Q: How important is seamless payroll?

According to a 2018 payday survey , people say payday makes them feel better than their birthday or other significant U.S. holidays. From your workers’ point of view, payroll is vital. They need to know when it’s happening and how they’re getting paid. They need to have the confidence that nothing will go wrong when they fill out tax forms, set up direct deposit, or update an address. At the same time, from a small business owner’s point of view, payroll can be daunting and time-consuming. You know it’s important, but it’s likely that you’re the only one making sure the checks go out on time—not to mention everything else you need to be doing to make your business a success. This ebook will help you educate your employees and contractors and prepare you to answer their questions, so you can get back to growing your business.

Question 1

How important is seamless payroll?

Accepted Answer

According to a 2018 payday survey, people say payday makes them feel better than their birthday or other significant U.S. holidays. From your workers’ point of view, payroll is vital. They need to know when it’s happening and how they’re getting paid. They need to have the confidence that nothing will go wrong when they fill out tax forms, set up direct deposit, or update an address.

At the same time, from a small business owner’s point of view, payroll can be daunting and time-consuming. You know it’s important, but it’s likely that you’re the only one making sure the checks go out on time—not to mention everything else you need to be doing to make your business a success. This ebook will help you educate your employees and contractors and prepare you to answer their questions, so you can get back to growing your business.

Question 2

When is payday?

Accepted Answer

This is one of the first payroll-related questions your workers will ask. But it involves more than just the day their checks go out. Here’s some additional information you can share with employees and contractors when they ask this question:

The payday schedule
Time tracking practices
Paycheck distribution options

When you clearly communicate what needs to happen and when, you can manage expectations, anticipate questions that might otherwise lead to frustration, and build their confidence in the process.

Question 3

What benefits are available to me?

Accepted Answer

Benefits are a big consideration when employees accept a job offer. Once they’re part of the team, you can help reduce confusion later in the process with (1) clear communication about their benefits, and (2) education on how to manage benefits, view statements or make changes to their selections.

QuickBooks Payroll surveyed 1,000 U.S. employees over the age of 18 on what employees value most at work, and how company size influences job satisfaction. See what they had to say, and what to focus on for your business in order to find and keep great employees.

What employees value most at work:

Pay
Job satisfaction
Benefits
Living close to work
Liking the people I work with

Question 4

Am I eligible for overtime pay?

Accepted Answer

This is a straightforward question from a worker’s point of view, but when it comes to answering with confidence, there are a number of additional considerations to keep in mind. Being clear and managing overtime pay properly is a step in the right direction, but confusion, misclassifications, and human errors can lead to mistakes. Unfortunately, misclassification and employer errors are common when it comes to overtime pay:

25% of workers eligible for overtime said their employer refuses to pay it.
16% say they have been wrongly classified as exempt from overtime when they should be eligible for it.

Question 5

When will I receive my W-2 or 1099?

Accepted Answer

Workers are often eager to get a head start on filing their taxes in the new year. You may face this common question as early as January 1, and January 31 is your deadline for providing W-2s and 1099s to your staff and independent contractors. Let them know where to find their information, and learn how to prepare W-2s so you’re ready when the time comes. The W-2 form is an employee’s record of employment compensation. It reports:

Paid wages
State and federal deductions

The 1099 form is a contract worker’s record of compensation. It reports:

A record of payments to an independent contractor so they can file with the IRS.

Question 6

How do I change my address?

Accepted Answer

Workers will occasionally need to update their personal information that is required for payroll. Onboarding an employee correctly is the first step toward managing payroll with ease. Follow this guide when you hire an employee: Set up your Employer Identification Number online.

Decide if you’re going to hire full-time, part-time, or a contractor.
Verify that they can legally work for you.
Report your hire to the state government within the first 20 days of employment.
Know employee rights (workers comp, post labor law posters, medical leave, etc.).
Fill out the required tax forms (W-4 or W-9)
Determine how you’ll track hours worked and run payroll.
Make sure to file the right forms with the IRS and your state government and to pay payroll and income taxes on time, or choose a tool to help you do so.

Once you’ve correctly entered the information in your payroll system, you can let your workers know which information they can update themselves. Common information updates include:

Address or other contact information
Marital status
Withholding amounts (such as 401(k) contributions)

Question 7

There's something wrong with my paycheck, how can I fix this?

Accepted Answer

Accurate paychecks are vital to your workers for a number of reasons, and errors or delays in pay can lead to some very unhappy employees. Reduce errors with automation. A payroll solution should empower workers to own, manage, and automate their payroll process to reduce errors. When researching payroll solutions, look for one that allows you to:

Keep track of worker data and changes that take place over the year
Give them access to their paycheck information at any time of the day
Enable workers to track their own hours and change their withholding information
Review reports so you can catch errors early

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Payroll questions your team is asking

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Streamline onboarding with employee toolkit

Payroll questions your team is asking

Your team’s pay stub and time tracking hub

Run payroll in less than 5 minutes 1

Run payroll in less than 5 minutes ¹