Payroll is a significant lifeline that shows business a key role in staff retention and workers morale. Any business with human resources must have a system in place for handling payroll activities, which includes paying employees, filing all necessary government forms, and paying taxes promptly. There are numerous aspects to payroll, particularly in larger companies with full-time and part-time employees plus independent contractors. Here are 10 of the most common payroll mistakes to be responsive to.
Missing filing deadlines
It is very important that you mark your payroll chart and report and deposit and payroll taxes to federal and state agencies in a timely manner. Late deposits can result in penalties and interest charges. In order to avoid such payroll mistake, the management, the accounting department or the HR department should keep logs on when these deadlines are. Singapore companies are required to file Forms IR8A and IR8S and Appendixes 8A and 8B before March 1st of every year.
Misclassifying employees
Because of the increasing number of short-term employees, consultants, and other independent contractors, it is necessary that you accurately determine the classification of everyone working for your company so you can determine how to report payroll information for tax purposes.
Not maintaining privacy
Payroll information should not be disclosed to anybody exterior of the payroll department or the senior management team. It is important that such privacy is maintained and that payroll is handled in a secure environment.
Miscalculating overtime pay
There is the course of action that must be followed when determining overtime pay and miscalculations can be costly. Litigation has been rising in recent years claiming that employees who were treated as “exempt” employees and therefore not entitled to overtime were misclassified.
Poor record keeping and data entry
Singapore is generally made up of expats, foreign citizens working here based on employment permits. One of the most usual payroll mistakes the HR department could make is not maintenance its employee’s records updated. Information such as bank account number, residence status or address should always be updated.