On the “payroll” page, I viewed a spreadsheet of payments earned by employees. From there, I clicked “next” and was taken to a page that flagged all issues that may hinder a successful payroll run. I could click “resolve exceptions” to work out these issues before running payroll. Paychex Flex is made specifically for small businesses that need a quick and simple payroll system. It’s stripped down for businesses that just need easy payroll, with the flexibility to add how to deal with work in process in cost accounting on services as they grow.
If you prefer handling payroll on your own, payroll earnings before interest and taxes software can help you save time, automate certain processes and reduce the chance of mistakes. Many products can handle payroll tax filing and payments on your behalf, but you’re still ultimately on the hook for meeting those obligations. To determine the best payroll services for small businesses, Forbes Advisor researched the industry and analyzed 23 different companies and their plans.
TriNet customer reviews
You can increase efficiency and speed up the payroll process by using the right tools to track your employees’ time. The entire process involves collecting employee data and inputting it correctly into a file or document. You’ll have to calculate each paycheck for every pay period, making sure taxes are calculated correctly. The last step is making sure both your employees and the appropriate government agencies are paid on time correctly. From handling sensitive employee information to calculating taxes and depositing money into the bank accounts of your employees, payroll management can be complicated and fraught with liabilities.
Stay covered at tax time
We provide third-party links as a convenience and for informational purposes only. Intuit does not endorse or approve these products and services, or the opinions of these corporations or organizations or individuals. Intuit accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, legality, or content on these sites. Payroll expenses have historically been one of the highest costs to business owners. Fortunately, if you follow these steps, you can reduce your expenses, even if you’re currently overstaffed.
- It calculates your federal and state payroll taxes and handles the deductions, payments, and filings so you don’t have to.
- If you can squeeze some “good to have” features as well, do so but don’t overextend yourself.
- PEOs such as Justworks are a good fit for small businesses with complex hiring and potential business liability, such as hiring international employees or having a lot of turnover.
- You can decide when and how to pay your workers and run payments off-cycle when necessary.
TriNet helps small businesses save money by looking for tax credits for each company. For example, it allows you to input tax credit information into the payroll system and then prepares forms 8974 and 941 for you to claim those credits. Employees can then use a left-hand menu to find more detailed information, such as their health benefits options and performance reviews. Simple forms and digital signing tools allow employees to complete documents and reviews in a fully digital format, even on a small screen.
Audit Your Payroll Process
The dashboard felt cluttered when I landed, but it did offer many tools that I needed at my fingertips. By clicking “run payroll” from the dashboard, I completed a payroll run in just a few clicks. PEOs such as Justworks are a good fit for small businesses with complex hiring and potential business liability, such as hiring international employees or having a lot of turnover.
Dennis O’Reilly brings a unique perspective to his work evaluating tech products for small businesses. He combines years of experience in tech publishing for PC World, Windows Secrets and other publications with his work as a legal writer and pro bono attorney licensed with the State Bar of California since 2017. Dennis carefully considers all the ways businesses can benefit from or be burned by the technology they rely on for their success.
It evaluates thousands of consumer insights and reviews from leading online forums to determine customer satisfaction at scale. The Forbes Advisor Small Business team is committed to bringing you unbiased rankings and information with full editorial independence. We use product data, first-person testing, strategic methodologies and expert insights to inform all of our content so we can guide you in making the best decisions for your business journey. It’s important to classify employees correctly whether they’re independent contractors, exempt employees, or non-exempt salaried staff. You need to document this correctly so the government can monitor potential a guide to liquidity in accounting violations according to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Messy, incomplete, or missing payroll records are unacceptable to the IRS.
I like the easy, three-step process to run payroll but found it difficult to get around the warnings. Also, time off data doesn’t necessarily sync with payroll or an employee’s time off information in their profile. If you run payroll late, your company may be penalized and you could be charged interest on the missing payments. Unless you’re completely tapped out, do everything you can to avoid the Form 941 late filing penalty. While there are specific federal tax deposit deadlines, they are generally influenced by Form 941. This form is an IRS document employers must use to report the income, medicare, and social security taxes they withheld from their staff’s paychecks.