Early autumn is the perfect time to begin preparing your year-end process, according to the American Payroll Association (APA), which offers the following time-proven first steps from its class, “Preparing for Year-End”:
- Develop a committee, including representatives from any departments in your organization that play a role in year-end, such as payroll, tax, accounting, accounts payable, human resources, benefits, information systems, and the mail room.
- Discuss the successes and shortcomings of last year’s process.
- Create a calendar of payroll runs, adjustment runs and tax deposits, considering holidays observed by your company, bank and service providers.
- Establish a checklist of year-end tasks, including due dates and responsible parties.
- Determine how you will provide your Forms W-2 this year to your employees and to the Social Security Administration (SSA)—on paper or electronically? Now is the time to discuss this with your software vendors and/or service providers.
- Ask your employees to review their pay stubs for the accuracy of the name, address and social security number.
- Consider using SSA’s Employee Verification Service—www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/ssnv.htm—to verify your employees’ names and Social Security numbers and to avoid error notices.
- Reconcile the following three items:
- The total of the amounts from the first three Forms 941 for the calendar year;
- The third quarter year-to-date figures on your payroll journal, and
- A W-2 audit report as of September 30th (if your system allows it).
The APA is proud to be an integral partner with the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration. By working closely with IRS and SSA, APA prepares its classes and publications with the most accurate and up-to-date information to educate employers. IRS and SSA experts speak at many APA conferences and one-day seminars, including Preparing for Year-End. As a member of the IRS’ Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee and its Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee, APA provides input toward improving the nation’s wage and tax reporting process.
The APA website is located at http://www.americanpayroll.org/.
Henssler Financial can assist with your year-end process. Contact our experts at 770-429-9166 or experts@henssler.com.
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