We’ve got compliance down to a science – here’s how we can help keep your business on track

When it comes to payroll compliance for your Canadian business, there’s a lot to think about! Year-end reporting and filing, taxable and non-taxable benefits, statutory deductions, labour/employment standards, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Revenu Québec deadlines, and more. According to the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA), there are more than 200 regulatory requirements - and over the past year and a half, there were more than 500 federal and provincial policy announcements.

Finding the information you need and then applying that to your business’ payroll isn’t always as straightforward as it sounds, especially for companies with locations in different jurisdictions across the country. That’s why we’re here – to help Canadian businesses stay compliant with important legislative and employee requirements.

Here are a few ways Payworks can help Canadian employers reclaim more time to grow their business and take care of their customers (just like we’ll take care of you!).

What’s the most helpful tool Payworks offers to help keep small businesses compliant?

We couldn’t pick just one…

1. What small businesses love about using Payworks is the robust functionality for compliance and data retention. Clients are notified about legislative updates affecting payroll. We also handle all government remittances at no extra charge – they’re not only calculated by our Payroll application but they’re submitted to the CRA and Revenu Quebec on our clients’ behalf. Upon request, most provincial and WCB premiums can also be remitted directly by Payworks and we also submit Records of Employment (ROE) to Service Canada.

2. Our payroll solution also helps Canadian organizations in distributing pay statements every pay period. Administrators can electronically distribute pay stubs at the click of a button when processing payroll (and the same goes for tax forms come year-end!). Our handy Employee Self Service (ESS) tool makes secure access a breeze for employees. Employees can securely view and print their pay statements and/or tax forms 24/7 from any web-enabled device.

3. Small businesses experience a different kind of year-end with Payworks. Our process was created based on our clients’ feedback, making the experience as stress-free as possible. What our clients like most is the interactive year-end checklist that keeps them on track (and aids in compliance!), the simplified year-to-date adjustments, the ease of authorizing, and submitting to the CRA or Revenu Québec on their behalf. When it comes to year-end, let Payworks do the heavy lifting!

What’s the most frequently asked compliance-related inquiry, and how can you help?

Our Service Team says the biggest (and most frequent!) questions surround vacation pay and stat holiday pay calculations.

1. Vacation pay is remuneration paid to an employee for the vacation time off to which they’re entitled based on their years of service. In Canada, the rate at which employees accrue vacation pay varies between provinces and territories. Typically, an employee will earn a percentage of specified wages starting on their first day of employment, and that percentage increases after a certain amount of years worked at the same organization. In Canada, all employees are entitled to vacation pay, whether they’re part time or full time… which means a lot of calculations every pay period (even with only a handful of staff)!

   Our payroll solution automatically calculates vacation entitlement for our clients as soon as their employees are paid, and it accrues automatically. There are also automations clients can request to have set up when it comes to vacation entitlement – reach out to your dedicated Client Service Representative today to learn more!

2. We’re here to make stat holiday calculations easier. When a stat holiday such as New Year’s Day or Labour Day rolls around, employees who receive the day off are entitled to stat holiday pay. As a general rule, that’s 1/20th of the wages earned during the four weeks prior to the holiday. Clients using our Payroll or Time Management solutions have the option of adding our stat holiday calculator, which helps simplify these calculations. It’s set up based on the business’ jurisdiction (so it adheres to the correct legislative requirements for their province or territory), and calculates stat holiday pay based on the last four weeks of information entered into the application.

   The best part? The data is already there to process payroll or approve timesheets, so our clients don’t have to re-enter data or tab back and forth between a third-party calculator. The generated amounts can also be modified. The stat calculator determines the minimum amount to compensate employees required by legislation based on the last four weeks, with the option to round up the amount at their discretion, if desired.

What other resources do you offer to help with compliance?

1. Hands down, our Service Team gives you one of the best hands up. Our small business solutions are simple and easy to use, and are accompanied by personalized support (at no extra charge). We believe strongly in our one-to-one service philosophy, where each client is assigned a dedicated, Canadian Payroll Association-trained service representative. Whether it’s complex payroll legislation questions, seeking tips on how to use our product or sending in changes to your payroll, our service reps are accountable to our customers and are there to lend a hand when they need them. Simply put – when you call, we answer!

2. Our breadth of payroll resources is a close second. From payroll to HR, we ensure our clients have access to the most up-to-date legislation. We also consolidate provincial and territorial legislation for them so there’s no need to individually search employment and labour standards websites for every jurisdiction. This information is accessible to clients 24/7 within our application. Some of our most sought-after resources include our Payroll Guide, vacation pay and vacationable earnings rates, and stat holiday pay info.

   For important legislative changes, we ensure our clients are in the know. The home page of our application is updated regularly with federal and provincial policy changes that impact Canadian businesses. It’s essentially a news hub for our clients! We inform them of changes such as new statutory holidays, minimum wage rate changes, office closures, and new product features or changes when and often even before they happen – because we know it’s important for the info to be readily available and timely. Our clients also have the capability to identify the type of info that’s most important to their business and have it appear in the top-most tile to help keep them on track. Plus, there are quick Q&As and tips shared to build understanding about payroll in general and Payworks’ solutions specifically.

   For businesses seeking expert guidance and practical resources in HR matters, HR Advisory Services offers unlimited telephone guidance with HR professionals and an affordable Employee Policy Handbook designed to keep businesses compliant, establish best practices and ensure the overall well-being of their employees.

Let’s form an alliance when it comes to compliance – email sales@payworks.ca today.