Small Business Tips: Outsourcing Payroll Service

In a previous blog article, we addressed one tactical way you can win back more of your time to do what you do best by avoiding the banking time suck. Here, we’ll discuss a related way of winning back time: outsourcing payroll service.

Outsourcing payroll service beats old fasioned accounting, like an abacus. — Outsourcing payroll service is a great idea if you’re using old fashioned methods for your small business accounting.

If you’re not familiar with the 1099-MISC and the related 1096 or the W2s that your employees should be receiving, I hope it is because someone else is handling these details for you. If you are a visionary or a creative person, these are extremely painful aspects of operating a small business.

Still, many handle payroll – even manually sometimes. Out of habit, they do not realize how much time is being wasted versus the small costs that are usually associated with automating or outsourcing payroll service.

Options for Outsourcing Payroll Service

There are a surprising number of options out there for outsourcing payroll service. Here are a few that you may have overlooked:

Check With Your Bank – Many banks have identified this need and have responded by offering options for outsourcing payroll service. BB&T, for example, offers payroll options. You may or may not incur additional fees for utilizing their services.
Quickbooks and Intuit – I’ve sung the praises on this blog before of QuickBooks. It turns out they also provide options for helping manage your payroll. If you don’t already use QuickBooks, you should. It doesn’t mean that you also have to use their payroll services – many will interact QuickBooks automatically for you.
Use A Service Outside of Your Bank or Intuit – I’ve had very positive experiences in the past with payroll companies that were not already related to an existing service I used. It may not be as expensive as you think. A company like Paychex that caters to small business specifically would be worth investigating.
Your Accountant Might Be a Last Resort – Having an accountant handle payroll service can be expensive. But, they may have existing relationships for outsourcing payroll service that might make it worthwhile. If you have more than a couple of employees (they get W2s) and one or more contractors (they get 1099-MISCs), it’s worth looking into.

Any ideas or options you’ve found that work well? Tell us. Leave a comment below.