Yes….Yes….Yes…Yesssss.  Payroll.

Don’t you just love to talk about Payroll??

The fact is that, other than those that work for a Payroll operation, few people like to talk about Payroll.  What makes that statement a bit odd is that Payroll is far and away the largest expense for most businesses.

And it never seems to get smaller, does it?

Payroll actually has a few components, and managing these components is rather important to the overall operation of a business.  Most are familiar with the actual operational function of payroll.  That would be:

• Calculating Pay and Deductions for an Employee;

• Writing and/or Printing Checks (let’s not get confused with Direct Deposit!);

• Distributing Pay Checks.

With all the money that can end up funding Payroll, many overlook the importance of keeping track of all of this.  And by keeping track, we don’t just mean cataloging what has been distributed.

There are other critical steps regarding Payroll, and other critical issues, including:

• Tax Deposits and Filing Reports – federal, state, and in some cases local tax liabilities must be paid and reported;

• Payroll Analysis – is someone keeping track of the specifics regarding your Payroll?

• Overall Payroll Management – is Payroll being properly managed so that you are not overstaffed or overcompensating for something that may never happen?  Do you have the proper guns to get the job done? Where will your payroll be, and where will it need to be in two years?  Five years?  Are you budgeting for payroll appropriately and checking your actual v. your budget?

Larger companies understand that proper analysis of their Payroll expense can provide a lot of information, and proper management of Payroll can be extremely important to creating greater efficiency.

Since Payroll is probably your company’s largest expense, the better you can manage this expense, the more efficient you will be.