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Three Business Principles to Avoid Compliance Woes

CMMA Blog

There are many perks of hiring independent contractors, including being able to:

  • Outsource tasks not core to your business
  • Engage workers for specific, short-term, or highly specialized tasks
  • End engagement whenever it makes sense
  • Avoid much of the onboarding hassle
  • Avoid paying a premium for benefits

Engaging independent contractors is very appealing, but is only to a company’s advantage when they stay in accordance with IRS guidelines. Otherwise, they could find themselves in very hot, very expensive water.

Three Business Principles to Stay Out of Trouble When Engaging Independent Contractors

Do Your Due Diligence Up Front

Doing the right things up front will save you headaches later. It’s that whole ounce of prevention thing. One of the most important things you can do to stay on solid ground is to classify workers correctly . It’s one of the very best ways to avoid unwanted interactions with the IRS. A worker’s classification is the foundation for what benefits they’re entitled to by law. There’s a misconception out there that the IRS is only paying to the big companies—the Ubers and Instacarts of the world. This isn’t true and it’s quite a risk to operate like it is. Expensive legal disputes over worker classification have affected companies whose names you’ve never heard of right alongside the Fortune 500 companies that make the headlines. Following the rules and classifying correctly from the beginning saves time in the long run and puts companies on solid ground if the IRS does come knocking.

Make Adjustments When Needed

Classification rules are always changing, right along with the employment landscape. Businesses cannot set something up and then forget about it. We cannot predict exactly how things will change, but we can be sure that they will. A new system could include portable benefits that travel with workers from company to company or something we’ve not heard anything about yet. Whatever happens, businesses that stay in tune with legal considerations are in position to adapt as those changes come. When a company doesn’t have the internal staff or bandwidth to accomplish this, engaging a third party to handle the details is a very sound business decision.

Have a Mutual Understanding—In Writing—With Every Independent Contractor

An independent contractor arrangement can be good for workers and companies alike. Many workers prefer the setup and, with lower costs to employers, it can be a win-win. Still, since workers have to make their own arrangements for retirement, health insurance, and worker’s compensation, which can be a burden. The main way to prevent issues surrounding this is for both parties to understand expectations up front. Whether they’re working for you for a one-time assignment or have a monthly agreement, having a contract with each independent contractor is important. It’s not just good for businesses. Having clear expectations up front is good for workers, too.

The Bottom Line

Currently, there is no standard playbook that guides businesses exactly how to pay contractors fairly while keeping costs down. To navigate it all legally and ethically, you must have the internal resources or the right partner that does. PayReel keeps up with the rules and developments and makes the adjustments on clients’ behalf. This handy guide  helps determine whether having a third party handle these details is a good idea for your business. In addition to handling worker classification , PayReel handles other risky aspects of business, including payroll and payroll taxes. Going above and beyond by classifying workers correctly from the beginning, being in position to adapt to changes, and having a clear understanding of expectations is more than warm a warm and fuzzy notion. It’s a sound business decision, too.

The post Three Business Principles to Avoid Compliance Woes appeared first on PayReel .

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Introducing Our New VP of Technology: Mark Lindley

CMMA Blog

Overseeing all things tech is a big job for just about any company, and with the software that’s core to our business and the level of information that crosses our paths, PayReel is no exception. That’s why we’re so happy to welcome a long-time expert to our team!

Mark Lindley: VP of Technology 

Mark oversees the company’s communications, PC security, software engineering, and core application. Security is a top priority at PayReel and Mark is responsible for the firewalls, penetration tests, user education, and PC updates that keep clients safe.

Mark has a wealth of experience in security, telecommunications, software engineering, software development, and enterprise architecture. He has been in the industry long enough to remember when computers weren’t a part of daily life and has led multiple companies through the massive changes of the previous 3 decades. He has held leadership roles with companies like iLending, William M Mercer, Coopers and Lybrand, CIMCO Communications, and Comcast.

Mark’s background, in conjunction with his propensity for business, make him a good fit for his role at PayReel. He is used to adapting to changing times and he always considers the business value of the solutions he presents.

Just as he strives to find the best solutions in his work, Mark strives to improve himself in his personal areas of interest—such as golf and fitness. He loves hiking, running, fishing—anything that gets him outdoors—and he also enjoys cross-generational rock & roll and SciFi movies.

Something Else: It’d be a mistake to put Mark into a “tech guy” or any other type of box. His interests and background are diverse: He was a pole vaulter in college and even used to show dogs as a kid.

The post Introducing Our New VP of Technology: Mark Lindley appeared first on PayReel .

To view our Partner blog, click here

Webinar Series Highlights – Advancing Modern Work Through Microsoft Teams Part 1

CMMA Blog

Webinar Series Highlights – Advancing Modern Work Through Microsoft Teams Part 1

The way we work has changed forever. To adapt our old ways of working to the modern workplace, Microsoft Teams has become an integral tool to create seamless collaboration and communication experiences across locations and devices.

In our latest webinar series, Advancing Modern Work Through Microsoft Teams , Microsoft MVPs and Kollective experts explain how to get the most out of Microsoft Teams to increase communication, collaboration, and productivity. Hosted by Alistair Pugin , Microsoft Azure and M365 Apps & Services MVP, the four-episode series covers a range of topics:

Episode 1: Optimizing Your Network for Microsoft Teams
Episode 2: Empowering Collaboration with Microsoft Teams Devices
Episode 3: Developing Inclusive Communications Through Microsoft Teams
Episode 4: Supporting Neurodiversity with Microsoft Teams

In this article, we will briefly recap episodes one and two and highlight invaluable tips shared by the experts on how to optimize your workflow and efficiency within Microsoft Teams.

Episode 1: Optimizing Your Network for Microsoft Teams

Video communications are key to enabling modern work. Unprepared networks struggle to deliver high quality Microsoft Teams meetings, live events, and webinars.
In this episode, Alistair is joined by Nicolas Blank , Microsoft Azure and M365 Apps & Services MVP, and Kollective’s VP of Product, Garrett Gladden to discuss:

  • Preparing your connectivity options
  • How Teams handles audio and video calls
  • Where bottlenecks occur
  • How to analyze what your network looks like

Tips for Flawless Teams Video Communications

  1. Understand your network – Whether you are about to roll out Teams or your current user experience is not up to par, it is crucial to understand your network’s capabilities and if it is set up to deliver a quality experience through Teams.
  2. Understand what you need from Teams – Not all devices are created equal, and endpoint performance issues may cause poor user experiences. Examine the devices that are consuming Teams video on your network and understand the platform’s impact on the hardware.
  3. Utilize the tools from Microsoft – Microsoft’s Call Quality Dashboard shows you organization-wide call and meeting quality, and you can leverage Power BI to analyze that data.
  4. Know your options – Understand your access points and trace what PoP (point of presence) you are connecting through.
  5. Measure, change, then measure again – Analyze network performance, make changes, and measure again to see if there has been an improvement. Microsoft 365’s network connectivity test is an easy way to measure your network’s performance repeatedly. Be sure to compare the performance on home networks versus corporate networks versus a branch site to gain a complete picture.

Episode 2: Empowering Collaboration with Microsoft Teams Devices

Creating inclusive Teams meeting experiences when only some are physically present is a challenge for businesses offering hybrid or remote work options. Episode two focuses on the latest capabilities and features of Microsoft Teams-enabled devices to bridge the gap between the office and home.

Tom Arbuthnot , M365 Apps & Services MVP and Microsoft Communications Certified Master, takes you through:

  • Microsoft Teams Rooms Pro
  • IntelliFrame
  • Hotdesking
  • And more device ecosystem updates

In the clip below, Tom emphasizes the need for businesses to budget for reasonable devices for those working from home.


“Don’t scrimp on home devices. People are spending so long at home that if you’re impacting the meeting experience, you’re impacting everybody’s productivity.” – Tom Arbuthnot

Tips to Improve Work-from-Home Teams Meeting Experiences

  1. If you are on a tight budget, invest in audio over video.
  2. Logitech 930e webcam and a decent headset (wired or Bluetooth) is a great place to start. If you are looking to upgrade, consider Logitech’s Brio 4K webcam.
  3. Pay attention to your lighting set up. If you have poor lighting, consider a ring light to improve visibility.

Microsoft Teams has unlocked many doors for the modern workplace and allowed us to quickly adapt to changes in where, how, and even why we work. Navigating the Teams ecosystem and the options available can be daunting. The Microsoft MVPs who joined us for this series are a font of knowledge in all things Team related.

Stay tuned for part 2 where we recap episodes three and four or take a deep dive into each topic by watching the episodes on-demand.

The post Webinar Series Highlights – Advancing Modern Work Through Microsoft Teams Part 1 appeared first on Kollective Technology .

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