- More than 90% of American employees are paid using direct deposit.
- Business owners save about $3 per check when they use direct deposit.
- Businesses can also pay independent contractors using direct deposit.
We've come a long way since paper paychecks. Thanks to direct deposit, your employees no longer need to head straight to the bank on paydays.
While direct deposit is safer, cheaper, greener and an often more efficient way of paying employees, it's not without the occasional problem. Because of how important it is to pay your employees accurately and on time, small business owners must understand how direct deposit works and whether it's right for their businesses.
What is direct deposit?
Direct deposit is the electronic form of a paycheck. It's an electronic transfer of funds from an employer's business bank account to an employee's account at a bank or credit union. It's also known as an automated clearing house transaction. This process requires the employee's bank account number, routing number, type of account, bank name and address, and the names of the account holders listed on the account.
Direct deposit isn't used solely for paying wages. "It is also used for tax refunds, retirement benefits, expense reimbursements, investment distributions, and insurance claim payments," said Heather McElrath, senior director of communications at the National Automated Clearing House Association (Nacha).
What is Nacha?
When it comes to payroll services it's best to get familiar with Nacha, which is also known as the Electronic Payments Association. This nonprofit manages the Automated Clearing House Network, which processes and moves trillions of dollars every year. The ACH moved 23 billion payments, valued at $51 trillion, in 2018. These transactions included direct deposit, Social Security, government benefits, electronic bill payments and person-to-person and business-to-business payments.
The ACH network creates the grid for all American financial institutions to safely transfer money from one bank account to another. Nacha is not a government agency, but it works directly with the Federal Reserve, state banking authorities and the Treasury Department. Nacha has its own rules and code of ethics that ensure business is conducted fairly and with as little risk as possible.
Setting up direct deposit
As a small business owner, you can set up direct deposit through your payroll provider or bank. When setting up your payroll service, make sure your employees fill out their direct deposit forms. Your payroll provider or bank sends the direct deposits to the ACH.
Once the ACH reviews your direct deposit orders for payroll, they transfer the money from your business bank account to your employees' banks. This process usually takes at least two business days, according to Nacha. Keep in mind that exactly when the money hits your employees' accounts may vary, depending on your bank, your employees' banks, the payroll software or service you use and holiday schedules.
Direct deposit services for small business
Once upon a time, 28 million checks were written daily, according to a study in James McKenney's Waves of Change: Business Evolution Through Information Technology. Today, nearly 93% of American workers are paid using direct deposit, which includes both small and large businesses, according to a 2018 American Payroll Association survey. Like many technological advancements, direct deposit has pushed out its paper predecessor.
"Whether you are a 10-person operation or smaller, or a business of more than 100 employees, you can gain from direct deposit's advantages," said McElrath. Using direct deposit gives you more control over your finances and provides you with up-to-date electronic records of your payments. This electronic record helps clear up any confusion about your payroll deposit and provides a point of reference.
Pros of direct deposit
Direct deposit has a lot to offer in terms of speed and efficiency, proving to be a win-win for both you and your employees. Here are some of the benefits of using direct deposit.
It saves your business money.
Direct deposit, like most online innovations, has a lot to offer. It helps businesses save a lot of money by eliminating manual check preparation. Since there is no need for postage and mailing supplies, it saves business owners about $3 per paper check.
Direct deposit can also be used to pay Social Security benefits. In 2013, the Social Security Administration mandated beneficiaries collect their payments electronically. Child support payments and tax refunds can also be sent using this method. To receive your tax refund this way, inform your tax preparer. If you want to save some of your tax refund, you can disburse funds into several different accounts – you only need to provide your bank account information.
It saves your business time.
Saving money is always a bonus, but saving time is also a welcome win. With direct deposit, you no longer spend time printing and mailing paper paychecks, and you no longer need to wait for all of your employees to cash their checks. It also saves employees time since they no longer need to wait in line at the bank to cash or deposit their paychecks.
It's more secure than paper.
Direct deposit has a big security advantage over paper checks, which can be lost, stolen or counterfeited. Direct deposit is perceived as more secure by 83% of employees, according to the Nacha survey. In a recent Association of Finance's Payments Fraud and Control Survey, researchers found that checks were the most vulnerable to fraud.
It supports employees' financial health.
Direct deposit allows you to help your employees automatically direct part of their paycheck into their savings accounts. "With split deposit, employees can direct a fixed amount or percentage of their pay into a savings or investment account to help build savings," said McElrath. "As the single biggest influence on employees' use of direct deposit, businesses can play a key role in supporting employee financial health."
Most financial institutions offer free checking when employees use direct deposit, which saves on banking fees, said Kristin Walle, senior vice president of Global Payments and Compliance at Automatic Data Processing, Inc.
It's good for the environment.
Our environment is precious, and when we say direct deposit is greener, we mean it. A 10-person small business that pays employees twice a month uses 10.7 pounds of greenhouse gases each year – that's the equivalent of driving almost 40 miles in your car.
If the same small business switched to direct deposit instead of printing paper checks, it would save 3.7 pounds of paper, 35.7 gallons of waste water from being drained into natural bodies of water, 1.4 gallons of gas, and 4.3 pounds of solid waste, according to the Wagepoint.
Can you imagine the impact on the environment if big corporations like Amazon or Microsoft used only paper checks?
Cons of direct deposit
There are some drawbacks of using direct deposit that you'll want to consider, both for employers and employees.
It's time-sensitive.
Direct deposit is a very time-sensitive process, and depending on an employer's workload, deadlines could be overlooked. If you don't collect all of your employees' time and attendance sheets and process payroll by a certain day and time, the money won't be transferred into your employees' accounts on time. Late checks lead to disgruntled employees, and if you want to speed up the process, it will cost you extra.
There are potential security risks.
Because you need your employees' bank routing and account information to set up direct deposit, you need to have strong security measures in place to protect this sensitive information.
Changing banks means starting over.
Changing banks can also prove to be an inconvenience, because it means changing direct deposit information, so all of your employees will need to submit new authorization forms.
There's no "stop payment" option.
Although it's convenient to use direct deposit to make payments, you can't put a stop on the payment like you can with a paper check – which might be an issue if you make a mistake when calculating employee hours.
You could incur overdraft fees.
If you don't have enough money in your account when funds for payroll are withdrawn, it puts you in the negative – you'll incur overdraft fees, which can be both inconvenient and expensive.
How much does it cost to set up direct deposit for my employees?
Direct deposit may seem to be all about saving time and money, but you can be hit with service fees that range from $50 to $149. Banks may also charge employers each time money is transferred from their account to an employee's. Individual deposit fees can range from $1.50 to $1.90 per transfer.
To find out exactly how much it costs to set up and maintain direct deposit, contact your financial institution or payroll provider. The financial institution or payment processor pays a fee to use the ACH network, but Nacha does not track fees that a business may incur, McElrath said.
"Generally, [the] cost to use direct deposit are low," McElrath said. "Most companies would save money using direct deposit compared to other payment methods, and any startup costs would be recouped in savings and increased productivity."
What time do payroll direct deposits post?
Direct deposit fund posting is governed by Nacha's rules, which all financial institutions abide by, said Walle. "As a result, the funds are available by 9 a.m. local time at the receiving depository institution on the settlement day," she said. "Many financial institutions 'memo-post' incoming transactions so employees may see a 'pending' transaction prior to funds being available."
Most American employees who use direct deposit are paid at the opening of business, on the Friday of payday. If your business doesn't have set paydays, you can use direct deposit to pay employees promptly using same-day ACH. The payment would post by 5 p.m. on the day the payments are made, McElrath said.
Can you pay contractors using direct deposit?
Businesses can pay independent contractors using direct deposit the same way they pay traditional employees – contractors need to fill out the direct deposit form. "While there may be differences in the specifics of how a contractor is administered in a payroll system, the money-movement mechanics are the same," Walle said.
The difference is that contracted workers are not required to fill out a W-2 during their payroll process like traditional employees. Instead, they fill out W-9 forms, and you provide a 1099 form if you pay them $600 or more per year.
"deposit" - Google News
December 17, 2019 at 11:37PM
https://ift.tt/2Z3lJv5
Direct Deposit Guide for Small Businesses - Business.com
"deposit" - Google News
https://ift.tt/350q5oO
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment