By Stephanie Elsen

There are two things you know for sure about payroll. 1. Employees want their checks on time. 2. The government wants to receive their tax payments on time. Both are serious and important reasons for choosing wisely when selecting payroll software or a payroll service. Making the mistake of choosing the first or cheapest payroll option can result in frustration, and more importantly can hinder your ability to pay employees and the government on time! Here are some real things to look for when searching for a payroll company.

Service. Are you frequently in a hurry to get payroll completed? Many businesses are! What happens when you run into a problem the day that you are doing payroll? Maybe, at the last minute, you need to set up a brand new pay code or an employee garnishment and you need some help. Who will be there to help you? Be sure you choose a payroll company that offers excellent service. And make sure that service team is available and knows what they are doing! While you are sitting there reading this blog post, it might not seem important. But when the time actually comes, you will be thankful for choosing a payroll company that can really help you when you need it.

Options for paying employee taxes. You need to pay employee taxes by a certain date. If not, your company will be faced with dreaded fines! Be sure you can get the information you need out of your payroll system, so that you can send tax payments to the appropriate party in a timely manner. More and more states are requiring tax filing to be done online, instead of via printed forms. Make sure you have the options within your payroll software that can help you accomplish this!

Of course features are also extremely important within your payroll software or system. Once you find a payroll system that has all the features you need, be sure that company can also provide the service and tax filing capabilities you need to pay your employees and make tax payments in a timely manner!