Hi everybody!

I've never done payroll before but am trying to learn so that I can offer it as a service. I was wondering how you guys do it. Do you do it manually or have you found any good (free) payroll software? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again, guys!

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Norma D. Landis, Quest Virtual Assistant Services
www.questvas.com

If you have never done payroll before I would suggest you get formal training before tackling this service.

I did payroll for years and managed a payroll department and will not add it to my service because it can be very time consuming and costly should you make a mistake. You must also keep up on all the updates to Federal and State laws for which ever states you are handling.

There is a lot to consider including: overtime, vacation/sicktime, deductions, reporting, unemployment reporting, Fed laws, state laws, local withholding and on and on. And don't forget the W-2 reporting.

Good luck to you should you choose this route.

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Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

I would ABSOLUTELY get training and experience working under someone else before offering this as a service. As Lee said, mistakes can be costly (be sure and have E&O insurance!!) and are easy to make if you are inexperienced.

Have you considered teaming up w/an experienced bookkeeper to offer this service rather than trying to do it on your own?

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

I have to 100% agree with Lee and Lily. If you do not have professional training I would not recommend you offer this as a service. Payroll is NOT something you want to mess up. I have managed a large payroll company in the past and I still don't like to offer payroll as one of my services. The risks are too high.

Payroll is also not one of those things I'd suggest using a free service for. I'd also not recommend doing it by hand if you're doing it professionally. The risk for error is too high to not do this right.

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Lanel Taylor, CVA ~ Virtual Bookkeeper
Taylored Office Solutions
Custom fit solutions for all your office needs.

Thanks guys, you've done a fine job of scaring me off the idea! I'm really, really glad I asked! I'll consider adding it later if I find there is a demand for it but there will definitely be a lot of training involved. Thank you again!

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Norma D. Landis, Quest Virtual Assistant Services
www.questvas.com