Monday, December 29, 2008

2009 Payroll Reminders

Just a reminder of deadlines to come

1.February

Furnish 1099-MISC Forms to independent contractors and W-2 forms to employees who worked for you during 2008.

Deposit FUTA tax owed through Dec 2008 if $500 or less.

File 2008 Form 940 (Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return).

Deposit Payroll tax for January if applicable.

2.March

File Form W-3 (Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements) with Copy A of all Forms W-2 you issued in 2008.

Deposit Payroll tax for February if applicable.

3.April

File Form 941 for the 1st quarter of 2009. Deposit FUTA tax owed through March if more than $500.

Deposit Payroll tax for March if applicable.

4.May,June

Deposit Payroll tax for the month before if applicable.

5.July

Deposit Payroll tax for June if applicable.

Deposit FUTA owed through June if more than $500.

File Form 941 for the 2nd quarter of 2009.

6.August,September

Deposit Payroll tax for the month before if applicable.

7.October

Deposit Payroll tax for September if applicable.

File Form 941 for the 3rd quarter of 2009.

Deposit FUTA owed through September if more than $500.

8.November

Ask employees whose withholding allowances will be different in 2009to fill out a new Form W-4.

Ask employees who want to receive advanced earned income credit payments during 2009 to complete Form W-5.

Deposit Payroll tax for October if applicable.

9.December

Deposit Payroll tax for November if applicable.

Verify the names and Social Security Numbers of your employees by using the Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS).

Place your order for W-2 forms for employees and 1099 forms for independent contractors.

Remind your employees to update their W-4 forms.




I have found useful information about payroll software and W2/1099 forms and supplies on the website www.realtaxtools.com

Changes for 2009 Wage Withholding

Thought this may be helpful information

As in past years the IRS issued a 2009 tax guide for employers. Below is a summary of the new changes for the new year.

1. Social security and Medicare taxes (rate and cutoff)

Employers must stop withholding social security tax after an employee reaches $106,800 in social security wages in 2009. The maximum social security withholding amount in 2008 was $102,000.

2. New employment tax adjustment and claim for refund process

The IRS is introducing two new forms for the 2009 tax year: Form 941-X, Adjusted Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund, and Form 944-X, Adjusted Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund.

3. Credit card payments

Employers can pay the balance due on Form 943 (Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees) and Form 945 (Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax) by credit card. Employers can't use a credit card to make federal tax deposits.


4. Social Security Administration and magnetic media

Employers requesting verification of names and social security numbers between 51 and 250,000 employees can no longer use magnetic media to submit their requests to the Social Security Administration. Employers can upload a file through the Social Security Number Verification System (SSNVS).

5. Paid preparers must sign Form 941 and Form 944

The paid preparer’s section is no longer optional and is included in Part 5 of Form 941(Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return) and Form 944 (Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return).

Employers using an up to date 2009 payroll software to generate payroll and calculate withholding, shouldn't have a problem dealing with any of these changes for tax year 2009.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

New Features for Payroll Mate

I recently received a call from Payroll Mate. It was a call to let me know updates were sent out and they added new options for the program. The company is also offering a $10 discount to customers who preorder the 2009 Payroll Software.

The new options you can add to the program are laser substitute printing for W2 copy A and the W3 Transmittal Summary forms, Direct Deposit and more employees and/or companies.

Laser substitute printing is wonderful if you do not want to purchase forms. You will be able to print the forms on blank paper.

Many companies/employees like to use direct deposit instead of paper checks nowadays. I'm sure this option will be well received by many customers.

The Payroll Program as it is will accommodate up to 10 companies with 75 employees per company all for $99. This new option will allow for larger companies to utilize the software. This option will accommodate up to 100 companies with 1000 employees per company.

Convenience this is what I think these new option add to the program. Since this is my first year using the program I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the price did not go up. Really, what product, especially today, has not gone up in price. As a matter of fact I purchased the program for less than last year because I got the $10 discount.

The updates to the program include the end of the year forms and check printing options. You can now print the checks in last name, first name or check number order.

You can download a free demo if you'd like from the link below:
Payroll Software Download This payroll solution is very easy to use and affordable.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Payroll Software- Deleting a Check

Last I posted I was entrusting the Payroll Program to a new user. As I have raved, the program is very simple to use, so I foresaw no problems. It was no surprise payroll checks were issued without a major problem. She was able to use the Payroll Software without asking a single question. Because she created payroll during the week while she had access to the program she dated the payroll checks the day she created them. This is only a problem for my own records.
All payroll checks were correct. I just need to go back into the Payroll Program to change the pay date. The two things you cannot edit on a previously created check are the pay date and the check number. I recreated my payroll choosing the correct pay date. Then I went to the listing of all my checks. I selected the checks from the same pay periods with the wrong pay date. From here I delete the checks I don't want in the program.
I will continue using this Payroll Product through the end of the year. If I come across any problems I will create a new posting. I will definitely let everyone know how the well the program works to create W2 forms. I will absolutely be ordering Payroll Mate 2009.

You can download a free demo if you want to from the link below:
Payroll Software Download

Monday, August 18, 2008

New User

I will be leaving on vacation. A new user to the Payroll Software will run my payroll while I'm gone. I plan on returning before checks go out so I will double check the completed payroll before releasing the checks. I am completely confident that with very little explanation she will be able to use the program. Time for sun, sand and no worries.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Payroll Software- Deposit Requirements

I mentioned the reports this Payroll Program supports. This Payroll Software has nine different reports. These forms are built into the program at no additional cost. They are included in the $99. The reports can be used for many purposes. You can view as many or as few employees’ details at once. You can choose to view per pay period or a longer time frame. Each report gives different information, one may give a complete break down of all withholdings, another may give totals for the time period selected. There is no shortage of report options to select from.

I will be using the Deposit Requirement Report to fill in my monthly state tax form. The Deposit Requirement Report breaks down all the tax and deduction amounts individually. I can bring up the report for any time period I choose. So the report can give me totals for one month, quarterly or longer. Using this report gives me the tax information I need to fill in my monthly state forms.

I can also see my 941 total. This Payroll Software does support the 941 form, which I think I wrote about previously. I find using this report to view my monthly liability easier than using the totals directly from the 941 form. I do like to see the breakdown and the total on one page.

I cannot stress more, to the small business owner, the ease of this Payroll Program. I mention small business owner or larger companies because that is what I consider myself. I'm sure this software has benefits for all sized companies. In the past I have used software or services that have cost me much more than this program.

I want to share with you, the name of the solution to your needs, is Payroll Mate, and you can download a free demo if you want to from the link below:Payroll Software Download

Monday, August 4, 2008

Editing a Check

Just a quick note regarding editing a previously created check. In Payroll Mate there are two things that cannot be edited, the check number and the pay date. An employer can have many different scenarios as to why a check may need to be edited.

Sometimes it can be a bad idea to change a check that has already been created, especially if the employee has been paid. Changing tax withholdings paid by the employee should not be done. Creating a new income, deduction or tax category and adding that to the previously created checks can also not be done.

A scenario that editing a check may be beneficial pertains to employer withholdings. In this Payroll Program if a mistake has been made concerning, lets say, unemployment withholdings editing the check becomes helpful. I recently wrote about my unemployment not calculating. The situation was rectified but I had created some checks before noticing my mistake. Did I need to delete these checks? Did I need to recreate the checks? The easiest solution was to edit the check. When editing this withholding I was not changing anything for the employee portion of the check. Neither the net pay nor the gross pay of the check was affected. The only thing this changed was my own employer records. Using the edit function in the Payroll Software in this manner was extremely beneficial to me.

This change was instantly seen in the reports supported by the Payroll Software. The many reports supported by Payroll Mate will be something discussed in the future. If you’d like to view the forms or the software for yourself you can download a free demo if you want to from the link below:
Payroll Software Download

Monday, July 28, 2008

1099 Misc / Contractors

I have been using Payroll Mate for 4 pay periods now. I think the decision to do my own payroll was the right choice. This Payroll Software has saved me money without taking up a large chunk of my time.

At this point I hired a contractor to do some temporary work for me. Payroll Mate is a program for employees but the company has a solution for those customers who need to pay contractors. Contractors receive 1099 Misc forms at the end of the year versus employees who receive W2 forms. Adding my contractor to my company, with my employees, could cause problems with my 941 form. The solution Real Business Solutions gave me was to add a second company.

Open the Payroll Program, go to file, open new company. This is the same process as I went through before but I will now use this company just for my contractor(s). Using the program in this manner keeps the contractor(s) separate from my employees, at the same allows me to create a check for the contractor(s).

Just a note about one feature of the Payroll Program. Payroll Mate can accommodate up to ten companies with 75 employees per company. This ability to accommodate 10 companies comes standard for $99 per year. If you have the need Payroll Mate can be upgraded. The upgraded version does not limited companies or employees.

You can download a free demo if you want to from the link below:
Payroll Software Download

Monday, July 21, 2008

Payroll Software- W2 Form Local Tax

I added a local tax category to the program, which I discussed before, but the steps are simple.

This Software Program gives the user the ability to add virtually unlimited number of customized tax and deduction categories to do so please follow those steps.
1. Start by going to the Company Setup. You can do that by clicking on the "Company" icon on the left side of the application.
2. Now Click on the "Tax Categories" Button.
3. Click on Add to create a new Tax Category.
4. Fill in the different fields. Below are suggested values:a. Title: School Tax.b. Abbreviation: School Tax.c. Calculation: Fill in the way you will calculate this deduction.e. Select OK to finish.
5. Go to the employees list by clicking the "Employees" button on the left side of the application.
6. Select the employees to whom this tax applies and click edit.
7. Continue clicking next until you reach the "Taxes" Page, you should see the tax you added as one of the listed taxes. Make sure you check the box next to it. Click next and then Finish to finalize your changes

Now the problem is it is not showing the withholdings on my employees’ W2 form. This problem has a simple solution.
1.Start by going to the new category in the company- tax information. You can do that by clicking on the "Company" icon on the left side of the application. Then clicking the Tax Categories tab.
2.Now click on the new tax you have created.
3.Click on the edit tab near the bottom of the box.
4.In the new box that pops up you will see W2 Options. To see the withholdings, in the local tax section of the W2 form, check the box that states use on Box 19.
5.Click ok to complete the change.

The Payroll Program will now populate the local tax line on the W2 form.

This is a wonderful Payroll Solution for employers who are tired of being taken advantage of by the large companies. The outrageous prices, paying for tech support and forcing us to purchase options we do not need.

You can download a free demo if you want to from the link below:
Payroll Software Download

Monday, July 14, 2008

2nd Quarter 941 Form

It’s that time, it is time to turn in my 2nd quarter 941 form. I will be using Payroll Mate to complete my 941 form. This Payroll Program makes generating my 941 form simple. The Payroll Program uses the payroll numbers from the second quarter payroll to fill in the form. That leaves me with the task of inputting my total deposits to complete the form. Once I in put my total deposits the software automatically calculates my over or underpayment.

The Payroll Program then prints the form in its entirety.

The Payroll Program does have the schedule B and payment vouchers for the customers who need these forms.


You can download a free demo if you want to from the link below:
Payroll Software Download

Monday, July 7, 2008

Finding Answers to My Questions

Why is my unemployment not calculating correctly? I was not sure why the incorrect dollar amount was being deducted from the paychecks. I went back through the steps of setting up my company information. Clicking on company and then state tax information. Here a basic fill in form appears. I look, I think my information is correctly filled in, what next?

I called the Payroll Software company. My call was answered promptly. The support representative knew what my problem could be right away and she was right. The program wanted my state’s rate as a percent, I had plugged in the number as a decimal. This seemed so simple I wanted to be able to find answers on my own.
I logged on to the website www.realtaxtools.com to see if my questions could be answered in the FAQ’s as stated in some of the emails I received from the company. I was able to find many subjects were covered in this section of the website.

Another place to look for answers is the help section of the Payroll Program itself. If a user needed help inputting information this is a wonderful guide. The help menu can even be printed if the user wanted to have the information right in front of them.

As long as I was researching my help options I thought I would try the live chat feature on the website www.realtaxtools.com. This is just one more option customers have to get help. From the home page you can click on contact us or from the Payroll Software page you can also access the online chat. I clicked on the online live chat button entered my name, email and question. I asked about the unemployment again. I received the same prompted answer as when I called the office. Even though the the Payroll Program is simple to use, it is nice to know that my questions will be answered.

You can download a free demo if you want to from the link below:
Payroll Software Download

Monday, June 30, 2008

Creating Payroll Checks

It is time to create my first payroll. I have already input my employees information through the employee set up wizard. The set up wizard is a step by step guide to inputting employee information.

This Software Solution prints on preprinted checks. I start by clicking on pay. This brings up a check details page. My employees are paid per hour so all I do is put in the number of hours worked. The Software Solution automatically calculates all related taxes and deductions. The check details page does ask for the pay period dates and the pay date. In this Payroll Program , as I understand,the pay date is important. The pay date is the date all the reports are generated around. Remembering this fact is very helpful in utilizing the reports in the program.

Naturally, printing the checks for my employees is the next step in the process. I have the choice to print each check individually or print multiple checks at one time. The easiest choice for myself is to print all my checks at once. I click on that option and choose my dates, again according to pay date. I can then preview the checks. Better safe than sorry. Once I’m completely comfortable with this program I’m sure I will not need to preview.

Once printed, the check has two pay stubs, one for the employee and one for my paper records. The Payroll Program does save all created checks for reference if need exists.
One additional note about creating checks the check number and pay date cannot be edited. If I need to edit those entries on a check I will need to create a new check and delete the previous check.


You can download a free demo if you want to from the link below:
Payroll Software Download

Monday, June 23, 2008

Adding Categories to Payroll Mate

The Payroll Program allows you to add income, tax and deductoin categories. This feature is nice. Not all companies have the same income, tax and deductoins. This step is simple. You basically fill in the fields that pop up.



To give you an idea how the process works 1. Start by going to the Company Setup. You can do that by clicking on the “Company” icon on the left side of the application.2. Now Click on the “Tax Categories” Button.3. Click on Add to create a new Tax Category.4. Fill in the different fields. Below are suggested values:a. Title: School Tax.b. Abbreviation: School Tax.c. Calculation: Fill in the way you will calculate this deduction.e. Select OK to finish.5. Go to the employees list by clicking the “Employees” button on the left side of the application.6. Select the employees to whom this tax applies and click edit.7. Continue clicking next until you reach the “Taxes” Page, you should see the tax you added as one of the listed taxes. Make sure you check the box next to it. Click next and then Finish to finalize your changes.




I am finding this Payroll Program to be very easy to use. I am getting ready to complete and file my 941 form. My first step was to recreate my payroll for the year. I needed to have my employees current year to date information in the software. I did this by creating dummy checks for each month. When creating checks you can override the tax calculations the program computes if need be. If I were to create my entire payroll per pay period I may not have had to override the withholdings. This week I will be working on generating checks for my current pay period.




You can download a free demo if you want to from the link below:
Payroll Software Download This payroll solution is very easy to use and very affordable.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Starting a New Payroll Software

I am a small business owner. Many payroll softwares are getting to be overpriced for my needs. I have done my research and decided to purchase Payroll Mate 2008. I found Payroll Mate at www.realtaxtools.com. Before making a purchase I reviewed the program using a trial version of the
Payroll Software
. There is no charge for the trial and it allowed me to view the features of the program before commiting to buying the product. I did call the company to ask a few questions. A real person answered the phone right away. She was very helpful and reassured me that I could call back if I had any other questions. You can contact them through email, live chat or a phone call. I haven't tried live chat yet; I can let you know how that goes when I do.
I did order the program by download, which came right away, but for those who prefer the company can ship a program CD.

At this point I have entered my company and employee information with no problems. The program does have some built-in income, tax and deduction categories but I will need to add some of my own. I will let you know how I progress with the software.

For those who would like to try here's a link to the Payroll Software Download .