The Three Cs of Year-End Preparation
Year-end is a busy time for businesses, and it can be stressful to think about all the things you need to do to prepare for the end of one year and the beginning of the next. According to Paycor's own payroll expert Arlene Baker, year-end preparation can be broken down into three Cs: checklist, communicate and coordinate. If you follow the three Cs, year end will seem less overwhelming.
Checklist
Give yourself peace of mind by getting organized with a year-end checklist. Walk through everything you need to do to close out this year and begin the next. Items on your checklist could include:
* Verify employee information to ensure correct W-2s
* Verify that company information, such as state unemployment rates, is
correct
* Request to have your payroll provider hold your books open if
necessary
* Reconcile all four quarters of 941s
* Report all independent contractors' earnings for 1099s
* Anything else that may be unique to your company’s year-end
preparations
Communicate
Be sure to communicate with the people who are providing you with the year-end information you need, such as your company’s controller or your CPA. Once you have that information, communicate it to your payroll provider.
Coordinate
It’s important to coordinate with your team on any details around finalizing the year-end process. Examples include:
* Determining at what point you need all the necessary information to
make your payroll processor’s deadlines
* Ensuring you are prepared for compliance in the coming year by
updating state unemployment rates
* Deciding on next year’s payroll schedule
* Updating for next year any employee pay rate changes and benefit
accruals such as paid time off
Following the three Cs of year-end—checklist, communicate and coordinate—can help you stay on top of your year-end tasks.
Buyer's Guide To HCM And Payroll Technology
An HCM platform is the foundation of your business, and choosing the technology is one of the most important decisions you'll make.
Get ExpertiseMore to Discover
Employee Safety During COVID-19: Compliance Toolkit
Vaccines are coming to the rescue, but we’re not out of the woods yet. HR leaders can’t afford to take their eye off the ball when it comes to employee safety and compliance. Now’s the time to think about creating a vaccine policy that works for your organization, and it’s not too late to implement workplace testing. If an employee does test positive for COVID-19, you’ll want to make sure you’re ready to offer the right information and support to your whole team. Paycor is offering this free compliance toolkit, including customizable letter templates to use when you: Create a mandatory vaccine policy Implement workplace testing Inform your team that an employee has tested positive for COVID-19
Demotion Letter Template
There’s nothing better than seeing employees thrive, but setbacks and slips in performance do happen. One way to address performance problems is a demotion. Sometimes, it’s necessary to take a step back before you can take two steps forward. Download Demotion Letter Template When is a Demotion Necessary? In an ideal world, there wouldn’t be demotions. They are a sign something’s wrong: it could be that an employee has failed to respond to a performance improvement plan or they could just be disengaged. A demotion is the last stop before termination. If you believe the person has potential and is worth investing in, then a demotion might be the best way forward. Demotions are risky, though. You could end up with an employee who is even...
Maximum PTO Accrual Letter
Encouraging employees to use their vacation days can feel strange. After all, nobody wants to leave themselves under-staffed and the rest of their team over-worked. On the other hand, what if employees rarely ever, or even never, take time off? That’s been a question facing business owners this year, as vacation plans were delayed, then cancelled, and PTO built up like never before.One problem is, PTO payout laws can turn unused PTO into an unwanted financial liability. There’s also a risk of schedule chaos down the line as everyone tries to use their days up at once. Most worrying of all is that employees who go too long without a break, even by choice, risk ending up disengaged and burned out. Download Sample Maximum PTO Accrual Letter...