In part one of this two-part blog series, we went over some of the basics on annual payroll reports and the responsibilities employers have within this area. There are a few specific forms that employees might need to fill out depending on several factors, plus several that business owners or payroll specialists will also have to consider.

At WTA Inc., we’re happy to provide various business clients with numerous HR services, including payroll and tax administration solutions that cover these and several related areas. What are some of the other forms that might be part of your company’s payroll reports, and are they required in your case? Here’s a rundown.

Form 940, FUTA and SUTA

For those unaware, FUTA stands for the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, while SUTA stands for State Unemployment Tax Act. Both these laws offer temporary forms of income for workers who qualify — Form 940 is the one that’s used to document FUTA, and many SUTA areas as well.

If your business pays more than $1,500 in FUTA to employees in a calendar year, you are required to pay a Form 940 to the federal government by January 31 of the following year. In this case, you should receive a copy from your local state agency as well. If not, check with them directly to find out why and what you can do about it.

Form 1096

If your business utilizes and independent contractors, freelancers or similar resources, you must use Form 1096, the Annual Summary and Transmittal of US Information Returns. This reports all money paid out on accompanying Form 1099, plus gross earnings paid.

In addition, you must send out a 1099 form to any individual to whom you paid at least $600 for various services during the tax year. If you paid out less than that to a worker (at least $10 in royalties, for example) and don’t expect it to continue into 2012, then you can file Form 1099-MISC “to the IRS along with Form 1096,” according to Intuit.

Form 944

Finally, for small businesses that have under $1,000 in liability for federal income taxes and FICA, you may be able to file Form 944 — which allows you to pay taxes annually instead of quarterly. In other words, you may simply request to file a 944, the Annual Federal Tax Return for Small Businesses. The IRS website has additional details on this form and how it can be used in your case. As you may have guessed, this is only for very small or even part-time businesses.

For more on the various forms that may be involved in your company’s annual payroll report, or to learn about any of our hiring, tax/payroll or other HR services, speak to the staff at WTA Inc. today.

The end of the year is fast approaching, and this means payroll and tax administration experts in numerous businesses and HR departments will be hard at work in a few specific areas. One of these that’s necessary for any business that employs a staff of any size is the realm of annual payroll reports.

At WTA Inc., we’re proud to offer comprehensive payroll and tax administration services to a variety of business clients in Salt Lake City and other parts of Utah. We assist them with all sorts of documentation, tax forms and more, including with annual payroll reports and all their various sub-categories. What are annual payroll reports for employers, and which specific forms will need to be filled out depending on your business type and some other factors? Here’s a basic primer.

Basics on Annual Payroll Reports for Employers

Put simply, there are several different forms of annual payroll reports your business may need to fill out. These are tax forms that are used to report income, unemployment insurance and other data to government agencies. The forms you’ll need to fill out will vary depending on the size of your business, the type of business, as well as its location.

In almost 100% of cases, payroll reports will be due within the first quarter of the year following the year they cover. This means, for example, that your 2021 annual payroll reports will be due on or before April 15th, 2022.

Our next several sections will go over the payroll report forms your business may need to fill out, plus the factors that determine whether it’s required for you.

Form W-2

Perhaps the most well-known of these forms is the W-2, which is the one used by employees to file personal income taxes. Your employees will fill one of these out when they are hired.

As longtime HR experts know, employers themselves don’t actually report from W-2 forms at all, except for receiving them from employees. Rather, employers fill out the Form W-3, which we’ll go over next.

Form W-3

Form W-3, on the other hand, is used to report the total wages and tax withholdings of an employer. The W-3 form will be submitted alongside a copy of each W-2 that was issued to employees in that calendar year, in order to make reporting easier.

This can be done electronically or via paper, depending on preference and which method is allowed by the relevant agencies. Most businesses today submit their forms electronically. In either case, these forms must be submitted to the SSA (Social Security Administration) by February 1 of the following year.

For more on the various employer payroll report forms your business may need to fill out, or to learn about any of our HR services in Salt Lake City or surrounding areas, speak to the staff at WTA Inc. today.

In part one of this two-part blog series, we went over some of the most important benefits that contingent workers bring to the companies who utilize them. From filling temporary gaps to helping with specific areas of expertise you don’t have on your staff, plus numerous other areas, contingent workers have become even more important to many businesses over the last 18 months or so.

At WTA, Inc., we’re proud to help our clients with numerous recruitment and hiring themes, including those who are considering contingent workers for any of their company needs. While part one of our series focused on the qualities contingent workers may bring to your business, today’s part two will go over some basic tips we often provide to clients on how to properly recruit and hire contingent workers.

Hiring Based on Skills

Interviews for contingent workers will typically be a bit different than for other employees, with a larger focus on the specific skills they can bring to your business. Be sure you ask about their experience in the specific areas you need help, and how they will be able to assist in making sure your business goals are met. If someone has little or no experience in an area where you need help, hiring them may not be the best idea for your company.

This also applies for training contingent workers. If you’re considering hiring someone to help out with your computer systems, for example, be sure they have the proper skills and training needed before you hire them for this position. This will save time and money in the long run so you don’t experience any unnecessary issues due to lack of knowledge or experience on their part.

Vendor Onboarding

It’s vital to have a proper system in place for onboarding your contingent workers. You may need to go through important information and details about specific job duties and responsibilities, as well as other company policies and procedures that all employees must follow. This realm should also include paperwork they need to fill out, plus any confidentiality forms that might be required.

Practical and Legal Differences from Normal Employees

In addition, it’s important to have a full understanding of how your contingent employees differ from full-time employees. The most important area here is legal, as contingent workers are generally considered independent contractors in the eyes of the law. This is a crucial distinction that can affect issues such as taxes and worker’s compensation, which you’ll need to understand fully when hiring contingent workers.

Engagement

Finally, it pays for your management and hiring team to have a plan for how to keep contingent workers engaged and active within your organization. Contingent workers may not stay with the same company for long, so it’s vital to have a system in place that will allow them to remain active and engaged while they’re there. This might include meetings, special recognition events and other activities aimed at helping contingent workers feel like an important part of the team.

For more on the hiring and use of contingent workers for your business, or to learn about any of our payroll services or other outsourced HR services, speak to the pros at WTA, Inc. today.

Recruiting has always been a challenging aspect of human resources for many companies, and especially so with changing societal circumstances the last couple years. One group that’s proven quite valuable to many companies to aid in their recruiting efforts: Contingent workers, which is a broad term for a group that includes freelancers, contractors, consultants and other third-party individuals providing services.

At WTA, Inc., we’re happy to assist a variety of business clients with all their recruitment and hiring needs, plus numerous other HR services like payroll, risk management, immigration compliance and more. In part one of this two-part blog series, we’ll go over some basic areas where contingent workers add value, while part two will dig into a few important themes to keep in mind while utilizing contingent workers for your business.

Contingent Employees Fill Gaps

In many cases, contingent employees can be used by businesses to fill gaps in time, skills and disciplines needed to complete their projects. There will always be a new project on the horizon for most companies, and it can be hard enough to plan hiring at any one time; but if we think back to the changes in our society recently, it’s even more difficult to know when you’ll need to hire extra people for your workforce.

Not only do many companies need contingent workers because of this difficulty, but also because the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that it can be very expensive to hire new full-time employees, including $4,000 or more just in the costs of advertising. With contingent workers, businesses can avoid the costs of recruitment, training and ongoing employment that comes with hiring a new full-time team member, as well as keep their expenses more predictable by only hiring when they need to.

Specialized Expertise

In other cases, the primary reasoning for hiring contingent workers will be to add to the expertise of your existing team. Along with needed talents and abilities, it can also be beneficial to hire contingent workers that have specific industry experience. Doing so may help you avoid cost overruns and other mistakes related to having employees who don’t understand all aspects of your business model.

Possible Conversions

For some companies, contingent workers are hired in part on a “trial” basis — if they’re a good fit and provide regular value, they will often be converted into full-time positions. In fact, a recent SuccessFactors/APQC benchmarking survey reports that “75 percent of contingent workers were hired on a contingent basis with the intention of converting them to permanent employees.”

For more on how contingent workers provide value to businesses within their recruitment and hiring needs, or to learn about any of our human resource services, contact the pros at WTA, Inc. today.

In part one of this two-part blog series, we discussed the basics on a workforce and staffing plan within the world of human resources. This is often an important approach taken by those in the recruiting world, laying out timelines and needs to help the organization take the most efficient possible route to staffing.

At WTA Inc., we’re here to offer a variety of recruitment and hiring solutions as part of our broader HR services in Salt Lake City, working with companies of every size to assist them with staffing needs. Today’s part two of our series will continue from part one, laying out the basic steps to formulating a workforce and staffing plan.

Assess the Skills Gap

We left off in part one with evaluation of KSAs (knowledge, skills, ability) of your current employees, which is a vital piece of the puzzle for understanding your hiring needs. Once this is done, it’s time to find the gaps in these KSAs and the needs of your organization.

This is a process known as gap analysis, one that allows you to determine which KSAs will be most important to the company as a whole, and allows for further understanding of your current HR strategy. Once you’ve prioritized your KSAs in detail, you can create a plan to bridge any gaps; this is the first step to creating your workforce and staffing plan.

Setting the Plan in Motion

Once your gaps are identified and you’ve crafted an approach for filling them, it’s time to put the entire plan in motion. This doesn’t need to be anything complex; simply listing out the KSAs you’ll need to fill, as well as your timeline for filling them, is often enough.

This can be done in an organized spreadsheet or chart; some companies prefer to include this information within their job descriptions. Whichever method works best for your company, it’s important that the plan is accessible by all who will play a role in staffing.

This can be any department, from marketing to IT and everything in between. Having this information readily available will save time when it comes to the actual hiring process, allowing for more efficient communication within your company as you search for qualified individuals.

Utilize and Review the Plan Regularly

By no means is this task finished once the workforce and staffing plan is initially implemented. Rather, it should be constantly monitored and updated as necessary.

As you progress through the hiring process, whether it be for one position or ten, use this time to adjust your plan and add in new KSAs and potential hiring steps. You may also want to look at not just current but future needs within your company; while filling staffing gaps is important, don’t forget that you can also use this time to build for the future.

This could mean specific training initiatives, improving company benefits or anything else that will help you attract and retain top talent in your industry. In short, once you’ve established a basic workforce and staffing plan, it’s vital that you continue to monitor and adjust it as needed; otherwise, your recruiting and hiring efforts could be wasted.

For more on the creation and maintenance of a workforce and staffing plan, or to learn about any of our human resources or tax services in Salt Lake City, speak to the staff at WTA Inc. today.

Companies are always looking for ways to save time and resources during the recruitment process, and there are several techniques that may be used for this purpose. One specific method that’s well-used across many industries is the development of a workforce and staffing plan.

At WTA, Inc., we’re here to help with a wide range of recruitment and hiring solutions as part of our overall human resource services. We’ve assisted companies large and small with the organization and processes involved in their recruitment, including the setup of various templates to guide this process. What is a workforce and staffing plan, and how do you go about setting one up? This two-part blog series will investigate.

Workforce and Staffing Plan

While some people use the terms workforce plan and staffing plan interchangeably, they are actually not the same thing. A workforce plan refers to a process that’s on a much longer timeline, typically at least two years and as many as five — it involves strategic planning and a long-term look at the talent and staffing numbers that will be needed to meet these goals.

A staffing plan, on the other hand, is a more specific plan that will help your organization with immediate hiring needs. This is typically a shorter-term plan, and it takes into account the current market conditions as well as any planned changes in staffing. It’s also going to include the overall employment strategy that your organization uses — whether you use temporary or part-time staff, for example — along with specific approaches on how these processes will be handled.

Our next several sections will lay out the steps for developing a new workforce and staffing plan for your company.

Review Current Strategies

First up, you’ll want to dig into your current strategies for recruitment and hiring, plus how these might need to change in the future. In particular, you’re looking for the various skills and knowledge bases you need employees to have, both now and for the future processes you plan to implement.

Review Employee KSAs

While recruitment and new hiring is a major part of a workforce and staffing plan, another important element here involves reviewing the knowledge, skills and abilities of your current employees to determine if some of them are being underutilized. Various human resource management systems will typically have information like this on various employees — if you do not have these in place, you should set up a spreadsheet or document to begin tracking it. Further utilizing the skills of current employees will allow you to limit the scope of your hiring and save money.

For more on developing a workforce and staffing plan that will assist with your hiring practices and other parts of your business, or to learn about any of our human resources solutions, speak to the staff at WTA, Inc. today.

Today more than ever, it’s getting difficult to find good candidates to fill your open positions. The labor market is definitely shifting, and you need a plan to survive. WTA, a top PEO in Salt Lake City, can help you find, hire and retain the kind of employees you’re looking for.

Outsourcing HR Services in SLC

Small and medium-sized businesses often don’t have the budget — or even the need — for a full-time HR department. At the same time, assigning HR tasks to your employees doesn’t always work either.

Many employees resent being given tasks to do that are not part of their job description. Worse, they may be unqualified to do the work. You may wish you could do it yourself, but the more time you spend on HR tasks, the less time you have to run your business.

Get the best of both worlds with human resources services from WTA in Salt Lake City.

Hiring New Employees

One of the services our PEO in Salt Lake City offers is help recruitment and hiring. While it’s true that a new hire is a personal decision often made by the owner or CEO of the company, there are many steps to go through before the hiring stage, and WTA helps with all of them.

When you’re looking to hire, you must:

• Write a job description: It’s important to include all relevant details of the job without overwhelming applicants by making it too long. You also want to be clear about the duties and try to stay away from rhetoric and corporate jargon. If prospective candidates can’t understand your posting, you may end up with all the applications you don’t want and none that you do. We work with you to draft a foolproof job description.
• Sift through resumes: When we work with clients who get hundreds of applications for a single position, we often use software to narrow the field. This software looks for certain words on resumes and cover letters to identify the most qualified candidates.
• Compile a list of viable applicants: At this point, we give you the list of candidates whose skills we believe most closely match your job description. You review the resumes and cover letters and toss out the ones you don’t like.
• Set up interviews: This is a time-consuming process you’ll be happy to be rid of. Oftentimes when you contact a candidate for an interview, they are no longer interested in the position, so there is a lot of work involved in scheduling only a few candidates.
• Extend an offer: If you conducted many interviews, you might want to have callbacks for two or three candidates. If not, now is the time to extend your offer.
• Do a background check: Once your prospective employee accepts the offer, WTA does background checks to ensure your new hire is safe and trustworthy.

WTA not only frees up a lot of your time with our HR services, but you also get the benefit of our experience. We have operated as a PEO in Salt Lake City for many years, and our clients appreciate our expertise and efficiency.

When you need help with new hires, payroll services or PEO employee benefits management, contact the team at WTA. We provide the best human resources services in Salt Lake City.

A workers’ compensation issue can throw your small business into a tailspin. You have to have workers’ compensation insurance — it’s the law. But when claims get complicated, dealing with them — and your lawyers — can take up many hours of your time. Designate this job to the professionals at WTA. We’re the experts to turn to in Salt Lake City when you need help with workers compensation claims management.

Workers’ compensation is paid to workers who are injured on the job. Workers’ comp will usually pay for your employee’s medical bills related to their injury as well as lost time from work. While workers’ comp is a type of insurance that you pay for — partly so that these costs don’t come out of your own pocket — it’s still best to try to avoid having to deal with any worker’s compensation claims.

Most Common Workers’ Comp Claims

The top five workers’ compensation claims are (in order): strains and sprains, cuts and punctures, contusions (bruises), inflammation and fractures. These are medical diagnoses and do not refer to how the employees suffered these injuries. However, the top professions that see the most workers’ comp claims are laborers, truck drivers and nursing assistants.

While the Occupational Safety and Health Administration sets rules for workplace safety, accidents can happen even when workers follow these rules carefully.

Further, each workplace is different, and your physical plant or office may have risks or dangers present that others’ do not. Ask your local chapter of the Small Business Administration if they have recommendations for experts who can do a walkthrough of your premises with you to make suggestions for improving safety. This can help cut down on workers’ compensation claims at your Salt Lake City business.

What to Do When You Get a Workers’ Comp Claim

Workers compensation claims management is a highly specialized field. Those who deal with workers’ comp claims must thoroughly understand federal, state and local laws, including OSHA, labor law and laws pertaining to your particular industry.

Without the proper knowledge, your company may make an error on a workers’ comp claim that may cause the government to impose fines on you. Even in the case of routine or standard claims, you must keep a close eye on workers compensation claims management to ensure bills are being paid on time and in full, and that you are not erroneously paying for bills or services that are not related to the claim.

The best thing to do when you get a claim is to enlist the help of professionals experienced in workers compensation claims management in Salt Lake City. WTA has helped hundreds of small businesses deal with workers’ compensation claims. We save you both time and money. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your Salt Lake City business with workers compensation claims management, or with one of our many other services for small-business owners.

Are you the owner of a small business? Have you considered how helpful it could be to outsource your human resources needs to another company? WTA provides HR services to small businesses in Salt Lake City and across the country. We offer a suite of human resources services from which you can pick and choose to suit your needs.

Payroll and Tax Administration

This is one of our most popular services. Most small businesses have employees, and paying them even twice a month takes precious time away from running your business.

Concentrate on growing your company, and leave the payroll and tax chores to the experts at WTA.

Workers’ Compensation Administration

Don’t wait until someone files a claim against you to set up workers’ compensation guidelines for your company. While some safety rules are mandated, you can create others to help mitigate accidents and claims at you company.

With our HR services, we help you set up a workers’ comp prevention plan, and we also help you deal with claims, should any arise.

Risk Management

Especially if you run a business that involves potential danger, such as roofing or farming, you need an appropriate risk management plan in place.

We help you develop safety manuals and videos, run safety training sessions and undertake other precautionary measures.

Immigration Compliance

With WTA, you won’t have to worry if your employees’ paperwork is in order. We take care of all documentation, visas and work permits so your company is never at risk for fines.

Recruitment and Hiring

Finding the right people to help run your company in Salt Lake City is a huge job. WTA can narrow down your options, saving you countless hours spent placing ads and reading resumes.

Employer Liability Management

Ensuring that your employees know the guidelines you have set up and that they follow them are the mainstays of liability management. Rely on WTA to get this job done for you.

Regulatory and Government Compliance

The sheer number of local, state and federal laws that pertain to running your company can seem overwhelming. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, but how could you possibly have the time to learn about all these rules? You don’t have to when you work with WTA, because we already know them.

Employee Benefits Administration

A good benefits package is a huge draw for quality employees. While there are plenty of pre-fab benefits packages available, you may prefer to design your own, unique to your company and situation. We can help you with that.

Best HR Services

As a small-business owner in Salt lake City, your job is to manage your company so that it remains profitable and has an opportunity to grow. It’s hard to do this if you spend hours every week on human resources tasks. Plus, your expertise lies elsewhere. When you depend on WTA for HR services, you’ll never have to worry — you know you will be in compliance with all laws and regulations.

Contact us today to learn more about how our HR services can help your small business.

As a Salt Lake City small-business owner, you may ask yourself, “Should I hire a payroll service?” This decision can make a big impact on not just small businesses, but also medium and large companies as well. When you work with WTA, you can opt to receive one or more of our outsourced human resources services, including managing your payroll.

How can WTA help your business?

Payroll Services Take Time

Small-business owners often want to handle as many tasks as they can in-house. This helps keep expenses down and allows you to put more money back into the business. However, it’s best to do a cost/benefit analysis when it comes to outsourced payroll services in Salt Lake City.

Think about how much time it takes you to complete your payroll. Even if you only do it twice a month instead of every week, it’s an investment. How much is your time worth?

When you’re an employee, you can answer that question more easily than when you own your own business. But you must take into consideration not only what your time is worth monetarily, but what other important tasks you could be doing to grow your company instead of completing payroll.

For instance, if your billable hour rate is $50, you may conclude that that is what your time is worth. But what if you spent that hour landing new clients or devising new ways to save your company money? Then it’s worth much more.

Payroll Services Require Specified Knowledge

Thus far, you may have been doing your own payroll for your Salt Lake City business, but are you sure you have been doing it correctly? Deducting the right amounts for taxes and FICA is important. And not only do you need to make these deductions faithfully, you need to pay in to the correct government agency by predetermined dates. Further, the rules are different for employees and independent contractors.

At WTA, we are experts in payroll services. When a business owner is new to payroll, they might make a mistake that could cost them thousands in government fines.

Payroll Services Make Tax Time Easier

WTA keeps careful, meticulous records of all the payroll services we perform. This makes it infinitely easier for business owners come tax time. They don’t need to hunt around, searching for the paperwork required to file their taxes. We provide everything up front, so you have it when you need it.

WTA for Payroll Services in Salt Lake City

For 20 years, WTA has been the preferred provider of HR services and payroll services in Salt Lake City. We also help Salt Lake City companies with workers’ compensation claims management and PEO. Call us today for a quote on any of our HR services.