Handling Employee Payroll

Most people who start a business are thinking of the big picture-the products they hope to sell, the customers they hope to win, the profit they hope to make. But it's the small details that often make the difference between success and failure.

Chief among these is attracting and keeping good people, and that means paying them the right amount at the right time. As an employer, you are responsible for calculating the earnings of your employees; withholding taxes, Social Security, Medicare, and other deductions; recording all payroll activities; preparing and filing tax documents for federal, state, and local agencies; and, of course, paying your staff.

All that paperwork can be time-consuming and expensive-and it can distract you from the tasks that really need your attention and cannot be delegated to someone else. It's up to you to decide if and when to hand the process over to an internal bookkeeper or to outsource it entirely.

We've put together some resources to help you make the decision.