You Can Never Be Too Clear
I don’t do payroll.
Well, actually the true story is I didn’t do payroll. I do now.
My clients have either been big enough to look after it start-to-finish or they used a full-cycle service.
But I currently have 2 clients whose payroll I manage - because they can’t find someone internal to do it right now - and I’ve learned a few things along this journey.
The most enlightening being you can never be too clear.
I am doing the T4 (you Americans would call this the W-2) reconciliations for my clients right now. This involves sharing a copy with each of their team members and having them double-check them for names, Social Insurance Numbers (Social Security Numbers), addresses, anticipated earnings and the like.
I am astounded at the changes that I am needing to make to these!
I assumed (I know, I know…) that people would use their legal name and the address that government documents go to. Well, hells-bells this is most definitely not the case. These are not dumb-dumbs, they are humans trying to get through their work-life filling out forms without the deep thought that I need to go into them.
So the problem with the information being not correct lies squarely on me. And I have since fixed that with more clear direction on how to fill in the information.
I added in '“Please use your legal name and address - the one that matches your government identification”.
This instruction is on the info gathering form as well.
Seems obvious in hindsight, right!?
It’s easy to think people think the way you think (too many thinks in one sentence?) and that they would respond to tasks and information requests in the same way as you. But that’s not the case at all - in many arenas of your world. So laying out precisely how you need something completed is key to getting it done correctly in the first place - saving you time and headaches in the long run.
The lesson learned here is that I am happy I have a process laid out for onboarding employees that is repeatable and easily tweaked!
You can buy it here - all done and ready for you to customize. It uses my tech stack (Wagepoint - payroll, Track - time tracking & Dext - expenses) and is Canadian based, but can be changed out in minutes for your tech and country. It has a Google information gathering form, a step-by-step workflow and an Employee Onboarding Guidebook to empower the employee to feel confident in the process and their new tech.
It’s 25 % off until the end of February using the code BECLEAR.
Another lesson learned is that having a year-end process for verifying employee information is crucial. Not just double-checking that the wage and remittances summary in your payroll program is accurate, but that the employee information is as well. I’m glad I did this walk-through before I shipped everything off, especially knowing that there are so many variables for where information can be inaccurate.
Processes for everything are key!
Repeatable, clearly defined tasks and communications keep your businesses humming along with less chaos and huge efficiency gains. They don’t have to be completely automated. In fact, many processes rely on human intervention. Documenting them and iterating them is the big win.
Word of the week
Don’t do this!
If it’s over, move on.
#TechRabbitHole
There was a great discussion in my Facebook Group, The Workflow Wateringhole, all about Streamdecks.
Join the group, search Streamdeck and follow the fun.
Streamdecks are physical boards that you program buttons to complete actions in a single push. Text expanders, open apps, link to actions within apps, make noises, exit Zoom gracefully (not that any of us have experienced the awkward moment between saying goodbye and then trying to sign off…). There are so many uses for this piece of hardware with those magic buttons.
Think of the 1-minute-cook or popcorn buttons on your microwave. Or your Chrome bookmarks, but you push a cute little button rather than click the bookmark. Neither of these analogies does the Streamdeck functionality justice but it gives you an idea of how it works.
Heather Smith - my personal provider of fabulous #TechRabbitHoles - brought this to my attention 2 weeks ago or so and now a few of us are obsessed. I am currently a vagabond while our cabin is under renovation - again - so I can’t add hardware to my work setup. But I have been living Streamdeck dreams vicariously through Tiffany J Stewart, who is killing it in her setup (and making me green with jealousy).
The Workflow Wateringhole will most certainly become a home for geeking on building out our StreamDecks!
Sociable
- said in your head in a loud sing-songy voice
David Leary is on a quest to solve the #TaxOrganizersSuck problem. He went on a bit of a rant that is worth listening to and then there was a great discussion thread on it. I think this is a very worthy cause.
Coincidentally have a blog/email coming out in the next few weeks on form builders head-to-head comparisons - which relates to this very topic. And why you should move from paper or fillable PDFs to collect data, including tax organizer info. It should have come out months ago, but I was - you know - lazing about taking a break. In the meantime, here is a wee comparison I did previously (and yes a shameless push to grab one of my T1 tax organizer templates).
What’s Cooking?
Creamy vegetable soup - not necessarily with cream.
Sweat* a mix of onions, carrots and celery** - or just onions and another (or a few) vegetable(s).
Anything will do - cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, celery, sweet potato…
Once soft add broth to just cover the veg mix
Blend with an immersion blender
Add more broth (or dairy, coconut milk) to get to the consistency you desire
Add too much liquid? Create a corn starch slurry*** to thicken it up
Add fun things like spices****, cheese, croutons
*Heat over low in a good oil in a covered pan. A Dutch Oven is da bomb for this - I personally have a Le Creuset problem that I have no interest in getting over.
**If you want to sound all fancy, this is called a Mirepoix
***Stir a half forkful of corn starch into a very small amount of cold water
****Curry is ah-mazing with cauliflower and sweet potatoes
Buon appetito
Clearly yours, Kellie :-}
::Shameless Call To Action::
Did I mention I sell an Employee Onboarding system? It has a Google information gathering form, a step-by-step workflow and an Employee Onboarding Guidebook to empower the employee to feel confident in the process and their new tech.
It’s 25 % off until the end of February using the code BECLEAR.
