One of the challenges that many accountants face is accurately capturing employee time for their live payroll clients. INTERAC provides a variety of solutions to this issue. 

Spreadsheet Time Sheets can be a simple but effective way to gather employee time. A time keeper can enter a whole crew’s time into a single sheet and submit the data. Anyone with basic computer skills can act as a time keeper, and it is very easy to review and edit the data for accuracy before it is processed. 

Clients who utilize time clock systems can generally submit their data in spreadsheet format, making it easy to import. Using INTERAC InterLink import/export utilities, data from a spreadsheet is easily imported directly into payroll for processing, eliminating the errors and time spent with manually keying the data in. 

For clients who need a more complete payroll solution, INTERAC offers the Payroll Data Entry application, which is an easy way to offer just the functionality that is needed. It can be run as a stand-alone application at the client site, as a hosted application on a cloud server, or an in-house terminal server, whatever fits the requirements best. 

Payroll Data Entry is ideal for client installations, particularly where they need the ability to process payroll and print checks in-house. Because it is a subset of the actual payroll application, it offers lots of capabilities:

• It provides complete payroll data entry capabilities because it includes the actual payroll journalizing application. If that is all that the client needs, the transaction files may be submitted for processing.
• Clients can manage their own employee setup, adding and editing employees as needed.
• Where appropriate, clients are able to complete the payroll process, printing checks, and disbursing direct deposits. 
• The system generates the payroll data files for distribution to the General Ledger, but it does not have the ability to post. This prevents posting before they have been reviewed. 

Whatever your situation, INTERAC provides a variety of ways to help streamline your payroll data capture process. 


Other Resources:
Payroll Data Entry Brochure

One of the challenges that many organizations face is accurately capturing employee time for payroll. It can be particularly difficult when workers are spread across multiple locations, or job sites. While it is streamlining the data capture process and maintaining the accuracy of the data are critical, it is also important to find a solution which minimizes the burden on the employees responsible for collecting and entering the data. 

Technology offers a variety of good solutions to address this issue. 

Spreadsheet Time Sheets can be a simple but effective way to gather employee time. Whether you use individual employee time sheets, or have a time keeper enter a whole crew’s time into a single sheet, a spreadsheet can easily capture, organize, and submit the data to the payroll system. Anyone with basic computer skills can enter the data and it is very easy to review and edit the data for accuracy before it is processed. Using INTERAC InterLink import/export utilities, data from a spreadsheet is easily imported directly into payroll for processing, eliminating the errors and time spent with manually keying the data in. 

PC and Mobile Applications have become a popular option in recent years. For situations where employees spend most of their time away from the office, these options may be more effective. INTERAC includes several PC based remote time entry options. 

• Payroll Data Entry is an excellent option for remote offices or client installations where they need the ability to process payroll and print checks. Because it is a subset of the actual payroll application, it creates the transaction files for processing, eliminating the import step.
• Job Tracker is designed with the construction job site in mind, allowing the time keeper to submit time for their entire crew from an easy and efficient PC based job cost and equipment cost enabled time entry system.

Time Clocks & Point of Sale Systems are widely used in many businesses. Traditionally time clocks were physical devices which were used to punch in and out. Today’s time clock may be nothing more than a software application on a PC. Many POS systems include the time clock function, allowing employees to punch in and out right from a POS terminal. Virtually any current time clock or POS system will output the data in either CSV, or spreadsheet format, making it easy to import into your payroll system. More advanced systems often have the ability to interface directly with the payroll software, sharing the employee lists and other key setup information. This can be a real time saver, only having to maintain one master employee database.

Whatever your situation, there are a variety of ways to streamline your payroll data capture process with INTERAC. 

Going Green is more than just being environmentally friendly. It also means saving time and money, which goes right to the bottom line, putting more green in your pocket. While being environmentally responsible is becoming an important part of being a good corporate citizen, there are lots of reasons to take advantage of the various time and money saving features of the INTERAC accounting system. 

Going paperless with the Document Management System
Besides being more environmentally friendly, you can save lots of time, money, and space by eliminating paper from your routine processes. 

• Automatically generate pdf copies of payroll and AP checks instead of printing paper copies.
• Automatically email these copies to employees and vendors instead of distributing paper copies.
• Receive and process electronic invoices from vendors.
• Submit electronic invoices to your customers.
• Convert all those boxes of paper in the archives to electronic files and eliminate all the hours of filing and free up that space. 

Taking advantage of Direct Deposit capabilities in both AP and Payroll. 
INTERAC will automatically generate and file the direct deposit statements, and it can even email copies directly to employees or vendors. For employees that don’t utilize traditional banking, the ePayCard service may be an attractive option.

Utilizing the Manager Applications 
Easily share critical information with key team members with direct, view only access to all the data they need from a simple point and click interface. All the manager applications also integrate with the Document Management System to allow users to scan, add, and manage the associated documents. 

• Job Manager provides direct access to all the Job Cost information, including documentation.
• HR Manager provides instant access to the wealth of employee information from Payroll.
• Equipment Manager provides easy access to all your Equipment Cost information and documents.
• Report Manager provides each user with their own custom menu of INTERAC reports, and it is integrated with the other manager applications for easy access.

E-File your federal and state taxes instead of printing and mailing the forms. INTERAC will generate the necessary upload files for federal and all 50 states. 
​
These a just a few of the ways you can save time and money and become more environmentally friendly. If you would like to learn more about taking advantage of these options, we would be happy to show you how. Give us a call.

With the proliferation of smart phone technology, employees have come to expect instant access to all their financial information. Beyond just providing the benefits of the ePayCard option, with rapid!Access, your employees now have easy access to manage their account, right from their phone or tablet. 

In a press statement released by the American Bankers Association (ABA) indicated that “Two in five Americans (39 percent) use a mobile device to manage their bank account at least once per month and nearly half of mobile device owners (45 percent) do so.”

The rapid!Access app is available for both iOS and Android devices, so it is compatible with a wide variety of phones and tablets. If you aren’t already taking advantage of the benefits of the rapid! ePayCard and its mobile access, isn’t it time to reconsider?

Here are a few of the benefits you may be missing:

• First Time Login/New Card Activation - all with your mobile phone
• View current balance now with running balance displayed
• Self Service options to update your password, PIN and personal information
• Direct Dial - Connect with customer service from the “Contact Us” tab
• Deposit a check to your card using your smart phone
• View recent transactions
• View transaction details
• Transfer funds
• Enroll & manage text alerts
• Locate an ATM and get driving directions to selected ATMs 

Other Resources:
What would PayCards do for your organization?
(Case Study) Wendy’s franchise saves $50,000, achieves 100% e-Pay with rapid! PayCard
INTERAC ePayCard

​If your company processes payroll in excess of $2,000 for employees working on government funded construction projects, Certified Payroll reporting will be required to comply with the Davis-Bacon Act. To be in compliance, it is important to know the “prevailing wage” rates for the contract, and how to generate and submit the appropriate reports. Your Payroll software plays a critical role in managing this process.
Here are a few things to look for in a certified payroll solution:

• A Rate File 
  Because there are differing rates based on the locale, as well as the different classifications of work, keeping track of the appropriate pay rates is best automated using a rate file. This will allow the payroll system to define appropriate rates by any combination of job, phase, work classification, and union. Pay rates and fringe benefits for certified jobs are likely to be different from non-certified jobs. 
• Certified Jobs automatically utilize certified rates. 
  With the rate file implemented, the payroll system automatically selects the appropriate rates based on the defined criteria. This eliminates the need to manually key the appropriate rates and all the potential data entry errors that come with it. There may be cases where an employee is making more than the prevailing rates. The payroll system should be able to compare the employee’s standard rate with the defined certified rates, to select the higher of the two.
• Certified reporting is included in Payroll
  A construction payroll system must be able to generate the mandatory certified payroll reports for the various agencies. These reporting tools should be integrated, making it a simple part of the routine payroll process.

If you are struggling with certified payroll requirements, we would invite you to let Intersoft Systems show you how the INTERAC Construction Payroll System can make it easy. Our Construction Payroll system is tailored to the unique requirements of the construction trades and integrates with our complete INTERAC Construction Accounting System.

If managing payroll deductions is an ongoing nightmare every pay period, let us show you how you can automate the process with INTERAC Payroll Deduction Management System. 

​The integration between Payroll and Accounts Payable allows the system to automatically allocate each employee’s deductions to the appropriate vendors, consolidating them for payment through the standard accounts payable process. It is all built into INTERAC, so it is easy to set up and manage.

Assign each payroll deduction to the appropriate accounts payable vendor.

• Federal, state, and local taxes
• Insurance and benefits
• Garnishments and child support

Payroll automatically consolidates all the deduction transactions and submits them to the assigned vendors in accounts payable.

• Common deductions may be assigned to all employees. 
• Unique deductions may be assigned to individual employees, as needed.
• Many deductions can be set to calculate automatically, not requiring any further data entry during the payroll process.

Utilize the typical accounts payable process to disburse the payments to each vendor.

• Utilize direct deposit with vendors to further automate the process.
• The Document Management System will automatically store a copy of the check or direct deposit statement in the vendor file.
• Accounts Payable will also generate the standard direct deposit file for Electronic Child Support Payment for upload.

​Firms responsible for payroll processing are also likely to have been impacted by the new Affordable Care Act reporting requirements. While the IRS has issued an extension of the due dates for 2015 ACA reporting, the requirements must still be met. 

If you are dealing with the reporting changes mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), it is also likely that you still have some questions. The answers to several of the most common questions were provided by Iris Tilley in her article “IRS Releases Final 2015 ACA Reporting Forms and Instructions”.

To comply with these filing requirements, Intersoft has implemented a number of changes to the INTERAC Payroll system. 

• New fields added to the employee master file record to store all of the information that is required on the 1095 forms.
• Information can be added manually into the employee record using the Master File Maintenance program.
• Information can also be imported into the employee’s record from an Excel or CVS file using Interlink Master Import.
• Year end 1094 and 1095 forms will be produced through the Complete Laser Forms software. Pre-printed forms will not be supported. 

​Compiling Employee’s Data
To simplify the initial setup, spreadsheet templates may be used to import both the employee’s information and the covered individuals (dependents) information. For your convenience, Intersoft has made sample templates and instructions available for download. Contact Intersoft Systems support to request a copy.

Laser 1094 and 1095 Forms
INTERAC Payroll will generate the forms as part of the Laser Forms package. If you currently license that product the required forms are included. To add the Laser Forms Package to your INTERAC system, complete and submit your order.

Written by IRIS TILLEY (Barran Liebman LLP) - 9/22/15

As many employers are all too aware, ACA reporting has been looming on the horizon for some months now. However, preparations have been exceedingly difficult because employers have been left only with draft forms and outdated instructions as a framework for their planning. On September 17, 2015, the IRS finally remedied this situation by issuing final reporting forms and instructions for 2015. While these final forms and instructions are filled with typical IRS minutia, we have summarized the top takeaways here (along with a little background information to set the stage).

1. What is ACA reporting, and does it matter to my company?
   Today, references to ACA reporting relate to a set of forms the IRS is using to enforce the tax penalties under the ACA. This reporting is separate from and in addition to the IRS’s mandate that larger employers report the cost of some health coverage on employees’ Forms W-2. Instead of reporting only the cost of coverage, this reporting is used by the IRS to determine which employers are offering health coverage to their full-time employees and which individuals had health coverage in a given year. Through the reported information, the IRS plans to enforce the individual mandate, which requires individuals to maintain health coverage or pay a tax, and the employer mandate, which penalizes applicable large employers (ALEs) who do not offer health coverage to a sufficient number of their full-time employees or offer coverage that is either unaffordable or insufficient. Employers with an average of 50 or more full-time and full-time equivalent employees on business days in the proceeding calendar year (i.e., applicable large employers or ALEs) and all employers with self-insured plans are required to report. For the upcoming reporting cycle, this means that employers with a sufficient employee count in 2014 have an obligation to report information related to the offers of health coverage they made to full-time employees in 2015. Employers with insured plans are not required to report whether an employee or his or her dependents actually enrolled in coverage; that information is left up to the insurers to report. ALEs with self-insured plans will report both offers of coverage and enrollment information. Smaller employers with self-insured plans will only report actual enrollment.
   
   
2. Isn’t the IRS going to delay this reporting again? 
   No, the IRS is not likely to delay reporting again. It has stated that it will not impose penalties where an employer makes a good faith effort to comply, but the IRS’s affirmative step in releasing final forms and instructions signals that employers will not see an additional delay in reporting requirements.
   
   
3. When are the forms due? 
   The forms are due in early 2016 for offers of coverage made in 2015. Employers will distribute Form 1095-C to employees on a W-2 schedule, which is February 1, 2016 for 2015 forms. Form 1094-C is a transmittal form which will not go to employees but which will go to the IRS. Both Forms 1094-C and 1095-C will go to the IRS on the same schedule in February or March of 2016, depending upon whether the employer or insurer files the forms electronically.
   
   
4. Are the final forms different from the draft forms? 
   A few boxes have been moved around from their positions on the draft forms, but the final forms are not substantively different than the draft forms.
   
   
5. What do the final instructions do with HRA Reporting? 
   The final instructions clarify that employers sponsoring both an insured major medical plan and a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) do not need to issue separate forms for each of these offerings. The prior instructions indicated the opposite.
   
   
6. Do I really need to report COBRA offers of coverage? 
   Whether COBRA is a reportable offer of coverage depends on whether an employee has terminated employment. Where an employee has terminated employment, the final instructions clarify that an employer would not report that it had offered coverage to an employee in a given month based solely on COBRA coverage. However, where an employee is an ongoing employee who lost health coverage due to a reduction in hours, COBRA would be reported.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has mandated major changes to the reporting requirements of companies that process payroll. 
Intersoft has been working on changes to INTERAC to comply with the filing requirements 2015. These changes are included in the new INTERAC.NET program which began shipping in September.

The following updates were made to INTERAC Payroll to comply with the ACA reporting requirements:

• New fields added to the employee master file record to store all of the information that is required on the 1095 forms.
• Information can be added manually into the employee record using the Master File Maintenance program.
• Information can also be imported into the employee’s record from an Excel or CVS file using Interlink Master Import.
• Year end 1094 and 1095 forms will be produced through the Complete Laser  Forms software. Pre-printed forms will not be supported.  (Laser Forms license required - Laser Forms Package Order)

Compiling Employee’s Data
Spreadsheet templates may be used to import both the employee’s information and the covered individuals (dependents) information. For your convenience, these templates and instructions are available for download. Contact Intersoft Systems support to request a link.

Laser 1094 and 1095 Forms
The forms will be produced as part of the Laser Forms package. If you currently license that product you will receive those forms as part of the year end update. Complete the Laser Forms Package Order to add this option to your INTERAC system.

If you have experienced check fraud, you will appreciate the value of positive pay account reconcilement.

You don’t need be one of the victims of check fraud which impacts corporate America every year. Criminals too often accomplish their mission is by counterfeiting or changing valid checks that were written on corporate accounts. When checks are presented to the bank for payment, if the bank can’t visually see a problem with the check, they have no way of determining that it has been altered, or what the original information should have been. 

In response, most banks have implemented electronic reconcilement programs, allowing companies to provide their bank with a file containing a complete list of their valid check data. If the check is not in the file, it doesn’t clear the bank! This virtually eliminates the problem of stolen or counterfeited checks. INTERAC software includes positive pay capabilities in both Accounts Payable and Payroll, so users can take advantage of this powerful security feature.

Positive pay can save both the money and time lost in dealing with check fraud. If you have experienced it, you understand. If you haven’t experienced it yet, it’s only a matter of time. Take full advantage of this important security measure and protect your company.

3 Things to Consider When Choosing Between Payroll Software and Outsourcing
Excerpted from the article published on Wednesday, August 27, 2014 by Adam Bluemner (Find Accounting Software)

How do you break the deadlock in the in-house payroll versus outsourcing debate?

There’s no shortage of case studies sponsored by payroll software providers demonstrating ROI from in-house payroll. On the other side of the coin, you’ll find plenty of detailed surveys and whitepapers showing you outsourcing is the best value proposition. Adding it up, it’s easy to be puzzled by the stalemate. There’s compelling points from both camps, but also the same frustrating tendency toward all-or-nothing conclusions.
 
The reality is this: There are instances where the best option is outsourcing and there are others where it is software. It simply depends on your unique situation.

Figuring out which approach is right for you, therefore, isn’t about divining whether payroll software or payroll outsourcing providers have the most credible overall position. It’s simply a matter of working logically through how each of the core elements of the decision relates to your specific context.

There are 3 critical angles you need to consider when choosing between in-house, software-based payroll and outsourcing: your skillset, your risk tolerance, and the unique cost calculation for your situation.

Skillset
If you don’t have payroll processing skills on staff already, that can be a pretty compelling reason to start your evaluation leaning toward outsourcing. (read more)

Risk tolerance
Every business wants to minimize risk. The risk management element of determining whether to outsource payroll is an important part of the decision. (read more)

Cost
As with any outsourcing decision, it’s critical to apply the real dollar value of your time to the calculation. In fact, there’s no way you can make an educated cost decision on whether to opt for software or services without first quantifying the value of your time and the amount each solution will save you. (read more)

(read the full article at Find Accounting Software)