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Archive for August, 2010

Whether you’re starting up a new company, making the jump from books to computer, or looking for replacement payroll software, it’s important to get payroll software that is going to do everything you need it to and fit the needs of your company. Here are 15 questions to ask about any payroll software you are considering purchasing for your company. When you have answers to all these questions, you’ll easily be able to identify the right payroll software.

1. Does this software have current tax information for your state? Most software has this information, but make sure you’re not buying a previous year’s edition that has outdated tax information. 2. Does this software have flexibility to add local tax info? If your company is in a region with local income taxes, this is an important feature. 3. Will you need to options for pre-tax and/or post-tax deductions? If your company offers health plans or retirement plans or something similar, then you will need this option. 4. Will you be printing on blank checks or checks preprinted with your company and bank info? If you want to be able to print on blank checks, which are less expensive than pre-printed checks, you’ll need software that can print your company and bank identification information on the checks. 5. Do you want to print signature images on checks or sign checks by hand? Signing checks by hand is more secure, but can be time consuming if you print a lot of paychecks every week. 6. Which tax forms will you need to print using your payroll data? i.e. Form 940, 941, W2, 1099, etc. Make sure your software can print the forms that you need or at least has an add-on component to allow you to print them. 7. Does this software support your payroll period, i.e. daily, weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly? Some companies may even pay some positions in one period and other positions in another period, i.e., paying hourly workers weekly or even daily while paying salaried management positions monthly or semimonthly. Make sure the software you purchase has the flexibility you need.

When making a decision to buy any piece of software there are a number of criteria typically evaluated.  One of the most important elements in the decision process is the strength of the company that builds the software.  In fact a survey of 19,000 customers has identified that company strength is the most important factor in choosing software, with the price of the software being the fifth most important element.

 
In evaluating a companys strength I would suggest you ask the following 15 questions, the answers to which will provide invaluable information in determining the viability of the company, their processes and their commitment to the product you are reviewing.
 

How long have you been in business?
When was you last upgrade released?  When is the next one planned?
What’s involved in doing an upgrade?

Can your customer’s do it?
Are upgrades included in your annual fee?
Are they downloadable from your website?
Is documentation (installation instructions etc) included with the upgrades?
Are manuals available for the software?
Does the software update cost include phone based tech support?
What percentage of customers are current with their annual support contract?
Where is the product heading?  Technology/Functionality?  When do you plan to get their?
When did you last put your prices up?
Are you planning for the next realease of Windows yet?
Can i build my own reports?
Why did you choose your current development platform?
What does it cost to have someone come onsite a fix a problem?
Who does the training, are there scheduled courses?
Can i talk to a customer who implemented in the last 6 months?
How much have you spent on research and development in the last 12 months?
 
Importantly there is no right or wrong answer to these questions, and the answers may vary greatly from one vendor to another.  There are however some answers that should throw up a red flag:
 
Question 6 This is generally a good guage of customer satisfaction.  If the vendor can not provide this information, or is not willing to do so then you can anticipate a support issue or poor customer satisfaction with the product.
 
Question 10 You should always have the ability to get to your own data.  If you require a programmer to build new reports then you will consistently be biting into your ROI.
 
Question 14 If the vendor skirts around this issue then they are uncomfortable letting you talk to a recent customer and therefore maybe hiding something from you, perhaps a difficiency in their product or in their implementation process.
 
Question 15 The answer to this question identifies how productised the software is.  A vendor who regularly evaluates their customers future requirements and spends money on building these into their product is committed to its current customers.  A vendor who spends money only as required is probably not so committed to building a great product as they are to getting sales.
 
 
When getting answers to these questions please also consider that their may be legitmate commercial reasons as to why a question can not be answered, however at a bear minimum your vendor should be able to provide some background into their reasons for not answering.
 
There are another four important criteria upon which any experienced buyer will evaluate a software purchase which will be covered in future articles.
 
Jay McCormack has had years of experience in the web and software industry. Most recently he launched http://www.cheaperit.com where he reviews and recommends the best software found on the web.

1099 forms are viewed as informational returns, by the IRS, used to report payments made. These forms are sent to the IRS and the individuals to whom the payments were made. Payments other than taxable wages are reported on these forms. There are many different types of 1099 forms each reporting a different kind of payment. 1099 Int forms report interest income paid to individuals. Interest earned on bank accounts must be reported as income.

Establish you need to issue and file 1099 INT forms. Once this has been established you can use 1099 software to generate and file the 1099 forms. You will be able to instantly download the software and use it immediately. As soon as the 1099 software is installed open the program and enter your company and employee information as follows.
1.From the toolbar click company>new company
a. Enter company information including business name, address, EIN and state ID
b. Enter 1096 information such as the person to contact and contact information as well as the Filers name if different from the company

2.Click 1099 recipient >new recipient in this window select 1099 INT as the type of 1099 form you need to generate. The recipients basic information is entered in this window including name, address and social security number.

3.Click 1099 forms> select type of 1099 form (INT)>enter dollar amounts in the appropriate boxes.
a.Box 1 includes interest not included in Box 3
b.Box 3 includes on US Savings Bonds and Treasury Obligations

4.Print 1099-INT forms- print to blank paper or use preprinted paper forms available individually or in complete sets. Per IRS regulations 1099 INT A and 1096 forms need to be printed to a red ink laser form. 1099 form printing software, will print 1099 INT copies B and C to blank paper or preprinted laser form. In the print options screen you can choose your recipients and choose which copy of the 1099 form to print. If printing to blank paper, choose print a copy in the drop down menu choose, the copy you wish to print. You may also print instructions on the back of the form by flipping the newly printed forms over and selecting the instruction option.

5.Click 1096 form, this window should be filled with the information you have already entered in the 1099 tax software. You will select the type of 1099 form to be filed. A 1096 form is a transmittal summary of the included 1099 INT forms.

1099 INT forms must be mailed to recipients no later than January 31st of the following tax year in which interest was paid. The recipient receives 1099 INT copy B. The 1099 INT A and 1096 forms are to be sent to the IRS no later than February 28th. The deadline moves back to March 31st if you electronically file the forms. 1099 INT C is the payers copy.

For more information about 1099 Software and supplies go to www.realtaxtools.com

A 1099 form is considered an informational return by the IRS. Use this form to report taxable income. 1099 MISC Forms report miscellaneous taxable income for individuals and companies who have been paid $600 or more in non-employee compensation during a calendar year with the exception of royalty payments. Royalty payments of $10 or more are to be reported. Printing 1099 Misc forms from your computer is made simple with 1099 form printing software.

Once you have determined you need to print 1099 MISC forms and have installed a program on your own computer you are a few simple steps away from printing.

To open the newly installed program click on the icon that was created on your desktop.

Step 1: Click company> new company> enter company name

Step 2: In the next screen enter the company address, EIN and state ID if applicable

Step 3: Click 1096 information (third tab) enter the contact person’s name, phone number and email address. Enter the filer’s name if different from the company name. For instance the filer’s name may be different than the company if you are a tax preparer.

Step 4: Click 1099 recipients> new recipient, enter the recipients Social Security Number, type of 1099 received, name and address. If you choose you can enter totals in the Box 1 and/or Box 7 if applicable. You will be able to enter these totals directly on the form in the next step.

Step 5: Click 1099 forms. In this screen you should see the recipient information already populated. On the right side of the screen you will enter totals in the boxes that apply to this recipient.

Step 6: From this screen click print. Select which recipients you want to print 1099 forms for at this time current, all or a range of recipients. Next select the type of copy you want to print from the drop down menu. 1099 Software prints 1099 MISC copies B, C, state 1 and state 2 to blank paper and 1099-MISC A to a preprinted laser forms. The IRS does require 1099 copy A and 1096 forms to be printed to preprinted red ink laser forms. You will see the option, in the drop down menu, to print instructions on the back of the recipient 1099 Misc forms. 1099 software is extremely easy to use as you can see you will start entering and printing data within minutes of downloading the software.

Lisa Heather, small business owner, provides insightful tips into 1099 software. You may also visit payroll/1099 blog for more payroll information. W2 Mate is an affordable and easy to use form 1099 software.