Payroll Reports: What You Need to Know
Unfortunately, payroll reports are not as simple as paying your employee a salary. There are a variety of documents, reports, and calculations that need to be completed in order to comply with payroll requirements. In this article, we will discuss payroll reporting and what is required from you as an employer.
What Are Payroll Reports
Payroll reports consist of documents that are required to be filled in and collect information about a business, employees, departments, teams, and so on. Payroll reports are an essential part of the payroll process. They are typically utilised to track employee salaries and the money that is being paid to employees. Therefore, payroll reports are important for accounting and tax purposes.
Types of Payroll Reports
As each country has different payroll practices, taxation laws, and labour laws, each country will fill in different forms. You will typically be able to find out which reports are required by contacting the governing revenue service; for example, the governing revenue service of South Africa is SARS. You can also choose to consult a payroll advisor as they will know exactly what is required in your country. There are however a few payroll reports that are required in most countries.
- Company Payroll Reports: A company payroll report will be able to provide you with detailed information on the payroll expenses within your business. These reports should be filled in on a regular and consistent basis as each report is for a specific time period. When compared with one another, one will be able to see what one’s estimated monthly available cash should be to perform payroll.
- Employee Payroll Reports: This report is often also referred to as an employee earnings report. There should be an employee payroll report for each individual employee. These reports will typically indicate the employee’s salary, tax deductions, as well as other benefits and deductions. These reports should be accessible by the relevant employee, as they are entitled to seeing and receiving their employee payroll report.
- Payroll Tax Reports: These reports indicate what your company’s employees’ compensation consists of. These documents will typically be completed every quarter or on an annual basis. Once completed these reports should be sent to your country’s governing revenue service. They will then calculate and check that your business is compliant with your country’s payroll laws.
- Certified Payroll Reports: Many countries require government contractors to submit a certified payroll report. Depending on the governing body these reports could be required, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually. These reports declare your payroll expenses to your governing revenue service.
- Time Tracking Reports: These reports will be necessary if your employees are required to fill out daily time sheets. Time tracking reports will allow you to see how much overtime an employee worked in a month. It can also help you accurately bill clients and determine whether employees are working as effectively and efficiently as possible.
Payroll reports can be confusing, especially if you have never completed them before. It is advisable to contact payroll specialists such as PaySpace to help you ensure that your payroll is compliant, accurate, and efficient.