With everything that has happened this year, does anyone else feel like we are in some strange time warp? Anyone know what month it is? Oh that is right, it's June. Crazy to think that we are halfway through 2020 already! So July is just next month, and it brings with it some important deadlines and potential changes for payroll and accounting departments. Here are some critical dates in July that you don't want to lose track of.

** This article was originally sent to our Bennett/Porter clients via email on 4/17/2020 **

It's Friday, and the end of another fast-changing week for businesses and their employees. To help you keep up with and respond to events that impact your business, we've put together some helpful notes and notifications.

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Figuring out how much you owe to the State of Oregon for the new Corporate Activity Tax is not straightforward. And every company who has revenue of more than $1,000,000 per year is required to make estimated tax payments for the new tax that Governor Brown mandated last summer. 

More help brings more questions and new confusion. On March 27, 2020, Congress passed a second round of economic stimulus in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Some of the relief elements contained within this latest act include:

• Paycheck Protection Program Loans
• Additional Unemployment Benefits
• Student Loan Payments Suspension
• Funding for Hospitals, Airlines/Airports, and Food Assistance Programs
• Government Checks to Individuals
• Small Business Debt Relief
• Economic Injury Disaster Loans & Emergency Economic Injury Grants

Here is a closer look at some key aspects.

** This article was originally sent to our Bennett/Porter clients via email on 4/9/2020 **

There has been no shortage of information in the last couple of weeks regarding COVID-19 and the Federal mandate about paying employees who are sick with the virus, have been ordered to stay home to self-quarantine, or have a family member who is affected by the virus and who the employee must take care of. Despite all of the information, there are still many outstanding questions employers are encountering as they administer the processes around this mandate.

On December 19^th, Sage is scheduled to release an Interim Release Download (IRD) with year-end program updates for Accounts Payable and eFiling – as well as a Tax Table Update for 2020.

With a new year come a lot of new changes and updates to payroll requirements. 2020 is quickly approaching, so - as in the last few years - we compiled the following list of items that may initiate some payroll changes in your organization. You might start thinking about these and take action sooner than later.

Oh no! The IRS is changing the W-4! While the final version of the form isn't expected until November, the current draft gives us a good idea of what employers and employees will begin using starting in 2020.

What does this mean for my employees and the taxes they pay (because you know they're going to ask you those questions)? Taxes, payroll, the IRS, their forms, and everything associated with these requirements can all seem so confusing and stressful to employees. These things are often referred to as “adulting” because they bring with them anxiety and fear, and they seem to encourage avoidance. In reality, the changes aren't as daunting as they seem. Here's an overview of what you should know when your employees ask.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final ruling today for overtime pay when employees work more than 40 hours in a week. Employees who make less than $35,568 will be eligible for overtime effective January 1, 2020. This is expected to affect approximately 1.3 million American workers.

The research* provided by The Aberdeen Group on successful approaches to managing a workforce has so far focused on automation of employee management tasks and integration of workforce management systems.

The final and least technical practice is for an organization to always be improving an its approaches and methods of managing their overall workforce. Such improvement is a long-term proposition that takes place gradually. It requires persistence and a commitment to merging modern HCM tools with a consistently advancing workplace culture. As both become more developed and in aligned with one another, an organization's workforce shifts from a practical cost to a strategic and competitive advantage that provide the business with a true edge in the marketplace.

This four-part series takes research* done by The Aberdeen Group on successful approaches to managing a workforce and presents it in graphical form. Businesses that practice all of these behaviors tend to function efficiently and reduce - or eliminate - the wasteful costs involved in managing people.

Integration is the second beneficial practice. Many organizations still manage time and attendance with one automated system, payroll with another, and human resources with no intelligent business system at all. The systems that are in place tend not to communicate well, which is unfortunate, since they all fulfill critical functions with regard to workforce management and coordination, and miscommunication just means more time and more cost spent on otherwise simple tasks. Implementing a unified Human Capital Management system can store all of your employee information in a single location and transform your workforce from an expense to a strategic asset. Here are just some of a unified system.