Hiring Employees for Your Small Business: Tips Before Your First Payroll

In many instances, hiring employees for your small business after starting up as a solo entrepreneur eventually becomes a matter of necessity. Often times, business owners end up hiring their first employee because they feel overwhelmed and could use some help with administrative matters.

After that straightforward decision comes the grunt work—the unfamiliar and occasionally scary financial and legal obligations of the employer, including the requirements for a legal hiring process.

But take heart; you can handle it if you plan, take it one step at a time, and get good advice. Here are some key factors to keep in mind when hiring employees for your small business for the first time.

Prepare for Employment Payroll Taxes

If you’ve decided to hire employees for your small business, Uncle Sam gives you no grace period for one of your new roles: proxy tax collector. The minute you hire an employee, you must begin to collect payroll taxes and confirm their employment eligibility.

Collecting Payroll Taxes: To make that happen, you’ve got to have the new employee fill out a W-4, and while you’re at it, an I-9 to prove legal status to work. At that point, you’re required to do the following

  • Pay for unemployment and worker’s compensation insurance
  • Make deposits
  • Send filings to Federal and possibly state and local tax authorities

Confirming Employment Eligibility: You must have every new employee complete an I-9 form to ensure employment eligibility. Complete instructions about filing out the form and how long you need to keep them are on the I-9 form itself.

A Payroll Service Can Make Your Life Easier

Before you panic, take a deep breath and heed this tip: use a payroll service. It’s more cost-effective to have them handle tax deposits and filing requirements. Other areas where a payroll service can help when you’re hiring employees for your small business include the following.

Compliance With Wage and Hour Laws: A payroll service will also help you comply with wage-and-hour laws and the like. You may think that you don’t need to pay time and a half. But it can happen, sometimes without you realizing that too many hours were worked in a day or week.

Paying Payroll Taxes: Ask your payroll service or your accountant to project how much paycheck number one and attendant taxes will cost you. New employers may be surprised about how much they’re paying in the first payroll.

Filing Tax Returns: Having just one employee can require your business to file annual or quarterly tax returns with half a dozen authorities, and penalties for violations can be steep.

Comply With Employment Laws

If you think you don’t have to comply with laws designed to protect employees until you have 15 or 20 employees, you may be in for a rude awakening. Truth is, laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act and OSHA regulations are in effect even with just one employee. In addition, you will need to comply with the following legal matters.

State Employment Laws: As with taxes, it’s not just the feds who you must heed. State and municipal laws may differ quite a bit from federal regulations. For example, San Francisco requires employers to provide paid sick leave and Philadelphia levies its own wage tax.

Trade Secrets and Non-Disclosure Agreements: Does your business have trade secrets or other intellectual property to protect? Speak with an attorney about drafting an employment contract. Also consider obtaining professional advice about whether to incorporate or form a legal partnership if your business hasn’t done so already.

Agencies That Can Impact Hiring

Set aside time to research the legal and financial issues of hiring employees for your small business. Below are a few key websites with information on relevant federal agencies. Don’t forget to check the agency websites for your state, city, and county for additional resources.

If you’re planning on meeting with an attorney to address any legal or compliance questions, it would help to brief yourself with the above resources beforehand. This will not only ensure that you get the most out of your meeting, it will also help you to save time and avoid ringing up high billable hours.

Human Resources For Your Small Business

Your next hat will be that of human resources director. If you want to have a better hiring process than your competitors, start by writing a job description and formulating interview questions. Run them by an HR expert to ensure that you have a firm grasp of legal hiring practices. In addition, you’ll want to address the following:

Employee Manual: Adopt an employee manual, adapt it to your business and ask your top candidates to read it and ask questions before discussing a job offer. You can start with a boilerplate manual and change as little or as much as you’d like.

Employment Insurance: It’s never too early to consider some protection against liability for negligent hiring. Basic background checks can be inexpensive these days; most businesses should check candidates as a final step before extending a job offer.

As a new employer, you’ll have much more to think about. But this is a good start. Expect to be surprised by what’s involved in becoming an employer. The good news is that once you get employment policies and processes in place, you’ll only need to review them occasionally.

Overwhelmed With Hiring Employees for Your Small Business? We Can Help

Your business is doing great. Now you’re ready to start beefing up your staff by hiring new employees, but where can you go to find well-qualified candidates? Here at Monster we’re dedicated to matching the right candidates for the job and we’re ready to get started with a free job posting for your business today.

Legal Disclaimer: This article is not intended as a substitute for professional legal advice. Always seek the professional advice of an attorney regarding any legal questions you may have.