If you have a new business or a small business then your payroll needs will not be as extensive as larger companies.  However, not all businesses are the same so you still need to do some research to figure out what payroll features you need.

Are you in a hurry?

Don't even know where to start?

Just call us at (312) 574-0080 and we can get you setup on your new payroll system quickly and effortlessly.  Make sure to ask about a discount!

Where does Payroll fit in with my other systems?

• Sales / Marketing / Contact management - You can do this yourself with Excel and Email or you can move up to something like ACT.

• Front Office / Billing / Point of Sale - You may need something specific to your business such as practice management software for a law firm, or retail system for a store.

• Accounting / General Ledge / Accounts Payable / Accounts Receivable - You will need some software to keep track of your accounting so you will be able to do your taxes.  You can use something like QuickBooks for this.

• Payroll - Payroll's primary function is to pay your employees.  However, you will need to track your payroll in your accounting system at least at a high level.

What are my Payroll options?

• Manual - Theoretically you could do payroll manually.  You could use excel to calculate everything out, manually write checks, pay local, state and federal taxes, do W2s at the end of the year, etc but you would probably make mistakes and it would take a lot of your time.
• Accountant - You could pay your local accountant.  It would probably get done but it may be expensive.  You also might not be able to get hold of them particularly during tax season.
• In House Payroll Software - As long as you setup the software correctly and it downloaded the latest tax tables this might work until you had a payroll processing question and you had no one to ask.
• Online Payroll Company - This is a step up from your other options in that you can key in your payroll but they actually share responsibility for all the calculations and paying the taxes on time.  There are also live people you can talk to.  This option generally costs less than your accountant.

OK, I want to use an Online Payroll Company.  What are the main things to look for?

• Cost - Obviously cost of the service is key.  It might not always make sense to go with the cheapest.
• Functions and Features - You need to make sure they can support your job functions and have the features you need now and might need in the future.  Check here for some typical payroll job functions.  Check here for our list of payroll features. 
• Support - You must be able to talk to someone that you trust and is a payroll expert when you need them.  To get an idea of some of the questions that come up that your payroll service provider should be able to answer check our list of payroll questions here.

If you need help just call us at (312) 574-0080 to talk to someone about your payroll needs.