Our Q&A blog series with our accountants rolls on. This installment focuses on payroll. We turned to H&M’s Chandra Reau to chat about this topic. She has been with us for well over 20 years, processing payroll for businesses of all types and sizes. Keep reading to see how she answered some very important payroll related questions:

• What is the number one reason a company chooses to outsource their payroll? Payroll is complex and simply overwhelming to many.  The peace of mind can’t be overstated when payroll is running smoothly.  Nobody wants that employee calling when their paycheck is messed up.

• Why is it a good idea to have a trained accountant process payroll over just the business owner themselves?  Accuracy, up-to-date law changes, confidentiality.  Do you know if your health insurance qualifies as a pre-tax deduction from your employee’s paycheck?  If you’re an owner of an S-Corporation is your cost of health insurance being recorded properly to qualify for the tax deduction on the business return? How are you handling the value of life insurance over the maximum per the IRS rules?

• On average, how much time does outsourcing payroll save a business owner on a monthly basis? If a company has a weekly payroll, outsourcing payroll could easily save the business owner 4-5 hours per month.

• Why is it important for an employee to review their pay stub in great detail? We encourage every employee to review their check stub when they start a new job just to be certain the tax withholdings are correct, but also to ensure any deductions such as insurance or retirement are accurate.  Tax laws change and it is important to review your check on a regular basis too.  Did your local school tax pass a new levy and your payroll processor didn’t catch it?  Did you move 6 months ago and forget to change it with payroll?  You could be withholding the wrong local tax and cause frustration when you file your tax returns.

Need help with the payroll matters for your business? Reach out to Holbrook & Manter today. We would be happy to assist you.