Saturday, May 4, 2013

Bookkeeping And Payroll Services Can Assist Small Businesses

By Mona Moody


Bookkeeping and payroll services can save time and money for business owners and individuals alike. There are many benefits to utilizing this type of service. Even someone who is knowledgeable in these areas may wish to hire someone else to complete these tasks quite simply for the peace of mind that a professional is handling them.

Bookkeepers will use accounting software such as QuickBooks to record the daily transactions of a business, such as purchases, sales, payments, and both accounts receivable and payable. They will also keep track of financial transactions for individuals. Bank and credit card statement reconciliation are also offered. Everything is entered into the software which organizes it into accounts and journals.

Even though bookkeepers probably do not have a four-year degree in accounting, they are overseen by those who do. One can therefore trust that work is done accurately and in line with accounting principles and local and state laws. This becomes extremely important when filing taxes and other time-sensitive documents.

One chore business owners have to deal with, if they have employees, is the processing of payroll. This can become complicated quickly, as one needs to know how much tax to withhold, proper care of social security and Medicare taxes, as well as retirement contributions and wage garnishments. A payroll service can help with this and more.

A payroll service can figure the proper amount of taxes and determine the amounts each worker is paid. They can also print checks for the business and distribute these. They also deal with direct deposits, which many employees prefer. This service can also issue W-2s at the end of the year and keep W-4 forms organized. This can save the business owner a lot of time and prevent the need to hire someone whose sole function is to generate paychecks.

Payroll companies and bookkeepers also can create reports for managers and owners. These can show how the money is used, how much employees make, and how much revenue is generates. Their meticulous records also ensure that calculating and filing taxes goes smoothly, due mostly to the fact that everything is already organized. No longer will the owner or manager have to sift through a shoebox full of receipts to file taxes or wonder where the money is spent.

Processing paychecks and recording receivables and expenses can use up to 40% of a business owner's time. Using this type of service just makes good business sense. These services can, in many cases, be familiar with the software the company uses, which makes integration easier between the service, owners, and managers. Some services specialize in particular industries, such as agriculture or car dealers and have the appropriate software for each.

Some bookkeeping and payroll services even offer training for employees for certain types of accounting software. They can also assist in organization and cleanup of files and information related to such software. A bookkeeping service is also cheaper than hiring a CPA, and will work with them in relation to generating financial statements and filing tax returns. A service can save time and money regardless of the size of the business or number of employees.




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