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Meet Nichole Rose—Our New Risk & Compliance Manager

CMMA Blog

Nichole Rose—our new Risk & Compliance Program Manager—stays ahead of the game to ensure PayReel keeps clients compliant. She covers Human Resources (HR) matters such as benefits, workers’ compensation, and wage and hour compliance. Staying on top of the ins and outs of risk and compliance is hard, time-consuming, high-stakes work. Isn’t it nice to know you have someone in your corner to keep some of the riskiest aspects of your business running smoothly and accurately?

As the oldest of 10 siblings who earned her undergraduate degree in teaching children with special needs, Nichole Rose’s background provided her leadership opportunities and a lot of experience helping others. As such, she is just the kind of person you want in your corner. Nichole Rose also has a wide knowledge of HR topics and a strong desire to do things by the book to keep people out of trouble. She will soon be sitting for PHR (a certification in professional HR) which requires her to do continuing education to stay on top of all the latest changes.

Nichole Rose has served in HR roles for Lowe’s, as well as a fast-food chain and a manufacturing plant and enjoys giving clients the information they need to make the best decision for their situation. She certainly doesn’t know everything, but if you have a question, she’s going to help you find out what you need to know.

Outside of work, you’ll find Nichole Rose watching baseball. Her favorite players are the Little Leaguers in her own house, but she enjoys watching the professionals, too. She loves her family (including her two dogs!), camping, fishing and sitting down with a good book.

The post Meet Nichole Rose—Our New Risk & Compliance Manager appeared first on PayReel .

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Cyberattacks Are Coming: The Time to Protect Your Business is Now

CMMA Blog

President Biden’s warning to businesses was clear: Russian cyberattacks are coming. 

Tensions amid sanctions and Russia’s war in Ukraine are high and Putin’s playbook for countering such measures includes cyberattacks on essential aspects of American life. Consumers will remember last May’s cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline , which cut off nearly 50% of the fuel capacity for the East Coast as well as an attack against Meatpacker JBS from June , which threatened the food supply chain. 

Attacks that target food supply and fuel make the aim clear: the more disruptive to essential aspects of daily life for Americans the better. 

Protect Yourself 

The White House urged companies to take measures to protect themselves from these attacks and have also advised what to do if security measures fail. The list of measures for businesses is extensive, but one measure every single business and individual should take–as basic digital hygiene—is to use multi-factor authentication on all accounts. 

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure

PayReel takes cybersecurity very seriously and follows the above guidelines, including running exercises, encrypting data, and educating employees. Any disruption or inconvenience required up front is small in comparison to the havoc a successful attack may cause. The time is now.

The post Cyberattacks Are Coming: The Time to Protect Your Business is Now appeared first on PayReel .

To view our Partner blog, click here

What to Look For When Partnering With an Employer of Record

CMMA Blog

Compliance is hard, time-consuming, high-stakes work. Many companies find that keeping on top of the ins and outs with an in-house team gets harder as laws change (and then change again). Whether you partner with a payroll service or build a team to do the job, you want to be sure they’re fully in position to protect you and your company. 

What to Look For In an Employer of Record

1. Ability to Diffuse Legal Landmines 

Contractor/freelancer payment and compliance regulations are ever-changing. Hedging your bets on the legal front means mitigating compliance risks, making sure you are compliant, educating yourself on practices that could compromise you, knowing the state and federal differences in minimum wage and sick leave policies and more. You should also be ready to head off potential vulnerabilities by teaching employees how to appropriately fill out timesheets.

2. Paying Accurately And On Time

This seems obvious, but nothing will tank your credibility faster than having employees come to you over inaccurate or late payment. This is especially difficult if your workers are in multiple states (and therefore, under different legal requirements). If you’re not ahead of tracking benefits eligibility and overtime, you’ll lose trust with employees, which affects employee morale. Services with online management for employees and managers as well as practices in place to prevent unnecessary overtime will help payroll services run like a dream.

3. They’re Ready For Changes

The most effective teams have dedicated people to researches changes as they happen so the company can take the necessary steps. They read forums like a boss and stay up to date on payroll regulations in every state. Navigating the increasingly-complicated waters of payroll services means making sure you’re following all regulations, rules, and federal and state laws. 

The Bottom Line

Labor laws and fair pay standard practices are in a constant state of change. The gig economy and the worker classification challenges it brings to the forefront are top-of-mind topics for the government, employers, and employees alike. Whether it’s your internal team or a partner, pick someone who can stay ahead of the curve so you never even have to think about payroll services and compliance. Life and work is chaotic enough.

As a payroll partner, PayReel makes compliance and payroll the easiest part of your day with a full range of services. We make sure our clients are able to hire who they want, when they want and see that everyone is paid properly. Contact us anytime at 303-526-4900 and meet the PayReel team here!

The post What to Look For When Partnering With an Employer of Record appeared first on PayReel .

To view our Partner blog, click here

Mitigate Workers’ Compensation Risk in Four Steps

CMMA Blog

Just like any other insurance, workers’ compensation is a “just in case” plan you hope you’ll never need. But if you do need, it’ll save your butt a million ways and you’ll be so glad you have it. Workers’ compensation provides wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment. Employers that ensure worker safety and implement best practices before they need them are in the best position to protect employees, keep claims manageable, and maybe even keep premiums down. And let’s just get one of the most basic points out of the way: Anyone with employees needs workers’ compensation. Yep, everyone.

Four Steps to Mitigate Workers’ Compensation Risk

Step One: Prevent

Chase prevention like you would chase the crisis or you’ll certainly end up chasing a crisis. Make regular safety meetings, ongoing education, and performance metrics standard procedure. If you don’t have the budget to implement every possible safety measure, you don’t have the budget for the project. The best workers’ comp claim is the one that never happens.

Step Two: Plan

Instead of scrambling to figure out how you’ll handle a claim if it comes up, take steps ahead of time. Make sure reserves are accurate. Have a standard operating procedure. Decide who will talk to the adjuster and within what time frame. Taking the time to lay out your processes while your brain isn’t in crisis mode means you make sounder decisions. The added benefit is that it will reassure your adjuster that you’re engaged and motivated to reach a speedy resolution.

Step Three: Implement 

Implement a return to work program and have a plan for injured workers who have been cleared for modified duty. These measures reassure insurance companies while demonstrating professionalism to employees.

Step Four: Invest

Invest in accurate worker classification. An independent contractor filing a workers’ comp claim can easily land a well-intentioned company on IRS and DOL radar screens. This happens with surprising frequency despite the logical assumption that an independent contractor should understand the implications of a business-to-business relationship. One key aspect of a true B2B relationship is that a worker’s business activity exists independent of the employer. Preventing misclassification and communicating clearly with workers is a worthwhile preventative investment.

What’s Ahead?

COVID-19 has changed workers’ comp in the short term, but its effects will continue to be felt. The issue is ever-evolving in any environment–with or without a pandemic. Analysts anticipate continued changes for the workers’ compensation industry ahead. Workers’ compensation carriers may face declining profits and escalating claims costs and operating expenses. Companies that address the subject proactively will be in the best position to ensure minimal premium increases. Aside from cost, keeping employees safe is forever a worthwhile investment.

The post Mitigate Workers’ Compensation Risk in Four Steps appeared first on PayReel .

To view our Partner blog, click here

The Hidden Benefit to Paying Contractors in 30 Days

CMMA Blog

Internal processes, red tape, and backlogged accounting departments make it hard to get checks in the mail. We definitely understand. Even when a practice is common among other companies, a slow corporate freelance payment policy might prevent you from working with the best people.

Paying Contractors On Time Is Good For Companies

We know that keeping workers happy can be a pain the arse. Still, like many things, a different perspective makes all the difference. Top contractors get booked quickly. When you pay contractors quickly, they’re more likely to answer your calls and ramp up your projects in a short amount of time. For busy department heads with big projects and short turnaround times, there’s nothing better than diving right in with tried and true creative partners. Saving time, money, and hassle by working with people who just get what you’re looking for is priceless.  Paying later than your competition can get you blacklisted or moved to the bottom of a contractor’s long to do list. The true pain is having to go through the entire process of finding someone who is a good fit and bringing them up to speed just because your tried and true contractors have prioritized other companies.

If the benefits to you aren’t enough, think about it from the workers’ perspective. Freelancers single-handedly juggle creative work, billing, marketing, and more. That means the person who sees your invoice in their red column is often the same one you’re expecting to bring their all to your next project. What seems like an insignificant to a big company can have a major effect on a small business’ cash flow.

Don’t Be a Hoarder

Just because many large companies have made it a practice to hoard cash and squeeze small businesses to increase their own bottom lines doesn’t mean you have to follow suit. Not only does it add pressure to those you work with, it’s just not ethical. You may justify it by saying it’s not as bad as the latest headline maker’s illegal and greedy ways, but shady practices of any degree have no place in your business.

The Bottom Line

Paying contractors quickly is worth the investment. If it’s not feasible to transform your internal process, get a partner involved. You get the peace of mind of knowing you’ll always be in good standing with contractors. It pays to hire someone with systems in place.

Hiring contractors is a beautiful thing: It gives you a fresh perspective and talent without having to bring on full-time team members. Just make sure you do it right. Going from Net 90 to Net Now will save you time, keep you in good standing with contractors, and ensure you can feel good about the way you do business. Rather than trying to save Benjamins up front, take Benjamin Franklin’s advice and “Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.”

The post The Hidden Benefit to Paying Contractors in 30 Days appeared first on PayReel .

To view our Partner blog, click here

Managing a Contingent Workforce? Here’s Your Audit Prevention Checklist

CMMA Blog

If you work with independent contractors, you know the draw. You get to tap into outside creative resources and outsource work that is not central to your main line of business. It often allows companies to better meet budget.

On the surface, the barometer for identifying independent contractors is easy. They are self-employed and hired to do a specific job. They receive payment only for the work performed. Unlike a regular employee, they pick their projects and regularly move from client to client and business to business. Also referred to as freelancers, consultants and 1099’s, they report their own business income and pay self-employment taxes. Easy enough until you remember that nothing that involves the IRS is ever quite that simple.

 

Is Your IC really an Independent Contractor?

The IRS has very strict guidelines that define true business-to-business relationships. These guidelines are meant to prevent firms from misclassifying would-be employees and thereby avoid, either knowingly or unknowingly, a bounty of state and federal taxes.

This is a deceptively complex question that’s important to answer “yes”, because the risk of your company facing an IRS audit has never been greater.

Best Practices to Prevent an Audit

• Work with contractors who have an established business entity, with a business name and EIN to which invoice payment is made.

• Make sure your contractor provides services to businesses other than your firm.

• Have workers provide certificates of insurance, including coverage for general liability insurance and workers’ comp insurance

• Have a signed per-project agreement for services between your company and the contractor. Each project should have a contract specifying project length, compensation and liability.

• Have workers include expenses such as reimbursements for travel, phone, meals and overtime wages in their day rate.

• An independent contractor’s services should not be integral to the day-to-day functioning of your business. They should not be functioning as a division of your company.

• Watch out for pen-ended, ongoing work. The longer a contractor is with you on a full time basis, the more they take on the role of an employee.

When working with your contractors

• Do not train a contractor, direct their work responsibilities or define their work schedules. Specific instructions on these aspects of a job imply an employee relationship.

• You cannot control any aspect of their work except the results.

• Independent contractors should, when feasible, be using their own equipment. This includes computers and phones.

• Do not provide any employment benefits. Independent contractor’s should have their own health insurance, pay their own employment taxes and not receive any corporate stock options.

• You contract on a per-project basis.

• Above all, keep in mind that this is a business-to-business relationship.

Prevent an Audit

Getting audited can be costly and time-consuming even for businesses that do everything by the book. How much are you willing to pay for employee misclassification? If you have any questions about independent contractor status, trust PayReel to help you make the determination.

The post Managing a Contingent Workforce? Here’s Your Audit Prevention Checklist appeared first on PayReel .

To view our Partner blog, click here