Wasting Time on Payroll? You Don’t Have To
You check the calendar and sigh. Tomorrow is Friday. So, instead of chasing new leads and expanding your clientele, you’re scrambling to prepare for payday.
Sound familiar?
Payroll is a time-intensive task, one with important deadlines and the threat of interest and penalties. It’s no surprise, then, that it’s one of the most commonly outsourced functions. Many small business owners would rather focus their valuable time and energy elsewhere in their business.
That’s why we offer full payroll support through our bookkeeping service at Boxelder. Let us handle the checks, so you can get back to growing your business.
What to Know About Payroll Bookkeeping
While payroll can be time-consuming and confusing, it’s a critical responsibility for anyone launching a new small business. The best way to understand it is to break it down into four broad steps. Keeping track of your payroll can be tedious, time-consuming, and confusing. And if you aren’t an experienced bookkeeper, that can quickly get overwhelming.
Here’s how it all works:
- Each check starts with gross pay. This is the total compensation your employee receives before any deductions, reimbursements, etc. If you’re paying an hourly wage, the gross pay is simply the hourly rate multiplied by the hours worked during the pay period. If your employee worked overtime, every hour worked after 40 hours per week is multiplied by your overtime rate and added to the total. Gross pay also includes any commissions or bonuses earned over the pay period.
- After calculating gross pay, then you’ll account for pre-tax deductions. These could be deductions for retirement accounts, insurance, or for FSA and HSA accounts.
- Next you’ll subtract any tax deductions applicable. The tax withholding process is different for every employee as determined by their W-4. But, not only will you send the IRS your employee’s withheld taxes, as an employer you’ll also have to pay some form of a payroll tax. This is a confusing process that can get you into tax trouble if you’re not careful.
- Finally, you’ll add any reimbursements that you owe your employee, and deduct any applicable wage garnishments. That leaves you with net pay, the final number at the bottom of the check. This is the total amount the employee takes home.
The more your business grows, the more employees you add, the more difficult this gets to manage on your own. Our bookkeepers can do your payroll for you, saving you time — and time is money.
Small Business Payroll Services
Boxelder’s team of licensed bookkeepers, CPAs, and tax professionals bring decades of experience to the table. At Boxelder Bookkeeping, our payroll services include:
- Accurate Compensation Calculations – We can ensure that your employees are paid accurately and on-time, whether they’re salaried or hourly with overtime.
- Payroll Tax Calculation – We’ll give an accurate calculation of the amount you owe, and deliver it on-time to the IRS.
- Retirement, Healthcare, and Childcare Contributions – All contributions taken from employee salaries will be handled with care and accuracy.
- Special Circumstances Management – We’ll ensure that special circumstances such as wage garnishments are managed appropriately
- Automated Reporting, 24-Hour Access – Through QuickBooks, you’ll be notified automatically with payroll information at every pay cycle and have 24-hour access to all of your bookkeeping records.
Keeping Track of Payroll with QuickBooks
Boxelder Bookkeeping uses QuickBooks Online, a cloud-based bookkeeping and accounting software that gives you access to all your bookkeeping information, including payroll, at any time, from anywhere. And since each of our bookkeepers are certified QuickBooks Pro Advisors, you can rest assured that your books are being handled with care.
Have any questions about our payroll support service? Reach out today to schedule a free consultation.