How to Manage Payroll Payroll Tips for Small Businesses

Paycor’s pay run window shows at a glance all the details of the run and employees who are currently on leave. Wave Payroll’s straightforward payroll timesheets show understanding gaap vs non pay numbers for hourly and salaried workers. The Gusto payroll run screen shows at a glance all payroll expenses per employee. The Forbes Advisor Small Business team is committed to bringing you unbiased rankings and information with full editorial independence.

Calculate and Withhold Income Taxes

Users appreciate the comprehensive services offered, although some find the cost to be higher than expected. Its AutoPilot payroll software pays employees and contractors; the company also sells a low-cost contractor-only plan. You can even auto-pay employees and contractors across the globe in their own currencies without worrying about labor compliance violations. Gusto takes care of all of it through a global team of local experts who support local employees in over 75 countries. Small business owners can pay and manage their teams with integrated payroll, and access HR, health benefits, and more.

You first need to determine an employee’s gross pay or total earnings for the period before any deductions are made. Gross pay includes salary or hourly wages, tips, commissions, overtime pay, bonuses, shift differentials, vacation pay, sick pay and holiday pay. The payroll process can vary for each business, but there are some core functions that need to be completed with each payroll run. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services. You’ll also want to make sure all of your employee information is secure so it can’t be accessed by employees or outsiders.

1. True to its name, one change in the payroll system creates an automated ripple effect, updating all aspects of payroll that are impacted.
2. Maintain accurate and organized payroll records, including time cards, pay stubs, tax forms, and documentation of any deductions.
3. Make adjustments based on factors like planned hiring or potential wage increases.
4. Using employee scheduling and time tracking software will help save time, increase efficiency, and improve your payroll staff’s productivity, which ultimately ensures the accuracy of your payroll reports.
5. OnPay has received generally positive feedback, with many users praising its user-friendly interface and affordable pricing, making it a popular choice for small business payroll solutions.

Gusto customer reviews

Dennis O’Reilly brings a unique perspective to his work evaluating tech products for small businesses. Dennis carefully considers all the ways businesses can benefit from or be burned by the technology they rely on for their success. To further evaluate your payroll needs, answer these ten questions about your business and its payroll system.

Outsourced Payroll Service

Depending on where your business is based, you may need to get a state-level EIN on top of your federal EIN. To determine the best payroll services for small businesses, Forbes Advisor researched the industry and analyzed 23 different companies and their plans. We then scored these contenders across 34 metrics in five categories weighted to favor features that small business owners find valuable in a payroll provider. Here’s a breakdown of the categories we used to rank the providers that made the top of the list.

Pricing

Using a payroll service may take HR out of almost everything related to payroll while using software might place HR in charge of all payrolls. You can manage payroll manually on your own or with the help of payroll software or a third-party payroll service. While you can handle payroll yourself, we recommend finding an affordable payroll software or service to handle it for you to save time and headaches.

You need payroll software that helps with tax calculations, deductions, payments, and filings to the relevant federal, state, and local agencies, so you can have peace of mind and stay compliant. The platform caters to both employees and independent contractors, so you can pay your workers through direct deposits regardless of your team structure. However, payments to employees outside of the US can only be made manually via third-party integrations like Wise and Remitly.