By Bruce Senti, Aatrix Software
What Do Employers Say About Payroll Reporting
A recent survey found that 63% of employers never realized how much time they spent on payroll. 70% said the diverse labor laws across states complicated the process.
Many companies said they were unwilling to outsource payroll because of the cost and that they did not trust another company to assume those duties.
Small business owners said they spend about 111 minutes to calculate paychecks, 96 minutes to file taxes, and 95 minutes to complete payments. It’s important to notice that employers spend almost twice as much time processing tax reports and payments than they do actually processing payroll checks.
The obvious solution is to find an in-house solution to take care of payroll reports and payments. This allows employers to minimize costs, maintain control, and dramatically reduce the time spent completing state and federal reports and making payments/deposits.
To complicate things even more, State and Federal eFiling requirements are mandating more businesses to eFile payroll reports and payments every year.
More than a dozen states recently lowered the threshold for employee count requirements or outright mandated that businesses eFile wage withholding, unemployment, and new hire reports.
The federal government requires virtually all employers to make withholding payments electronically.
What you should look for in an in-house reports and payment solution
Simplicity
- One process to eFile unemployment, wage withholding, New hire, reports and electronic payments.
- One Website to track all filings and payments. View confirmations and administer all agency requirements, filing statuses, and filing history.
- One support group to call for answers and assistance when eFiling to any Federal or State agency.
Efficient
- eFiling is completed within the payroll solution without additional exports, typing, and logging into multiple sites.
- Reports are completed with the same process regardless of the report being file or the agency it is eFiled to.
- Reports are time-stamped and saved on your machine and accessible for review or audit.
Accurate
- Reports are completed using the data within the payroll solution you use.
- The solution must guarantee compliance with all legislation, eFile requirements, and form changes.
Affordable
- It should be an affordable annual subscription service that covers all your filing requirements for a single price. Includes all State and Federal agencies.
Summary
Employers should not be required to outsource payroll just because it is complicated. Many payroll software providers have partnered with reporting specialists to provide a comprehensive time-saving alternative. The first best practice for employers is to use one of these payroll solution providers that offer a fully integrated in-house solution
