking?

It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about accounting, bookkeeping, taxes, payroll, or human resources, nothing is more important to the success of these departments than accuracy. Anything that puts this accuracy at risk should be viewed as a weakness and improved upon.

There are so many things that can go wrong when tracking employees’ time manually. There might be a moment when you rush yourself and make a small mathematical mistake. You might forget to track someone’s time one day and have no way of knowing how long they truly worked for -- the same goes for breaks.

If you fail to pay your employee the right amount of money, it can have a damaging effect on your business’ reputation. Your employee makes a complaint, that employee starts to talk to other employees, other employees talk to outside sources. It’s a vicious cycle that could be avoided with a quality time tracking software tailored for your business’ needs.

Integrated Payroll Services & Human Resources

Payroll and human resources go hand-in-hand when operating a business -- no matter the size of that business. With so many different software and platforms available to assist you with your procedures in both of these areas, you have to be careful with which ones you choose.

When you have two pieces of software that don’t cooperate with each other, it doesn’t matter how amazing those two software programs are. You’ll still be vulnerable to costly mistakes, errors, and inaccuracies when operating your business.

Let’s say you have an employee that comes to you with two requests -- they need to change their address and they need to fix their timesheet because they forgot to clock out the day before. With integrated services, all you need to do is make those changes once and you’re done.

Without integrated payroll systems, you’ll need to make those changes in each software program. Furthermore, you’ll open the door to making even more mistakes. As you can imagine, this takes time. And in business, time costs money.

Benefits of Integrating Payroll, HR, & Time Tracking Software

When you can have all your procedures under one roof, it maintains a level of consistency across all departments that improves the efficiency of your business. You’ll limit mistakes and maximize the amount of time these departments have to focus on more important tasks.

The right time tracking software, payroll system, and HR headquarters will help you automatically track hours, pay, taxes, deductions, checks, direct deposit, new hire documents, employee changes, bonuses, overtime, and so much more.

Better yet, these integrated systems can work in a variety of ways to meet your business’ needs -- whether that be a bar code, magnetic stripe, biometric information, or tracking via a computer.

Let’s take a look at some of the major benefits your business receives when integrating the software you use for your payroll and human resources departments.

1.   Efficiency is Key

Owning a business requires a never-ending commitment to management. You need to make sure you’re not spending too much on payroll, but also need to make sure you have enough overhead to handle the growing demand of your business.

Integrated systems allow you to keep a tab on all of these things just like you were before, but it adds a level of efficiency that was absent before. Your dashboard will tell you everything you need to know and even help you make projections for the future.

Efficiency is key to a successful business and integrated systems will get you there.

2.   Moving Closer to Being Paperless

In today’s digital world, anything designed to help you stay eco-friendly makes your business more appealing to the outside world -- including investors and customers. As the world moves closer to a paperless society, your business should do the same.

Manually managing payroll and human resources tasks requires a lot of paper and a lot of ink. In business terms, that means it requires a lot of money and overhead.

Imagine how much easier it would be to ditch all the paperwork and have everything completed for you automatically. Your employee’s times are automatically tracked and recorded in the software, which is then used to automatically calculate the employee’s pay for any given pay period.

Once the pay period is complete, the checks are automatically written and direct deposits automatically sent. It’ll also be tracked in real-time and give the employee access to payroll records and history -- all without the exchange of paper.

3.   Focusing Your Time Elsewhere

When your human resources and payroll departments spend the majority of their time completing tasks manually that should be completed automatically, it takes away from the time they could be spending on more important tasks.

These departments should be focused on finding new and innovative ways to find the right employees and implement the right procedures -- not manually tracking an employee’s hours. When these departments finally get the tools and resources they need to successfully do their job, you’ll be surprised by what they’re capable of.

4.   Following Laws, Rules & Regulations

How many times has your company been attacked by the IRS, state governments, local agencies, or even employees due to a failure to comply with laws, rules, and regulations? It’s a common mistake made when running a business, but one that can be avoided nonetheless.

With integrated systems for each department, you’ll effectively receive notifications and alerts when something needs to be attended to. This can include employees that have reached their weekly hour limit or when an employee has entered overtime pay for their shift.

Ensuring you follow rules, laws, regulations, and guidelines when scheduling and compensating your employees is essential. In the event you are audited for something, your integrated systems will have all the documents, data, and records required for a smooth audit.

5.   Keeping Employees Happy

When you hire employees, you want them to have a positive experience working for your company. It makes it easier to hire new employees when you have a good reputation and limits the amount of turnover you see on a monthly basis.

One of the keys to keeping your employees happy is a streamlined scheduling and payment process that’s free of errors and easy to access. Being able to easily track vacation time and sick pay, as well as their future schedule, makes it easier for the employee to work their personal life around their work demands.

Business owners can also set up alerts and notifications when an employee is nearing a bonus or an anniversary that might be subject to a pay increase. Being able to automatically track these things takes the guesswork out of payroll and gains trust with your employee when they see these changes made effective immediately.

6.   Accessibility & Security

Data entry becomes extremely difficult when you start to introduce several different working parts and destinations before completion. The risk of making mistakes and losing information in the mix is increased without a streamlined process.

Integrated payroll systems limit the number of people entering data and maximize the number of people reviewing information for mistakes. Not only does it help detect mistakes before becoming an issue, but it gives your human resources department more time to focus on improving these procedures for the future.

In addition to that, integrated payroll services allow for better security across all platforms. Since a majority of the information you handle on a day-to-day basis is confidential and sensitive information, it’s imperative you keep it safe from thieves and hackers. You’ll be able to take control of who has authorized access to this information.

Are You Ready for Integrated Payroll Services?

Integrating your payroll and time tracking software with your other human resources software programs is one of the most beneficial things you can do to your business’ operations. It helps improve the efficiency of your HR department, increases the satisfaction of your employees, and gives you the confidence you need when running your business.

Your employees will be able to easily access their information and payroll records. This gives them exactly what they need when dealing with personal matters, as well as limiting the amount of requests your HR department receives.

As a result, it also helps give your HR department more time to focus on tasks that improve procedures and solidify the future of your business. With a majority of their previous responsibilities now automated, they can be more efficient elsewhere.

If you’re tired of seeing outdated procedures and disparate software ruin your company’s reputation, Consultants In-A-Box is ready to help. We can help you take better control of your current HR situation and improve the efficiency of time tracking, payroll, and employee management within your business.

Contact us today to learn more about how we can assist your business.

Six Payroll Challenges For Small Restaurants 0

Managing a small restaurant is no easy feat. One would be dealing with several things all at once; coming up with strategies to drive sales, training employees on great customer service, and implementing customer reviews, and a more pressing issue: payroll processing.

Many small restaurant owners are having a difficult time meandering through the complexities of managing payroll, unlike other small businesses. You can’t afford to make mistakes while managing payroll. Mistakes often led to paying penalties which may affect your business.

You don’t want that.

In this article, we discuss some of the various payroll challenges for small restaurants and cafes.

Minimum Wage and Overtime.

Since 2009, the federal minimum wage has remained $7.25 per hour. However, states, cities, and counties have implemented a much higher minimum wage for employees. If the state and the federal minimum wage is different in the state your business is situated, you’d have to pay your employees a higher rate.

In the event that an employee exceeds 40 hours per week, he or she must be paid one and a half times more than their regular pay per hour.

When it comes to overtime, a lot of restaurant owners get it wrong. For some employers, calculating overtime fees of workers is still a challenge. There’s a seemingly overtime wage difference between tipped and untipped employees.

• For tipped employees. The overtime wages for a tipped employee is ascertained from the full minimum wage.
• For salaried employees. The overtime wages for a salaried employee is calculated on how his or her salary is set up and how many hours they worked.

Meals as Fringe Benefits.

Most restaurants offer meals to their workers, especially kitchen staff, who are always on duty. The IRS regards this as a fringe benefit. As a restaurant owner, you have the ability to exclude these meals from your worker’s wages. As long as the meals are provided to your workers on the premises, and they don’t go elsewhere to look for food, you can deduct the meals.

Most times, restaurant owners get this mixed up and this poses a problem for their business. However, it would be unreasonable to place charges on doughnuts, coffee, or any other meals taken by employees working overtime.

Too Many Forms.

Another payroll challenge restaurant owners face is the number of paperwork piling up on their desks daily. Having to sort out of the onboarding process for new employees, processing payroll, and of course, staying on the side of the law regarding tax laws.

When you consider the different wages of workers, expenses made, and the revenue flowing in, this can pose a serious payroll challenge for owners of small restaurants. It is highly recommended that you use payroll software or hire the services of professional payroll providers to handle all the complexities of tax and payroll.

Possible Discrimination on Job Applications.

As an employer, there are certain questions you’re prohibited to ask a potential employee, in order to not face lawsuits. Some of them include:

• Asking about previous arrests or convictions.
• Asking about their age.
• Religious holidays
• Disabilities

Offering Parental Leave and Paid Sick.

One payroll challenge small restaurant owners face is the understanding of how sick and parental leaves work. An experienced payroll provider is what your business needs if you cannot handle this issue yourself.

Payroll Fraud.

Payroll fraud is one of the crippling challenges of small restaurants. If unchecked, your business could take a serious hit. Some employees with ill intentions may illegally log in time which they never appeared on their timesheets. Handing out this responsibility to a payroll provider will save your business in the long run.

Should Small Businesses Outsource Payroll 0

It is commonplace to see small business owners tackling a lot of issues that demand equal attention, and at the same time. Coming up with strategies to boost business sales and productivity, prepping your staff, and taking charge of your finances—especially managing your payroll—can be exhausting.

That’s why businesses are now leaving this task to professional payroll providers. If you’re wondering whether it’s a wise business decision for your small business to outsource payroll, the answer is a resounding yes.

In this article, we will discuss what payroll providers are and the benefits of outsourcing one for your small business.

Who are Payroll Providers?

Payroll providers are expert agencies hired by businesses to handle their payroll processing in a professional and hitch-free manner. It is very vital, even as a small business owner, to outsource payroll.

Benefits of Outsourcing Payroll.

Outsourcing your payroll to payroll providers come with many benefits. Some of them include:

Increased productivity

Time is money, even for small businesses. And when it comes to payroll, it is a time-draining exercise. Having to calculate a worker’s allowances and taxes, deductions, overtime, paid time, and ensuring that state and federal regulations are strictly adhered to can be really stressful.

However, when you outsourcing payroll to an expert provider, like Consultants In-A-Box, you as a small business owner will have more time to focus on other strategic tasks that will boost your bottom line. Also, this will also aid the employee in your accounting department to channel their energy to another productive venture for your business.

The staff size of your business doesn’t matter. When you think about the time you’d spend in preparing W2s, the importance of outsourcing it to payroll providers becomes crucial.

Reduced mistakes

When it comes to payroll processing, mistakes may arise, especially when it is done in-house. Payroll mistakes impact your workers and your business. The IRS also frown frowns at payroll mistakes and would not waste time issuing penalties to you.

As a business owner, you’re responsible for whatever happens, good or bad. And that’s why it’s important to contact your payroll to experts who are equipped with the knowledge of federal and state regulations and the changes in tax rates. More so, you need a payroll provider that will be able to implement these figures in your payroll effectively.

Team of experts

Because new tax laws and regulations are made almost every year at the state or federal levels, your business must continue to ensure that it is on the side of the law. This is why you should outsource payroll.

Payroll providers are experts in the business of accounting and HR. These experts are well aware of the ever-evolving intricacies of payroll, and you can always count on them.

Eliminates payroll fraud

Currently, payroll fraud affects 27% of businesses worldwide. It is reported that businesses with less than 100 employees are more likely to be affected. Even if you trust your workers, there’s a potential risk of being defrauded from identity fraud, embezzlements of funds, ghost employees, illegal filling of timesheets, and many more.

You may not have the time to properly and closely monitor your workers in the accounting department. But you can invest in a more sustainable solution: hiring payroll providers.

Reduced costs

When you think about processing payroll in-house, you’d have to factor in a lot of things. Some of them include calculating payroll, printing, disbursing paychecks, keeping up with tax laws, generating reports, etc. This often results in spending more money than you bargain for.

When you compare it with payroll outsourcing costs, you’d see that it is more cost-effective to hire a payroll provider.

Consultants In-A-Box is a leading payroll provider, tasked with delivering the best payroll solutions for small and large businesses. You’re just a click away from transforming the financial aspects of your business. Reach out to us today.