HRDirect!
A Better Way to Manage Your HR Functions 

HRDirect Basic Program  
Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you can access the online HR Support Center for all of your HR needs. Resources include:

• Employee Handbook: Downloadable and customizable.
• Policy Library: Library of standard business policies.
  State and Federal Laws: Written in easy to
  understand terms.
• HR Forms: Library of business, state and federal forms.
• 3-Minute HR Audit: Assess the effectiveness of your
  HR functions.
• eAlerts: Instant notification for important law updates.
• HR Checklists: Checklists to help organize
  business tasks.
• HR Guides: Various guidelines providing helpful references in following particular business procedures.
• Job Descriptions: Catalog to help organize and
  hire employees.
• Q&A Database: Hundreds of questions answered by
  HR Pros.
• HR Best Practices: Monthly articles covering
  best practices.
• Monthly Newsletter: Alerts and articles to stay current.
• Glossary of Terms: Easy to read definitions for key
  HR terms.
• HR News and Updates: HR-related news feeds
  and updates.
• HRCast: Monthly podcasts covering HR best practices.
• HR Resource Center: Resources for ordering posters, training materials and reference literature.
• Quick Guides: Hot topics of employee solutions.

HRDirect On-Demand Program 
With the HR On-Demand Program, your company can virtually outsource their HR department. Our experienced and certified HR Professionals work with you to address your business specific questions and needs, including:

• Ask the Pro: Address your situational questions in regards to legal compliance and personnel issues, and receive a response within one business day.

• Document Customization: Our HR Pros will create and / or customize your HR documents, and review for potential legal concerns.

• Employee Handbook Development: Schedule a personal appointment with an HR Pro to develop a custom Employee Handbook and a plan
  for implementation.

 Signing up is as easy as flipping a switch and with NO set-up fee! Just give us a call at (704) 921-2730 or send an email to payroll@directpaypayroll.com

After a three year long hiatus without an increase to the Social Security wage base, 2012 saw an increase of 3.1% increasing the 2012 wage base to $110,000 from $106,800. In 2009 the Social Security wage base jumped up 4.7% from the 2008 Social Security wage base of $102,000 to $106,800. Although the wage base of $106,800 held steady for three years, the next few years predict a steady increase in the Social Security wage base. Informal projections will likely bring consistent increases to the Social Security wage base over the course of the next few years. Projected increases are as follows:

2013: $113,700
2014: $117,900
2015: $123,000

Wage earners are required to pay 4.2% of their wages until their salary reaches the wage base established for the current year. Employers will pay 6.2% on these wages. The 2% decrease in employee social security has been extended through the end of 2012. If the tax cut is not extended for subsequent years, wage earners will be required to have 6.2% of their wages withheld until the current years wage base is met.

As an employer, you are required to pay certain employer only payroll taxes. Social Security/FICA, although lowered to 4.2% for the employee portion, remains at 6.2% for the employers match up to the first $110,100 in wages for 2012. Also required is a 1.45% Medicare match with no salary cap. FUTA must be calculated at a rate of 0.6% for the first $7,000 in wages. However, keep in mind, if your state falls in a credit reduction state for the year, you will owe an additional 0.3% in FUTA taxes. When the list of credit reduction states is released at year end, we will notify you if your company is required to pay additional FUTA taxes. State unemployment tax will vary depending on your state and currently assigned rate.

Example: Your company just hired John Smith. You are located in North Carolina, and your 2012 State Unemployment rate is 2.04%. You have agreed upon an annual salary of $60,000 for John. Your annual payroll cost would be as follows:

Base Salary: $60,000
Social Security/FICA: $3,720
Medicare: $870.00
FUTA: $42.00
State Unemployment: $416.16
Total Payroll Cost: $65,048.16

John did not reach the $110,100 wage base limit for Social Security/FICA. Therefore his entire wages were subject. Assuming North Carolina will not be a credit reduction state in 2012, the FUTA will be $42.00 based on the wage base of $7,000. John’s salary exceeds the North Carolina 2012 wage base of $20,400 and therefore your liability would be 2.04%($20,400) = $416.16.

Questions? We are here to help! Give us a call at (704) 921-2730 or send an email to payroll@directpaypayroll.com.

It is commonly thought that if you are a student, then you are exempt from federal income tax withholding. This is not necessarily the case. High School and College students must meet the same criteria as all other U.S. Citizens to be considered exempt from federal income tax withholding.  Regardless if you are a student or not, you are not exempt from federal income tax withholding if:

• Your annual income is greater than $950 including over $300 of unearned income such as dividends and interest, and
• Another person is claiming you as a dependent.

It is common for students to claim “exempt” on Form W-4 (PDF), Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. For this to be acceptable, you normally would have to have had no tax liability in the prior year and expect no withholding for the current year (see above). An exemption certificate is good for the calendar year. If you are unsure of your federal income tax withholding requirements, please visit Tax Information for Students for more information.

We are looking for Sales people in the Charlotte area. Please send resume via email to beth@directpaypayroll.com

Our objective is to provide full service payroll and tax filing services for small to medium size businesses in and around the Southeast. What makes our company an industry leader in the Charlotte area is our focus on excellence and our passion for impeccable customer service. Our sales team is the face of our company and needs to demonstrate these traits. Ideally, our candidate will have an established network along with payroll sales experience. However, sales professionals with an excellent work ethic and proven sales skills will be considered.

Requirements:
• Ability to prospect, present, and close
• Strong interpersonal, presentation, and communication skills
• Self-starter with ability to meet deadlines in a fast paced environment
• Strong analytical, problem solving, and negotiation skills
• Relationship building ability to work with Accountants and other financial professionals
• Knowledge of MS Word, Excel, Outlook
• Provide product demos and initial training to new clients
• Responsible for maintaining and enhancing networking activity among the business community
• Cross-selling to existing base of clients
• Attend monthly sales meetings
• Submit sales reports as required

SALARY, COMMISSION, CAR ALLOWANCE, BONUS PLAN, DENTAL AND HEALTH BENEFITS

Well, just calling it voluntary ain’t gonna cut it if you want to get out of paying for employee training.  If you are offering additional off-duty training to your hourly employees, you’ll need to adhere to some FLSA guidelines.

If the training is being touted as voluntary, but your employees get the impression that they will be adversely affected by not attending, this will not suffice. Listed below are some indications that will clear up some contrived “voluntary” training is truly mandatory and therefore, compensable:

• Job postings indicate employees must be willing to learn topics discussed in training sessions
• Non attendance would have a negative impact on employee performance reviews.
• Employees are lead to believe that non attendance will result in adverse measures such as demotions, undesirable shifts, or poor performance reviews.
• The training is specifically designed to improve employee performance in their current job capacity rather than preparing for a new position or promotion.

If any of the above apply, you need to pay your employees for training. If you are unsure whether your training program, or voluntary program fall under FLSA guidelines for paid training, call us at any time at (704) 921-2730 or send an email to payroll@directpaypayroll.com. Our account managers are always happy to assist.

All employers should have their employees complete Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate in order to know the correct amount of income tax to withhold from employees’ wages. New employees should be asked to submit a signed Form W-4 when they begin work, and the form should be effective starting with the first wage payment. Any employee exemptions need to be indicated on their form W-4 and kept on file.  If a new employee does not submit a completed Form W-4, taxes withholding should be calculated as if he or she is single, with no withholding allowances. Non-resident aliens may require additional withholding. An employee’s form W-4 stays in effect until they issue you a new one. However, employees claiming exempt status must furnish a form W-4 each year.

In the past, employers were required to send a copy of their employee’s W-4 form to the IRS if an employee was claiming more that 10 dependents. Although this is no longer necessary, under certain circumstances the IRS may direct you to supply copies of Forms W-4 to ensure employees have sufficient withholding. If you are required to provide copies of employee W-4s, you will be notified by the IRS to do so via written notice.

As an employer, you are required retain W-4 records for at least four years after the due date of the employee’s personal income tax return (generally, April 15) for the year in which the payment was made.

The next evolution of phishing, called smishing, uses SMS texts in an attempt to get victims to reveal personal information about themselves. The criminals, often targeting particular regions or area codes and sometimes using stolen customer phone numbers from banks or credit unions, will send messages such as “There is a problem with your account” or “To avoid being charged for …. Service, reply ‘STOP’ to this message.”

What should you do if you suspect you are a victim of smishing?

• Do not download anything on your mobile device unless it is from a trusted source.
• When making online purchases, use a legitimate purchase in the case you need to dispute fraudulent charges.
• Do not respond to unsolicited text messages, or phone calls requesting personal information.
• Never open attachments from your mobile device unless it is from a trusted source
• If you are asked to act quickly or urgently, it should raise a red flag. Fraudsters will often create a false sense of urgency.

If in doubt, visit the FBI’s E-Scams and Warnings webpage: www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/e-scams for guidance.

Actually, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require employers to issue pay statements to their employees. However, FLSA does mandate that employers keep accurate records of hours worked and wages paid to employees.

Although the FLSA does not require Employer’s to issue pay stubs, your individual state may required pay stubs be issued. Furthermore, your state may have very specific stipulations as to what must be listed on pay stubs. For instance Alabama has no provisions while South Carolina requires Gross Pay and itemized deductions to be listed. North Carolina requires only itemized deductions be listed while Georgia requires labor pools and work-site employers to provide hours worked, pay rate, and deductions.

DirectPay Payroll Services is here to help you comply. If you are not sure of the rules for your state, give your account manager a call at (704) 921-2730 or send an email to payroll@directpaypayroll.com