Tips for Outsourcing Your Payroll written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing For small business owners, managing payroll can be a costly endeavor. When payroll is handled in-house, you need the appropriate software to support the job, an employee who has hours to dedicate to the process each week, and a keen understanding of tax laws and employer obligations. It’s likely that this was manageable enough when you were just starting out, but as your business grows and you add new employees, more benefits, and open up shop in other locations, managing payroll can become unwieldy. If you’re beginning to feel out of your depth with internal payroll management, it may be time to consider outsourcing the process. And while the idea of handing over such an important task (not to mention all that sensitive information!) to a third party may be nerve-wracking, there are some tips to help ease the transition. Is Outsourcing Right For You? Before diving in, run a cost/benefit analysis. According to a 2017 survey from Paychex, payroll is the most time-consuming activity each week for HR professionals, taking up an average of 11 hours. Multiply that out over 52 weeks, and—assuming a 40 hour work week—that comes out to just over 14 weeks per year spent on payroll alone! Aside from the pure amount of time and money put into payroll each week, there are less tangible costs as well. The employee handling payroll must stay up-to-date on the ever-changing tax codes, and any errors in remittance of tax payments can result in costly fines and fees. You’ll want to consider this against the costs of an external provider. Typically, payroll companies will charge a monthly base fee, plus an additional fee per employee or per check run. If you’re looking for extra services like direct deposit, state and federal tax filings, and W2 and 1099 processing, these will incur additional costs. I Want to Outsource! What Next? If you’ve decided that outsourcing makes sense for you, it’s time to start looking for providers. After you’ve identified some prospects, set up calls…