Employee payroll is an essential document because we can’t think about the company’s existence without this. I hope you have already heard the term payroll, but we can use this paper in many contexts. But those who don’t understand can read this part of the writing.
What is employee payroll? An ultimate guide
With the term employee payroll, we mean a document that refers to the total amount of money that company pays. However, the beneficiary of this amount is the employee who is working. It is an important document that people can use during paystub preparation. Apart from this, it works as proof while filling out the tax returns like W-2 forms. In short, from tax calculation to wages, everything involves employee payroll. However, we break down the whole process into the following components.
In the first component, you need to set the groundwork. Here you prepare the vital document and schedule everything to keep everything in the proper order. However, in. the second component, the main focus is to pay employees through direct deposits or traditional paychecks. In the last part, the employee has the payment in hand. But the primary responsibility comes at the employer’s end because he is responsible for preparing employee payroll.
Step to step guide for preparing employee payroll
If you are a new employer, then processing payroll could be a complex and most daunting task. The challenging part is the fear of missing deductions and doing wrong tax calculations. But by following the right yet simple steps, you can make it easy.
Get your employer identification number
At the first step, it is vital to get an employer identification number. It acts as the social security number for your business. In simple words, the EIN is a unique number that people use for employee payroll tax purposes. If you live in the USA, you can apply for EIN for free by going on the IRS website. After applying and entering information, you will receive the number within minutes.
Plan the payroll schedule
The employee payroll schedule is a document that decides how you will calculate income tax withholding amounts. But in some states, some laws define the payment frequency for employees. So, you are good to go as long as you are following legal requirements. According to the Bureau of labor statistics, most US employers are following weekly or biweekly payment schedules.
Obtain the required employee forms
After preparing everything and aligning them in order grab the forms for hiring employees. In this way, you can pay the workers on time. Apart from this, it helps in tax gatherings, and you can pay employees via direct deposit or any other faster method. Thus, in this regard, every employee should fill out the federal income tax withholdings. W-4 form helps you to calculate the correct tax, and W-9 is for independent employees. Moreover, don’t forget to verify by comparing it with the I-9 form. It is a form that allows you to work in the USA legally.
Select payroll-related processes:
Before issuing the payroll, checks are specific steps that you have to follow to be able to. Yes, it’s mandatory to track the employee’s working hours. You can find many tools that will help you to do this. However, these tools assist in everything from primary sign-in sheets to track their activities on phones and computers. Later, you can calculate the overtime pay and benefits based on total working hours.
Do the vital calculations:
Right after selecting employee payroll processes, the next step is to calculate the pay. In the first term, you will calculate the gross income based on the total number of working hours. You can multiply per hour’s wages by the total working hours for which they worked. However, the easier way is to prepare the spreadsheet and record the total hours per pay period. After calculating, you will note down exemptions, taxes, and withholdings from each paycheck. Here is a list of few possible deductions that can include in the list:
| Federal tax | Social security | State taxes |
| Local taxes | Medical care | Contributions |
| Worker’s compensation contribution | Other expenses | Random benefits |
Note: At the end, determine the net pay. You will minus deductions from gross income to know the total net revenue of an employee.
Prepare the payroll
After gathering all vital information, now head towards the next step. Now select a reputed platform and start producing employee payroll. It is easy to use this software because it starts working right after entering the employee information. Moreover, you can use track machines for hourly workers, but you don’t need anything like this for salaried workers. You have an option to sync these apps with the accounting software to produce the reports on time.
Bonus way to prepare the employee payroll
If you don’t want to deal with all the hassle, then you can use the payroll service. It is a more straightforward method that saves time and helps the employer stay focused on other core features. Here you will select a reliable service and will follow these steps:
- Add the proper detail of your employees in the software
- Track the working hours of an employee and then import them on payroll software
- Now click on the button and start processing information
Note: But don’t forget to keep track of all paid taxes and filings. The IRS requires you to keep the tax record of the last three years.
Final verdict
There is no doubt that preparing employee payroll is a challenging task. But with the right tools and information, you can overcome this challenge. It is preferred to allocate a payroll budget and integrate it with accounting and other scheduling systems. Moreover, decide carefully while choosing between salaried and hourly pay and keep the sheet updated. It’s also vital to stay compliant with your employees. But if you aren’t interested in doing all this, you can hire an accountant for all this.