A struggle that a lot of small businesses have is deciding whether or not to pay for automating their payroll through an accounting software like Sage 50, Quickbooks, a payroll service provider or to do their payroll the manual way using the free CRA online payroll calculator.
I believe the key factors to consider are:
- How many people do you have on payroll?
- How comfortable are you with payroll?
- Are you an organized person?
The easiest part of doing your payroll manually is calculating the paycheques via the CRA online tool. The hard part is keeping track of such items as maxing out CPP and EI, keeping track of accrued vacation and keeping adequate records of insurable earnings and hours in the event you have to prepare an ROE.
In my personal opinion, if you have more than one or two employees, encounter such issues as Union Dues, WSIB remittances or seasonal layoffs, your money is well spent having your payroll automated. The first time you have to issue an ROE you will be happy you did.
Most importantly, make sure the payroll system, whether automated or manual, is set up properly. Hire a skilled bookkeeper to show you the ropes and reduce the stress that payroll can cause.
If you need to set up payroll for your company let us show you how we can help. We also provide full payroll services if you want a professional to handle your payroll. Call me at 905-775-9233 or send an email to Carolyn@intellibizaccounting.ca today!