You know you’re having a bad day when a mistake you made gets covered by the local newspaper. Not exactly the kind of publicity you want! As this article reports, the town of Windham, Connecticut, recently found themselves in the middle of a payroll mess that resulted from problems with a new accounting system. (more…)
Unfortunately, too many small business owners stubbornly decide that once the doors officially open on their new venture, they will try their best to do everything on their own. That means they interview, hire, train and fire employees, create and follow a business plan, develop marketing strategies, secure some type of community presence, find a way to work with all types of vendors, repair whatever is broken, order whatever supplies are needed… oh, and also take care of payroll while also staying abreast of any changes in business and payroll taxes. Whew. (more…)
You may have heard of National Payroll Week. Started in 1996 by the American Payroll Association, it celebrates “many things important to each of us who work” according to their website, nationalpayrollweek.com. During National Payroll Week, workers are given a chance to share their opinions on current topics in the areas of work and payroll. This is a good chance for today’s workers to share their thoughts. (more…)
As we all know, changes in the world of small business are not only inevitable, they are also constant. More than likely, if you are an entrepreneur, you already have your hands full, just trying to get through your daily responsibilities. That’s one reason why The Payroll Department stays up with the trends. We want to always provide small business owners with the education and information you need. (more…)
Internships can be beneficial to both the student and employers. The student gets the opportunity to explore a career interest, apply what they’ve learned in the classroom in a professional setting and develop new, transferable skills. Employers gain new, innovative perspectives to their small business, help with project work and increased productivity. However, the big question employers may have is, whether to pay or not to pay for internships. (more…)
No, we’re not implying your business is haunted and you’re paying salaries to spirits that may be hanging about. But your business could possibly have ghost employees of a different sort that you may not even be aware of if you don’t diligently monitor your company’s payroll.
Last year, Iraq’s new government found out they had 50,000 ghost soldiers on their payroll. These were actual soldiers who paid their officers a portion of their salaries and then didn’t show up for duty. Not only did this practice make their commanders richer, but it also weakens the country’s military force, leading to the ISIS takeover of Mosul.
If you’re thinking, “Well, that was Iraq. Something like that doesn’t happen in businesses in the U.S.” Think again. Just this year, a man who worked at the Knox County, TN, Trustee’s Office was jailed for fraud after he collected roughly $200,000 – four years’ worth of paychecks that he didn’t actually work for and yet received.
Unfortunately, ghost employees can exist within your company:
A manager hires a nonexistent employee, then deposits the paychecks into a bank account he/she has set up.
A payroll clerk leaves a terminated employee on the payroll, then keeps the paychecks to cash for personal use.
An H.R. employee sets up personnel and payroll files using social security numbers of people who have died and collects the salaries.
A vice president hires a son who never or rarely shows up to work, but still pockets the paychecks.
However, you can safeguard your company against payroll fraud – saving your company thousands of dollars in damages. By hiring a payroll services provider, like The Payroll Department, to handle your payroll, we can provide your company with another check and balance to your payroll processing system. If an employee is stealing money through your payroll, it would become more difficult if The Payroll Department was monitoring your payroll.
In fact, The Payroll Department requires all the paperwork of your employees and makes all the deposits for your payroll. If more than one paycheck were deposited to the same checking account, The Payroll Department would catch it and make you aware of the potential problem. Also, The Payroll Department notes all the social security numbers of your employees when making tax payments, so they’re more likely to detect duplicate numbers.
If your business doesn’t have checks and balances in place for your payroll, you could be setting your company up to be the victim of fraud. But, by outsourcing your payroll services to a third party group, like The Payroll Department, you can eliminate the possibility of ghost employees haunting your payroll. Call us today for more information.
So you’re thinking about opening a small business. Finally, you have found the perfect location. You have developed a strong business plan. Your family supports your decision to become your own boss. Have you thought about everything? (more…)
Pay raises make employees happy, don’t they? Not only do raises make employees happy, most small business owners are very proud of their ability to not only provide employment, but also to increase wages. (more…)