Here are five ways small business owners calculate and report their payroll taxes. Take a look—and decide for yourself.
Payroll Options
| Manual System You use pen & paper, or a calculator & spreadsheet. |
· Most affordable
· Greatest control · For some, most familiar |
· Most work
· Most time-consuming · Highest chance of errors |
Accurate Calculations |
| Payroll Software Run payroll yourself in a few clicks with the help of payroll software. |
· More control because you do it yourself
· Calculations done for you in just a few clicks · Faster than the manual methods |
· Software learning curve
· You make bank deposits · You report & file taxes |
Payroll Software |
| Payroll & Accounting software together Small business software, like Intuit Payroll & QuickBooks, work seamlessly together. |
· Total control
· Payroll & financial data at your fingertips · Payroll expenses update automatically in QuickBooks (so no “double entry”) · Shared liability · Saves time |
· One-time learning curve for accounting software | Accounting & Payroll Solutions |
| Accountant Your accountant helps with payroll & payroll tax filings. |
· Payroll delegated to someone else
· Tax responsibilities handled · Accountant knows your business |
· Minimal or no control
· Greater expense |
Find an Accountant |
| Full-Service Payroll Traditional payroll service with a payroll representative helping you with payroll and tax responsibilities. |
· Tax penalties covered (most vendors)
· Direct access to your account (with Intuit & some vendors) · Saves time · Handles all deposits & filings |
· Depending on the vendor, you may give up control (but not with Intuit Full Service)· Slightly higher cost |
Full-Service Payroll |
There are systems, including Intuit, that integrate the Accounting System, Human Resources and Payroll systems for efficiency and ease. Refer to www.payroll.intuit.com. You can do it or you can have Intuit provide the services.
Large international companies provide these services as well: www.Ceridian.com has a cloud-based payroll, Human resources, reporting suite of software and services to handle a myriad of tasks and reporting duties.