Popular Payroll Questions – Answered!

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If you have payroll questions regarding services or software, then you have come to the right place.  This article answers all your most frequently asked payroll questions!

What is payroll?

Payroll means different things to different people, and can often be a confusing term.  The official term that is used is “The financial record of employees’ salaries, wages, bonuses, net pay, and deductions for a given time period.”

How much do payroll services cost?

It depends on the type of business that you are operating, its size, and its location, as well as many other factors.  As a rule of thumb, services are provided at hourly rates.  On average a rate of around $60 – $70 is considered normal (remember that you don’t need too many hours for a small business).

To get an idea of payroll services cost, make sure you get price quotes from at least 3 or 4 providers.

What are the best payroll companies?

Again this will change depending on what business you are in.  Many of the smaller- to medium-sized companies specialize in different niche markets.  Our advice is to choose a company that is reputable, and has a large clientele with whom you can do reference checks.

Here are some of the factors to consider when looking at payroll service providers.

What are the types of payroll equipment?

Payroll equipment and hardware relates to items such as card scanners, punch-in time clocks and electronic PIN codes.  The thinking is that you can seamlessly monitor the amount of time employees spend at work and charge accordingly.

What are the types of payroll software?

There is a variety of payroll software on the market today.  It’s important to do a thorough analysis of different software, ask those in the know, and compare prices so you can work out which software is best for you.

Again, there is no one-size-fits-all software.  You will need to work out which one will work for your business.  And because some software is industry-specific, it is worth checking out software created specifically for your industry.

What is payroll insurance?

Think of payroll insurance as business insurance.  It will pay the company’s payroll for a small period of time, giving the company time to rectify problems and get back on track.  It is not workers’ compensation; it is purely a type of business insurance.  There are rules and regulations of course, and it really is to be used only in the event of an emergency.

So there you have it – the six most frequently asked payroll questions! Ready to start talking to payroll providers? Fill out our form and we can connect you to qualified payroll service providers in your area!