Small Business Payroll Guide

From Healthcare reform and technology developments to HR issues facing small businesses just like yours , let us keep you up-to-date on all things payroll.

Look through our FAQs to find straight forward answers to commonly asked tax and payroll questions. Use our tools and calculators to make simple tax and pay calculations.

Still can’t find the answer? No problem. Ask Abacus gives you the opportunity to pose those vexing questions to our payroll and tax experts.

Creating a New Years Resolution for Your Business

January 7, 2020 | posted by Abacus Payroll

If you think resolutions for a new year are corny, you aren’t alone; plenty of people have sworn off of the “new year, new me” mentality in favor of less aggressive goal-setting. Whichever way you look at it, however, curating manageable milestones for 2020 will only serve to elevate your business’ success and bring your […]

The Cost of Hiring New Employees: 4 Things to Know

January 3, 2020 | posted by Abacus Payroll

It’s no secret that the hiring process takes time, patience, and thoroughness; however, it also costs a fair chunk of change. The repercussions of an improper hire can last for far longer than the employee in question. While the approximate figures around hiring someone new range from around $1,000 to over $5,000 per employee, the […]

Payroll: Starting the Year Off Right

December 20, 2019 | posted by Abacus Payroll

The beginning of the year is both a welcome refresh from the previous year’s events and a stressful reminder that you have to start many of your in-house processes from scratch again. While calibrating your payroll for the coming year probably isn’t something you’re looking forward to, starting your year with an optimal payroll setup […]

Considering Employee Raises? Review These Ideas

December 16, 2019 | posted by Abacus Payroll

Deciding how to administer employee raises can perplex even the most seasoned managers. How often should raises be given? Should they be given across the board to all workers? If staff turnover is increasing, can you turn back the tide by granting raises to the most productive workers? There’s a lot to consider. As you […]

Instilling Technology Awareness in Your Employees

December 9, 2019 | posted by Abacus Payroll

Technology, for all its benefits, can be one of the most divisive areas of use in the workplace. While you may not want to call out technology-illiterate employees for fear of getting accused of discrimination, the truth of the matter is that all of your employees need to be at the same level of technological […]

How to Handle Annual Performance Reviews in Your Small Business

December 1, 2019 | posted by Abacus Payroll

Annual performance reviews provide, in theory, a welcome check-in and debrief period for employees and employers alike. Unfortunately, arbitrary rating criteria and a lack of communication between employers and employees can lead to annual performance reviews becoming nothing more than busy work that’s dreaded by everyone involved. While critiquing an employee’s performance never gets easier […]

5 Reasons Your Franchise Should Outsource Payroll

November 25, 2019 | posted by Abacus Payroll

Payroll is a great candidate for outsourcing due to its often-complex nature and the consequences that accompany easy-to-make errors. While hiring a third party to handle your company’s payroll services usually sounds like a solution reserved for small businesses, a business—or franchise—of any size can benefit from one less thing to keep track of. Here […]

How to Motivate and Evaluate Employees

October 8, 2019 | posted by Abacus Payroll

A motivated staff is a productive staff, and without incentives, your best people could leave for more satisfying endeavors. Pay and benefits are important, but they’re only the beginning. Motivate Employees to Excel To retain your best people, do the following: Establish reasonable, objective work standards, and base rewards and promotions on those standards. Communicate […]

Managing Overtime: 7 Common Questions

October 3, 2019 | posted by Abacus Payroll

Despite its frequent usage across occupations, overtime remains an elusively curious phenomenon from a payroll perspective—especially if you’re new to calculating your own company’s payroll. Overtime is expensive to maintain and even pricier to screw up; for that reason, we’re addressing some of the most common questions you’re likely to have about overtime so that […]

Tax Season Lessons: The Importance of a Paycheck Checkup

October 1, 2019 | posted by Abacus Payroll

In years past, the IRS has encouraged taxpayers to double-check their form W-4s to ensure that they’re paying the right amount in taxes—often to no avail. Even if you haven’t suffered the repercussions of an out-of-date W-4, here are a few steps you can take to make sure you don’t have an unexpectedly high tax […]