Have you audited your payroll process lately?

Have you ever audited your payroll process? If you have not, you may want to schedule an audit at the end of your current business quarter. Scheduling regular payroll audits can help your business operate smoothly. Also, keeping the information organized can help your payroll department keep track of important documents, such as tax information, employee rate of pay and more. Businesses that go over their budget have been known to cut employee hours, which leaves a lack of coverage during your day of operations. It is essential to stay on top of your payroll.
Not having regular payroll audits can stress out your payroll department. Paying attention to payroll is essential in maintaining a successful business. Payroll is also an area that is at a high risk for fraud. So many things can go wrong in payroll. There could be minute errors in paperwork, fictitious employees may be receiving checks, and there could be a huge discrepancy in hours employees have worked and hours budgeted.

 Keep the following tips in mind to help you run your first payroll audit:

1. Confirm employees that were active during the business quarter. Make sure that checks were not accidentally issued to inactive or terminated employees.
2. Confirm the rate of pay for each active employee.
3. Take a look at the rate of pay and hours worked by your employees. Make sure that everything matches up to your general ledger. Also compare hours and money budgeted for your employee's used sick time and used vacation time.
4. Verify employee tax information. Make sure all information provided on the tax documents are accurate and is recorded on your company's ledger. Compare all payroll totals, withheld taxes and your employee's net check amounts to the general ledger. If you have multiple payroll accounts (sales, manager and administrative), compare the categories to see if it reflects the amount budgeted for these groups.
5. Verify bank reconciliation for your payroll account. Make sure the checks clear for the issued amount. Ask your bank for a hard copy of payroll checks to keep for your company's records. This service may require a fee.

What do we do with the information once we have it?
With the dawn of the internet age, many businesses have relied on the internet to help them manage their business. There are many services that are offered that can help businesses keep track of audits. PerfectForms happens to be one of them! PerfectForms is an online form and workflow solution service that is tailored to meet the needs of a business. This amazing service can help a business manage crucial information, whether it be information from an invoice or purchase form.

PerfectForms can help your business stay organized by automating information from the following forms:

• Reimbursements
• Capital expenditure forms
• Loan applications
• Purchase orders
• Invoices
• Billing
• Reporting expenses​

In order for a business to function properly, it is important to process financial information quickly and correctly. Delays in gathering your payroll data at the end of each quarter can cause your payroll department unnecessary headaches and lost wages. Make sure you schedule a payroll audit at the end of this quarter.

With the information provided, you are armed with what you need to know about auditing your payroll process. You do not want your business to turn into a sinking ship. Organize your payroll process, schedule regular audits, and make sure you use PerfectForms to stay organized.
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Sources:
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/payroll-audit-procedures-3599.html
http://www.perfectforms.com/
http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/procedures-payroll-audit-10921.html