Year-End is Coming - Begin Preparing NOW
https://employers.benefitmall.com/Payroll-HR-Essentials - The end of summer and the start of new routines means getting back into the swing of things. It means the start of football, the beginning of a new school year, and weather that will gradually be getting colder and nights that will be getting shorter. Guess what it means for payroll departments? The approach of year-end.
https://employers.benefitmall.com/Payroll-HR-Essentials - The end of summer and the start of new routines means getting back into the swing of things. It means the start of football, the beginning of a new school year, and weather that will gradually be getting colder and nights that will be getting shorter. Guess what it means for payroll departments? The approach of year-end.
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<strong>Year</strong>-<strong>End</strong> <strong>is</strong> <strong>Coming</strong> - <strong>Begin</strong> <strong>Preparing</strong> <strong>NOW</strong>!<br />
The end of summer and the start of new routines means getting back into the swing of things. It means the start of<br />
football, the beginning of a new school year, and weather that will gradually be getting colder and nights that will be<br />
getting shorter. Guess what it means for payroll departments? The approach of year-end.<br />
The tasks that come with year-end accounting add to the workload of HR and payroll departments regardless of<br />
company size. As payroll professionals, we can tell you that the key to staying ahead of year-end <strong>is</strong> to start preparing<br />
now. Just like you are already thinking about closing up the house in preparation for winter weather, your company<br />
should start thinking about year-end procedures now.<br />
Getting ready for the end of the year involves multiple tasks in the two basic categories: checking and confirming data<br />
and preparing for next year through education and training. Let us look at both in a little bit more detail.<br />
Checking and Verifying Data<br />
Being ready for year-end relies on having accurate data to work with. So between now and December, the payroll<br />
department should be checking employer indicative data for accuracy. For example, the data an employer has been<br />
using to process quarterly tax reports should be verified to make sure it <strong>is</strong> still accurate.<br />
Other indicative data that needs to be checked and verified include:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
retirement plan data<br />
employee names and social security numbers<br />
data on deceased and retired employees.<br />
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Wage and tax benefits data should be checked and verified as well. Th<strong>is</strong> data pertains to things like deferred<br />
compensation, other compensation, uncollected Social Security and Medicare taxes, expense reimbursement, taxable<br />
fringe benefits, etc.<br />
Good accounting practices throughout the year guarantee that none of the data you will need at year-end <strong>is</strong> m<strong>is</strong>sing.<br />
The point of checking and confirming <strong>is</strong> just to make sure the data <strong>is</strong> accurate. The earlier you check and verify, the more<br />
time you will have to correct inaccuracies.<br />
<strong>Preparing</strong> for Next <strong>Year</strong><br />
After the final payroll run of the year and before the first run of the next year, certain kinds of data should again be<br />
checked and verified. But above and beyond that, part of preparing for year-end <strong>is</strong> to start looking at training<br />
opportunities that will get the HR department ready for 2018.<br />
For example, <strong>is</strong> your payroll department ready for a tax reform package that could come out of Washington by the end<br />
of th<strong>is</strong> year? Does your payroll department know the basics of how a repeal and replacement of the ACA would affect<br />
payroll processing?<br />
Small businesses should be looking at taking advantage of as many training options as possible. Training on the following<br />
topics <strong>is</strong> especially important at year-end:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
ACA compliance<br />
Fringe benefits taxation in relation to W-2 reporting<br />
IRS efforts to combat tax fraud through payroll year-end reporting<br />
Security procedures to avoid tax fraud via W-2 ph<strong>is</strong>hing<br />
Adjusting overtime pay procedures in light of proposed rule changes.<br />
It <strong>is</strong> not possible to know everything that could be coming down the pike in the coming year, but what we already know<br />
suggests that payroll will be subject to some significant changes in 2018. It <strong>is</strong> best for employers to start getting<br />
prepared now by making sure their payroll departments are properly trained.<br />
BenefitMall <strong>is</strong> here to ass<strong>is</strong>t with a full range of payroll solutions for businesses of all sizes. If you are currently doing<br />
payroll in house, we invite you to learn more about how outsourcing payroll and benefits admin<strong>is</strong>tration can save your<br />
company time, labor, and resources.<br />
BenefitMall