Payroll is a necessary process that ensures a business’ employees are paid correctly and on time. It also helps ensure that the company is compliant with tax and financial laws. But while this responsibility is a critical one, it’s not always easy for business owners to manage. In these cases, a qualified accountant can provide payroll services to help. To shed more light on the benefits of this assistance, here are a few ways that a professional accountant can support payroll operations.  

5 Payroll Responsibilities That Accountants Can Oversee

1. Check Generation

Accountants use specialized software to process employee and salary data accurately. These programs can also be used to print checks so that you can distribute them to your team in a timely fashion. Also, these professionals will organize employee access to pay stub records and direct deposit.

2. Tax Withholding

Businesses must make sure all payroll tax requirements are met for each employee. Accountants can streamline this process by precisely calculating employee withholdings for federal, state, Social Security, and Medicare taxes. They can also determine the employment taxes that your business is responsible for—such as those that cover federal and state unemployment.

3. Time Reports

If you have hourly employees, accountants can set you up with a time-tracking application that allows individuals to record the hours when they’re on the job. While these records will make it even easier to process payroll, they can also help you, and your accountant monitors various payroll expenses—such as overtime and expenses.

4. Benefits Processing

If benefits are partially covered by employee salary, payroll services can make sure these funds are properly deducted from each check. They can also assist with the distribution of benefits—such as retirement, health savings, and insurance. With a full grasp on the overall impact on these company expenses, your accountant can help you explore ways to maximize benefits while minimizing their overall costs for the business.

5. Thorough Documentation

Many laws dictate how businesses should record expenses and employment activities. Many accounting professionals—such as CPAs—maintain current knowledge of these laws to ensure you’re payroll records are up-to-date and compliant.

When business accounting becomes a burden for your workplace, STL Tax offers comprehensive payroll services to simplify the process. Serving commercial clients throughout the St. Louis, MO area for more than 15 years, this firm understands how to process payroll quickly and accurately. As certified public accountants, these professionals are also adept in many other financial services---including business tax return preparation, QuickBooks® bookkeeping, and consulting. To learn more about their capabilities, visit these CPAs online or call (314) 645-1614.