A 2018 survey by Accounting Today showed that more than half – 56 percent – of small accounting firms nationwide offer payroll services and another 10 percent plan to add them. Some 65 percent of medium-sized firms and 69 percent of large firms also do payroll, with 13 percent and six percent, respectively, planning to add those services. And with … Continued
Tax season, that fist-clenching, teeth-grinding and head-pounding time of year. Across the board, it’s a hectic time for most anyone, but especially for those working in accounting-related fields, including payroll professionals. After all, you must contend with your own personal and business taxes but also help your clients with their tax filing. Now that another tax year is nearly wrapped, … Continued
Statista.com forecasts revenue of payroll service firms in the United States to reach $41.1 billion by 2020 – nearly double industry revenues of $25.7 billion in 2010. This growth suggests immense opportunity exists for the growing number of small and mid-sized payroll software and service firms throughout the United States. But make no mistake – there’s fierce competition for those … Continued
Tax season is upon us. Unfortunately, so is scam season. The Internal Revenue Service recently warned of an expected surge in phishing emails involving payroll direct deposit and transfer scams as well as growing W-2 cons. All three are a form of what cyber security professionals call “business email compromise” (BEC) attacks. They work because they come disguised as emails … Continued
This week I attended the PASBA Conference (Professional Association of Small Business Accountants) in Las Vegas. Apex HCM sponsored, exhibited and presented a session during the conference. We also co-hosted a cocktail party with one of our HCM partners, Kotapay. The room was packed and everyone had a great time. I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to get out of my … Continued
If you think that social media is only effective for companies promoting products and services to consumers, think again. When used effectively, it can prove a gold mine for business-to-business marketers, including payroll software and service bureaus. In fact, research shows that a full 83 percent of B2B marketers use social media, making it the most common B2B marketing tactic. … Continued
Few phrases strike fear and loathing in the hearts of sales reps more than “cold calling”. In fact, more than 40% of salespeople consider prospecting – particularly via cold-calling – the most challenging part of their work. And with good reason. Consider these statistics: Reaching a prospects requires 8 to 18 cold call attempts. 80% of sales require five … Continued
Prolific inventor, political humorist and founding father Benjamin Franklin said it best: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” If your payroll or human resources firm lacks a contingency plan that guarantees continuity or quick recovery in a catastrophic event, then you, too, are setting your business and potentially your clients up for failure. Consider these statistics: … Continued
One key to success, business or personal, is listening. Listen to what your wife tells you for sure. Also, listen to your kids, your employees and your clients. Within all that feedback you will figure out what needs to be done. Next month, Sept 21-22, Apex hosts our annual users’ conference. Before constructing this year’s event we did a lot … Continued
Last week my colleague, Steve Feinberg, President and CPA of AppleTree Business Services, wrote a thought-invoking blog post calling for payroll service bureaus to “Integrate Everything”. I have a similar mantra that I actively put in to play every day at Payrolls Plus: “Automate Everything”. Statistics show that this year, US companies will spend $8.2 billion on automation of their … Continued