Rachel Blakely-Gray

Running payroll can be confusing. Although it’s natural to have payroll questions when starting out, you can’t afford to get tripped up when it comes to gross vs. net pay. Knowing the difference between gross and net pay impacts employee wages, payroll withholdings, recordkeeping, and even employer laws.

New employees must complete Form W-4 before they start working at your business. With Form W-4, employees input information that determines their federal income tax withholding, which allows you to run payroll. To adjust their withholding, employees must change W-4 forms.

Paid time off (PTO), including vacation days, sick days, and holidays, is a popular employee benefit. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 77% of employees receive paid vacation days, 77% receive paid sick leave, and 79% receive paid holidays. But when employees don’t use up their PTO, they’re left with accrued time off.

From time to time, employees miss work. Expecting employees to come in every day throughout the year is likely unrealistic. But when employees make a habit of missing work unexpectedly, their absences can set your business back. Learn how to calculate your business’s absenteeism rate to reduce absenteeism in the workplace.

This article has been updated to include 2022 tax information. As an employer, you must stay on top of your payroll responsibilities, including federal, state, and local taxes and deductions. If you are an employer with employees who work in Washington state, you need to know about the Washington paid family leave program.

Unhappy with your current payroll provider? Most business owners agree that running payroll is their most difficult business task. With payroll being such a complicated but necessary business function, it makes sense that you’d want a simple solution. But, isn’t switching payroll companies hard?

Your payroll records are chock-full of the personally identifiable information (PII) you need. Unfortunately, hackers also want that data. As an employer, you must secure your payroll records against a potential PII breach. And if one does occur, you need to take swift action.

Calculate wages. Withhold taxes. Repeat. That’s the cycle of running payroll for you. But every so often, you’ll get a curveball that changes tax rates. And if an employee earns beyond a certain amount, that curveball is the additional Medicare tax.

Deciding how to pay your employees takes careful consideration. Not only do you need to think about what payment methods for employees you will use (e.g., direct deposit vs. paper checks), but you also need to consider the types of wages you will provide.