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Do You Know About the Social Security Wage Base?
Determine if you are withholding as much as you should be and when to stop. Social Security tax is a tax that applies to both employees and employers. As an employer, you are required to withhold a certain percentage of each employee’s paycheck and to make a matching contribution. Social Security tax does not change each year (with a few exceptions). However, the case is not the same as... -
4 Reasons You Should Not Handle Payroll Alone
A risk not worth taking. Payroll is a vital part of your business but handling it all by yourself could cost you more than you may expect. Here are some of the biggest reasons you should not process payroll solo. Payroll Rules in Different States If you have multiple locations across state lines, you may find yourself facing an in-house nightmare when it comes to payroll rules and trying... -
Worker Classification: Consider All Aspects of Your Work Relationship
How to avoid the headaches associated with misclassifying your workers. The Department of Labor makes a big deal out of businesses who misclassify their workers, whether purposefully or accidentally. The IRS stands ready to penalize and fine those who do so. The act of misclassification can also result in a violation of workers’ compensation laws and a liability for unemployment taxes, along with many other issues. To help you... -
Strategic Partnerships for Small Business
One of the biggest strengths that small and medium-sized businesses have over their larger corporate competitors is the ability to engage with the local community in truly authentic and personalized ways. This is commonly exemplified quite clearly through the relationships you build with customers and clients. However, an alternative opportunity for community engagement — both incredibly powerful and frequently overlooked — exists in the form of other local organizations.... -
Surviving Low Cash Flow – 3 tips and tricks to keep your business afloat until better times arrive.
The holiday season is here, and the official start of Winter is right around the corner. For winter-oriented businesses such as ski resorts and coat/jacket manufacturers, these months probably represent peak season — a time with lots of sales, success, and cash flow. At the same time, summer-oriented businesses such as ice cream shops and water-gear rental facilities are likely dealing with the down season. Relatively few sales are... -
3 Workplace Safety Rules Business Owners Should Understand
As an employer, you are subject to dozens of federal, state, and local laws regulating your professional relationship with your employees. Some such laws deal with firing and hiring, for example — while others govern wages, overtime, discrimination/harassment, etc. One of the most extensive and important sets of regulations surrounding your business, of course, are safety laws. Though there is no substitute for carefully studying and meticulously complying with... -
Staying Compliant with New Ban the Box Laws
Across the nation, state and city governments are passing laws forbidding employers from inquiring about criminal record status until late in the hiring process. In fact, even the federal government has taken a position — federal employee applications no longer include questions regarding conviction status. At this rate, it appears as if, sooner or later, criminal records may be added in some form or another to legal non-discrimination lists... -
Is Your Company Data Safe and Secure?
Ransomware — a malicious cyber attack in which criminals hijack your personal data and threaten to publish and/or permanently delete it unless a fee is paid — is skyrocketing in popularity. In 2015, roughly 3.8 million ransomware attacks were reported globally. 2016 saw more than 638 million attacks. (In other words, an average week in 2016 saw more than triple the ransomware attacks that occurred in the entire year... -
Looking for Ways to Improve your Company’s Productivity? Look no Further than Promoting Employee Health!
The stats are clear when it comes to the subject of employee health. A recent study conducted at Brigham Young University, for example, showed that both exercise and diet can significantly improve a person’s productivity. Just as importantly, studies have also shown that poor health can cost employers large amounts of money in a variety of ways. In this article, we will take a quick look at a few... -
Five Things to Stress When Training New Employees
Effective employee training strategies are important for many reasons. They help you get a maximum return on the investment you make through your payroll, for starters. Just as importantly, training helps you remain compliant with safety regulations and industry standards. Last but not least, proper training procedures help guarantee a quality customer experience. In this article, we will cover a few of the most important aspects of effective employee...