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Do You Really Need Payroll Services? Ten Questions to Help You Decide

CMMA Blog

Time is money. And when you have a tendency to get buried under onboarding, vendor payment, classifying temporary employees, and other hiring details, time is priceless. Here’s a brief quiz to determine if hiring someone to handle your payroll services might be worth the investment.

Ten Questions to Help You Decide if You Need Payroll Services

  1. Do you regularly hire independent contractors and/or temporary employees?
  2. Is said hiring and onboarding one of the most time-consuming parts of your role?
  3. Do your payment processes or corporate legal concerns cause frustrating bottlenecks?
  4. Is your desk/desktop cluttered with binders, folders, and paperwork?
  5. Have you ever made a bad hire because of a time crunch?
  6. Do you get pulled into fighting payrolling fires more than once a quarter?
  7. Would a high level of service free you up to focus on other aspects of the business?
  8. Do concerns about compliance, worker classification, IRS audits, and workforce headcount keep you up at night?
  9. Have you ever lost favor with one of your best contractors by paying late?
  10. Do you have a reputation among contractors for paying late?

1-4 Yeses: Not everyone needs a service like PayReel. Startups and small businesses with smaller can often handle their own payroll. Still you may want to consider finding a payroll partner in the future and you can always give us a call just to talk through your challenges and see what solutions are out there.

5-8 Yeses: Hiring a payroll service would take a load off your plate and free you up for the parts of your business you do best. Give us a call to identify your biggest challenges and how a payroll service could address them.

8-10 Yeses: I think we need to talk. Today. Your blood pressure probably went up as you read the list above, you might be one of the businesses that does. For those who need quick/frequent access to qualified contractors or who want to take all the risk out of dealing with the independent workforce, PayReel is a headache free solution. PayReel’s independent workforce engagement solutions make classifying, onboarding, and paying your freelancers painless, paperless, and personalized. It’s about time.

The post Do You Really Need Payroll Services? Ten Questions to Help You Decide appeared first on PayReel .

To view our Partner blog, click here

The Art of Delegating: How to Multiply Your Bandwidth

CMMA Blog

The adage goes “If you want something done, ask a busy person.” If you are the person that always gets asked, it might be time to think about how to multiply your time using the art of delegating. Engaging a partner for events, worker management, and payroll is one of the quickest ways to increase bandwidth to actually do what they do. Put some of your responsibilities on someone else’s plate and then get yourself a mug to commemorate your status as World’s Best Boss.

Whether it’s a massive event or a one-camera film shoot, when a partner who specializes in event management manages your projects, it works out well for clients and workers alike.

Make Events Easy 

Whether you’re payrolling thousands of workers, sending a crew to an NBA game, or something in between, it’s nice to know all the details are handled. 

At PayReel, we know things don’t operate on a nine-to-five schedule and neither do we. We have an after-hours phone so we can be sure to provide speedy answers. Our online system allows you to take care of just about anything…at any hour…with a few taps or clicks. PayReel handles all the paperwork and the bonus is that we do it without any actual paper. Not having to sift through piles of identical paperwork cluttering up your desk and your headspace makes the process quicker and easier for you and for your workers.

Make Workers Happy With Speedy Payment And Paper-Free Paperwork

By managing all the payment details, including the mountains of W-4s , payroll becomes a non-event for our clients. Workers submit timecards on Mondays and we pay them on Fridays. When they’re paid quickly, they don’t need to call your office, which frees you up to do your job better. Of course, it also keeps workers happy so they are free to focus on your project and happy to come back for your next event. 

The last thing you need once you’ve hired people is to lose their loyalty on the back-end details. Whether they’re working for one day or for a month, we make sure workers get paid quickly and accurately so if you want to hire them again, they’ll be ready to pick up the call.

We’re devoted to making every single client and worker interaction a good one, which makes working with you mighty attractive for workers. As Michael, one of the freelancers PayReel pays, said, “[My Customer Experience Manager] has been superb in addressing whatever problems I have had.”

The bottom line

Clients work with us because we make your life easier and multiply your bandwidth for the things you do best. Not only does our team manage event payroll and payroll taxes; as the employer of record, we even take on all risk associated with a variable workforce. Think you might benefit from hiring a payroll service? Here’s a handy guide to find out more or contact us at 303-526-4900.

The post The Art of Delegating: How to Multiply Your Bandwidth appeared first on PayReel .

To view our Partner blog, click here

No pressure, but you really need to fix your contractor payroll dysfunction

CMMA Blog

I’m not saying you’re dysfunctional, but if you can answer ‘yes’ to any of the following questions, you probably have some flaws in your contractor payroll systems. But don’t worry! This isn’t like family dysfunction that can only be handled with gobs of counseling and Netflix marathons. We’re talking about something that can actually be solved with tried and true, deeply unsexy, un-volatile systems.

Payroll problems are easy to spot

Have you ever made a contracting mis-hire because of a time crunch?

Do you find yourself fighting payrolling fires at least once a month?

Have you ever lost favor with one of your best contractors by paying late?

Do you have a reputation among contractors for slow payments? Do you think you might but just not know it?

Do concerns about compliance, worker classification, IRS audits, and payroll efficiency keep you up at night?

via GIPHY

Yep…we can do better. Now what?

If you regularly hire independent contractors and/or temporary employees, follow these best practices to right the ship:

Go mobile and paperless

Collecting real-time data allows you to monitor your budget. This insight is priceless. Going paperless eliminates a thousand opportunities for error and ensures a digital record of every little thing.

File forms on time   

Plug in important dates as well as their related tasks so tax deadlines and other important dates never sneak up on you. Anytime you miss a deadline with W-2s, 1099s, 1095-Cs, and so on, you’ll end up with more work and headache on the back end. If you’re proactive, you avoid penalties, too.

Classify employees correctly

This is a biggie—and one we discuss often. You’ll need to consider up front whether your workers are full-time employees or independent contractors and whether they’re exempt or not. Getting classification wrong leads to a cascade of issues. If you’re not sure, ask an expert. This is no guessing game.

How to spot the right hiring partner for contractor payroll

If a high level of service would free you up to focus on other aspects of business, you really should think about hiring a partner. Consider a payroll management system. The right hiring partner:

  1. Has checks and balances to make sure contractors receive payments on time
  2. Has a tried and true payroll system that meets state and federal regulations
  3. Is paperless. Because “I need more paper on my desk” is a thing you’ll never hear a reasonable person say
  4. Offers custom solutions for your particular business or industry
  5. Handles employee classification LIKE A BOSS

The bottom line

Payroll dysfunction is a super common, super damaging, and super avoidable issue. Nobody makes great decisions under pressure, and having a systemic problem in a department as important as Payroll can add up to a lot of pressure. Clean up your internal practices and/or hire a partner to take it off your plate so you can sleep better at night and make decisions from that place where you’re a rational, functioning human being.

About PayReel:

At PayReel , we minimize the time and effort it takes to get you ready for your project. Rely on PayReel to assume all of the risk associated with worker classification and get back to the business at hand. We make sure everyone gets paid quickly and easily and have Client Relationship Managers on call around the clock to answer your questions. All you have to do is call 303-526-4900 or email us. The PayReel team makes live event, corporate media, and brand management payroll easier, faster, and seamless.

 

The post No pressure, but you really need to fix your contractor payroll dysfunction appeared first on PayReel .

To view our Partner blog, click here

How to Determine a Payroll Schedule for Your Company

CMMA Blog

Whether you’re starting a new company or you’re trying to develop a better strategy for your company’s payroll, there are a few things to keep in mind. This includes the state your business is presently in, the types of workers you have, and when you are able to push your workers’ paychecks through.

Here are some starting points that will help you find the right payroll schedule for your company.

View your state’s payday requirements

Did you know that each state has a set of specific requirements when it comes to your workers’ payroll? The United State Department of Labor features a graph that shows specific regulations around payroll . This should be your first step, which might narrow down your options.

Analyze your workers’ hours

Most companies have full-time, part-time, and perhaps even workers contracted by the hour (aka freelancers). It’s important to take inventory of this before determining your payroll system. If you’re working with freelancers, for example, you’ll want to understand the time-card approval process your company is currently using.

Decide the payment cadence

When putting together your payroll schedule, the biggest question might be how often your workers are paid. Some companies, including non-profits, have specific guidelines, such as only having the option to pay full-time employees once per month.

If your business has options, consider which system is best: weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly. There are pros and cons for each, however, you could also send a survey to your workers to collect their preferences. This might also help you decide what day of the month will be payday.

Payment date

After the payment cadence, it’s time to decide when your workers will be paid, versus how often. If you have to approve hours in order to issue paychecks, give yourself or your accountant plenty of time.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , “36.5 percent of U.S. private businesses [pay] their employees every two weeks.” Fridays are common for paydays, although it will vary depending on your cadence. Although your workers might have preferences, you’ll want to consider what’s best for your organization as well.

All-in-one payroll management solution

If you’re looking for another way to help organize your payroll system, consider a payroll management system that will take the hassle out of paying your workers. PayReel offers an innovative solution to aid companies with managing freelancers, ensuring they receive their payments on time. Our paperless payroll system meets state regulations, and it delivers payments efficiently and with ease. You no longer have to worry about all the details — we do the hard work for you.

Your specific payroll strategy will depend on your state’s requirements, your accountant’s suggestions, and what’s best for your business overall. Read more tips for payroll management !

If your company is looking for a payroll management system, it would be worth considering an Employer of Record (EOR) who can handle all of your business’ payroll, employee tax work, benefit management, compliance and worker classification. Payroll is simply the tip of the iceburg when it comes to business needs in employee management and support. Think about all of your company’s short and long-term goals when selecting the best payroll management system and EOR for your business.

Learn more about how PayReel can simplify your payroll and worker management processes.

 

About PayReel:

At PayReel , we minimize the time and effort it takes to get you ready for your project. Rely on PayReel to assume all of the risk associated with worker classification and get back to the business at hand. We make sure everyone gets paid quickly and easily and have Client Relationship Managers on call around the clock to answer your questions. All you have to do is call 303-526-4900 or email us. The PayReel team makes live event, corporate media, and brand management payroll easier, faster, and seamless.

The post How to Determine a Payroll Schedule for Your Company appeared first on PayReel .

To view our Partner blog, click here

Worried about payroll fraud? Here’s how to prevent and detect it.

CMMA Blog

The ragtag group of employees who set out to redirect “fractions of pennies ” to themselves in the movie Office Space didn’t think of it as stealing. They’re even portrayed as the heroes in the movie—sticking it to the man and finding themselves in the process. Likewise, payroll fraud is so common in the real world that many don’t even think of it as fraud. They’re not thieves! They’re just “redirecting” funds they feel should be theirs anyway. This mindset, along with how easy payroll fraud sometimes is to pull off, makes for a dangerous combination. Businesses with small payroll departments are most vulnerable, but it happens at the big companies and even feel-good nonprofits , too. We’ve collected a tool kit of tips and resources to help you prevent and detect payroll fraud.

What exactly is payroll fraud and why should I care?

Payroll fraud is a misappropriation of funds commonly in the form of paying “ghost ” employees or vendors and various types of falsifying wages/hours . The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE)’s biannual 2018 Global Study on Occupational Fraud and Abuse  covers some of the impact of such fraud. Among its key findings are:

  • Businesses lost over $7 billion among reported cases
  • Small businesses lost more than twice as much per scheme
  • Fraud schemes’ median duration was 16 months

Okay, so how can I prevent it?

As usual, the best approach for protecting yourself is preventing problems in the first place. Preventive measures discourage a would-be fraudster from trying in the first place while also making frauds more likely to be caught early on. Any cost or perceived hassle of preventative measures pales in comparison to the potential cost of lax procedures.

  1. Start at the beginning. Use the Social Security Administration website,  E-verify  or the IRS website  to confirm candidates’ identities. Conduct a background check after that. Continue the process at regular intervals even after hiring. Making this level of scrutiny regular practice ensures it doesn’t appear personal toward a particular employee.
  2. Separate duties. When the same person makes entries, writes checks, and audits the books, they have too much power. Having multiple points of control and separation of duties ensures you keep a system of checks and balances (pun intended) in place.
  3. Conduct internal and external audits. According to the ACFE report, internal audits “accounted for 15% of the frauds detected” and external audits caught 4% of the frauds. Quarterly reviews are a reasonable and healthy standard practice for companies of all sizes.

Something seems fishy. Now what?

So let’s say you’ve taken preventive measures to minimize risk and something still doesn’t add up. Even if they have to get more creative and sneaky, some people will try to overcome the obstacles you’ve put in place. So now you have to dig.

  1. Watch for red flags. This aforementioned article —about the ghosts among us—identifies some of the major red flags to watch out for. Hint: an employee who never takes a day off may not be as dedicated as you think.
  2. Provide a hotline for tips. The ACFE report notes that tips are the most common detection method and that organizations with hotlines receive more tips (46%) to potential fraud than those without (30%).
  3. Follow the money. Corrupt behaviors tend to leave a money trail. More than one employee using the same bank account, vendors you’ve never heard of receiving checks, and unusually high expenses are all signs something may be awry. If something seems fishy, investigate or hire someone to do it for you. And do it quietly so you don’t tip off the fraudster(s) before you have all the information you need.

Bottom line

The ACFE provides in-depth fraud prevention checkup that can get you thinking about the topic in a new way, identify vulnerabilities, and help you determine a course of action to put preventive measures in place. Most payroll fraud, while incredibly frustrating and costly, is highly preventable.

 

Note: A third type of payroll fraud is committed by businesses that misclassify employees as independent contractors to avoid paying payroll tax and other costs associated with employees. We’ve covered misclassification in depth (see more here ) and focused on the kind perpetrated against a company for today’s post.

About PayReel:

At PayReel , we minimize the time and effort it takes to get you ready for your project. Rely on PayReel to assume all of the risk associated with worker classification and get back to the business at hand. We make sure you get paid quick and easy, and have Client Relationship Managers on call around the clock to answer your questions. All you have to do is call 303-526-4900 or email us. The PayReel team makes event payroll easier, faster, and seamless.

The post Worried about payroll fraud? Here’s how to prevent and detect it. appeared first on PayReel .

To view our Partner blog, click here