december2022january2023 - 10

FEATURE
COULD PAYROLL BE A PROFIT
CENTER FOR YOUR FIRM?
By Mary Girsch-Bock
IF YOU'RE LOOKING for a new profit center for your accounting or tax firm,
one area you may want to consider is payroll.
If you're already handling other financial
services such as taxes and financial planning,
adding payroll to the mix may be the logical
first step. And unlike other services your firm
may offer, payroll is a service that nearly all of
your business clients use, making it beneficial for
both you and your client if payroll services were
added to the mix.
WHY OFFER PAYROLL?
Payroll can be a pain point for many small business
owners who are overwhelmed with the
many legal and tax requirements that managing
payroll requires. Add to that the time it takes to
fix payroll mistakes, and a small business owner
can quickly become overwhelmed with processing
payroll in-house.
According to a survey completed by Sure
Payroll, 42% of small businesses still use in-house,
do-it-yourself methods to process payroll. Even
more alarming, only 36% of small business owners
said they were familiar with FICA, which is
a necessity for processing payroll. Mistakes are
another issue, with 32% of small business owners
admitting they've made payroll mistakes, typically
underpaying an employee.
With results like these, it's likely that many
businesses would be happy to forego processing
payroll by turning the complete process over to
an accounting firm. If offering payroll as a service
is starting to sound better, you might want to
use an online payroll service that does most of
the heaving lifting for you: processing checks
and direct deposits and ensuring that taxes are
handled properly.
ISN'T PAYROLL TOO EXPENSIVE?
Traditionally, payroll wasn't a viable option
for most CPA and accounting firms to offer,
because it required a lot of hours to process
and brought in too little revenue. But with
payroll services now offering online services,
the time it takes to prepare payroll has been
significantly reduced. Today's online payroll
services are all-inclusive, offering automated
payroll
runs, employee self-onboarding,
automatic tax calculations and payments, and
adherence to all updated rules and regulations;
both state and federal.
Even better, many of these same payroll
services offer an accountant version designed
specifically for firms looking to add payroll
services to their menu of offerings. If you're
interested in payroll services, it's important
that any online service you consider offers the
following features:
* A user dashboard - All payroll services offer
an administrative dashboard. Make sure the
service you're interested in offers one that
can manage multiple clients.
* Portals - Portals are used for everything
from submitting payroll information to
allowing clients and their employees access
to documents such as paystubs and historic
pay records. Portals can also be used to
update personal information or to change tax
or direct deposit information.
* Multi-user login - If you're looking at payroll
services, make sure that any service you're
considering allows both you and your clients
to access the system. This is particularly
important if you're interested in letting
your clients have some control over the
payroll process.
Instead of payroll services being all or
nothing, consider customizing services and
pricing for your clients, basing pricing on the
necessary work level involved. For example,
if your client's business is mainly hourly
employees who are paid weekly and earn tips,
the cost of offering payroll should be higher
than for a business with salaried employees
who are paid twice a month.
10 DECEMBER 2022/JANUARY 2023 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
PAYROLL SERVICE PROVIDERS
Here are just a few of the online payroll service
providers that offer special pricing and programs
for accounting professionals.
* Paychex
* Sure Payroll
* OnPay
* Rippling
* ADP
* AccountantsWorld Payroll Relief
* Gusto
Of course, these aren't the only online payroll
applications available, so be sure to do your own
research before committing to any program.
THE PLUS SIDE OF OFFERING
PAYROLL
While you will be taking on additional work, you'll
also be adding a year-round revenue stream to
your firm. And there are other benefits to offering
payroll services for both you and your clients.
For your firm:
* The ability to offer new clients an all-in-one
financial package
* Adding payroll can strengthen an existing
relationship
For your clients:
* Reassurance that payroll is being
handled properly
* Less administrative work and data entry
* Complete integration with other financial
management tools
If offering payroll services to your clients is
on your radar, why not take the first step and
contact online payroll services before the end
of the year? ■
Mary Girsch-Bock began her career as an accountant
and later made the switch to writing full time, concentrating
on software reviews. A former QuickBooks beta
tester, Girsch-Bock currently specializes in business and
technology with a focus on small businesses. Her work
has appeared in The Motley Fool, The Blueprint, Property
Manager.com and she currently writes a monthly
business and technology-related blog for PLANERGY,
a Procure-to-Pay platform designed for mid-market
organizations.
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