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Ask HN: Payroll for bootstrapped startups?

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Re: Ask HN: Payroll for bootstrapped startups?

#31

We use Bank of America--really easy. They handle everything for us except for the initial setup with the Federal and State governments--you still have to get your IDs and what not. NOTE: make sure you get some accounting guidance here. It matters how you do this if you want to minimize taxes.

How much does BofA charge for this service? And on accounting guidance do you mean get advice on distributions vs wages?

We're paying $20/month for two employees. I think it's free if you don't get the State service but that doesn't seem sensible.

Yeah I'd check with an accountant on the wage / distribution / benefits stuff. For small businesses though you really can just pay it all out, just make sure you're paying the taxes.

Re: Ask HN: Payroll for bootstrapped startups?

#32

We use ADP. It's not very expensive and they do a good job of handling everything. I hear it can be quite costly if you're having people punch in and out, but for just a few guys programming on salary the cost is less than you'll probably spend on coffee. Anyone who has a small team of engineers and does it themselves is insane. You'd gain more from staying in the programming zone for 5 minutes than you'd save in pro…

Other posts here seem to think ADP is expensive for their use cases. Just for the record would you recommend ADP for very irregular payroll processing? Like once every six weeks say? We're not really "on salary."

Then it's even cheaper. They charge us per pay period. It's a few bucks per person per check.

Re: Ask HN: Payroll for bootstrapped startups?

#33

We use Bank of America--really easy. They handle everything for us except for the initial setup with the Federal and State governments--you still have to get your IDs and what not. NOTE: make sure you get some accounting guidance here. It matters how you do this if you want to minimize taxes.

Second that. It's really easy once all the electronic filing paperwork has been filed with the IRS and State. Also, their system is the same as Paycycle, just rebranded (I think).

Re: Ask HN: Payroll for bootstrapped startups?

#34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much does BofA charge for this service? And on accounting guidance do you mean get advice on distributions vs wages?

We're paying $20/month for two employees. I think it's free if you don't get the State service but that doesn't seem sensible. Yeah I'd check with an accountant on the wage / distribution / benefits stuff. For small businesses though you really can just pay it all out, just make sure you're paying the taxes.

I believe you'll need the Plus service if you want to e-file state taxes, which runs $36/mo. Check out the "Rates & Fees" tab at: http://www.bankofamerica.com/small_business/online_banking_a...

Re: Ask HN: Payroll for bootstrapped startups?

#35
post #9

I'm not sure if this will do what you're looking for, but I really like Harvest. www.harvestapp.com.

Harvest looks really good and I think I could really use it for invoicing and time-tracking for some consulting contracts we are doing. I'm not sure it does payroll though. Can you use it for payroll?

I don't think so. Sorry! They're VERY good with correspondence though.

Re: Ask HN: Payroll for bootstrapped startups?

#36
My company uses Bank of America Online Payroll. We are an S-Corp with no full-time employees other than the two founders/shareholders.

The Bank of America option is free if you are depositing directly to a BoA account. Being that both me and my business partner have BoA, this works for us.

The free version also allows you to file all the federal payroll tax forms, which is handy. It doesn't allow you to file the state payroll tax forms though, but if you live in NY (not sure about other states), you can do that all online directly through the states tax website.

You also need to remember to file with your state for unemployment insurance, which is a separate department from the tax department (at least in NY). And if you have other employees who aren't shareholders, you'll also need to register for workers comp insurance.

One trick I'll pass along -- with the disclaimer of talking to your accountant first -- is this:

If you need to minimize payroll costs, you can do some planning and pay yourself once per fiscal year, usually in Dec.

What you do is figure out what you think you need to make this year for a "reasonable salary" and pay that in one sum in Dec. The rest you can take as equity draws throughout the year, saving you the payroll processing expense each paycheck.

If you don't think you'll make enough to get a "reasonable salary", you can take your draws throughout the first 3 quarters, and then in the 4th quarter, try to have enough left in the back so that you pay yourself 1/2 of the total draws so far as payroll (Example: 18k yearly total > 12k over first 3 quarters, then final 6k through payroll in Q4).

This allows you to save some payroll processing costs, and make filing the forms easier -- it's just for one quarter, with the other 3 being zero-returns (which you still need to remember to do over the first 3 quarters).

But again, talk to your accountant.

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