The Intentional Entrepreneur

In paid partnership with intuit

Payroll Simplified: Streamlining with QuickBooks Full-Service Payroll

Through the years we have become a QuickBooks Online-only firm and therefore offer our services exclusively with Intuit products including QuickBooks Online Payroll. We support clients in all industries and use the payroll solution internally to manage our team. We have seen time and again that when customers use third-party payroll solutions with QuickBooks, it causes mapping errors, job costing are not accurate, and using multiple systems add more work and creates inefficiencies to workflows. Below are some reasons why we love using QuickBooks Online Payroll.

SEAMLESS INTEGRATION WITH QUICKBOOKS ONLINE

The most significant advantage of using QuickBooks Online Payroll is its seamless integration with the flagship accounting system. This integration means that payroll data automatically syncs with your accounting records in QuickBooks instead of tedious journal entries and mapping errors from third-party applications. It ensures accuracy in financial reporting and saves our clients and firm valuable time by reducing the risk of human error.

EASY PAYROLL PROCESSING

QuickBooks Online Payroll simplifies the payroll process. With just a few clicks, you can empower your clients’ employees to manage their time and process payroll for all your clients. The system calculates each employee’s pay, including deductions for taxes, benefits, and other withholdings. This automation not only saves time but also ensures that your client’s payroll is accurate and compliant with tax laws.

TAX COMPLIANCE MADE SIMPLE

Staying compliant with tax laws is crucial for any business to succeed. QuickBooks Online Payroll updates its system regularly to reflect the latest tax rates and regulations. There is no need to update or manually refresh to get them. It automatically calculates and deducts the correct amount of taxes from each paycheck. Moreover, it can file payroll taxes and prepare year-end tax forms like W-2s, reducing the workload internally or for your clients. The Payroll Elite subscription also offers your clients tax penalty guarantee.

JOB COSTING CAPABILITIES

For businesses that need to track costs by job or project, QuickBooks Online Payroll offers robust job costing capabilities. You can assign labor costs to specific projects, and service items, giving you and your clients a clearer picture of the project profitability. This feature is beneficial for construction businesses, professional services firms such as yours, and any business that needs to monitor project-based spending. Nonprofits can also benefit from fundraiser and grant tracking easily by utilizing the time tracking built into the payroll subscription or using the timesheets inside of QBO.

EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT FEATURES

Recently, Intuit has updated its employee management features, now called Workforce. It’s easier than ever to let employees manage their time, deductions, direct deposit and pay stubs right from inside Workforce. Managing employee information is a critical aspect of running your business and serving your clients. You can store and manage all employee data, including personal information, pay rates, benefits, and employment history, in one place. This centralized database simplifies employee management and enhances data security while cutting down on time spent accessing multiple systems. The new enhanced permissions within QBOA also make it easier than ever to create the right access role for your team and your clients. The integration of Mammoth HR also allows you and your clients to have access to everything needed from an HR standpoint at your fingertips all included in the payroll subscription.

STREAMLINED EMPLOYEE ONBOARDING

Onboarding new employees can be time-consuming. QuickBooks Online Payroll streamlines this process with its electronic onboarding tools. New employees can enter their personal and tax information directly into the system, which then integrates into your client’s payroll and accounting records. This feature not only saves time but also enhances the onboarding experience for new hires, keeps information secure and reduces the need for saving sensitive information in the office where others may inherently have access to it.

MOBILE ACCESSIBILITY

In today’s fast-paced and remote business environment, having access to a payroll system on the go is a must. QuickBooks Workforce app lets your client run payroll, view reports, and manage employee information from your smartphone or tablet. This feature is especially useful for business and firm owners who are often on the move.

CUSTOMIZABLE PAYROLL REPORTS

As accountants we are always educating our clients that data-driven decision-making is key to business success. QuickBooks Online Payroll provides customizable payroll reports that help you and your clients analyze payroll expenses in detail. You can generate various reports, such as payroll summary, payroll details, tax reports, and job costing reports to gain insights into your labor costs and make informed decisions.

ENHANCED SECURITY

Security is a top concern of Intuit’s when it comes to payroll and financial data. QuickBooks Online Payroll employs advanced security measures to protect your client’s sensitive information. With features like data encryption and multi-factor authentication, you can be assured that payroll data is secure.

CONCLUSION

QuickBooks Online Payroll transforms the payroll experience, offering efficiency, streamlined workflows, and peace of mind. Whether you’re a small firm or manage larger businesses for your clients, this integrated payroll solution is customizable to your specific needs, ensuring that your firm remains compliant, efficient, and well-managed.

*This article is a paid partnership with Intuit


Setting Boundaries in Communication: The Key to Successful Client Relationships and Expectation Management.

One of the biggest challenges our firm has faced as we’ve scaled is managing client expectations, especially around communication. Going from a one-man-band to having a team and the growing pains in between was brutal at times. The success of any business is directly linked to the strength and efficiency of its relationships with its clients. In this dynamic world of relentless hustle and high-speed technology, maintaining healthy boundaries around communication has become more critical than ever. Here are some pivotal strategies to establish these boundaries and efficiently handle client expectations.

Establishing Business Hours
“Respect your own boundaries, and others will respect them too.” –  
Robert Tew

The first strategy is defining and communicating your business hours. This basic yet essential approach provides a clear framework for when clients can expect responses and interactions such as meetings. Doing so not only structures your daily work routine, but also enables clients to respect your availability, fostering a healthier work-life balance. Sticking to business hours is vital once you have set them. Answering calls, texts, social media messages, emails or other forms of communication after or before established
business hours sets the expectation that you will be available at all hours and that you do not have actual business hours after all. A trick for being able to communicate outside of business hours (because that’s when you have time) is to pre-schedule responses to go out during business hours. That way you’re in control of when you can respond, but your clients do not know that you made that reply at 10 pm or 6 am. Calendar blocking allows you to set your work schedule, mark out-of-office times, and even share your availability with others. Apps like Calendly can integrate with digital calendars to enable clients to book meetings only within your set working hours. It also gives your clients the ability to get instant results rather than going back and forth with you or an admin, which can cause frustration and unnecessary wasted time for both parties. Calendly has been a game changer for our company and we have received very positive feedback from our team and our customers about the ease of use and how much they like being able to book a call or meeting so easily. Using out of office replies on your email also helps manage expectations as well as provide additional resources like an alternate contact or your booking link.

Using automations within Quickbooks Online Accountant such as, recurring invoices and sales receipts, scheduling reports, reminders, workflows, training pathways for your team and tasks, can free up a lot of your time during the day which can enable you to be more available to your clients when they need.

Personal Phone: Business or Boundary?
The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.” – Stephen Covey.

The advancement of smartphones has blurred the line between personal and professional lives. While using your personal phone for business may seem convenient at first, it is a slippery slope that can lead to work-related intrusion into your personal space. Drawing a clear boundary by separating your personal and business communications safeguards your privacy and enables you to disconnect from work when necessary. Implementing this can be as simple as using different numbers or employing specialized communication apps for professional interactions. Consider using services like Google Voice, Skype, Zoom or other apps that can provide a separate phone number that can be used for business calls and messages to ensure your personal number remains private. Our company uses the app Grasshopper which allows the whole team to manage communication and get back to customers much sooner than just waiting on one person to have the time to reply. It allows us to call, text or fax and is a fraction of the cost of a traditional phone service or business phone system. It also works as a mobile app or on the computer so you can speak hands-free to your customers or vendors as you’re working. Additionally, professional communication platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Trello allow for organized, trackable communication that keeps work discussions separate from personal conversations. By having a dedicated communication platform for business, you can easily “log off” after hours and maintain a healthier work-life balance.

Transparent Processes for Onboarding New Customers
“The first step in exceeding your customer’s expectations is to know those expectations.” – Roy H. Williams

A thoughtful, tech-forward approach to setting boundaries and managing expectations can help you create a business that is not only successful but also sustainable and enjoyable.

Onboarding is the first real encounter your new customers will have with your processes and business culture. A well-defined, transparent onboarding process can set the right tone for future interactions. During onboarding, clearly explain your workflows, deliverables, timelines, and modes of communication. We send our client communication org chart out immediately after they sign their proposal so that they know right away who they can contact for what, when and how. Be explicit about what they can expect from your service and what you expect from them. This process lays the foundation for mutual understanding and respect, minimizing potential friction in the future. You may also consider systems like Intuit Practice Management (now Karbon), Salesforce, HubSpot, or Zoho CRM to help track client interactions, set follow-up reminders, automate certain communication processes, and provide clear visibility into client information, making the onboarding process more transparent and efficient. Mailchimp within your Quickbooks Online Accountant can also be a good resource for automation and client outreach.

“The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don’t really even
notice it, so it’s part of everyday life.”
– Bill Gates

Conclusion:

Setting boundaries is not about erecting impenetrable walls. Rather, it’s about delineating your professional space to operate efficiently without compromising your personal life. By establishing business hours, avoiding personal phone usage for business communication, and maintaining clear onboarding processes, you can foster healthy client relationships and manage expectations efficiently. Remember, by setting boundaries and managing expectations, you’re not just making your work life more manageable, but also showing your clients that you value their time and the professional relationship you share. And this mutual respect and understanding is the backbone of successful and sustainable relationships.

*This blog is a paid partnership with Intuit.

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