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Is This Your Situation: Feeling Overwhelmed with Payroll Regulations

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Your company is growing, and that’s great! You now have an office full of employees—and the headaches that come along with that: figuring out each person’s tax liability based on their W-4 forms, calculating overtime for nonexempt staff and more. Did you know you can outsource this whole task to a third-party provider?

Here are some of the advantages:

  • It frees up your time to do other things, like product development, sales and marketing.
  • You don’t have to become an expert. Managing payroll requires specialized knowledge and there are a lot of pitfalls that can lead to regulatory nightmares.
  • You don’t have to depend on one employee. Even if you have a staff member handling payroll, if that person suddenly leaves or is absent for an extended illness, you’ll find it nearly impossible to bring someone in immediately to take over. Meanwhile, problems will crop up.
  • You can actually save money by doing by outsourcing. Let’s say you and perhaps a staff member—both untrained in the nuances of payroll—incorrectly file paperwork. Before you know it, you could find yourself hit with penalties ranging from $500 to $1,000. The penalty costs will soon be higher than outsourcing would’ve been in the first place.

Of course, some companies try to save money by handing payroll over to an outsourced administrative assistant, who may be organized but unfamiliar with payroll rules. You’re still not off the hook! Even if this assistant makes a mistake, in the eyes of the law, you’re still responsible as the employer. You need an outsourced provider that is familiar with the many payroll rules.

To find out a little bit more about what the IRS requires, have a quick look at the payroll section  on the IRS website. If nothing else, it should convince you this is one task you don’t want to take on all by yourself. Give us a call today, and we’ll be happy to have a no-obligation talk about your particular situation and how qualified outsourced payroll solutions can help—no matter how small you are today or how big you’ll be tomorrow.

“Copyright 2018”

Beware of Tax Scams as Tax Season Starts

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Both businesses and individuals can be subject to tax scams from criminals who often impersonate the IRS or other government agencies in an attempt to extract money. It’s an old trick, but it seems that the scammers get more sophisticated every year. Soon we’ll be in the middle of tax season, when we’re especially anxious about money and often easy prey for scammers.

According to the IRS, scammers may pose as IRS agents and target especially vulnerable taxpayers, such as older Americans, newly arrived immigrants and those whose first language is not English. But even more sophisticated individuals can be victims: criminals have been known to threaten CPAs with immediate suspensions of their licenses if they didn’t immediately send money, even though individual states, and not the IRS, license CPAs!

The IRS has also reported that some sophisticated scammers can fake a caller ID so it appears you are getting a call from the IRS. They even may copy official IRS letterhead for use in email or regular mail.

In a recent memo, the IRS says that fear is one of the principal tactics scammers use: “Many phone scams use threats to intimidate and bully a victim into paying. They may even threaten to arrest, deport or revoke the license of their victim if they don’t get the money.” It is true that some states will suspend the drivers’ licenses of those who are delinquent in their taxes, but that only happens after the state has exhausted all other collection methods over a long period of time.

The IRS notes that it will never:

  • Call you to demand immediate payment. The IRS will not call you if you owe taxes without first sending you a bill in the mail.
  • Demand that you pay taxes and not allow you to question or appeal the amount you owe.
  • Require that you pay your taxes a certain way. For instance, require that you pay with a prepaid debit card.
  • Ask for your credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
  • Threaten to bring in police or other agencies to arrest you for not paying.

If you think you are the victim of a scammer, you can contact the IRS with the “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page. You can also call 800-366-4484.

Copyright 2018

Big Changes Coming to Form W-4 — Maybe

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Possible changes to the W-4 coming! — Maybe..

The proposed version of Form W-4 has a few more lines than the current one, and the questions are a little different. For example, the current version asks for the number of allowances. The proposed version asks for nonwage income not subject to withholding, itemized and other deductions, and tax credits (such as the child tax credit). There is also a line for those who have multiple jobs at the same time or who file as married filing jointly, with both spouses working.

According to an analysis from the American Payroll Association, “Instead of claiming allowances based on filing status using a separate worksheet, the number of allowances will be calculated automatically based on the filing status that is checked — 2 if single or married filing separately and 3 if married filing jointly or head of household.”

But don’t delve too deeply into it, as this may be far from final. According to the IRS, “We anticipate it is likely that this form will change before being released as final.”

So what should you do now? Nothing. Do not use the draft form. Keep using your current Form W-4. We are keeping an eye on the situation and will let you know when the new form has been finalized, what changes it has and when it is appropriate to start using it.

Copyright 2018

Is This Your Situation: Concerned About Time and Attendance Tracking

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What do you do to keep track of your employees: a program, old-fashioned time cards or just a yellow legal pad and a pen? No matter what you use, do you really take the time to study the results and consider whether you’re losing money due to inefficiency? Did you ever bother to calculate how much money you may be losing just in one month? It may be time to think more strategically.

First of all, you have to become more sophisticated. An automated time and attendance system isn’t a guarantee of perfect efficiency, but it’s a start. If your employees are still filling out time cards, it could be costing your business a lot more than just the cards themselves. Are you thinking a new system might be expensive? Just think about how much such a system could save you, and you might be surprised at how it might actually more than pay for itself.

Meanwhile, no matter what method you use, consider the following headaches you may be giving yourself:

Headache #1: Too much time spent by supervisors approving time sheets. Is there a way to create a more automated system?

Headache #2: Employees who don’t always write down their true time worked. How can you fix this?

Headache #3: Hand-keying issues that lead to errors and fraud. Again, automation may be the key.

Headache #4: Managing overtime. How can you keep employees from going into overtime hours before you even know about it?

Headache #5: Perhaps the worst of all, exposure from an audit or employee complaint.

A better scenario evolves when you convert to an automated time and attendance management system — and learn how to interpret the data. Consider the benefits:

  1. Classifications, labor contracts and policies are automatically applied when processing each employee’s paycheck
  2. Easier determination of benefit eligibility under the Affordable Care Act.
  3. You’ll pay employees for their actual time worked, avoiding lawsuits and back wages.
  4. Payroll errors from manual data entry are virtually eliminated.

How much less stressful would it be to run your business knowing that you are not only saving a considerable amount of money by automating, but you are also protecting your assets from potential employee lawsuits and maybe, even worse, an IRS audit?

Give us a call. We’ll show you how to choose the right system for your particular needs and how easy it is to integrate that new system into your business. Even more, we can teach you how to interpret the results.

Source: Industry Newsletters A Division of Home Actions LLC

LCAF Payroll: What to Know About Checks & Deposits

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Whether you handle payroll in-house or you outsource your services, providing employees with their earnings in a timely, accurate fashion is of the utmost importance. That’s why understanding checks and deposits are so essential. At LCAF Payroll, we take this burden off your shoulders. All you have to worry about is ensuring that your cash needs for covering payroll are met. Read more

Should You Be Paying Bonuses to Your Staff?

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A bonus is a payment that’s in addition to an employee’s salary. There are various types of bonus arrangements. Most common is merit-based — an individual earns a bonus based on performance. Sometimes, though, an incentive is based on how well the company is doing or a combination of the individual’s and the firm’s achievements. Read more

How LCAF Payroll Can Help You Handle Loan Advances

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Unexpected life expenses happen to us all. Whether it’s a medical bill, car issues or some other legitimate expense, these unforeseen bills can be stressful and difficult for any employee to take care of. When employees are put in this position, it helps if their employer can assist with loan advances. Read more

Things to Know About Employee Direct Deposit

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Day in and day out, your employees live busy lives. They juggle competing responsibilities that quickly fill up their calendars and eat away at their time. Any way that business owners can help lighten their load will go a long way to garner the employees’ appreciation. Perhaps the easiest means of accomplishing this comes in the form of a direct deposit. Directly depositing your employees’ pay into their bank accounts can save them the hassle of rushing to the bank before closing time when they have other items they could attend to. Read more

Get Your Payroll Done Right the First Time with LCAF Payroll Services

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At LCAF Payroll Services, we understand that unpaid employees are also unhappy employees, and unhappy employees hurt the bottom line. Paying your workers on time and in the correct amount is perhaps the simplest and most important way to keep up morale and productivity. Read more

Picking Up & Processing Payroll: What You Need to Know

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Payday – it’s always a good day for your employees. Money in hand means bills can be paid, groceries purchased, school supplies brought home for the kids, and maybe even a little extra left over for dining out. But let’s be honest: payday is only payday if the checks arrive on time and are made in the correct amount. At LCAF Payroll, we know you care about getting payday right just as much as your employees do, so we’re here to make that happen. Read more