Payroll Management Basics for 2015

Payroll Management Basics for 2015, written by Tristan Ruhland in the Accuchex Payroll Management Services

Payroll management practices remain consistent year after year, despite changing regulations and tax laws. And one the basic practices is the use of an effective payroll calendar. While this may seem an obvious tool to most payroll professionals, a surprising number of businesses fail to make good use of this most basic payroll management practice.

Payroll Management Basics - The Payroll Calendar

A payroll calendar, or schedule, is used to establish when you should run your payroll so that your employees are always paid on their pay day. And that is always a good thing!

You can quickly and easily see how often you pay your employees (weekly, biweekly, monthly, and so on), which date their paycheck is due, and which day you run payroll.

In addition, payroll calendars, or schedules, allow you to group your employees who have the same pay frequency so that your payroll runs as a consistent and convenient process.

Payroll schedules can be used to group together employees in categories that allow you to effectively run your payroll and your business. All employees grouped in the same payroll schedule should have the same same pay frequency (e.g. weekly, bi-weekly, or semi-monthly).

An example of this, according to Quickbooks, is setting up “multiple payroll schedules for the same pay frequency. For example, even if you’re paying all your employees weekly, you could set up separate payroll schedules to group together salaried employees and hourly employees, employees who are paid via Direct Deposit and those who are paid by regular check, or employees by location or department, class, or job.”

Payroll Calendars: Pre-made or Customized

While it is not necessary to use pre-made payroll calendars, or schedules, there are an abundance of these available for ease of use. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) offers these for the last 10 calendar years. Typically, most payroll management services or payroll management software providers have their own payroll schedules for their clients.

You can download a copy of the 2015 payroll calendar shown above directly from the GSA.

With the wide variety of tasks and accountabilities HR professionals are responsible for managing, having the best tools at their disposal becomes an ever-present concern. Programs evolve, technology changes, and what was being used three or four years ago, for example, may not be sufficient for today.

Companies also grow and evolve, and the needs and requirements of those companies change, as well. So one of the tasks of a proficient HR manager is to keep abreast of the latest trends and offerings in technology.

And while investing in the best available software for your HR functions is a viable option, another direction you can consider is outsourcing. This can be simply outsourcing one process such as payroll management. However, with a full-service provider such as Accuchex, you have additional options for outsourcing as well.

Let Accuchex help you in managing your HR needs, payroll processes, and staying on top of compliance demands. Get your Free Download: Payroll Outsourcing Guide to help you make an informed decision or call Accuchex Payroll Management Services at 877-422-2824.