As a small, privately owned business, we at Dominion understand all too well that if you want to expand your reach and grow financially, it is vital to have smooth and efficient processes in place. These processes can range from onboarding to employee retention to internal trainings, and of course, payroll. These processes have to be streamlined if you want your product or service to run smooth. The faster a business grows, the more problems come along, including data security, remote access, and having sufficient backup data. These are all concerns that business owners have to constantly be thinking about.

When candidates are interviewing for a position within your company, they try their best to make a good first impression with you. Once you decide on a candidate and hire them, it becomes your turn to make a good impression on them. You can do this by creating a good onboarding process. There is a lot of research out there on tips to creating an effective onboarding process, but have you heard of the common mistakes people make? Here are a few mistakes you should avoid during the onboarding process.

As you may already know, there are many different types of payroll processing: ranging from in-house to outsourcing, to even using a CPA. You’ve probably have heard of many different payroll service companies, but do you know exactly what they do and what they offer? Just like their name suggests, payroll companies ensure that employees are paid on time and that all of the employers stay compliant. Obviously, payroll is more than just writing checks, and a good payroll company will offer more than just that. Depending on the size of the company and the software’s capabilities, there are a variety of different things that payroll companies do for their customers.

In this day and age, nearly everything we do in our day-to-day life is done digitally. This includes most of our banking, accounting, social interacting, and even dating. With so much of our personal information hanging out there in the cloud, sometimes a flimsy password isn’t sufficient when it comes to keeping that information private. This is especially true if you’re like me and you only have one password that you alter here and there to adhere to different password requirements. This can be particularly dangerous with the major increase in hacking technology that has occurred over recent years. Common practices like my one-password-fits-all method or the ever helpful (yet horribly unsafe) notebook that holds every password you’ve ever created in one spot are not the only “weak links” when it comes to online security.

When your General Ledger is out of balance, it can create a stressful headache. With these brief suggestions and specific reports, you will be able to solve the puzzle in no time. Once you have discovered the issue, you can simply call Client Solutions at Dominion Systems to assign the missing piece. Then you’ll be able to relax your shoulders, ease your mind, and continue on with your busy day, stress-free from the General Ledger. Keep in mind, the following information is specific to Dominion’s software, but is very similar to what other software service companies have.

Payroll is a very important aspect of nearly every business, so choosing the best payroll services is imperative. Running payroll is not only about ensuring employees get compensated, but also about making sure their hours are accurate and that the company is staying compliant. There are a wide variety of payroll services out there, so I would like to give you some information that can help you make the best decision.

It doesn’t matter if you’re starting a new business, newly managing an existing one, or have been in the same position for years, it’s never a bad idea to re-evaluate your processes to make sure you’re running your business to the fullest extent. You know better than anybody how much work it takes to keep things in order, and since not all companies are run the same, it’s important to find a process that works for you. However, that doesn’t mean you have to do it on your own. Keeping your paperwork in order, monitoring your employee’s time and attendance, evaluating client needs, maintaining open communication, and measuring the success of your company on a global and personal scale, you’re probably willing to utilize as many tools as possible. That’s why today I’m going to go over the top 5 tools you should be using in order to run your company better.

Tracking your employees’ hours is very important. It offers employers many benefits such as easier, faster, and more accurate payroll processing, more efficient work administrations, better record keeping, and more. According to Wasp Buzz, a survey revealed that 80% of workers admitted to time theft. This is because not using the proper time tracking systems, like using paper time cards, for instance, can lead to “buddy punching”, which contributes to thousands of dollars being lost each year by businesses. The best solution to this problem is to switch to an automated time and attendance tracking system. According to the American Payroll Association (APA), 65% of the organizations surveyed said they were either in the process of switching to, or already used, an automated time and attendance software to track their employees’ hours. So what are the benefits of switching to an automated time and attendance software? I’ll tell you.

Let’s face it, there isn’t a single payroll solution that works for every company across the board. There are many factors that go into making the best decision, ranging from company size to industry. In fact, even once you’ve narrowed it down to a single method of processing payroll there are still dozens of businesses and resources to choose from, so it isn’t difficult to find yourself using a means of processing payroll that is not the most efficient for your business. However, it’s important to consider all options to make sure you’re using the best method for your company. Here is a list of factors you should consider when narrowing down your payroll method, followed by a quiz you can take that’ll help you make that decision.

By now you have probably heard a lot about going paperless. If your company has already gone paperless, then great! If not, now is the time. There are many benefits of going paperless. Not only does it saves time, money, and the environment, but it also improves security and it makes processing payroll a lot easier. Payroll and Human Resources are industries that use a lot of paper, they are also industries that need to keep their data secure at all time, which is why we at Dominion, try our best to be paperless. Here are some benefits of going paperless:

Adding a new team member is much more than just filling an open position. Aside from the training and onboarding that comes with a new hire, you also need to report their employment to the designated state agency for which you reside. Failure to do so is a direct violation of The New Hire Reporting Program which was mandated by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. New hire reporting information can be used for a number of different reasons, the most common being the collection of child support, reveal fraud in unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation and welfare programs. 

First things first, compliance is everything in the back office. Whether you’re running the payroll, tracking employee hours, calculating who is eligible for ACA, or what have you, the key to success is making sure all your ducks are in a row. Issues with compliance can lead to hefty fines and working backward to correct what has been wronged. All-in-all, it should be avoided at all costs and with the help of a few tools, it can be for the most part. Even the most seasoned HR and payroll professionals can find themselves with a penalty due to error. 

Many employees whose jobs fall into the sales category are typically paid some sort of commission rate. Running payroll for these employees can involve some complex calculations, which is why it’s important that you find a payroll software that makes this process as simple as possible for you. If you’re new to processing payroll that involves commission, it’s important that you’re familiar with how it works. Commissions are typically based on a percentage of the total sales with the idea that the more sales that are made, the more money that goes into the employee’s pocket. Most commission-based jobs have a base salary, too, making calculations a little more complex.  

With the upcoming unknown that is the Department of Labor (DOL) Overtime Exemption update, it has become increasingly important to have an effective timekeeping system in place. If you are not familiar with the DOL Overtime Rule, it was scheduled to go into effect on December 1, 2016, but a federal judge has ruled against the regulation until further notice. At this point, we know that the overtime exemption rule has been blocked temporarily, but whether or not it will go into effect later, or will be modified, is anyone’s guess. Due to the unknown, it is best to be prepared for the changes to stay compliant. The best way to prepare yourself and your company is to track employee hours and pay based on hours worked. If you’re thinking about tracking employee hours in order to manually calculate paychecks, you’ll want to be mindful of a few things first. 

We at Dominion take security very seriously. Since we are a payroll and HR company, we keep our client’s personal information stored within our software and we take every precaution to make sure it is safe. Recent studies show that identity theft has become more common, and it is very hard, if not impossible, to completely eliminate. Social security numbers, addresses, bank account information, and wages are just some of the data that can be found within payroll softwares or departments. If by any chance this information gets in the wrong hands, your company’s reputation will be at risk, and so will your employees’ personal information. So what can you do to avoid this

Finding the right online payroll software that suits your business can be a long, arduous process, and it’s important that you don’t rush the decision and choose the wrong service. There are many factors you have to consider, which is why we’ve compiled a (mostly) unbiased list of everything you need to know about what an online payroll software is, what it offers, and how you can make the best decision when choosing one. 

With the year coming to a close, payroll and HR professionals are starting to prepare documents, such as W-2s, and audit a year’s worth of information in order to compile accurate employee data. Depending on your process and your employee size, this task can be daunting and can even take a few months time to complete. Whether you have a few questions about year-end, or you’re looking for a full on checklist, we can help you make a smooth transition into the New Year. 

If you’re looking into starting your own business, creating a payroll process can seem pretty daunting. On top of all the other aspects you have to consider, paying your future employees punctually and accurately may not seem like a top priority. However, even if you have just a single employee, setting up an innovative payroll system will allow you stay on top of your legal responsibilities as an employer and prevent your company from incurring penalties from the IRS. That is why I’ve broken down the major actions you will have to take into these five steps:

Next month is the month many employers are, and have been, dreading for quite some time now. On December 1, 2016, the overtime exemption rules will be updated to reflect a hefty pay increase for those workers who are exempt. Not sure what qualifies as an exempt employee? According to the American Payroll Association, an exempt employee is one who does not need to be paid the minimum wage or overtime pay; with this, the employer does not need to record details involving their work (such as hours worked). 

Jury duty is never fun, not for the person who has been summoned as a juror, and especially not for their employer who has to go on with one less employee. As an employer it can be extremely frustrating to have your staff pulled away for jury duty, but there isn’t much you can do about it other than disperse work to others in order to make up for that absence of the juror. The U.S. has a few provisions set in place to protect workers who do get called for jury duty in order to make sure their employment is not at jeopardy. 

Determining employee classification is a vital part of running your business. It can be easy to confuse an employee for an independent contractor and vice versa, but doing so will cause you a lot of problems later on.

Halloween is a time for spooks, scares, and a little bit of light-hearted fright. Whether you’re celebrating with candy, costumes, or simply enjoying the amazing pumpkin-flavored everything that comes with the season, you shouldn’t have to deal with a scary payroll. This year October 31st falls on a Monday, meaning many payroll and HR professionals will be working hard to get their employees’ checks processed to meet a Friday payday. 

If you’re an employer and you are considering hiring aliens (or have already done so), there are certain parameters you will need to be in compliance with in regards to the reporting and withholding of federal taxes. The first thing you will need to do is identify all aliens on the company’s payroll (an alien is considered any non-U.S. citizen).

As a new business owner, or someone managing employees for the first time, it can be confusing to know what is required when it comes to employee pay. The Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) requires employers to follow certain guidelines when it comes to wages, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and so on, but there are other areas of payroll that are not as tightly regulated and it can be a bit confusing to decipher between the two. 

Year-end is near which means it is time to start prepping for the Affordable Care Act reporting again. While many things have remained the same, there are a few changes you need to be aware of. Whether this is your first year reporting or you’re starting to feel like a seasoned pro, here are some bits of information to help guide you in the right direction.

What are the Department of Labor (DOL) changes? There are a few key revisions that will take place with the new DOL update, mostly of which will impact the salary and compensation amount for Executive, Administrative, and Professional workers to remain exempt. 

If you work in payroll or HR, chances are at some point you will be approached by a fellow colleague inquiring about their paycheck. This conservation will vary from employee to employee depending on their hourly rate, benefit elections, tax localities and so on. While it is not your job to make sure the employee knows exactly how to read their paystub, it is in everyone’s best interest for you to be able to guide them as to why certain amounts are being withheld.  

It used to be when you were shopping for payroll software all you were worried about was finding a solution to process your payroll; that is no longer the case, it seems (and for good reason). Now when you’re evaluating payroll software you’re looking for a system that can handle a little bit more. Does it have a time and attendance component? What about applicant tracking? It has become very clear that payroll and HR functions have slowly merged together over the past few years, so a system that can only tackle your payroll will no longer cut it. Adapting with that change, many software providers have added some bonus features into payroll that you may not be aware of. 

Business owners must make hundreds of decisions when first starting up. One of the first decisions they must make when beginning to hire employees is determining the company’s payment schedule. The most common frequencies in the United States are monthly, semi-monthly, biweekly, and weekly. Each of these has both advantages and disadvantages, so it is important to do your research before deciding which frequency to go with. 

As an Office Manager or HR Generalist, one of the most crucial parts of your job is ensuring an accurate payroll, which is easy if you have an intuitive software to work with, but this software doesn’t stop at the payroll level. If you have a great system in place for payroll, but a shaky process for tracking time then you are bound to run into problems. Once you find the right solution for your payroll you need to find software that will pair well with it. If you are finding yourself running into the problems listed below, it might just be time to start shopping for a new time and attendance software.