financial bookkeeping tips for contractors

As a business owner, it is tempting to take care of as much of professional matters on your own as much as possible, in the interests of saving money. Unfortunately, the IRS reports that about 33% of businesses make mistakes when processing payroll that result in fines and other financial punishments. Due to that, and the complexities of payroll, it is a good idea to consider outsourcing payroll services to an experienced accountant,  so that you never have to worry about making an unfortunate and expensive mistake.

It will be helpful to note that accountants have many other tasks other than simply helping you file your taxes, such as payroll services and other tasks often handled by the human resources department. By outsourcing those tasks to an accountant, your human resources specialist can spend time on more important duties.

#1-An Accountant Can Help You Plan For Tax Payments

It can seem as if tax forms seem to get more complicated each year and failing to file even one form on time or correctly can be a pricey error. For instance, it is not unusual for accountant that provide payroll services to use online services to simplify the tasks. That takes less of your time and makes mistakes less common, since the computer programs are able to catch most mistakes.

#2-An Accountant Can Process Any Payments That Need To Be Deducted From Paychecks

The laws about payroll garnishment can vary tremendously, based on

• The dollar amount that is owed

• The sum that is past due

• The reason for the garnishment

• Current family situation

For instance, some states permit past due debts (that are not child support) to be subtracted from an employee's pay. If your state does, in general, only about 25% of their wages can be taken after taxes to pay approved debts. One exception to that is child support, which all of the states enforce through paychecks if necessary. Both past-due and current child support can be garnished from pay. Back child support can take as much as 50% of an employee's paycheck and that goes up 60% if there is not another dependent currently being supported by the worker.

One obvious benefit is that when outsourcing those tasks, the employer has plausible deniability. Specifically, when an employee is paid and realizes that half or more of their paycheck has been taken, you are not the one that did it. Instead, you can refer them to your accountant and that person needs to answer their questions. You will be informed of it and must tell the employee of it, but you are not the one actually doing it, which can make for a more comfortable working relationship. 

In conclusion, the use of an accountant can help you limit the job tasks of your human resources department and comply with new or on-going tax laws. In addition, you will also note that the uncomfortable issue of garnishing an employee's pay for past due debts or child support can now be handled by an expert, with little intervention from you. For more information, talk to a payroll service like Waggoner Frutiger & Daub CPA's.