Putting The Brakes On Payroll Headaches

Steer clear of the burdens involved in payroll management, and you’ll have the time to focus on what matters most. That’s what one auto body shop learned after contracting with a payroll service.

A member of the Automotive Service Association (ASA), Bob Johnson’s Body Shop, located in Columbia, S.C., makes customer service its top priority. With 14 bays and 15 employees, the shop is one of the largest in the area and has been in operation since 1976.

Most of the shop’s business includes collision repair for heavy-duty tractor trailers. U-Haul, Budweiser and Kenworth are a few of its many customers. In addition, Bob Johnson’s handles a small amount of vehicle maintenance.

"One of the reasons for our success is that we treat each vehicle like it were our own, inspecting and re-inspecting it," Ann Marie Smith, business manager, said. "After all, a $130,000 tractor trailer has got to be just right; it’s the equivalent of a Porsche. Customer satisfaction comes first."

When customers arrive after a collision, Smith is quick to drop what she’s doing and meet them. Recognizing that people are naturally upset after an accident, she tries to set them at ease, ensuring their vehicles will be restored and answering any questions.

In addition to serving customers, Smith also handles employees’ needs. She manages the health benefits, coordinates employee safety meetings and does whatever else has to be done on a given day. It would not be unusual for Smith to be cutting the grass one minute and distributing employees’ paychecks the next. Her job description, she jokes, is short and all-encompassing: "Office manager does everything."

She is quick to point out that she couldn’t meet the pressing needs that come up each day if she didn’t get help with payroll preparation and processing. Payroll is an essential part of any business, but administering it can be cumbersome and time-consuming. What’s more, the payroll burden continues to grow as government regulations create new requirements, new pitfalls, and new risks of fines and penalties.

Just before payday, Smith provides her payroll service — ADP — with input on the employees’ hours and any changes. The rest is done for her. The service calculates and prints the payroll checks and/or direct-deposit vouchers, produces reports summarizing payroll data and guarantees compliance with the latest tax regulations.

The service takes full responsibility for calculating, depositing, filing and reconciling all payroll taxes; ensures there’s no overpayment of state unemployment insurance; processes and files responses to any state unemployment insurance claims; and responds to all agency inquiries.

In addition, if Smith has any questions, service representatives are ready to help her get the answers she needs quickly.

"With a service managing the payroll, I have the time I need to manage the office," Smith said. "It doesn’t make any sense for us to do our own payroll. The service is so reliable and so reasonably priced. It would actually cost us more money if I did the work myself."

Before hiring a payroll service two years ago, Bob Johnson’s Auto Body used an employee leasing program to handle payroll and payroll tax needs. But employee leasing was not the right fit for the business so Smith looked for other solutions.

Looking back on her experiences, Smith says she has one single bit of advice for businesses that do payroll themselves, "Don’t! It defies business logic."

The transition to the payroll service was easy. The shop received personal assistance along with a training disk that guided Smith through the steps to get started. Now, all she needs to do each pay period is input her payroll data by phone, fax or PC.

"It’s worth every penny," Smith said. "There are no headaches, no paperwork, no mistakes. I just input wages on Wednesday and get paychecks via courier on Thursday."

In a business that sees the results of accidents every day, it’s nice to know that some things never go wrong. The mechanics at Bob Johnson’s Auto Body can fix just about anything — except, of course, their own paychecks. They deserve correct wages and to be paid on time. Customers deserve the attention that only an office manager can provide. As for Bob Johnson himself, he deserves a vacation; they say he hasn’t had one since 1992.

This article was submitted by Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP), headquartered in Roseland, N.J. ADP is a provider of fully integrated payroll and human resources services.

How To Choose A Payroll Service

Many payroll service companies offer a variety of payroll and payroll tax filing services that can save small businesses time and expense. If you are thinking about a payroll management service for your business, you may want to consider the following:

Why contract a payroll service?

How does a payroll service simplify payroll? Will the service take full responsibility for: Will the service handle all annual returns and filings, including: Will the service offer you the following:

Every payroll Every quarter At year-end
ASA Main Page || AutoInc. Main Page
NACE Pre-Show Coverage
Keeping Up With Industry Trends
Colin Powell – Soldier, Leader ... Automotive Technician?
NACE Show Specials
How's Your Business? || Taking Your Scan Tool To The Next Level
Cruising Instead Of Abusing || Putting The Brakes On Payroll Headaches
What’s Ahead For The Collision Industry?
Guest Editorial -- The Mouse That Roared
Tech To Tech || TechTips || Stat Corner || News Briefs
Taking The Hill || Directions || Chairman's Message
AutoInc. Magazine ®, Vol. XLIV No. 11, November 1996