Accounting for Payroll

A one-stop resource for setting up or improving an existing payroll system!

The most comprehensive resource available on the subject, Accounting for Payroll: A Comprehensive Guide provides up-to-date information to enable users to handle payroll accounting in the most cost-effective manner.

From creating a system from scratch to setting up a payroll department to record-keeping and journal entries, Accounting for Payroll provides the most authoritative information on the entire payroll process. Ideal for anyone new to the payroll system or as a skill-honing tool for those already immersed in the field, this hands-on reference provides step-by-step instructions for setting up a well-organized payroll system or improving an existing one.

Preface xiii

About the Author xvii

Chapter 1 Creating a Payroll System 1

Chapter 2 Accumulating Time Worked 19

Chapter 3 Payroll Procedures and Controls 33

Chapter 4 Payroll Best Practices 49

Chapter 5 Payroll Measurements and Internal Reports 73

Chapter 6 Compensation 89

Chapter 7 Payroll Deductions 111

Chapter 8 Payroll Taxes and Remittances 125

Chapter 9 Benefits 149

Chapter 10 Payments to Employees 171

Chapter 11 Unemployment Insurance 181

Chapter 12 Payroll Recordkeeping 197

Chapter 13 Payroll Journal Entries 203

Chapter 14 Payroll-Related Laws 215

Chapter 15 Outsourcing Payroll 227

Chapter 16 International Payroll Issues 237

Chapter 17 Setting Up the Payroll Department 251

Chapter 18 Government Payroll Publications and Forms 263

Appendix A Sources of Payroll Information 269

Appendix B Dictionary of Payroll Terms 271

Index 279

Steven M. Bragg, CPA, CMA, CIA, CPIM, has been the chief financial officer or controller of four companies, as well as a consulting manager at Ernst & Young. He is the author of seventeen books. Bestselling author Steven Bragg presents a valuable one-stop resource for accountants that compiles all the critical material and know-how to implement an effective payroll system or improve the efficiency of an existing system. Accounting for Payroll provides a hands-on source for answers to the inevitable variety of compensation, tax, deduction, benefits, international, and record-keeping issues associated with payroll.

Accounting for Payroll focuses on the main issues of payroll, including the overall set of policies, procedures, controls, best practices, and measurements that comprise a payroll system; the processing of specific transactions, encompassing compensation benefits, taxes, and deductions; and other related issues. The book closes with reference-oriented discussions of laws, government publications and forms, Internet sources, and a dictionary of payroll terms. Complete coverage addresses:

• Outsourced and in-house payroll systems for both manual and computerized systems
• Detailed policies and procedures for the primary payroll functions, which can be easily adapted to suit individual circumstances
• Highly efficient payroll best practices
• Measurements for determining the efficiency of the payroll function, as well as a number of payroll reports not normally found in the standard report package accompanying most payroll systems
• The calculations and related regulations for a number of payroll deductions related to asset purchases, charitable contributions, child support, pay advances, tax levies, and other items
• Payroll issues related to employee benefits, including cafeteria plans, insurance, pension plans, sick pay, stock options, and workers’ compensation
• Specific procedures for paying employees, covering cash, check, and direct deposit payments, as well as state regulations related to the frequency and timing of both regular and termination payments to employees
• The structure of the federal unemployment tax system, the calculations of unemployment taxes at the state level, and the completion and proper depositing of related tax forms
• Every payroll-related journal entry a payroll staff is likely to need, including accruals for benefits, bonuses, vacations, and wages, as well as cafeteria plan transactions and manual payroll checks
• Twenty-one payroll-related laws impacting the payroll department
• Payroll issues related to the employment of U.S. citizens in foreign countries
• Step-by-step instructions for setting up and fine-tuning the payroll department
• The primary IRS publications and forms that a payroll department is most likely to use, as well as the lesser requirements imposed by several other government agencies

A one-stop resource for setting up or improving an existing payroll system

The most comprehensive resource available on the subject, Accounting for Payroll: A Comprehensive Guide provides up-to-date information to enable users to handle payroll accounting in the most cost-effective manner.

From creating a system from scratch to setting up a payroll department to record-keeping and journal entries, Accounting for Payroll provides the most authoritative information on the entire payroll process. Ideal for anyone new to the payroll system or as a skill-honing tool for those already immersed in the field, this hands-on reference provides step-by-step instructions for setting up a well-organized payroll system or improving an existing one.

Featuring checklists, a dictionary of payroll terms, information on Internet payroll sources, and much more, Accounting for Payroll shows CFOs, controllers, accounting managers, and systems analysts how to:

• Create a payroll department from scratch
• Increase the efficiency of the payroll function through best practices
• Reduce payroll data entry time and transactional errors
• Evaluate the services of a payroll outsourcing provider
• Set up and maintain an outsourcing relationship
• Set up an efficient payroll system