The 5 Payroll Pests: Tax Filings

APRIL, 2017

PAYROLL
HR

Your time is precious to you, and anything that wastes it is simply a nuisance. And when it comes to payroll, managers in all industries know that payroll can be the single most frustrating process. According to TechnologyAdvice, 40% of business owners spend 80+ hours per year on payroll alone; that’s over two working weeks worth of your time in the year! This figure doesn’t include the time that 26% of small business owners who do their payroll in-house spend on payroll, which is up to 5 hours per month, totaling 60 hours a year. You could quite literally take some of your PTO and take a well-deserved vacation with the amount of time you’ve lost due to payroll.

So what are some ways that you can stop wasting time on payroll? In our five-part series, we’re going to discuss the five payroll pests that eat up your time and show you some ways to save time on payroll processing. First up: tax filings.

Putting the World on Your Shoulders

Taxes. Quite honestly, they’re very similar to children. You always have to keep a close eye on them, they’re expensive, and just when you think you have them figured out…they throw you for a loop! And hopefully, one day they’re going to take care of you (social security anyone?)

While you love your children, it’s probably safe to say you don’t love taxes. So going out of your way to deal with taxes isn’t exactly how you envision spending your time. And if you’re trying to file and pay for your company’s taxes alone, it can be extremely time consuming and overwhelming. Not to mention all the potential penalties and fines you could end up paying, which will cost your business even more time and money.

Stop Wasting Time on Taxes

There is hope — you don’t have to be alone in this. Outsourcing to an automated payroll system can be beneficial to both your company and your sanity. We get it! But sometimes you need to have date night, and you have to call a babysitter to watch over your kids. Think of a payroll solution as a babysitter for your taxes: you’re free to spend your time on more strategic tasks, but you still have some control over how your tax payments and filings are handled. While outsourcing may seem like an unnecessary expense or a risky move for you, consider the amount of money you’d be saving in the long run.

40% of business owners spend 80+ hours per year
on payroll alone

- TechnologyAdvice

Choose the Right Payroll Provider

There are many ways to ensure that the provider you choose is the best for your company. Here are some criteria to consider when choosing the right payroll provider:

Certified Payroll and Tax Experts - make sure the people who will take care of your taxes know what they’re doing.
Negligible Tax Error Ratio - look for a history of accurate and timely tax payments.
Payroll Assessment - this should be performed when you onboard with a new provider to ensure you aren’t overpaying or underpaying your taxes.
Tax Compliance Guarantee - any provider worth their salt should back up their tax compliance services with a guarantee that your taxes will be paid timely and accurately or they will pay any fines or interest due.
The Total Package - look for a provider who will handle federal, state, and local taxes, as well as 940s, 941s, year-end processing, and new hire reporting.

Still not convinced? There are also ways to ensure that the system you choose is safe, too. Customer review sites, such as G2 Crowd and Technology Advice, allow you to see what actual customers are saying about their payroll provider, as well as some of the solutions to challenges they’ve faced in the past.

It’s okay to let someone help you, especially if they’re an expert in what they do. The long-term savings can be valuable in both time and money. So stop wasting your assets on something as simple as tax-filings (yes, you read that correctly)! Start researching the best payroll solutions that can speed up your tax-filing processes.

Read part two in our five-part series about Payroll Pests: Distributing Paychecks!

How APS Can Help

APS provides payroll and tax compliance services to businesses all over the nation. Our Payroll solution has been recognized by G2 Crowd as a High Performer since 2014, and was recently recognized as the 2017 Best Solution for HR and Administrative Teams. With a negligible tax fee ratio of 0.0000003 per $1 billion in payroll tax payments, you can be assured that the APS Payroll solution and our tax compliance experts are dedicated to making sure that your payroll tasks and processes are as organized and easy to use as possible. Schedule a demo today to learn more about our entire platform of unified solutions, including tax compliance, paperless payroll, and payroll analytics!