02Apr 2012 by Nancy Smyth

More New Hire Reporting Requirements Go Into Effect 4/21/2012

Payroll Tips
  New hire reporting requirements are becoming overwhelming and there are new obligations that become effective on April 21, 2012.  I hadn't heard anything about this until my April copy of The General Ledger (a publication put out by the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers - AIPB) arrived on Saturday. Your new obligations for new-hire reporting: The Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 (Public Law 112-40), which amends Section 453A (a) (2) of the Social Security Act, includes a revised definition of "newly hired employees" to include any worker: not previously employed by the employer; or previously employed by the employer but separated from such prior employment for at least 60 consecutive days (For the full text of the act, visit https://gpo.gov/fdsys, search for H.R. 2832 (ENR), click on…
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20Mar 2012 by Nancy Smyth

How To Setup a Scheduled Payment for a Payroll Liability

Free & Fee-Based QuickBooks eBooks, Payroll Tips, Questions from our readers
  Setting up Scheduled payments allows you to see all payroll related liability amounts that you owe for payroll taxes, health insurance, child support garnishments, etc. in the QuickBooks Payroll Center so that you can easily review the amounts and generate the payment.  Finding where you setup the payment schedule can be confusing, if you are new to QuickBooks - see this question from a reader. I have created a Garnishment deduction item, following your instructions step by step, but I did not generate the check to send to the Agency that is collecting the money.  Is there something else that I need to do to get this payroll Liability in the "Pay Schedule Liabilities" or "Custom Liability" box?  Thanks, Luz Hi Luz Usually as soon as you finish creating…
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27Feb 2012 by Nancy Smyth

Payroll Tip: Union Benefits Calculated Against Hours NOT Wages

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Payroll Tips, Questions from our readers
  Union fringe benefits can be calculated in a number of ways; some are based on a percentage of gross wages while others are a fixed dollar amount per hours worked.  Either way you look at it, it can become pretty complex.  Take this question from a blog reader for example. I have union benefits that are calculated against the employee's hours, not gross wages.  How do I do that in QuickBooks? A.  In QuickBooks you want to set up your union benefits as Company Contribution Payroll Item types. I find it to be faster if you go to the Lists menu -> Payroll Item List -> click the Payroll Item button at the lower left -. choose New -> and Custom Setup -> and Company Contribution. When setting up…
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22Feb 2012 by Nancy Smyth

Payroll Tip – One Payroll Wage Item With Different Rates

Payroll Tips, Questions from our readers
  A payroll tip that discusses the hazards of having one payroll wage item in the QuickBooks Employee Record multiple times - with each entry having a different rate of pay.  This question was originally submitted through the "Ask the Expert" form. I have employees who have several different pay rates and, therefore, I have the same payroll item in their QuickBooks employee record multiple times but with different rates of pay.  When I generate Payroll Summary Report, it might show that I paid 20 hours at $60.00 (one of the rates) when I really entered the hours in the Pay Employees Screen at the $30.00.  How can I get the reports to match the hours to the rate that I entered.  I'm so frustrated! Any help or suggestions that…
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01Feb 2012 by Nancy Smyth

Certified Payroll Reports & Bi-Weekly Paychecks

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Payroll Tips, The "Sunburst" Website
Generating weekly certified payroll reports when you issue bi-weekly paychecks to your employees can be difficult unless your accounting software will accurately accrue the wages for each week - QuickBooks doesn't have this ability and quite often this causes problems. Payroll is one of the largest expenses that a company will have.  Most companies, when they start up, will find out what the minimum requirements for paycheck frequencies are for the state that their business resides in - earlier this week we discussed paycheck/payroll frequencies by state - and they will follow those rules.  This will work fine unless you are a contractor who makes the move to Public Works/Government Construction projects and become subject to prevailing wage laws.  This is when problems can occur. Under the Federal Davis-Bacon and…
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30Jan 2012 by Nancy Smyth

Paycheck/Payroll Frequencies by State

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Payroll Tips
Minimum payroll frequencies are determined by each state and can be quite confusing.  I'm often asked "How often do I have to pay my employees" during a Certified Payroll Training Webinar.  State minimum paycheck frequencies are shown below - this information comes directly from the U.S. Department of Labor's website. It's difficult to thoroughly cover the requirements of all 50 states in a 2 hour webinar, but it has crossed my mind that a series of blog posts on the differences between what State Laws are for how often payroll must be generated and how that can effect the generation of a certified payroll report would be a good thing to do.  While I could have simply started this series and talked about the complexities of generating certified payroll reports…
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24Jan 2012 by Nancy Smyth

Bookkeeping/Accounting Tasks and Employee New Hire Packet

Be A Better Bookkeeper, Payroll Tips
Keeping track of bookkeeping/accounting tasks and the information that is required when you hire a new employee can be pretty overwhelming for a business owner or bookkeeper.  In the normal rush of day-to-day activities; sometimes important items can get overlooked and come back to bite you later. Welcome to Tuesday Training! Tuesday Training is a new feature here on the QuickBooks for Contractors blog.  While everyday focuses on training of one sort or another, Tuesday’s are dedicated to more in-depth training. We’ll teach you the things you need to know about using QuickBooks, that you won’t find in the QuickBooks Help file, in order to successfully run your construction business and obtain accurate job costing reports; from eBooks, live webinars, and recorded training sessions. You’ll find high-quality (budget friendly) training…
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16Jan 2012 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks Weekly Timesheet – Service vs. Payroll Item

Job Costing Tips, Payroll Tips
The QuickBooks Weekly Timesheet can cause a lot of confusion for users who are implementing employee time tracking for the first time, mainly because the timesheet contains both a Service Item and a Payroll Item.  This article will explain what each column is used for and some common pitfalls that can happen. Job costing and employee time tracking are important aspects of many businesses - not just construction businesses.  However, when you initially set up timetracking there are many things that can cause confusion. About Service Items: The Service Item column represents the type of work that is being performed and allows you to select/enter/choose the name of the service item/cost code from your Item List that you want to use when your charge/bill your customer for this work -…
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13Dec 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Prevailing Wage Projects and Your Construction Company

Payroll Tips
Strategies for Making the Move to Public Works Construction Projects Seminar - American Subcontractors Association, San Diego branch, January 19, 2012 The current economic situation has dealt a serious blow to both homebuilders and commercial contractors and many are finding themselves make the move to Public Works construction and Prevailing Wage projects.  Make the move to Public Works construction will require planning and quite possibly a variety of changes in the way you currently run your existing construction business. Join industry experts; Steve Kuzmack, President of Fringe Benefit Experts and Nancy Smyth, President of Sunburst Software Solutions, Inc. for an intensive 2 hour session on January 19, 2012; on strategies for lowering labor costs and complying with certified payroll reporting requirements on Federal and/or State funded construction projects. Learn How:…
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07Dec 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Payroll Tip-Worker’s Comp Tracking on Vacation, Holiday & Overtime Pay

Payroll Tips, Questions from our readers
Payroll can be one of the most complex duties of any bookkeeper's job - especially when you need to OR want to track your Worker's Compensation costs for job costing purposes and pay your employees Vacation, Holiday and Overtime wages.  Just take a look at this question, submitted by one of our blog subscribers! I have set up the Workers Compensation tracking in QuickBooks for a construction company with no problem, it seems to be working fine.  My question is - how do you keep track of Holiday, Vacation, and Overtime pay?  Do I set up each payroll item with the Workers Comp {WC} rate for each class?  For example Carpenter-Holiday and Carpenter-Vacation?  Thanks, Kathleen ----------------------------------------------------------------- Answer: Hi Kathleen; That's an excellent question! One of the first things that you…
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30Nov 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Office Policies & Your Business-How Do You Handle These Situations?

"Maad" Rants & Other Stuff, Be A Better Bookkeeper, Payroll Tips
Creating office policies for your small business can be difficult, as most of us are well aware.  How do you handle sick time, vacation time, personal time, or a death in the family?  Better yet, how do your clients and/or customers handle it when it happens to you? I was reading a very interesting article yesterday about "Can You Require Sick Employees to Stay Home"?  My first reaction was "Wow!  Good question" quickly followed by "as a small business owner I should be able to". After all, it is officially cold and flu season and already every where you go people are coughing and sneezing; do you really want them bring that to work?  I know I don't want that to happen! Sunburst, like many other small businesses consists of…
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17Nov 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Payroll Tips – Answers to 7 Holiday Pay Questions

Be A Better Bookkeeper, IRS Information, Payroll Tips, QuickBooks Corner
Payroll and holiday pay can be confusing and overwhelming and here we are right at the height of the upcoming holiday season!  I found these great tips from HR Matters and wanted to share them with you.  These tips provide answers to common questions such as:  Do you have to provide paid holidays?  What about for new employees?  Do you have to pay overtime to employees who have to work on a holiday? We’re officially heading into the holiday season with Thanksgiving coming up next week and Christmas and the New Year just around the corner. If you are like most employers, you may be dealing with holiday pay issues. To help you out, the HR Matters E-Tips Editors have put together the top seven holiday questions that they answer…
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25Oct 2011 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks Tip – Easy Access to Employee Payroll Forms

Payroll Tips
This QuickBooks tip explains where you can easily access employee payroll forms; including the Federal I-9, W-4, and W-9's. Having used QuickBooks for many years, I can remember when needing an I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification), a W-4 (Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate), or a W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification) meant a trip to the appropriate website to obtain the most current form - and depending on how busy I was at the moment, that could be a royal pain! The I-9, Federal W-4, and W-9 are now available to anyone with a current payroll subscription using QuickBooks Pro/Premier 2009-2012 or Enterprise 9.0-12.0 from the Employees menu -> Employee Forms option; you'll also find a Direct Deposit and Pay Card Authorization form. [caption id="attachment_2728" align="aligncenter" width="283" caption="Right click on…
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12Oct 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Employers Receiving Name/SSN No-Match Letters from SSA

IRS Information, Payroll Tips
Employers and employees, be aware that you could be receiving name/SSN no-match letters at home from the SSA {Social Security Administration} - learn what it means and how to respond to such a letter.  Information contained in this article is from the General Ledger - the Complete Newsletter for Professional Bookkeepers, published by the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers. The SSA started sending out name/SSN no-match letters again in March of this year to employer and employee or self-employed at home.  The new notices have one mismatch per letter and are called "Decentralized Correspondence" (DECOR).  SSA wants to make sure that a worker's earnings are posted to the right account. Exception: SSA will not be sending no-match letters for tax years 2007-2009. SSA recommends responding to a no-match letter as…
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