As the weather gets chillier, it’s time to start thinking about wrapping up the year for your business. Our specialists recommend getting started now so you don’t spend the last quarter overwhelmed!  If you plan to seek year-end support, it is a great time to start lining up that help. Read on to jump-start your year-end checklist!

Make sure all of your quarters are reconciled and tax balanced.

Whether it’s making sure that health care premiums, 401K deposits, and other pre-tax contributions have been processed correctly or that the taxes withheld for various employees is correct, Wise Client Payroll Specialist Natalie Pracht says you’ll want to make sure that all previous quarters are reconciled and tax balanced before you begin tackling the fourth quarter. 

“Getting started as early as possible and not waiting until the last minute [is important],” she says. “If you’re hesitant to open that can of worms early, it will bite you later on, so it is better to deal with it now.”

Remind employees to look at their pay stubs.

While employees are often the second line of defense when it comes to ensuring pay is processed correctly, it can be easy for minor mistakes to go unnoticed. That’s where getting your employees on board early comes in.

“A big message is to make sure employees look at their stubs to make sure they’ve been paid correctly, that taxes are withheld correctly, etc.,” says Wise Payroll Services Team Lead Stephanie Henshaw. “This combination of employees looking at paystubs, employers double-checking and tax balancing gets a lot of work done in advance so that you don’t get to Dec. 20th and suddenly, everyone has questions.”

Double-check that all employee information is correct.

It’s not just about wages! While over and underpayments happen, it can be easier to catch those mistakes than it is to catch nominal contribution amounts. Watch address changes and work locations for employees working remotely – there are tax impacts to work location that employers need to be aware of.

Whether you choose to keep all payroll processes in-house or reach out to a trusted payroll expert at Wise Consulting for year-end support, you’ll want to check that tax and benefit data correspond to employee elections and company records. Vacation time is another area you may want to audit against previous records so that employees do not get to the end of the year without a full picture of their accruals.

Reach out to a payroll support specialist at Wise to start your year-end planning.

We know there are many moving targets when it comes to year-end because we help companies of all sizes and industries tie up those loose ends to achieve an accurate, compliant year-end. Wise payroll professionals are checklist and task completion experts! Eager to learn more about how Wise Consulting fits into your end-of-year planning? Our team of seasoned, certified payroll professionals provides accurate, seamless, reliable, and compliant payroll coverage and helps businesses manage complex payroll continuity, tax, compliance, and year-end issues. Our consultants are ready to protect your payroll by providing support when you need us. Wise has you covered. Contact us today at 1-800-654-4550.