If you are running your own marijuana business, you are probably no stranger to admin. This is an industry that has some of the strictest regulations and compliance regimes on the planet, with many business owners spending a disproportionate amount of time filling out paperwork and jumping through legal hoops.
One important chunk of business admin you absolutely cannot forget is business payrolls. In many states, including California and Colorado, business owners of all stripes are legally required to provide payroll documentation for their employees.
This means providing compliant, consistent paystubs for your workers every fortnight or month. If you are new to business payroll and don’t have the resources to hire a payroll department, read these essential payroll tips for small business owners.
1. Understand Your Business Payrolls
Before creating your own payroll system, it is important to understand what the payroll needs of your business actually are. This means understanding what your state and local payroll requirements are as a starting point.
Different parts of the US have different legal requirements that employers must fill, which dictate the information that you must include on paystubs and who is actually entitled to a paystub. You will also need to take stock of things such as how many employees you have (and how many uncontracted workers you have) and the kind of benefits your business offers.
2. Gather the Prerequisite Data
The next step is to gather the data that will need to be entered onto any paystubs that you provide. You will need the identifying information of your employees, including DoB, social security, address, and employee status.
You will need precise information on tax deductions that you will need to subtract from gross pay, as well as the cost of health insurance, pensions, and 401Ks on your employee’s pay packet. Once you have this, you are ready to go.
3. Use an Online Paystub Generator
If you want to know how to create payroll, all you need to do is go online and generate real paystubs in a few seconds. A user-friendly pay stubs generator allows you to simply enter your employee information and auto-generate a paystub in seconds.
This is a significantly cheaper option that hiring a full-time payroll officer and will save you valuable time that can be better spent on growing your company.
4. Decide on a Schedule
It is important that you decide on a consistent schedule for your business payroll and stick to it. There are no laws governing when you have to issue paystubs to your employees, but it is required that it be done regularly and consistently.
Since a pay stub covers the pay period for each worker, you should issue them just prior to pay day. For most companies in the US, this means once every fortnight. Issuing them just before payday allows employees to flag up any issues they may have with payroll beforehand.
Keep Your Business Compliant in 2021
Understanding business payrolls can help ensure that your budding marijuana business stays on the right side of the law in 2021. For more essential guidance on business compliance, we have got you covered. In our Law section, you can find all of the guidance you need on the ever-shifting world of marijuana business laws.
