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