Archive for February, 2009

Stimulus Bill

February 23, 2009
I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird, and not enough the bad luck of the early worm. Franklin Delano Roosevelt,

 

The Stimulus Bill is very much on the mind of payroll software programers these days. There are new tax tables to create in a fairly short space of time and then there is the COBRA benefit reduction. This benefit pays an involuntary terminated employee 65% of their COBRA premium up to nine months. The employer pays the remaining amount and receives a tax credit for a like amount on their quarterly payroll tax form – Form 941. It promises to create some interesting times in our world of payroll.

Any time we rush to create legislation like this, we will inevitably create holes for all us to pitch into unexpectedly. There will be people trying to take advantage of the loopholes, legal or otherwise. There will be cries of foul and unfair. There will be mistakes – many mistakes – that will cause financial reparations. And yet, it is the way of our world. We can complain or we can work to do the best with what we have.

My main hope is that this Stimulus Program accomplishes its main objectives.

Bryan

Posted in Payroll - General | Leave a Comment »

Lucky me

February 20, 2009

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present. Albert Camus, 1913 – 1960

As you have heard me say, I am one lucky person. Later this month, I head to a back country hut at 11,000 feet above sea level surrounded by peaks to ski in grand rocky mountain powder. While today I get to wrap my head around a computer configuration puzzle in a conference call with people that come much closer to my definition of a rocket scientist than I ever will.

I love to be around people who relish life. I know there are tough times we all go through whether it’s economic or family or loss or bad luck. But there is so much to savor in our time here on this earth. To do the dance with it all, to me, is just such an incredible opportunity.

My goal is our workplace responds to this as well. We come to work not just because “it’s a job”, but because there is a purpose. To explore, to learn, to interact with each other here within the office and with our clients and to derive joy from as much as this as we can.

Payroll could be seen as a world inhabited by geeks, but it’s not – at least not here. I am surrounded by people who have a gusto for life, who are bright and who believe in our purpose, and are delight to be around.

I am one lucky person.

Bryan

Posted in Work Environment | Leave a Comment »

Positve Payroll Energy

February 19, 2009

The difference between playing the stock market and the horses is that one of the horses must win.     - Joey Adams

I know nothing about the stock market. It goes up unexpectedly and it goes down and down (especially now) without a seeming end in sight. I just know I’m going to stick with my plan of steadily saving and hoping I can outlast this down market (think five years).

I do know our business – payroll processing and time and attendance tracking – and I know we help a lot of employers save time and energy while providing peace of mind. One of the great reasons to work here is because of the thanks we receive from our clients over and over. It is not a thankless task, but a rewarding one – and that’s why we have such a positive energy here.

Posted in Payroll - General | Leave a Comment »

Overtime – Maybe not so easy to calculate

February 18, 2009

Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
- Abraham Lincoln, 1809 – 1865

In the payroll world, one of most common questions we receive is in regards to overtime. It’s covered by both state and federal law and the law that is most in favor of the employee is the one that dictates the circumstances.

For the federal rules in general, overtime pay is at one and a half times the regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a pre-defined 7 day week. If you pay commissions to hourly workers or non-discretionary bonuses, those amounts should be included in calculating the regular rate of pay to determine the overtime premium.

You, as an employer, may have signed agreements that say the employee can’t work over 40 hours in a week, or the employee cannot incur overtime without your authorization. It doesn’t matter; you have to pay the overtime premium if the employee is in an overtime situation. This is viewed as a management issue and you may discipline the employee for violating your work rules, but you can’t hold back the extra pay.

And of course, overtime can be a very complex issue – who’s exempt, was the person in question really an employee and not an independent contractor, what is the actual rate of pay to determine the overtime premium.

Posted in Payroll - Regulations - OT | 2 Comments »

Hello world!

February 13, 2009

Why not go out on a limb? Isn’t that where the fruit is?
- Frank Scully

I am blessed to live in Durango, Colorado. Here we have mountains to play in winter and summer and access to rivers and deserts for another six months of the year. Add in the good fortune to have created a successful business that allows me to live here along with my family makes me feel like one of the luckiest people on the planet. And that business is the payroll service business.

Payroll doesn’t necessarily sound exciting or sexy. It certainly doesn’t attract a crowd when I mention it’s my livelihood. However, it is very satisfying. We form meaningful and trusting relationships with businesses and organizations across the strata of everything under the sun.

Everyday we deal with clients that have one employee to hundreds of employees, in retail and in wholesale, with occupations including helicopter pilots, CPAs, banks, plumbers, landscapers – in short about every occupation on the planet. We get an inside and fascinating glimpse on so many different employers I feel we get to know what makes our economy tick.

So keep ticking.

Cheers,

Bryan Dear

www.payrolldept.biz

Posted in Payroll - General | 1 Comment »

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