4 More Payroll Tips to Keep in Mind

May 16, 2016Time GuruPayroll

Managing payroll is painstaking and time consuming. More than the effort, the time and the complications can make your job difficult. To make payroll management a cakewalk you need the right tools. You don’t need to hire an HR firm or a full-time HR manager. You don’t need to race against time either. All you need is the ideal solution.

Here are four more payroll tips that can be of immense help.

• You should have timesheets. Your employees may be paid weekly or monthly but the wages will be calculated based on the amount of time they have worked, or the number of days they have turned up. Some companies pay hourly while some have a system of paying daily wages, based on the number of days one has worked in a week or month. Whatever your company policy is, you would need timesheet software. Timesheet automation can make payroll management much simpler. You don’t need to spend endless hours trying to tally the hours your employees have put in or how many days employees haven’t turned up for work. The timesheet software will do it for you.
• You shouldn’t pick a timesheet software that doesn’t offer any other features. You need a full-suite software that will help you automate every process that can run without human intervention. From managing the employee database to calculating salaries, incentives and adjusting for taxes or absenteeism, everything should be taken care of by the payroll software.
• In addition to timesheet automation, you must automate federal and state taxes. Anyone who has worked on federal and state taxes knows how time consuming it can be. More importantly, at the end of the day it turns out to be an exercise that has no productive value for the business. Automating federal and state taxes will ensure that you keep paying taxes on time, which can avert fines or penalties. Automating will also greatly reduce the chance of errors in calculating taxes and save you time and effort.
• You should classify your employees. You may have part-time and full-time employees, freelancers or contractors, remote and onsite employees. The more finely you classify your employees, the better it is. You also need to factor in the taxes, as professional and corporate taxes vary for employees and contractors. You cannot classify interns, freelance contractors and full-time or permanent employees in the same group.

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6 Common Payroll Issues

September 22, 2015Time GuruPayroll, Uncategorized

Payroll plays a large role in companies for a reason. It’s the cumulative sum of all of the financial records for employee salaries, which includes their work wages, deductions and any bonuses. The crucial nature of payroll means that it’s imperative for companies to pay close attention to how it is managed under their financial departments.

Payroll is straightforward in concept, but it’s not entirely foolproof. Processing employee payroll is still subject to various common errors, despite the time-sensitive nature of such finances. Following are six of the most common payroll issues that companies tend to deal with.

Inaccuracy of Information – Working With Inexperienced Payroll Processors

At times, dealing with payroll related tasks can be a chore. To address this issue, many businesses and HR departments tend to hire out payroll processing to a third party. Some may delegate the work to an inexperienced employee.

On occasion, an employee or third party’s inexperience with their client’s workforce information can lead to them making crucial mistakes during the processing of such information. Sometimes, the information processed for employee wages may be inaccurate (for example, social security information), leading to possible delays in processing.

Using the Correct Deduction Amounts

Processing deductions from employee pay is considered one of the most complex parts of payroll. Both state and federal laws apply to deducting certain amounts from employee pay. Due to this, it’s easy for businesses and HR departments to make errors during payroll processing in regards to utilizing the correct deduction amounts.

Not Classifying Employees Correctly

Many small businesses utilize several types of workers, including temporary employees, freelance workers and contractors. Diversity in worker types can sometimes lead to payroll issues. It’s important that workers be classified correctly for tax purposes, since businesses can be subject to paying their owed taxes along with any fines.

Overtime Rules

Current federal and state laws require many employers to give overtime. Overtime generally consists of 50 percent of the employee’s typical hourly wage; in most cases, employees must be paid their hourly wage and the 50 percent overtime premium for each hour worked overtime. Due to the exceptions that overtime laws generally include, some payroll processors may be subject to mistakes.

Garnishments and Child Support

Employees who have been ordered by the courts to pay a certain amount to another party are subject to garnishments from their income. A creditor generally takes a certain percentage from their income, which is usually deducted from their paycheck. Employers are required to fulfill the terms of an employee’s garnishment; otherwise, those that don’t are subject to penalties.

Keeping Up With Regulatory Changes

Over time, payroll regulations do change. Sometimes, significant changes may be made to how payroll is processed for businesses across the country. In order to avoid the payroll issues that may originate from regulatory changes, businesses should do their best to stay updated with regulatory changes that may occur in their state or around the country.

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4 Keys To Finding a Good Time & Attendance System

July 24, 2015Time GuruTime and Attendance

There are a number of different reasons why companies need to have a time and attendance system in place. Not only does it help to reduce the risk of human error, but efficiency is also integral. When timesheets are being manually filled out is takes needless time and also leaves room for error. This can lead to issues with payroll, as employees can be given paychecks that are not accurate. They will always tell you if they realize they were paid too little, but not necessarily if they were paid too much.  Time and attendance systems have their place in every business no matter the size. Choosing the right type of time and attendance software is the key.

Here are the biggest things to remember when choosing a time and attendance system:

Analyze Your Needs

The different types of time and attendance systems are designed to meet different needs of companies. You need to understand what you require most from time and attendance software. This usually involves a time clock device, either biometric or with a card reader, although some systems can be used with any web-enabled devices, making them great for mobile employees. You also need software that is designed to manage the data easily and support that makes updates and helpdesk features accessible. Every company is different, but these are the basic needs that most companies have when looking for a time and attendance system.

Do Your Research

Once you know exactly what you need out of a time and attendance system, you have to begin your research. With so many different options to choose from, you need to learn about the best ones available. This might involve reading reviews or looking to see how some time and attendance systems stack up against one another. Along with cost, you can’t forget about the research aspect of the selection process when you are looking for a system that will offer accuracy, efficiency and other important benefits.

See a Demo

If you want to be fully convinced before you choose a time and attendance system, it can be very beneficial to ask for a demo. This will give you a good idea of exactly how the system works and what you can expect when it is implemented for your company. A demo should help give you all the information you need to make the best decision. You will know exactly what you are dealing with after seeing a demo.

Have Clear Expectations

There is no way for any time and attendance system to deliver on all your needs if you do not have clear expectations. You need to know what the problems are and what you want before you can find a system that helps resolve them.

Using Web Timesheets in the Construction Industry

July 17, 2015Time GuruWeb Timesheets

Accurate and timely reporting on any construction site can be difficult or next to impossible to achieve.  Not only do employees on construction sites change jobs often, but this information is rarely reported accurately if it is even reported at all.  It is important to be informed and keep track of when employees change tasks because not all tasks have the same pay rate.  However, this difficult issue can be resolved with the use ofOn-Time Web. This unique system is a solution for the pay rate change problems that exist on a construction site, so construction industry timesheet issues can be resolved once and for all.

Here are the biggest reasons why construction web timesheets or mobile construction timesheets can be the perfect solution:

Simplifies the Tracking Process

Most construction sites are chaotic and employees are often moving from one task to another. Keeping track of time sheets or having all employees clock in at one time can be a major pain.  On-Time Web is designed to correct all these issues and simplify the entire process.  Tracking time and attendance is easy with the use of this mobile system.  Construction web timesheets come with customizable software that is the best solution.  It is so easy to use that you won’t know how you managed time and attendance without web timesheets.

Employees Can Punch In and Out With Ease

Getting employees to punch in and out at a construction site has never been easy in the past.  This can be changed forever with the use of web timesheets.  Now employees have no excuse to not clock in or out.  Both punch style and free-form timesheet entry are supported by this system.  Knowing exactly when employees arrive on the site and when they leave can be simplified.

Real-time Reporting

One of the best features of construction web timesheets is the ability to get access to real-time reporting.  All of the data that is gathered is updated automatically.  This means that you can see real-time data and can sort through it based on employee or project, further simplifying the time and attendance tracking process on any construction site.

In the past, tracking time in the construction industry was a major hassle, but construction web timesheets are changing this for the better.

How Automated Time and Attendance Helps With HR Issues

July 14, 2015Time GuruTime and Attendance

If you have time cards that are filled out manually, it only leads to inaccuracies caused by human error. This might not seem like a major issue until you realize that time and attendance errors can lead to payroll errors that can cost companies big money. Not only can time and attendance software improve accuracy, but there are also other issues that can be addressed. If you are dealing with problems related to productivity, discipline, payroll or scheduling, it might be time to learn how a time and attendance system can resolve these issues.

Productivity

Having all processes streamlined in relation to time and attendance as well as payroll only allows for more productivity in the workplace. All day-to-day operations can be more efficient, and this only helps to free up more employee time. Employees no longer have to spend their time filling out time cards, tracking the missing ones down, figuring hours and pay rates, or keying data in.

Payroll

Time and attendance systems are specifically designed to be incredibly accurate. They can also integrate with payroll software to streamline all processes. This substantially reduces payroll errors and makes sure that all employee checks are accurate. Employees will be paid correctly for the amount of hours that they worked. This saves time and allows for payroll to be a much smother process.

Employee Satisfaction

You might not realize it, but time and attendance systems can also have a positive impact on morale in the workplace. Employees will know that their pay will be accurate and will not have to worry about errors due to time cards. All preparation with manual time sheets will also be removed. This even allows for employee and employer relations to be improved.

Scheduling

You will know that employees work their specific schedule due to the increase in security with a time and attendance system. This makes scheduling simpler than ever before and cuts back on employees being able to breach the security of your time and attendance system. With a few mouse clicks you will be able to see who has punched in on which jobs, allowing you to know quickly if you need to move employees around so that all jobs are adequately covered.

Having time and attendance software allows you to address key issues that can be harming your bottom line. The fact is that productivity, accuracy, payroll, employee satisfaction and scheduling issues can all be addressed with the right time and attendance system.

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Why Do I Need an Automated Time and Attendance System If I Outsource Payroll

Why Do I Need an Automated Time and Attendance System If I Outsource Payroll?

Time and attendance has been the measure of payroll forever.  Most companies employ a time sheet system of one kind or another to track days and hours worked by employees.  Payroll timesheets are gathered on a regular basis and processed for payroll.  This system has worked for a very long time, but according to recent studies companies lose on average 5% of their annual revenue to payroll fraud, errors and inefficiencies.

Even if you outsource your payroll, there is still room for fraud, errors and inefficiencies.  An automated time and attendance system can eliminate these issues, saving your company thousands of dollars annually.  These time and attendance systems use electronic means to track time and export the figures to your payroll office.   There is no need for one person to calculate employee hours, and the web timesheet data can easily be transferred into your own payroll system or to the outsourced site.

Automated time and attendance systems reduce timesheet errors.  Humans make mistakes and whether the errors are made intentionally or not, these systems take the human error out of the equation.  Web timesheets are created using biometric or card-swipe time clocks or other web devices such as tablets or smart phones. This provides precise time measurements as to when employees start and leave work, eliminating timesheet fraud.

Time and attendance systems also help you track employee activity by allowing you to monitor labor costs, scheduling, productivity and overtime.  If your business is project based, the system can keep track of time spent on each project.   This will allow you to evaluate employee contributions to determine if you are making a profit having that individual working.

Some digital time clocks also can be used to control access to your facilities.  Employee movement can be controlled with a card or biometric system so that if anyone accesses a restricted area, you will be able to track where they were and how long they were in that area.

Accurate reporting features are another reason to use a digital time and attendance system.  Depending on the system, there are many reports that can be generated or customized to provide detailed information on the functioning of your company and payroll costs.

Compliance for the numerous regulatory agencies is also much easier with digital time and attendance systems.  Most systems are able to comply with the ACA and FLSA regulations, allowing you to quickly and easily generate the correct reports to meet those requirements.

Automated time and attendance systems can save your company thousands of dollars, even if you outsource your payroll, by lowering errors, inconsistencies and fraud opportunities and by simplifying the gathering and compilation of your payroll data.