If you’re trying to find the best payroll software for your business, then we want to help. Here are the top 6 best payroll software programs that offer 30 day free trials for your business:

Recommended: Intuit Enhanced Payroll

As mentioned above, Intuit Enhanced Payroll is the most popular member of the Intuit Payroll family. Enhanced is available for just $8 per month more than the basic version and offers – you guessed it – “enhanced” features.

Those enhanced features include:

• Instant paychecks for W-2 employees as well as 1099 contractors
• Automatic local, federal, and state tax calculations
• Federal and state forms are automatically completed by the software and ready for submission
• Pay and file taxes electronically at year-end
• Access your payroll information from the iPad, iPhone, or Android devices
• Compatible with and without QuickBooks
• Prints out W-2s for employees

Basically, Intuit Enhanced Payroll is everything a small or medium-sized business needs to speed up the payroll process. It features the same simple interface of other Intuit products and, just in case you need extra help, direct tech support is available to all paying clients.

The pricing is where Intuit Enhanced Payroll truly shines. When you sign up for Intuit Enhanced Payroll today, you get the first month free. This effectively gives you a 30 day free trial during which you can play around with the software and decide whether or not it’s the right option for your business.

You can continue on a month-to-month plan with Intuit Enhanced Payroll. That plan costs $28 per month plus $2 per employee per month. However, if you sign up for the plan on an annual basis, you’ll pay a base rate of $24 per month, making Intuit pricing extremely competitive compared to other 30 day free trial payroll software listed here.

QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online comes with a few different options. You can sign up for QuickBooks Online to easily manage your business from any internet-connected mobile device. QuickBooks by itself, however, does not include payroll software. QuickBooks includes a 30 day free trial and no credit card is required in order to sign up. If you continue using QuickBooks after the 30 day free trial, you will pay $12.95 per month.

If you’re reading this list, then I assume you’re looking for the best 30 day free trials for payroll software. QuickBooks Online can be bundled with Intuit payroll software to create a convenient all-in-one business management tool.

When you sign up for QuickBooks Online with payroll, you enjoy a number of valuable benefits, including:

• Save 20% off the listed retail price of both QuickBooks and Intuit Payroll software
• Instantly calculate paycheck amounts
• Automatically calculate federal and state payroll taxes and deductions
• Instant paychecks for your employees via direct deposit
• Easily create invoices, pay bills, and manage all business expenses from a single interface
• Automatically sync bank transactions
• Access your business’s bookkeeping software and financial data from any internet-connected device at any time

Whether you just want to try QuickBooks Online or you’re trying out both QuickBooks Online and Intuit Payroll, you can sign up for a free 30 day trial with no credit card or commitment required. Once the 30 day free trial period is over, QuickBooks Online with payroll costs a total of $52.76 per month, while the basic version of QuickBooks Online without payroll support costs $12.95 per month.

Patriot Software

Patriot Payroll Software is most notable for its affordability. It’s by far the most affordably-priced payroll software on this list. It starts at just $10 per month for businesses with one employee and that price rises to $14.43 per month for businesses with 10 employees, or $21.46 per month for businesses with 25 employees.

What’s the catch? Patriot Payroll Software is affordable because it offers basic payroll software features as add-ons. If you don’t need any bells and whistles with your software, then this may be the best option for you.

In addition to the base rates listed above, you’ll have to pay extra for the following services with Patriot Payroll Software:

• $12 per month for Patriot to handle all federal, state, and local payroll taxes (this amount increases based on the number of employees at your business)
• $3 per month to track employee hours online
• $2 per month to allow employees to enter their own hours online
• $2 per month to manage employee files and “other critical employee data” online

Other available extra features include website builders, 1099 software, accounting software, and more. If you’re running a larger business, then you may find that Patriot PAY isn’t quite as cheaply-priced as it looks at first glance.

For example, if you ordered Patriot PAY with its payroll software and payroll tax service for 10 employees, the entire bundle will cost $35.23 per month.

Even with all of these extra features added onto your software package, Patriot remains one of the most affordable options out there. If you just need basic payroll software and aren’t interested in the government form submission options, mobile apps, or other additional features, then there’s nothing wrong with Patriot.

One of the advantages of Patriot is that you do not have to commit to a long-term contract. The user interface is also designed to be as simple as possible. Even if you’re a novice computer user, you shouldn’t have any trouble figuring out Patriot PAY.

The Patriot PAY free trial is not quite like other free trials listed here. You need to sign up for a Patriot PAY account first. Your first 30 days are free with a new account sign-up and you are free to cancel at any time. You also do not need to enter credit card information.

PenSoft Payroll Software

While Patriot PAY was the cheapest payroll software on our list, PenSoft tends to be the most expensive. PenSoft offers six different pricing levels, including Lite, Standard, Professional, Enterprise, Platinum, and Accounting. Lite packages are designed for between 1 and 25 employees and start at $249 per year while the Platinum package offers robust features and can handle 501+ employees at a cost of $1329 per year.

At these price levels, you’re getting lots of helpful payroll features. Those features include the ability to print federal and state forms, print and generate W-2s, manage timesheet and department payrolls, and invoice clients all from a single software program.

PenSoft can be used by small businesses with only a handful of employees, but it tends to be more popular with larger businesses with multiple departments and dozens of employees. You can download trial versions of all six different Editions of PenSoft software, making it easy to see which Edition is the right choice for your business.

PenSoft can provide you with a 30 day free trial of both its Payroll software and Employee Tracker software. The free trial versions let you enter information for up to 50 employees and use the software for up to 30 days. You can either download the trial software program onto your PC or ask for a copy to be mailed to you. Downloading the trial copy is free, although you will need to pay a $5 fee to have the software mailed to you.

The post 5 Free Payroll Software You Can Test Drive For 30 Days appeared first on .

Fortunately, payroll doesn’t have to be difficult. With a bit of preparation and the right software, you can automate your entire business’s payroll. Find out exactly how to do payroll today in our complete guide.

There Are Three Ways to Do Payroll

Today’s businesses typically do payroll in one of three different ways:

• Manual (do-it-yourself method)
• Hire a part-time accountant
• Use a payroll software solution

You can also have some combination of the three methods. Some businesses bundle payroll software with accounting software, for example. Or, you can bundle basic payroll software with a part-time accountant.

Payroll software is the most popular option for today’s small and medium-sized businesses, although larger businesses often require full-time accountants or accounting departments.

With payroll software, you typically pay a base rate (say, $20 to $50 per month) as well as an extra cost per employee (say, $2 to $5 per employee). It’s more expensive than doing payroll yourself, but significantly less expensive than hiring an accountant (or hiring a full-time accountant).

Of course, some people genuinely prefer the DIY method of manual payroll. This can be an ideal option for small businesses with fewer than, say, 5 people. However, many people will still feel like they can save time and money by using payroll software.

Three Basics Parts of “Doing Payroll”

There are three basic jobs you need to accomplish when “doing payroll”:

1) Paying Employees: Do you pay them every week, every other week? Every month?  This part of the job requires you to add up employees’ hours, calculate their earnings, and withhold the correct amount of taxes and deductions from each paycheck.

2) Paying Payroll Taxes: The government needs payroll taxes to pay for critical services. When doing payroll, you need to pay the government the correct amount of state and federal tax along with any payroll taxes owed by your business.

3) Filing Tax Forms: The IRS needs plenty of forms, and you’re required to fill and submit all of these forms in a timely manner. Most businesses file quarterly forms to the IRS, although some choose to do it monthly or yearly.

How Does Payroll Software Work?

All payroll software works in basically the same way. Payroll software lets you do all of the following using either a web-based interface or desktop computer software:

• Calculate gross pay for employees
• Calculate employee take-home pay, which is the amount they earn after income tax, FICA, health insurance deductions, retirement fund payments, child support, etc.
• Pay employees by printing out checks or sending out direct deposits
• Fill out and submit required paperwork for local, state, and federal income tax reports
• Submit electronic payments to the tax authorities

On your end of things, you basically just enter employee information and the number of hours they work each week (or their salary). Then the payroll software does most of the hard work for you. The most time-consuming part of most payroll software is entering your company information in the first place.

Of course, not all payroll software programs are built equally. Some payroll software won’t submit electronic forms to the IRS, for example, which means you’ll need to do that on your own quarterly, monthly, or annually.

Not all software will even calculate local tax, which means you could have to enter your own deductions for state tax or other region-specific tax codes.

How to Keep Track of Employee Hours for Payroll

Keeping track of employee hours is one of the biggest struggles for business owners. Do you make employees enter a time card every morning? Do you track computer logins? Do you trust them to honestly enter their daily hours?

Well, there are a number of different ways to track employee hours.

Some payroll companies actually comes with built-in self-reporting tools for employees. Employees basically receive access to a basic payroll software account that lets them add their own hour information. Then, at the end of each payroll period, the manager takes all of that information and runs it through the form to create paychecks.

If your payroll software doesn’t have this feature (or if you’re not using payroll software), then there are other basic methods available. Dovico.com has a number of free employee time sheets available at its site, for example.

You can also use free web-based clocks like Time Clock Free, which also lets employees track hours using mobile devices.

How to Deal with Overtime

Payroll software is adept at dealing with overtime. The main problem with overtime is tracking it in the first place.

To start, you may owe employees overtime if they work more than a certain number of hours in a certain week (the specific number varies from state to state).

Most companies in America are required to pay employees 1.5 times per hour for overtime pay.

If your company is covered under federal labor laws (federal labor laws cover companies with over $500K in sales and/or companies involved in inter-state commerce), then you’re required to pay 1.5 times the employee’s hourly rate for every hour that employee works per week over 40.

For example, an employee who gets paid $30 per hour would get paid $45 per hour for every hour they work past 40 hours in a given week.

Certain states also have daily overtime pay, where employees who work over 8 hours per day are eligible for overtime pay after 8 hours. California, for example, works this way.

Instead of explaining every state’s overtime laws, I’ll reference this guide that explains each state’s unique overtime laws.

Generally speaking, employees who work over 40 hours per week in the United States are eligible for overtime pay. The main exceptions to this rule are employees with managerial duties who have a fair degree of decision-making power. These employees are typically exempt from overtime pay requirements.

There are plenty of specific differences between employees and their overtime classifications. For example, executive employees must make at least $455 per 40 hour work week to be considered “executive employees”. The best way to learn about exempt and non-exempt employees is to read this guide from a CPA.

How Do Vacation and Sick Days Work When Doing Payroll?

Employers vary widely in terms of the way they handle vacation days and sick pay. It’s up to each company to define their company-wide vacations and sick days and then stick to that system.

Most payroll systems let you record vacation and sick days over time. Once an employee goes over their allotted number of vacation and sick days, then they may start receiving deductions from their pay.

Mandatory Deductions

One of the most important jobs performed by payroll systems is calculating deductions. When calculating payroll, American employers must deal with both mandatory deductions (income taxes and FICA) as well as voluntary deductions. Here’s how those deductions work:

Income Tax

Employers must deduct federal income tax from employees’ wages. The amount of income tax deducted depends on how much that employee earns. You can determine how much income tax to deduct from your employee using their IRS form W-4, which lists things like the marriage status and exemptions. You withhold either a percentage of your employee’s wages or a set amount based on the tax tables found in IRS Circular E, Employer’s Tax Guide. You can view a detailed explanation of how much payroll tax you can be expected to pay at this guide at BeBusinessed.com.

Social Security

Social Security taxes are another critical part of US payroll tax deductions. The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) requires these payroll taxes to be collected to fund various Social Security initiatives (primarily retirement and disability programs). Both the employer and the employee are required to pay Social Security for each employee. The tax rate as of 2015 is 6.2% for the employer and 6.2% for the employee for a total of 12.4%. You only have to pay Social Security up to a certain wage limit. As of 2015, that wage limit was $118,500. Income earned beyond that amount is not subject to the 6.2% charge.

Medicare

In addition to paying 6.2% as part of FICA, you’re required to deduct an additional 1.45% from each employee for Medicare. Once again, this 1.45% is covered by both the employer and the employee for a total of 2.9%.

Federal Unemployment Taxes (FUTA)

Employers are required to report and pay FUTA, which is used to finance state unemployment programs. Employers are required to report and deposit employment taxes quarterly using Form 941 Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return.

Voluntary Deductions

Voluntary deductions vary from company to company. Some sample voluntary deductions include:

• Contributions to an IRA, 401k, or other retirement plan
• Health insurance premiums
• Job-related expenses, like employee equipment, meals, uniforms, training fees, or union dues
• Life insurance premiums

Depending on the type of deduction, these can be deducted before or after the rest of the taxes. Payroll solutions can easily handle a diverse range of voluntary deductions and categorize them into the appropriate categories.

Payroll Reporting Requirements and Payments

After calculating payroll, your job isn’t over yet. You need to meet certain reporting requirements and payment submissions. You also need to report and submit in the required timeframe. Required paperwork includes:

• Annual federal unemployment tax return (form 940 or 940EZ)
• Employer’s quarterly payroll tax return (form 941)
• Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax (Form 945)
• Wage and Tax Statements (Form W-2)

Intuit actually has a very detailed article that tells you when you’re required to submit these forms.

Three Most Common Problems When Doing Payroll

If you’re doing payroll for the first time, then you might run into some of these common payroll pitfalls, including:

1) Errors: You can get errors at every step of the payroll process. Maybe you mess up employee hours or wages, for example. Maybe you forget about health care deductions or incorrectly deduct taxes. Expect to deal with plenty of errors until you become more familiar with whatever payroll system you’re using.

2) Deadlines: Each business has a responsibility to keep up with federal and state tax deadlines. You can keep track of these deadlines at the IRS website or let your payroll software automatically submit everything for you on time.

3) Penalties: Eventually, it’s going to happen. You’ll make a small (or large) error and your business will be assessed a penalty. Some payroll software companies are actually so confident in their payroll abilities that they will guarantee you protection from any tax penalties. They’ll even pay those tax penalties for you up to a certain amount!

Which Payroll System is Best for You?

So far, we’ve talked about three main types of payroll systems. However, there are really five main types of payroll methods available to businesses today. Here’s a brief overview of all those methods along with their unique pros and cons:

Manual Payroll

When you calculate payroll manually, it’s just you using a pen and paper (or more likely, spreadsheet software on your computer).

Pros: Manual payroll is the most affordable payroll method. It gives employers the greatest level of control over employee payments. It’s also the system that many employers are most familiar with.

Cons: It’s almost always the most time-consuming payroll method. It also requires more work and has the highest chance of errors.

Payroll Software

Payroll software is desktop or web-based software that lets you run payroll through a software program every week to automatically calculate all deductions and payments.

Pros: You still have control because you’re doing it yourself, but the software takes away a lot of the hard work. You can have complex calculations performed with just a few clicks and it’s significantly faster than manual payroll processing.

Cons: All software comes with a learning curve, and some learning curves are steeper than others. You also need to make bank deposits and report and file taxes (although some payroll software does this for you). Payroll software varies widely from company to company. Some payroll software files electronic forms to the IRS on your behalf, while other software does not. You may also have to calculate local taxes independent of your payroll software (this is more common for cheaper, barebones payroll software providers).

Payroll & Accounting Software Bundled Together

Companies like Intuit bundle their QuickBooks software with payroll software to make the lives of business owners significantly easier.

Pros: Total control over your business’s finances because you still do everything yourself – you just have the help of two software programs. Your payroll expenses update automatically in QuickBooks, which means you never have to worry about double entries. There’s also a shared liability with many payroll and accounting software bundles, which means the payroll company will take responsibility for any penalties you’re assed.

Cons: Steep learning curve and a higher price than just buying payroll software on its own (although some bundles make the price difference fairly small).

Paying an Accountant

You can pay an accountant (either part-time or full-time) to help with your payroll and payroll tax filings. Some smaller businesses contract this work out to an accounting firm, while other larger businesses have a full-time accountant or even a team of full-time accountants.

Pros: Payroll duties are delegated to someone else, along with the tax responsibilities. Accountants also know their business better than anyone.

Cons: Minimum control over your business’s finances. Accountants are also more expensive than any other method (even the cheapest, part-time accountants!).

Full Service Payroll

This is like having payroll software, except you also have a human payroll specialist who works with you to handle your payroll and tax responsibilities.

Pros: Most full service payroll providers will cover all tax penalties. You also have direct access to your account just like you would have if you were working with payroll software on your own. You can also save time while still handling all deposits and filings on your own. Basically, someone does payroll on your behalf with minimum work on your hand. You just give your payroll specialist the data (like employee hours and pay) and they do the rest.

Cons: Some vendors require you to give up nearly full control of your account (as much as you would give up when working with an accountant). This is also the second most expensive option behind only working with a full-time accountant.

Most Popular Payroll Software Available Today

There are dozens of free payroll software programs available today, but only a few are really worth your money. Here are the 5 most popular options you might want to consider for your small business:

Intuit Online Payroll

Intuit started out by dominating the accounting software industry and now they also dominate the payroll industry. Intuit Online Payroll synchs perfectly with Intuit QuickBooks. Since QuickBooks has an 85% to 90% market share, this is a very appealing solution to many business owners (although all other major payroll software also synchs perfectly with QuickBooks).

Some of the key advantages of Intuit Payroll include its low price tag ($20 to $99 per month plus $2 per employee). There are three different tiers of service depending on how comprehensive your payroll services need to be. You can also sign up for a 30 day free trial to check out Intuit for yourself.

Patriot Pay

Patriot Pay from Patriot Software is specially designed for businesses employing up to 50 employees. The company sells software packages that include all the bookkeeping services you need for your business, including tax services, hiring databases, and accounting software.

In recent years, Patriot Pay has built support for most operating systems and apps, including iPhone and Android devices. Like Intuit, Patriot Pay comes with a 30 day free trial. Plenty of add-on services are available for extra fees, including tax services and employee time tracking.

The software system is priced between $10 and $33 per month.

ezPaycheck Payroll

Priced at an affordable $89 per year, ezPaycheck Payroll claims to be the best system for people who have no professional accounting training and run a business with fewer than 10 employees. This is the most barebones payroll software on this list – so don’t expect anything too fancy. But if you want software that calculates payroll taxes, prints tax forms and paychecks, and supports customized wage systems, then ezPaycheck Payroll can do all of those things.

CenterPoint Payroll

CenterPoint Payroll is the solution for larger businesses. Starting at $795, CenterPoint Payroll is a customizable system available for a one-time fee. That system offers direct deposit, electronic tax filing, and customized wage calculations among other features.

Businesses appreciate CenterPoint Payroll for its flexibility and ability to manage payroll for an unlimited number of employees and multiple companies for one flat price. You will need to pay an extra annual fee for customer support and there’s no free trial. There are also no mobile apps available.

Sage HRMS Payroll

Priced between $3 and $7 per employee per month, Sage HRMS Payroll is the ideal choice for businesses that use Peachtree Accounting Software. Sage HRMS Payroll seamlessly integrates with Peachtree and totally eliminates the need for double entry accounting.

The system is ideal for companies with fewer than 20 employees. You can receive a free demonstration on Sage HRMS Payroll by visiting the company’s website.

The main downside of Sage HRMS Payroll is that it won’t calculate local taxes, nor will it electronically file taxes. So you still have to do a lot of payroll work on your own (But what do you expect at this price range?).

Conclusion: How Should Your Business Do Payroll?

Payroll is the largest expensive for many businesses. Deciding between different payroll solutions may seem like a complicated task. However, if you invest a little bit of effort into setting up the right payroll system today, you can save yourself countless hours of frustration in the future.

A good payroll system is also accurate and helps you avoid costly penalties from the IRS. Whether you’re stuck doing manual payroll calculations or using barebones software, it’s in your best interest to spend time making your business’s payroll system as efficient as possible.

The post How to Do Payroll Yourself | DIY Payroll For Small Businesses appeared first on .

Today, I’m going to explain the most important things to look for when buying payroll software. Payroll software comes in all different levels of price and quality. Unfortunately, it’s becoming more and more difficult to find objective, unbiased information online.

What Does Payroll Software Actually Do?

Payroll software is designed to minimize payroll errors and reduce the time you spend calculating and submitting payroll information. Most payroll software includes the core functions listed below:

• Calculate gross employee pay each cycle (every 2 weeks, for example), based on the number of hours worked and the designated salary
• Calculate net employee paycheck after deductions and taxes
• Send paycheck to employees via direct deposit or by printing off checks
• Create year-end tax forms for state and federal government agencies and employees, including W-2s, W-3s, and Form 940s
• Calculate employer payments required to state and federal government agencies
• Calculate payments due for state and federal unemployment insurance

Top 5 Most Important Qualities Used To Compare Payroll Software

5) The number of employees in your business

Some payroll software is designed for companies with 5 employees. Other software is built for companies with 500 employees. Consider the needs of your business and the number of employees and contractors you pay on a regular basis.

Payroll software is often ranked according to its price for 10 employees. A typical “Price for 10 Employees” will range between $50 to $150 per month. Some payroll software provides users with a discount after adding a certain number of employees. Ultimately, you need to find payroll software that is designed to fit the unique needs of your business and its employees.

4) Pricing plans

Pricing plans vary considerably between payroll software programs. In general, payroll software pricing is based off a base monthly fee plus an additional charge for each employee added to the payroll.

Let’s say one payroll software charges a $25 base fee plus $2 per employee. The price for 10 employees would be $45 per month.

When you’re comparing payroll software pricing plans, it’s important to look at the price you’re going to pay for the number of employees in your organization. In some cases, the base charge might be small, but the cost per employee is comparatively large.

3) State coverage

Payroll software helps employers navigate complex employment rules from state to state. For that reason, each state must be individually programmed into the software. Most payroll software supports all 50 states in the U.S. However, some popular software programs only support a handful of states. When researching payroll software, be sure to check this eligibility before you buy.

2) Additional features and support

If all things are equal up to this point, then you need to consider additional software features and support. Every payroll software program has unique features that attempt to differentiate it from the crowd. Those features could include:

• Federal & state payroll tax forms pre-populated with employee information
• Ability to purchase worker’s compensation and easily add it to the software
• Phone-based tech support available 24 hours a day
• Signup bonuses
• Email reminders when taxes and forms are due
• Free direct deposit
• Mobile app compatibility, which means you can access payroll software from your smartphone or tablet
• Integration with QuickBooks or other bookkeeping software

Ultimately, the goal with free payroll software is to automate tasks, minimize errors, and save time. If you can find a software program that does those three things, then buy it.

1) User reviews

Find out what other small business owners think about the payroll software. Was it difficult to learn how to use? Did it actually save time? Did it help them avoid payroll headaches? Finding objective reviews on the internet can be difficult because every website is trying to sell you some payroll software or another.

However, with enough research, you can get a general idea for which payroll software is widely regarded as being the best in the industry. Once you’ve identified that software and considered the unique needs of your business (based on this top 5 list), it’s time to make the purchase.

Above all, remember that you’re buying payroll software and not a nuclear warhead: at the end of the day, most payroll software features largely the same qualities and there are only small differences between brands. Don’t overthink the problem: if you spend too much time researching payroll software, you’re going to wipe out the time savings you’re trying to create!

Cheap Payroll Software Versus Expensive Software

Using the research tips listed above, you may have narrowed your choice down to two different software programs: one program is cheap and has basic payroll functionality and is ideal for a small or medium-sized business. The other payroll software is loaded with features but is significantly more expensive. Which one should you choose? What’s the major difference between cheap and expensive payroll software?

Here are some major ways in which payroll software at different pricing levels tends to differ from one another:

Tech support: More expensive payroll software programs tend to have better tech support, which can make a world of difference when the end of the fiscal year rolls around.

Form submission: More expensive payroll software programs often do all of your work for you when it comes to submitting payment forms to the IRS and other government agencies. Less expensive software might tell you which forms you need to fill out but force you to manually enter information into each one. How much time are you going to save?

Additional features: Compare the two software programs on a feature-by-feature basis and ask yourself if the additional features in the more expensive software are worth the extra price per month. Ask yourself if you’re really going to use all the extra features.

Remember: the difference between two payroll software programs might only be $40 per month, but that works out to nearly $500 per year. Choose carefully.

What Are The Most popular Payroll Software Programs Available Today?

If you’re trying to buy payroll software and have no idea where to start, then we’re going to narrow down the search for you: here are the top 6 most popular payroll software programs available to small and medium-sized businesses today:

Intuit Online Payroll

Out of the top six payroll software programs listed here, Intuit is responsible for half of them. Intuit – creator of QuickBooks – is a world leader in small business software and their payroll software programs reflect that. Intuit Online Payroll is a payroll software subscription service that can be accessed from any internet-connected device. There are mobile apps for iPhone and Android and two versions are available: basic and enhanced.

Intuit Enhanced Payroll

Intuit Enhanced Payroll is the feature-rich version of Intuit Online Payroll. While the basic version of Intuit Online Payroll only allows users to pay employees, the Enhanced version lets employers pay employees and contractors and also file federal and state taxes. For $8 more per month, Intuit Enhanced Payroll is a no-brainer decision for any business with more than one employee. It also offers free direct deposit and includes apps for the iPad, iPhone, and Android devices.

QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks is one of the world’s most popular software programs for small and medium-sized businesses. With QuickBooks Online, subscribers pay around $50 per month for powerful online bookkeeping functionality. QuickBooks Online combines bookkeeping with payroll information to provide significant time-saving opportunities for your business. Intuit is so confident in the success of its software that it promises it will pay for itself within 60 days or your money back.

FreshBooks

FreshBooks is the first payroll software on this list not made by Intuit. FreshBooks promises to help users take advantage of the cloud using “cloud accounting”. What does that mean? It means your payroll data is always backed up and secure. It also means you can access it from anywhere, including the iPhone, iPad, and Android. FreshBooks is less of a payroll software program and more of an invoice and payment program. It won’t submit taxes and forms to government agencies, but it will help you manage core elements of your business wherever you go.

Patriot Software

Patriot Software is specifically designed for businesses with between 1 to 50 employees. Patriot Software is the most affordable payroll software program on this list. If you have 1 employee, Patriot Software costs just $10 per month. For a business with 10 employees, it costs $14.43 per month. That’s significantly cheaper than anything else listed here. But what’s the catch? The basic version of Patriot Software does not include many of the basic features included in other payroll companies. Instead, employers can pay an extra $2 to $12 per month for additional features like tracking employee hours or handling local, state, and federal taxes.The convenient pay as you go system is ideal for business owners who don’t need all the bells and whistles added onto other payroll software programs.

PenSoft Payroll Software

PenSoft Payroll Software is one of the pricier options on this list. There are six different versions of PenSoft, including Lite, Standard, Professional, Enterprise, Platinum, and Accounting. Some versions of the software are designed for businesses with over 500 employees, while the lowest option on the list is designed for companies with between 1 and 50 employees. Packages start at $249 per year. As one of the most expensive payroll software programs out there today, PenSoft is packed with features. It includes comprehensive tax support at the federal and state level and advises clients on which government agency forms they might require.

Take Advantage of Free Payroll Trials

Most of the payroll software programs listed above offer free trials to new users. Spend an hour taking advantage of these free trials. Play around with the different software programs and decide which interface you like the best.

The typical trial period lasts 30 days, giving you more than enough time to test out different features and payroll capabilities. Once again, remember that payroll software is just one of many elements of running a business. Research your options, take advantage of one or two free trials, and don’t overthink it.

How To Use Payroll Software

Payroll software is generally quite easy to use. Since the software is specifically designed to simplify your business and save time, most programs only feature a small learning curve.

Here’s the basic step by step guide to using any payroll software:

Step 1) Open your payroll software system. Some programs are downloaded onto your computer’s desktop, while others are accessible via your software company’s website.

Step 2) Once you’ve opened your payroll solution, you can begin entering various HR data, including:

• 1. Pay data for regular pay, overtime pay, and shift pay
  2. Bonuses or commissions paid to employees for each pay date
  3. Employee personal information
  4. Deduction information and up-to-date tax tables
  5. Direct deposit information and check payment information

Step 3) Look for a payroll preview option to get an idea of what the final payroll report will look like. Check that report to ensure all information is correct and accurate.

Step 4) Transfer your payroll by the given deadline and review the final report

Step 5) Use the payroll software to print checks if not using direct deposit

Step 6) Transfer business reports to your bookkeeping software or print out a report to keep as a physical copy. One of the biggest advantages of payroll software is being able to instantly generate a report on your business and print off that report for record keeping purposes.

Ultimately, payroll software is something that could change your business. It’s virtually guaranteed to reduce payroll errors and it’s priceless if your business is ever audited. Today’s payroll software uses cloud computing and mobile apps to make your payroll information available at all times, which means the software has never been more convenient.

Whether you’re running a business with 5 employees or 500, certified payroll software is one investment that tends to pay for itself in a very short period of time.

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941: Schedule D

941X: Adjusted Employers Quarterly Return

I-9: Employment Eligibility Verification

SS4: Application for Identification Number

SS4: Online Registration

W-2C: Corrected Wage and Tax Statement

IRS Publications

Misc. Payroll Information

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As a small business owner, encountering a certified payroll request can be confusing. Today, we’re going to make life easier for you by listing the best certified payroll software for small businesses:

What is Certified Payroll?

First, let’s talk about what certified payroll is and why you might need it.

Certified payroll reports are typically required for workers on certain public works projects. When projects are publically funded, the contractor is typically required to pay a prevailing wage (also known as a Davis-Bacon wage) for workers on that job. Then, for each payroll period, that contractor is responsible for creating a certified payroll report. This payroll report shows the exact wages paid to each worker.

Today, payroll software like QuickBooks Certified Payroll and others make it relatively easy to create certified payroll reports.

The payroll software programs listed below will work as substitutes for federal form WH-347, which is the form required for certified payroll. They also work as a substitute for federal form WH-348, which is the Statement of Compliance required after you’ve submitted form WH-347.

The WH-347 form is required to list all of the following information:

• A description of the company and the project
• The employee’s name
• The last four digits of the employee’s Social Security Number
• The employee’s job classification
• Hours worked by each employee
• Rate of pay, gross wages, deductions, and net pay for that employee

As you can see, your existing payroll software or QuickBooks should already have most of this information stored – which is why creating a certified payroll report in your existing payroll software probably isn’t as hard as you think.

After creating a certified payroll report, an authorized official must print and sign the report to certify its accuracy. This is called the Statement of Compliance, or form WH-348. Once you’ve completed all of these steps, you’ve successfully created a certified payroll report.

There are some myths about certified payroll. Some people mistakenly believe they need to be a Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) and pass an exam before legally being able to file a certified payroll report. That’s not true.

Another important misconception is that certified payroll is the same across all 50 states. That’s also not true, as certain states require you to electronically file multiple forms.

In any case, you can use the certified payroll software listed below to easily create and submit certified payroll reports.

Intuit Online Payroll and QuickBooks Are Certified Payroll

Intuit Online Payroll and QuickBooks Certified Payroll are typically the best options for creating certified payroll. Intuit has a good online tutorial on their website explaining exactly how to create a certified payroll report in QuickBooks.

With Intuit Online Payroll, all the information you need for a certified payroll report should already be in your payroll solutions. Intuit recommends using the payroll software’s time tracking to pay employees, and that you should create weekly timesheets.

Adding certified payroll reports to Intuit Online Payroll isn’t as difficult as you might think. Once you have created weekly payroll and time tracking, the certified payroll job will automatically appear on your paychecks.

After that, you just need to use the Reports menu (Reports > Employees & Payroll > More Payroll Reports in Excel > Certified Payroll Report) then follow the on-screen instructions to create a report.

Some of the key features of Intuit Online Payroll’s certified payroll software include:

Pricing

Intuit Online Payroll is priced at $20 to $30 for the base rate, with an additional $2 per employee added on. Here’s how the three different pricing packages break down:

Basic ($20 per month + $2 per employee per month): Intuit Online Payroll’s most basic plan is the cheapest, but it doesn’t provide much in terms of payroll functionality. With Basic, you get paycheck generation and the ability to pay employees by checks or direct deposit. You do not, however, get payroll tax submission features or electronic W-2 form filing.

Enhanced ($31.20 per month + $2 per employee per month): The Enhanced version is the most popular Intuit Online Payroll plan. It gives you the ability to quickly file paychecks by entering hours, just like the Basic plan. However, the main difference is that the Enhanced plan also includes payroll tax forms and electronic W-2 form submission at year-end. Most business owners depend on their payroll software to take care of payroll tax forms and W-2 form submissions, which is why the Enhanced version is the most popular plan.

Full Service ($79 per month + $2 per employee per month): The Full Service plan is a unique plan that provides your business with a dedicated Intuit employee who will run your business’s payroll every period. There are two advantages of this plan: first, the employee does all the hard payroll work for your business. And second, this plan guarantees you against tax penalties (if you get a tax penalty due to a filing error, then Intuit will pay it).

Available in 12 Countries

One reason why Intuit Online Payroll is popular is because it supports businesses around the world. The twelve countries covered by Intuit Online Payroll include the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, France, India, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Brazil, and Ireland.

Certified Payroll That Scales to Meet the Needs of Your Business

Intuit Online Payroll can easily scale to meet the needs of your business. Adding new employees is easy, and you can switch between plans whenever you like. Since some businesses grow when taking on government projects that require certified payroll, this can be a valuable benefit.

Ultimately, Intuit Online Payroll and QuickBooks make it fairly easy to create certified payroll reports.  Once again, you can just follow this tutorial here to learn how to create certified payroll reports in Intuit Online Payroll/QuickBooks.

However, if you need an additional certified payroll software system for your small business, then the next option on the list will integrate directly with QuickBooks to do that for you.

Certified Payroll Solution

A company called Sunburst Software Solutions creates an add-on for QuickBooks called Certified Payroll Solution that lets you run certified payroll reports. If you’re only using QuickBooks and not using Intuit Online Payroll (or if you’re using a payroll software that doesn’t allow certified payroll), then this add-on is your next best option.

Certified Payroll Solution has been around since the early 2000s. Today, the software integrates with QuickBooks Pro, Premier, or Enterprise. It also works with Intuit Basic, Enhanced, and Full Service Payroll – so even if you have Intuit Online Payroll, you can cut through the hassle and buy this add-on to make things easier.

Some of the things to note about Certified Payroll Solution include:

Works with Multiple Types of QuickBooks and Intuit Online Payroll

As mentioned above, Certified Payroll Solution works with all types of QuickBooks and Intuit Payroll subscriptions, including QuickBooks Pro, Premier, and Enterprise as well as Intuit Online Payroll Basic, Enhanced, and Full Service packages.

Pricing

Certified Payroll Solution costs $395 for a company license. That license lets you install the program on as many computers as required and is available through online download.

Easily Creates Certified Payroll Reports

Certified Payroll Solution, as you may have guessed from the name, is very good at creating certified payroll reports. The company’s software lets you easily create WH-347 Payroll Certification Forms as well as the WH-348 Statement of Compliance. There’s no need to double enter employee data: the software syncs with QuickBooks to monitor your hours and employee information and provide accurate certified payroll reports in a shorter period of time.

Can Provide Multiple Types of Certified Payroll Reports

Certified Payroll Solution works with both union and non-union contractors. The software holds all important information about employees, including jobs, payroll wage items, and payroll deductions, in the “linked records” section (QuickBooks does not include this information here by default). When creating a certified payroll report with Certified Payroll Solution, the software will take this information and merge it its own built-in certified payroll information to create the final report (additional information includes ARRA, EEOC/Work Utilization, and Fringe Benefit Reports).

Sign and Submit

All you need to do after using Certified Payroll Solution is print it off and submit it or file it electronically. It’s a timely way to use your existing QuickBooks data to speed up the certified payroll creation process.

Ultimately, Certified Payroll Solution isn’t the only way to run certified payroll on QuickBooks, but it does make your life significantly easier. If you need to create certified payroll reports with forms WH-347 and WH-348, then Certified Payroll Solution can help – although the high fee can make it a costly option for small businesses, especially if they’re only working on one project that requires certified payroll.

Construction Partner

Construction Partner is integrated accounting software. Unlike the other two options on this list, it’s designed to replace QuickBooks in your business’s bookkeeping department – not supplement it. It also costs $6,000, so it’s only a good option for larger construction firms with complex needs and dozens/hundreds of employees.

Construction Partner is also specifically designed for construction firms (hence the name). Since many construction projects are public works projects filled by independent contractors, the construction industry typically produces more certified payroll reports than any other industry.

In any case, Construction Partner promises to provide simplified data entry, seamless integration, and easy certified payroll reports with Statements of Compliance. Some of the software’s notable features include:

Produce Everything from a Single Screen

With Construction Partner, you can perform all bookkeeping tasks from a single screen, like record employee time, equipment hours, service work, and more. You can also import your data from a spreadsheet or a third party time tracking program.

Calculates Everything

Construction Partner calculates everything that needs to be calculated when running payroll for construction firms. It calculates taxes, union benefits, pre-tax deductions, and burdens, for example.

Multiple Modules

If you want to make Construction Partner your primary bookkeeping software, then you’ll find plenty of add-on modules available to cover all aspects of construction industry bookkeeping. For example, you can add modules like Job Costing, Equipment Management, Service Billing, and Inventory. Best of all, your payroll timecard entry will share information with all other Construction Partner modules, reducing the need for double entry.

Meets Complex Requirements

From 401(k) plans to section 125S special pre-tax deductions, Construction Partner is specially designed to handle the unique challenges construction firm bookkeepers face every day.

Pricing

Construction Partner pricing varies from firm to firm. The company’s website claims that you can expect to pay just over $200 per month for Construction Partner through their financing plans for a total final cost of $5,995. You’ll also need to pay an additional $895 per year for monthly fees (the first 90 days of maintenance are free).

As justification for that price tag in comparison to QuickBooks, here’s what the company has to say:

“Don’t waste another day managing your construction company using spreadsheets, QuickBooks® or software that just doesn’t meet your needs. We can even work with you to set up financing options for as little as $200 per month.”

In any case, you can schedule your Construction Partner online demo with a salesperson by filling out the form here.

Other Features

You can view Construction Partner’s full list of included features here. Some of the other notable features included in the software include:

• Ability to add up to five direct deposit accounts for each paycheck
• Online review of complete calculated payroll prior to check printing (“reduces errors”)
• Tracks critical employee data, including re-hire, termination, birth dates, automatic tracking of hire, driver’s license, and work permit number
• Detailed payroll registers that display pay/deductions for each employee along with summary totals by G/L account, pay and deduction codes, and tax deposits for the pay period
• Magnetic media submission support, including the ability to submit state SUI quarterly reports and W-2s in MMREF format

Ultimately, Construction Partner is a niche software program catered towards construction firms that regularly complete jobs requiring certified payroll reports. Of course, it also has plenty of features beyond simply creating certified payroll – including job costing, estimating, accounts payable/receivable, general ledger, equipment management, service billing, purchasing, inventory, and labor compliance. It’s a complete accounting, bookkeeping, invoicing, and payroll software for construction firms.

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Today, I’m going to explain the intricacies of payroll tax. I’ll show you the best ways for a business to manage its payroll taxes, reduce errors, and increase bookkeeping efficiency.

What Is Payroll Tax?

Payroll taxes consist of two types of taxes employers are required to pay:

• Withholding taxes, which are taxes employers are required to withhold from the wages of every employee. These are also known as Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) taxes.
• Other employer taxes, which are required from all employers in order to cover federal programs like Social Security and unemployment insurance. Both employers and employees are required to pay their portion of these taxes.

Most of the world’s developed countries have federal and state-level systems designed to assess and collect payroll taxes.

In the United States, payroll taxes are imposed on all employers and employees. Specific payroll taxes include:

Income tax withholding: Income tax withholdings are assigned by the federal, state, and local governments. Employers are required to withhold tax from each paycheck paid to an employee in that particular jurisdiction. Contrary to what some people believe, income tax withholding payments aren’t technically viewed as final income tax payments; instead, they’re simply viewed as prepayments.

Social Security and Medicare taxes: After income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes tend to be the largest deductions from a paycheck. All employers and employees are required to deduct 6.2% of their wages for Social Security (up to a maximum of $110,100), and 1.45% of their wages for Medicare.

Unemployment Taxes: According to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act employers are required to contribute a percentage of their taxable income towards unemployment insurance. The specific amount varies from state to state. In addition to unemployment taxes, some states will also require disability insurance deductions from employers. Those states include California, New York, and Hawaii, among others.

How Much Do Americans Pay For Payroll Tax?

Americans often complain about high taxes. However, compared to other countries around the world, Americans pay relatively low income tax rates.

The highest marginal income tax rate in America is 39.6% for the highest tax bracket. However, income and payroll tax rates average out to a much lower percentage. Here’s how income tax typically breaks down in the United States:

• If you make an average income of $18,400 before taxes, your effective income and payroll tax rate will be 2.0%
• If you make an average of $42,500 before taxes, your effective income and payroll tax rate will be 9.1%
• If you make an average of $64,500 before taxes, your effective income and payroll tax rate will be 12.7%
• If you make an average of $94,100 before taxes, your effective income and payroll tax rate will be 15.7%
• If you make an average of $264,700 before taxes, your effective income and payroll tax rate will be 20.1%

Income tax brackets range from 10% for the lowest income tax bracket (less than $8,925 in income per year) to 39.6% for the highest tax bracket (over $400,000 in income per year).

How Does Payroll Tax Change From State To State?

Payroll tax varies widely from state to state. The top 10 states with the lowest tax rates are as follows:

1. Wyoming (No income tax)
2. South Dakota (No income tax)
3. Nevada (No income tax)
4. Alaska (No income tax)
5. Florida (No income tax)
6. Washington (No income tax)
7. Texas (No income tax)
8. Tennessee (6% income tax rate on all income from stocks and bonds, although wages are not taxed)
9. New Hampshire (5% tax on interest and dividend income, although wages are not taxed)
10. Utah (Flat 5% income tax rate at all brackets)

On the other hand, some states have unusually high income tax rates. California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and Oregon all have exceptionally high income tax rates.

Which Payroll Taxes Are Legally Required For Employers In The United States?

Americans companies are required to pay the following payroll tax deductions:

• Social security taxes (6.2% up to the annual maximum payment, which changes from year-to-year)
• Medicare taxes (1.45% of employee wages)
• Federal Unemployment Taxes (FUTA)
• State Unemployment Taxes (SUTA)

As mentioned above, some states require additional deductions. It’s important to remember that total payroll taxes for social security and Medicare are twice the above percentages: employers and employees split a total deduction amount of 15.3%. This deduction about is called FICA, which stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act.

FICA is split between the employer and the employee. The employer pays 6.2% of social security taxes and 1.45% of Medicare taxes, and the employee also pays 6.2% of social security taxes and 1.45% of Medicare taxes for a total of 15.3%.

Those who are self-employed do not avoid paying this 15.3% total. Instead, since those who are self-employed are both employers and employees, which means they are required to pay the entire 15.3% charge.

Which Payroll Tax Deductions Are Voluntary For Employers In the United States?

Not all payroll tax deductions are required by law. Many employers charge additional payroll tax deductions based on scheduled benefit plans, health insurance premiums, retirement plan premiums, or employee meals, equipment, and union dues.

Here are some examples of voluntary payroll tax deductions assigned by employers:

• Health insurance premiums for medical, dental, and eye care insurance plans
• Life insurance premiums
• Employee stock purchase plans, including ESPP and ESOP deductions
• Employee equipment, meals, uniforms, training fees, job-related expenses, and union dues
• Retirement plan contributions, including 401(k) plans

Obviously, just because a payroll tax deduction is considered voluntary does not mean that it’s optional for the employee to pay that charge.

What Is The Best Way To Report And Pay Payroll Tax?

Federal law requires employers to provide all employees with annual reports on income tax deductions. These annual reports are known as IRS Form W-2 statements and disclose all wages paid over the fiscal year as well as federal, state, and local tax withholdings. A copy of this statement must be sent to the IRS and certain states also require copies.

In terms of the best way to pay payroll tax, employers are required to use electronic funds transfer (EFTPS) to make all federal tax deposits. There are no other options.

How To Accurately Report And Manage Payroll Tax Data Using Payroll Software

Managing payroll taxes can be one of the biggest headaches of running a business. Even in a business with just four or five employees, payroll taxes can take up a significant amount of time and distract employers from the more important parts of running a business.

That’s why the majority of employers choose to use some sort of payroll tax software. Payroll tax software is available at a number of different price levels. Payroll tax software is designed to perform a few essential functions for your business:

• Accurately manage payroll tax data and information
• Send invoices to clients
• Manage direct deposit information for employees
• Manage, monitor, and send paychecks to employees
• Track hours and overtime for employees and contractors

Today’s payroll software programs are better than ever before. Most services come with mobile apps and desktop software programs that let employers easily manage payroll data wherever they go. Cloud computing makes this process as secure and convenient as possible.

You won’t find any good free payroll software out there. Payroll software should be seen as a necessary cost of doing business. Even if you do find free payroll software, it’s unlikely to provide accurate tax information or secure payroll management services.

With that in mind, employers can typically expect to pay between $20 to $100 per month for good payroll software. Software at the lower end of that budget may come with only a basic range of features, while the higher budget range may allow you to manage dozens of employees using a wide array of features and invoicing options.

Payroll software lets you avoid learning the intricacies of payroll taxes and payroll tax law. Instead of searching up specific tax information for your state or locality, you can simply enter all information into the payroll tax software.

Then, when each pay period is complete, the software will deduct contributions from the employee’s paycheck and send out funds via direct deposit or paycheck. Payroll software is automatically configured to deduct the appropriate FICA totals and other deductions from employee paychecks according to the state in which the business is located. Employers may also choose to configure the software to remove additional voluntary deductions for insurance premiums, stock purchase plans, or equipment costs.

What Is The Penalty For Avoiding or Misrepresenting Payroll Tax?

Contrary to what some people seem to believe, you can’t just ignore tax payments. The cliché about death and taxes is true: they’re both unavoidable.

With that in mind, those who don’t pay their taxes in a “timely and proper” manner are assessed a penalty of 2% to 10%. Additionally, certain states and local governments may apply more penalties on top of that. If you or an employer fails to file monthly and quarterly tax returns, still more penalties may apply.

Al Capone famously went to jail for tax evasion and you could go to jail too if you don’t pay your taxes. Anyone who has not paid federal income tax or Social Security taxes to the IRS may be assessed a penalty of up to 100% of the amount not paid. This penalty can apply to the employer as well as the employee. If you do not pay these taxes, you may be charged with tax evasion and convicted of a criminal offense.

Important Payroll Tax Due Dates

Employers must follow a series of strict due dates in order to avoid incurring penalties from the IRS. Those due dates include:

By January 31:

• File Form 940, which explains the Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return. If you have already deposited all of your FUTA tax when it was due, then you have 10 additional calendars days to file Form 940.
• File Form 943, which details the Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees. If your business paid wages to any farmworkers, and those wages were subject to social security and Medicare taxes, then you’ll need to fill out Form 943.
• File Form 944, which covers the Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return for the previous calendar year. Form 944 is only required if the IRS has notified you in writing to submit Form 944. Otherwise, proceed with a normal Form 941 statement, which is the Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return statement due by April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31.
• File Form 945, which covers the Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax. This form is used to report any non-payroll income tax that was withheld in the previous year. Just like with Form 940, employers have 10 extra days to file Form 945 if they have deposited all taxes when due.
• File Form W-2, which is the Wage and Tax Statement and reports all wages, tips, and compensation paid to an employee during the previous calendar year

By February 28:

Note: The February 28 due date only applies for forms submitted by paper. For all electronically-submitted forms, proceed to the March 31 due date.

• File Copy A of all paper Forms 1099 with the IRS with Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns.
• File Copy A of all paper Forms W-2 with the Social Security Administration (SSA) with Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements.
• File paper Form 8027, which details the Employer’s Annual Information Return of Tip Income and Allocated Tips, with the IRS.

By March 31:

• File electronic Forms 1099 and 8027 with the IRS
• File electronic Forms W-2 with the Social Security Administration

By April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31:

File Form 941, which is the Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax return. This form will cover the fourth quarter of the previous calendar year. The January 31 deadline will be extended by 10 additional days if you have deposited all your taxes when due.

For more information about payroll tax, payroll due dates, and downloadable IRS forms, visit this page at IRS.gov.

Payroll Tax Deposit Schedules

Payroll tax deposit due dates vary depending on your deposit schedule. There are two deposit schedules, including monthly and semi-weekly schedules. You must identify which schedule you need to follow at the beginning of each calendar year. Your tax schedule is assigned based on your company’s total tax liability as reported on Form 941 in the lookback period. You can read more these rules in this official IRS document.

Monthly payroll tax deposit rules: Monthly deposit schedules require employers to deposit payroll taxes and deductions from the previous month on the 15^th day of the following month. If you are on a monthly deposit schedule, you’ll only need to report those deposits on a quarterly or annual basis depending on whether you file a Form 941 or Form 944.

Semi-weekly payroll tax deposit rules: The semiweekly payroll tax deposit rules state that employers must deposit deductions and payroll taxes for payments made on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday by the following Wednesday. Payments made on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and/or Tuesday require deposits to be made by the following Friday. Just like with monthly payroll tax deposits, employers only need to report these deposits quarterly or annually depending on whether you file a Form 941 or Form 944.

FUTA deposit schedule: FUTA taxes need to be deposited by the last day of the first month that follows the end of the quarter. If the last day of that month falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, then that deposit can be made the following business day.

Payroll Tax Resources

If you want to learn more about which payroll taxes you should be paying, then the best resource to look at is the IRS.gov website. The IRS publishes all relevant payroll tax information here. That information explains payroll tax for employers including important due dates, depositing and reporting information, and e-file tax forms.

Otherwise, the best payroll tax resource is your very own payroll software, which will help you avoid manually digging around for tax forms online. Payroll software helps you avoid countless payroll-related headaches and instantly see which taxes and deductions are legally required for wherever your business is located.

Furthermore, payroll software also keeps you up-to-date on the latest payroll tax due dates. The best software sends you alerts long before important forms are due and will even fill out these forms for you based on employer and employee information.

Conclusion

Ultimately, payroll tax isn’t nearly as complicated as many people think. Payroll tax involves just a few simple charges: FICA, income tax withholdings, and unemployment taxes.

The payroll tax question becomes more complicated when you look at taxes on a state-by-state level, but the general principal remains the same: payroll taxes are a necessary part of doing business and must be paid by both the employee and the employer of companies operating in the United States.

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Want a better idea of just how massive the IRS is? Today, we’re looking at some of the most amazing facts behind America’s Internal Revenue Service.

-In 1918, towards the end of the First World War, the IRS assessed a top income tax rate of 77% to help finance the war effort.

-The IRS wasn’t known as the Internal Revenue Service until the 1950s, when the name was changed from the Bureau of Internal Revenue to the Internal Revenue Service we know today.

-The first Form 1040 appeared in 1913, the same year the 16th Amendment was officially ratified in order to charge Americans an income tax.

-America’s first income tax charged a 1% tax on net personal incomes above $3,000, including an additional 6% tax on incomes over $500,000. A 1% tax doesn’t sound bad – especially when you consider 90% of Americans earned less than the $3,000 threshold at this time, which means they paid 0 taxes (Source: IRS.gov)

-America’s first income tax predates the IRS. The first income tax was created by President Lincoln in 1862, who created the tax to help finance the US Civil War. At the same time, President Lincoln created a position called the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Within a few years of the end of the war, America’s first income tax was abolished.

-In fiscal year 2015, the IRS collected 148,840,642 individual income tax returns, as well as 2,216,263 corporation income tax returns. They collected an additional 1,025,498 excise taxes, 237,706 gift taxes, and 36,343 estate taxes.

-A total of 16,158 corporations declared assets of more than $250 million on their corporate returns in fiscal year 2015.

-The top 1% of Americans (in terms of taxable income) earn $465,626 per year on average

-The top 10% of Americans earn $133,445 per year on average

-The average individual refund amount for tax year 2014 was $2,854

-The state with the highest number of returns with an adjusted gross income (AGI) over $1 million was California (65,845 people declaring income over $1 million), while the state with the fewest returns over $1 million was Vermont.

-93.6% of Americans e-filed their taxes in tax year 2014 (Source: IRS.gov)

-The top 1% of Americans pay a larger share of the federal income tax burden than the bottom 90% combined. Specifically, the top 1% of taxpayers paid 35.1% of all income taxes, with an average tax rate of 23.5%.

-The top 1% of America consists of about 1.36 million taxpayers, compared to about 122 million taxpayers in the bottom 90% (Source: TaxFoundation.org)

-In 2013, every income group aside from the top 1% of taxpayers reported a higher income than they did in 2012.

-In 2012, the top 50% of all taxpayers (69.2 million taxpayers) paid 97.2% of all income taxes. The bottom 50% paid the remaining 2.8%.

Ultimately, IRS statistics provide us with interesting insight into how one of the world’s largest tax organizations works.

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The payroll solutions industry is constantly changing. Switching to a new payroll provider may seem like a pointless hassle – until you realize that you can save hundreds or thousands of dollars per month.

With that in mind, we’re going to help you pick the best payroll solution for businesses and entrepreneurs.

4 Best Payroll Solution For Businesses & Entrepreneurs

Intuit Online Payroll – Payroll Solution

Any time you look up payroll software rankings online, you’ll typically find Intuit Online Payroll at the top of the list. The company’s popular online payroll service syncs perfectly with QuickBooks over the cloud – so there’s no need to double enter your company’s information.

In fact, the moment you submit payroll data through Intuit Online Payroll, that data will be reflected in QuickBooks (and vice versa). Obviously, Intuit Online Payroll isn’t the only payroll solution that syncs with QuickBooks (they all do), but it syncs with QuickBooks better than the rest.

The pricing is also extremely competitive. If you’re a small business or entrepreneur who hasn’t yet purchased accounting software or payroll software, then you can bundle both QuickBooks and Intuit Online Payroll together to save 50% off the price of both.

Here are some of the features of the Intuit Online Payroll solution you should know about:

Low Pricing

We already mentions that bundling Online Payroll with QuickBooks can save you 50% off the price of both. But even if you already own QuickBooks, Intuit Online Payroll is very affordable. Intuit Online Payroll is priced at $31.20 per month plus $2 per month per employee. There’s a cheaper version available for a base rate of $20 per month, although this version will not calculate or submit payroll taxes for you (it just provides basic W-2 form support). Intuit’s pricing isn’t the cheapest or more expensive in the industry, but it is very reasonable and strikes a competitive middle ground.

Full Payroll Tax Support (With Some Paid Extras)

You’re buying payroll solutions like Intuit Online Payroll because you want the software to handle all aspects of your payroll. With Intuit Online Payroll, your monthly subscription gives you full payroll tax support with local, state, and federal governments. However, you will need to pay extra for filing anything beyond W-2 forms (1099 contractor e-files on Intuit Online Payroll cost you an extra $14.99 per month, for example).

Works Around the World

Intuit’s Online Payroll software is available in countries all over the world. Many of the other solutions on this list only cater to American customers. Intuit Online Payroll’s supported countries include Canada, Australia, France, Ireland, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, India, Singapore, Philippines, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.

Scalable Plans to Meet Your Needs

Intuit Online Payroll comes with three different plans to meet the needs of businesses of all different sizes. Those plans include Intuit Online Payroll Basic, Enhanced, and Full Service. The Basic plan lets you submit payroll data every pay period but will not submit or file taxes for you. The Enhanced version lets you run a complete payroll every pay period. The Full Service plan, which is the most expensive, actually gives you a dedicated Intuit employee who will run your payroll for you.

Guaranteed Tax Penalty Coverage

If you subscribe to the Intuit Online Payroll Full Service plan, then you’ll get a tax penalty guarantee. That guarantee means you are protected from all tax penalties assessed while using Intuit Online Payroll. If your business is penalized for an incorrect submission or a missed deadline, then Intuit will pay this penalty for you.

User-Friendly Interface

The same interface that made QuickBooks famous can also be found in Intuit Online Payroll. Intuit is famous for making intuitive UIs (get it?). The web-based interface is good (there’s no desktop software, it’s all web-based), but the mobile apps are where this Online Payroll solution truly shines. There are Online Payroll apps available for both iOS and Android.

30 Day Free Trial

Like all good online payroll companies, Intuit Online Payroll comes with a 30 day free trial. That free trial gives you full access to the system for 30 days without needing to pay a dime.

Ultimately, Intuit Online Payroll is the best payroll program for small businesses who have grown attached to QuickBooks. Yes, all other payroll software also integrates with QuickBooks, but Online Payroll is particularly good at it – especially when syncing everything over the cloud.

Gusto – Payroll Solution

If you haven’t heard of Gusto, then don’t worry: the software was known as ZenPayroll until September 2015, when the company underwent a sudden rebranding.

Gusto is essentially the same as ZenPayroll (the company mostly rebranded because it’s branching into health insurance and workers’ compensation in addition to payroll). Today, Gusto is available in all 50 states (ZenPayroll was once only supported in 26 states). It provides feature-rich payroll services at a price that’s slightly higher than the competitors on this page.

Some of the important things to know about the Gusto payroll solution include:

Pricing

Gusto is priced at a $29 base rate, which is relatively cheap. The price per employee, however, is relatively expensive at $6 per employee per month. Smaller companies with 5 to 10 employees will find that Gusto is priced similarly to other competitors, but larger companies might end up paying significantly more (Intuit charges $2 per extra employee per month, for example, while OnPay charges $1). That being said, everything is included in this plan, so there’s no need to pay extra for services like W-2s, W-3s, or 1099 contractor support.

User-Friendly UI

Gusto has popular features like the ZenPayroll Employee App for Chrome that gives employees access to their pay history, paystubs, and information from an easy online interface. The company actually doesn’t use apps for iOS and Android because it doesn’t want sensitive information stored on users’ phones (it would prefer storing this information on its own secure online servers). Nevertheless, you can easily access Gusto from any mobile device through your web browser and perform all the payroll features you need.

Excellent Customer Service and Support

Gusto has plenty of customer support option available online, including toll-free phone and email. But the best part about Gusto’s customer service is the extensive online database of tutorials, videos, and more. Most payroll software customer service departments have a FAQs section, but support beyond that is limited. Gusto takes customer service to the next level.

AutoPilot

Arguably the most popular feature of Gusto/ZenPayroll is the AutoPilot function. As the name suggests, AutoPilot lets you automatically run payroll at scheduled periods. Your payroll will run just as it normally would, and you’ll receive notifications once the payroll is complete. Hands-on business owners may not use this functionality, but it’s a good option for business owners who like a hands-off approach.

2 Month Free Trial

As part of the rebranding to Gusto, the company now offers a 2 month free trial. The industry standard is 30 days, so Gusto offers a free trial that’s twice as long as most of its competitors.

Bonus Features Included in the Price

Gusto charges a higher per-employee monthly rate than most of its competitors. However, it also includes more features than many of its competitors. Key features include email paystubs for employees, employee self-reporting, automatic new hire reporting, and automated tax filings. You can view the full list of included Gusto features here: https://zenpayroll.com/features

Ultimately, if you want your payroll to run on autopilot, and don’t mind paying a little extra for it, then ZenPayroll/Gusto is an excellent option that is packed with plenty of features.

OnPay – Payroll Solution

OnPay is another popular payroll solution that is particularly popular among small businesses. The company handles all of your payroll taxes for you and charges a competitive flat rate fee of $40 per month (that rate includes up to 10 employees).

OnPay’s payroll solution key features include:

Pricing

With OnPay, businesses pay a flat rate of $40 per month. That rate includes 10 employees for free. You can add additional employees for $1 each. That’s the cheapest per-employee rate in the industry. For most businesses, OnPay will be the most cost-effective option.

Full Tax Services

OnPay’s full lineup of tax services make it easy to file all applicable local, state, and federal taxes. All payroll software is expected to do this, so this is no surprise. OnPay also files quarterly and annual payroll returns to the appropriate tax authorities on behalf of your business.

Mobile Friendly

OnPay, like Gusto, does not offer any mobile apps of its own. The software does, however, offer a great mobile website that basically functions like an app. As mentioned above, many payroll solutions avoid offering apps because it means sensitive employee data has to be stored on a phone, which could lead to a potentially devastating data leak. By storing everything on the mobile site, OnPay avoids this problem. In any case, you’ll be easily able to run payroll using iOS, Android, Windows, and other devices.

Guarantee

One of the benefits of working with OnPay is that you get an accuracy guarantee: instead of worrying about tax deadlines and amounts, you can relax knowing that your business’s taxes and forms will be filed on-time every time. And even if they’re not, and OnPay messes up with a deadline or an amount, then the company will pay all of your penalties for you. That’s how confident OnPay is that it will not make a mistake.

OnPay is affordably-priced for small businesses and offers attractive benefits like a tax penalty guarantee. As one of the newest members on the payroll scene (OnPay was launched in 2011), OnPay is backed by 30 years of payroll experience from its parent company, Payroll Center, Inc.

Patriot Payroll Software – Payroll Solution

Patriot Payroll is very close to OnPay in terms of low pricing. For most small businesses (under 20 employees), Patriot will be the cheaper option (although OnPay is cheaper for larger companies).

Here are the most important things to know about the Patriot Payroll solution:

Pricing

Patriot’s Online Payroll software starts at $10 per month for the Basic Payroll plan. That’s not a bad price – although the Basic plan is relatively limited. You’ll only pay $10 per month if you have one employee. Companies with 5 employees will pay $18 per month, while companies with 10 employees will pay $27.85 per month.

Basic Payroll Versus Full Service Payroll

The most important thing to know about Patriot Payroll is that there’s an enormous difference between the Basic and Full Service plans. The Basic plan includes free direct deposit or printable checks, printable W-2s, and an employee portal (this is the place priced at $10 per month). The Full Service Payroll plan, however, includes the ability to file local, state, and federal taxes (these plans start at $25 per month, or $60.80 per month for a company with 10 employees).

Comprehensive Guarantee

Worried about tax penalties? Patriot has a comprehensive guarantee that your tax reports will be filed on time. If they’re not, and Patriot Payroll is at-fault, then they will pay your penalty.

Free Trial and Free Demoes Available

Patriot Software is the only payroll solution on this list to offer both a free trial and a free demo. You’ll need to create a free membership for both, but the free demo lets you play around with the UI before you start entering company information. It’s a good way to check if you like the software before you decide to buy it.

Add-Ons

Patriot Payroll comes with two add-ons that aren’t always available with other payroll software: Time & Attendance and HR Software. The Time & Attendance add-on starts at $5 per month and is a complete online time and attendance system that lets employees track their own hours easily. The HR Software add-on starts at $4 per month and includes features like paperless records for your employees, tracking of employees’ employment history, employee census data, and the ability to share important documents with employees.

Patriot Software is a feature-rich payroll solution for businesses and entrepreneurs that is surprisingly low-priced. The free demo makes it easy to see if you like the software long before you have to enter any payment information.

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