Small Business Payroll Services

Summary: Many small businesses are now outsourcing payroll functions instead of hiring an accountant to handle their wage-related processes. They are opting to have a third-party do the job rather than have the processing of paychecks done in-house, to save on cost and time.

That is, because while it may seem that internal payroll processing is convenient and cost-effective, it could actually take time sometimes and would need expensive accounting software.

It would also require the training of a personnel and updating of that training to keep up with changes in the legalities of payroll handling.

Having a third-party prepare a payroll is particularly a good option for a small business that operates in a more complex fashion than usual. It could free itself from the hassles of doing a complicated payroll system when, for example, its employees work on irregular number of hours, it pays payroll taxes for multiple states, or it has significant turnover.

The services that small business could avail from payroll services providers include: calculation of tax obligations for employees, printing and of delivering checks, offering employees direct deposit, providing management reports, handling of W-2s and even filing state and federal payroll taxes.

If you are a small business owner deciding whether to employ a payroll solutions provider, you are better off to consider, foremost, your payroll needs so that you could choose the right payroll service provider. If you want to transact the business person-to-person, it is recommended that you contact a provider within your geographic area for you to get the benefit of working with a provider near you. In employing their services, you might need to submit to these companies your payroll data via phone or fax, or electronically.

You could also choose an online payroll solutions provider. The system works with the use of a modem. The provider supplies you with software that you could use to enter data such as pay rate, deductions, and leave credits. The information automatically is transferred to the payroll service provider, which then processes the data to deliver the services you want. There are also those that use Web-based payroll data entry to get employee information.

These companies have passed the IRS Assurance Testing System (ATS) and/or Business Acceptance Testing (BATS) requirements of the Internal Revenue Service: Intuit Inc., Paychex Inc., AccountantsWorld LLC, Paylocity Corporation, Corporate Payroll Services, PayCycle, SurePayroll, Inc., and CompuPay, Inc. They are certified software developers, reporting agents, and transmitters of electronic business returns to the IRS. Other recognized providers are Advantage Payroll Services, PayMaxx, ADP, and also Wells Fargo.

Payroll services providers do the work even for businesses with only a single employee. They usually require a flat fee for services such as payroll processing, tax filing and payment, and quarterly reports. The payroll service is charged per check, which could range from $2 to $5, in addition to a base fee for signing to an account. Standard services could cost between $20 and $50 per pay period. Add-ons like automatic check signatures, direct deposit, and handling of W-2s provides payroll could cost extra. These fees differ greatly from provider to provider.