You’ve finally decided that you’re going to outsource some or all of your payroll woes! But when you sit down to research the market and find potential vendors, you’re overwhelmed by a never-ending list of payroll service providers — each claiming to be the best.

When considering payroll options, it’s important to choose a reputable company. Ultimately, it’s your business that’s responsible for paying your employees and your taxes on time — not the payroll service provider.

There’s a lot at stake here. You should do your homework to ensure the payroll company you pick is compliant with regulatory standards, offers what you need, and is reliable.

Payroll is a prime target for fraud on many levels since it is often an employer’s biggest expense. For that reason, payroll fraud is quite common– affecting about 30% of businesses annually, according to the College Investor. If payroll fraud is left unaddressed, it can grow from a minor inconvenience to more significant payroll fraud consequences that can result in financial drain.

A prime example of this happened in 2021 when a small business of about 20 employees fell victim to a spoofed website scam that was mirroring a banking site the company used to issue payroll direct deposits. The business manager logged in to the fraudulent site, effectively handing over the username and password to the online business bank account. The result? A slew of payments made from the account resulting in overdrawn funds – 68 transactions in total and $249,000 lost.

In 2020, the Boston police department uncovered overtime fraud perpetrated years before by nine police officers. The officers were accused of leaving their overtime shifts two or more hours early but continuing to submit fraudulent overtime slips claiming to have worked the entirety of each shift. The falsified timesheets resulted in over $200,000 in pay for fictitious overtime within the department.

These high-profile cases are just two types of payroll fraud that can affect an employer. Understanding the nuances between each type will help you stay vigilant and stop crimes before they cost your company thousands of dollars.

When it comes to classifying employees, there are two basic types that workers fall under: exempt or nonexempt. One of the most significant differences between the two categories is eligibility for overtime pay. Employers are required to pay nonexempt workers at least one and a half times the regular rate of pay for work performed over 40 hours in a workweek. Exempt employees are not required to be paid overtime, though certain salary and job duties criteria must be met.

It is crucial to follow the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) regulations governing whether an employee is exempt from overtime because misclassifying a worker has serious repercussions for employers. As with most laws affecting the employer-employee relationship, the FLSA and its classification rules are complex, and the official guidance changes over time.

When you think of a nonprofit organization, you might picture an army of volunteers graciously donating their time without pay. In reality, nonprofits run much like corporations with paid employees and regularly scheduled paydays. They face challenges similar to for-profit businesses like accurately withholding payroll taxes while also facing obstacles unique to nonprofits such as staying within a tightly limited budget, using grant money for certain payroll expenses, and determining reasonable executive compensation. While all this may sound overwhelming, proactive research and preparation can help make understanding and implementing nonprofit payroll easier. Here’s a look at what leaders of nonprofit organizations need to know.

Owning a restaurant comes with responsibilities to both patrons and employees. For patrons, food quality, a clean environment, and friendly customer service top the list. When it comes to employees, a safe working environment, proper training and equipment, and friendly managers and coworkers are key to keeping them engaged and happy. But one thing outweighs all other worker benefits: meeting expectations on payday. If you don't provide employees with the right amount of wages at the right time, everything else becomes irrelevant.

No matter the size of your business, or how good your retention rate is, from time to time, an employee resigns in favor of other opportunities. For them, it means a new chapter in their professional life. For you, it means closing the book on their employment with your company.

If you’ve been putting up with a payroll and HR system that no longer works for you and your employees, it’s likely time to take the leap and move to a new system. Switching systems can mean fewer manual processes and streamlined data flows, giving your team more time to focus on more strategic and people-oriented tasks within your department. If you’ve determined switching is the best option, you’re likely concerned about the work involved in moving to a new system. Working with unfamiliar technology and people, loading and mapping employee data and history, conducting user training on the new system…it can seem overwhelming. However, you can minimize the stress and workload by following a few essential guidelines for a successful payroll implementation.

On the surface, managing the payroll process may seem like a simple, straightforward task. You provide paychecks to all your employees on time, and everyone in your company is happy. That seems easy, right? In reality, there is a lot more to the process than meets the eye - and you’re not alone if you feel stressed trying to handle all its moving parts.

When you really get down to it, payroll processing for each of your employees involves in-depth knowledge of wage laws and payroll taxes at the local, state, and federal levels, employee deductions, your company’s internal processes, and most importantly – patience. That doesn’t sound so straightforward, after all, does it? In order to reduce your stress, here are guidelines for creating a more manageable payroll processing experience.

If you prioritized business owners' favorite responsibilities, payroll taxes would likely fall towards the bottom of the list. Unless you have a deep history in payroll processing, it can be difficult to stay on top of all the ins and outs of tax obligations—from Social Security and Medicare to federal and state unemployment taxes and beyond.

But it doesn’t have to be a burden. Here are essential elements to managing one type of employer tax, unemployment insurance, from filing the correct form to being proactive in controlling your tax rate.

Overtime compensation rules are among the many labor regulations established by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) designed to protect workers. Calculating overtime pay may seem like a no-brainer, but actually, overtime pay calculations can be tricky. It can be more complicated than a simple time and a half calculation, and there are a number of FLSA rules that need to be considered when calculating overtime or you could find yourself the target of a Department of Labor investigation and liable for back pay, damages, and penalties.

Here are some of the fundamental FLSA rules and calculations to help you ensure you are paying employees correctly and protecting your business.