employment | QuickBooks for Contractors blog

12Oct 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Employers Receiving Name/SSN No-Match Letters from SSA

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…

05Oct 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Payroll Tip – How Often Do I Have to Pay My Employees?

Payroll Tips

Many business owners feel that they can pay their employes "whenever" they want and that is true to a point. Business owners can pay their employees whenever they want as long as the "whenever" meets the laws of the state their business resides in. As a business owner you probably feel "in control" when it comes to setting a payroll schedule for the people you hire. Certainly you have options, you can issue payroll on a: weekly bi-weekly {every other week} semi-monthly {twice a month, perhaps on the 1st and the 15th} or a monthly basis While there is no federal laws that require how often you pay your employees, the payroll schedule you choose MUST conform to the requirements of the state that your business is located in. Most…

20Sep 2011 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks 2012 – New Batch Timesheet Creation

Free & Fee-Based QuickBooks eBooks, Payroll Tips, QuickBooks 2012 - What's New

NOTE: This feature is also available in QuickBooks 2013 and 2014. QuickBooks 2012 will include batch timesheet creation as an enhancement to the current "Use Weekly Timesheet" feature, allowing you the option to select multiple employee or vendor names for time entry. From the information that I've seen, Intuit is marketing this feature to contractors as a timesaver, and it may be for some businesses, BUT THERE IS A CATCH...... Each group of employees or vendors that you select MUST work on the same Job, under the same Service Item AND the same Payroll Item MUST be used during timesheet creation - additionally, they must ALL work the same number of hours each day! See the Batch Timesheet function in action on our YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX0Ct3SPv50 In order to successfully…

24Aug 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Payroll Tip – Report for hours worked before creating paychecks

Payroll Tips, Reports

This QuickBooks payroll tip discusses how to create various reports for hours worked before creating paychecks - to ensure that your employees are being paid correctly and that your job costing will be accurate. An important part of running any business involves keeping track of how many hours your employees work on a specific job and/or task and then accurately paying your employees for those hours. This is especially true for accurate job costing - no matter what type of business you run. The amount of time spent on record keeping for payroll can be overwhelming for anyone and usually involves multiple people. This is especially true if you are still using mostly manual methods; for example back when I used to do the payroll for a contractor who had…

10Aug 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Payroll Tip – Relying on “At-Will” in Terminations Can Be Dangerous

Payroll Tips

A payroll tip about relying on "At-Will" in employee terminations can be dangerous from HR Matters E-tips, an HR Policy & Compliance Expert since 1972. If an employee is “at will,” you don’t have to tell him why you are firing him, right? Technically, yes, but if you handle terminations this way, you could find yourself facing a number of legal claims. Find out the five steps you should always take when terminating at-will employees. Have you ever been tempted to terminate an at-will employee without providing him with a reason? Maybe you did not properly document the employee’s performance problems or are so fed up with his attitude that you feel like you have to take action immediately. After all, the “at-will” concept, simply put, allows you to terminate…

04Aug 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Payroll Tip – Personnel Records and Former Employee Access

Be A Better Bookkeeper, Payroll Tips

A payroll tip about personnel records and former employee access from HR Matters. You may be willing to provide your current employees with access to their personnel files, but what about former employees? Find out why HR and legal experts do not recommend access for former employees unless required by law. Personnel records are the property of the employer. Therefore, you generally have discretion over whether to give employees, or former employees, access to their personnel files unless a state law, court, or other government agency requires access. Federal law does not require you to give employees access. However, many organizations such as yours, as a good will gesture, allow current employees to see and even copy their records. This openness usually reduces employee mistrust and concern about the information…

11Jul 2011 by Nancy Smyth

How to Correct Payroll Hours Incorrectly Charged to a Job

Payroll Tips

This QuickBooks payroll tip discusses how to correct payroll hours incorrectly charged to a job after paychecks have been created and cashed. Accurately job costing payroll hours and wages is critical for many business types, not just contractors. The information that is entered in QuickBooks Weekly Timesheets and paychecks is only as good as the information that is received from those who are responsible for providing the payroll clerk with the original employee hours spend on various jobs. However, we are all human and, therefore, make mistakes, some mistakes can be corrected more easily than others. A common mistake that can occur is the reporting of employee payroll hours on one job - - when those hours really should have been reported on another job; for example it was originally…

06Jul 2011 by Nancy Smyth

5 Certified Paroll Reporting Mistakes & How To Avoid Them

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage

5 certified payroll reporting mistakes that will cause delayed payments - learn how to avoid them. Filling out weekly certified payroll reports can be a time-consuming and frustrating task, especially if you complete them by hand or have to manipulate data in order to create them. Transposition errors and other mistakes are bound to happen, no matter how careful you think you are being. Making mistakes on certified payroll reports will lead to more frustration and you'll end up spending more time correcting the errors; mistakes will also put your company's good standing in jeopardy with the General Contractor or Project Administrator. Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage reporting can be complex and varies by state. Learning how to avoid the following mistakes and submit the reports properly the first time will benefit…

27Jun 2011 by Nancy Smyth

What’s New with New Hire Reporting? Date of Hire

IRS Information, Payroll Tips

Reporting new hires has been a requirement for a long time, however, the "first day of work" law went into effect on June 8, 2011. New Hire Reporting is one of the best tools for locating noncustodial parents who may be evading their child support responsibilities. Employers play a key role in ensuring children receive the financial support they need. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA) of 1996 requires employers to report all new hires tot heir State Directory of New Hires. Moreover, the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 was recently passed to reform the Unemployment Insurance program, including changes to Section 453A (b) and (c) of the Social Security Act. This legislation added a new requirement for employers to report, in addition to other information, the date…

25May 2011 by Nancy Smyth

The Benefits of Paying Prevailing Wage Fringes to a Bona-fide Plan

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Construction News, Payroll Tips

The benefits of paying the Prevailing Wage Fringe Benefit portion to bona-fide plan is often misunderstood by employers and employees alike. Prevailing wage jobs, those jobs that are subject to the Davis-Bacon Act and/or State Prevailing Wage Laws, require that all laborers and mechanics {including tradesmen such as carpenters, equipment operators, painters, pipefitters, plumbers, etc.) who perform work on the jobsite are to be paid a set base rate of pay PLUS an hourly fringe benefit rate. Union contractors automatically pay the total hourly fringe benefit rate to the union hall on behalf of the employee, usually splitting the full hourly rate into specific "funds" - Health & Welfare, Pension, Vacation, etc. When this happens the Union contractor doesn't pay payroll taxes, worker's compensation, or general liability insurance on this…

20Apr 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Another Independent Contractor Red Flag Issue Q&A

IRS Information, Payroll Tips

A nonexempt employee working a second job as an independent contractor for your organization is a red flag for the IRS, the DOL, and state agencies. So, make sure that your employee’s second job really meets the independent contractor criteria or be prepared to pay overtime. -------------------------------------------------------------- Question: We have a nonexempt employee who has offered to do landscaping work outside of his normal 40-hour week for our organization. Can we treat him as an independent contractor when he is doing this work? We would normally hire an outside company for landscaping. Answer: If the employee’s landscaping job meets the criteria for an independent contractor job, then you may classify him as such. If he does not meet the criteria, however, any additional work that he performs for your organization…

15Apr 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Freebie Friday – Free Book – Hire Your First Employee

Payroll Tips

Free book offer - Hire Your First Employee. Written by Rhonda Abrams and Presented by Intuit Payroll. Thinking of hiring an employee? Great! Now what? Right now, you might have more questions than answers, or not know where to start. Rhonda Abrams will help you get it straight – starting with a free copy of “Hire your first Employee”, compliments of Intuit Payroll. This important guide shows you how to select and motivate key employees for your business. You'll learn how to: Find the right employees for your business Handle payroll accurately and on time Minimize the red tape that comes with being an employer Call 1- 877- 813- 5708 for more information OR Click here to request your copy. NOTE: This is a limited time offer - order your…

14Apr 2011 by JProfitt

Prevailing Wage Jobs and the Compensation Package

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, From Our Guest Bloggers, The "Sunburst" Website

A prevailing wage job is typically a government funded project. The Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Acts govern federal projects. Most states have a prevailing wage law, but there are some that do not so it is a good idea to know the rules before you bid a project. Governments, in their idea of fairness, mandate union rules and compensation packages on the jobs. So, one of the simple ways to prepare yourself to do prevailing wage jobs is to have an action plan at the ready that will allow you to cope with the requirements. We will briefly discuss the compensation package. All prevailing wage projects will come with wage determination schedules that detail the base rate and fringe rates for all craft and trades. The base rate most likely…

28Mar 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Are Your QuickBooks Certified Payroll Reports Accurate? How to Check

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Payroll Tips, QuickBooks Corner, The "Sunburst" Website

Verifying the accuracy of the certified payroll reports that you can generate from QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise versions - IF you also subscribe to Enhanced Payroll, is a must for anyone in the construction industry. I've been watching the posts on the Intuit Community Forums about the alternate, substitute U.S. Department of Labor WH-347 certified payroll reports that can be generated if you have QuickBooks Premier or Enterprise AND an Enhanced Payroll Subscription. It seems like many people want to know how to generate the reports, if the reports are approved through the DOL (Department of Labor), why they have suddenly stopped working, how to issue "No Work Performed Reports", and how to tell if the reports they are generating are accurate. This article will focus on the requirements of…

21Mar 2011 by Nancy Smyth

How to Set Up Timetracking – #QuickBooks Tip

Payroll Tips, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup

How to set up timetracking and use QuickBooks timesheets is a question that I see nearly every day on the Intuit Community forums. There are several ways in which you can enable timetracking in QuickBooks. When you create a new QuickBooks company file using the File -> New Company option and go through the EasyStep Interview there is a window that specifically asks "Do you want to track time in QuickBooks?" [caption id="attachment_1974" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Right click on the image to enlarge it"][/caption] If your QuickBooks company file wasn't set up using the EasyStep Interview, turning on timetracking and timesheets is an easy task, but you'll find that it is slightly more hidden. Turning on timesheets will require that you be logged into QuickBooks in single user mode as the…

Tag: employment