Frequent Questions from Our CLients

Questions and Answers

We love answering questions for our clients and potential customers. Click on any question below to expand the answer.

For additional answers, please visit our Contact Us page. You can also email and call us directly at:

info@hrledger.com

Phone: (800) 451-1136 or (530) 887-3812
Fax: (800) 451-1137 or (530) 887-3807

How does your system work?

The over-simplified answer is that each time a transaction is entered into our payroll system we analyze it for the impact on the benefits you offer. If it is a trigger, our benefits administration system is updated. On a pre-set schedule our benefits system verifies eligibility, adjust bills, reconciles vendor billing, and can at the clients request pay the vendor.

The COBRA Administration portion of our system kick into gear when an employee first becomes eligible by sending our the required Initial Notice. Should the employee be subject to a “qualifying event” the COBRA system continues with all of the required notifications, eligibility, billing, collection and premium payments.

What expertise does HR Ledger have for developing an adequate system to meet my expectations?

Our management team has more than 95 years of cumulative hands–on experience in Insurance, Benefits, Benefits Administration, Payroll and Human Resource Administration. We designed the system based on our experience with our own clients’ needs. Then we hired one of the top development teams in the field. Our developers came from the Human Resource Administration and Benefits Administration Automation field. They have experience with cutting edge technology, large scalable flexible platforms, and include the NASDAQ in their resume of clients.

Can you take care of vacation and sick pay accruals?

Yes as well as PTO (Personal Time Off) – you simply provide us with the rules of your plan. We program our system with your policy and while meeting your employment rules accrue Vacation, Sick or PTO for each employee.

When an employee uses accrual time, our system deducts it from their totals and displays it on their check stub. You can elect to have the accrual balance(s) appear on the employees’ check stub.

Can access be limited to my payroll data?

Yes. You provide us with the individual(s) in your company who are authorized to provide and receive payroll information. You may also set a password for additional security.

Do you handle employee garnishments?

Yes. We do the setup, process the deduction for each designated payroll period, assure compliance with the Federal and State limits, and mail the check.

How do you ensure my payroll taxes are paid properly?

Our system calculates the taxes and automatically calendars them to be paid on the proper date. We participate in the regular meetings the IRS conducts for advising payroll vendors on new procedures and protocols.

Since taking on our first client in January of 2003 we have never missed submitting taxes for our clients by the prescribed deadline.

Will I receive verification of a garnishment payment being made?

Yes. You will receive a special check register detailing the item.

What do I do if I have to void a check and reissue one for a different amount?

You simply include the details of the voided check and the one that was reissued and we will enter them with the next payroll. This assures correct taxing on the wages.

What do I do if I need figures for a manual check (like a termination check)?

Manual checks are checks or check figures generated between payrolls and are generally written by you on your local bank account. They are calculated using the payroll system taxation and withholding rules. They can, for example, be generated for terminations, loans, or bonuses. Net Pay Figures can be available in moments.

To receive a manual check or manual check figures simply contact our office and we will be more than happy to provide figures or send a check.

If you use our online payroll portal, you can create and, print a check right in your office provided you have a MICR toner cartridge and compatible check stock.

Manual check figures are retained and reported with your next payroll. This consolidates cumulative and tax data for your convenience. This way you only make General Ledger entries with each payroll and not each check. It also allows us to keep your reporting and deposits of taxes on schedule.

Do I have to sign every check?

No, we can print a bank acceptable signature facsimile on your checks. We can place your logo on them as well. It is as secure as signing each one individually.

How do I receive my payroll reports and checks from you?

For printed checks and reports you have the choice of FedEx or United States Postal Service.

If all of your employees are on direct deposit and you, therefore, are not receiving checks, you can utilize our paperless payroll service where we e-mail the reports and direct deposit vouchers to you.

How secure is my data?

Payroll data is stored on secured computers, in a secure facility and backed up nightly.

Will you handle my New Hire Employee Reporting?

Yes. We track it and send the report to the government in a timely manner. The cost is included in the H R Ledger ValuePak. There is an additional charge per new employee if you enroll in our other packages.

When will my employees have access to their direct deposits?

We send the ACH (Automated Clearing House) file so the information arrives at their bank on pay date. Whether the funds are available at the beginning of the day or that night depends upon when their bank processes the file.

Do you administer POP, 125, Cafeteria Plans?

We do not administer these plans. Generally speaking, these programs require a plan document, third party administration, and specific expertise. We can port the data and send funds to an administrator so as to make the interface seamless to you. This allows you to have the best of both worlds, experts in HR Accounting providing deductions directly to your plan administrator.

We work with several 125 Plan Administrators and would be happy to refer you to them if you are in need of those very specialized services.

Can you handle my COBRA requirements?

HR Ledger is a full service COBRA Administrator. We have an advantage over a traditional COBRA Administrator because most of our COBRA actions and transactions are triggered by your payroll events. This means you don’t have the additional burden of notifying a separate COBRA Administrator of changes.

How do you handle late enrollees?

Hopefully you will have seen the end of late enrollees. With each new hire we track their application, their introductory period, their waiting period and verify their enrollment. This ensures timely enrollment, accurate billing and predictable cash flow. Of course, we also handle the mandated New Hire Reporting at the same time.

Can you provide me all of the features of my current payroll service and benefits administration company?

If we can’t we shouldn’t be your vendor. Our experience has shown that sometimes we can tweak a feature to meet your specific needs and we are flexible enough with our system to be able to do that. We have found that for many of our clients a slight adjustment in their internal system not only makes us a great fit but has also brought them into compliance. We produce a features list you may use to compare what you have to what you could have with us. This list is constantly growing as we integrate more and more HR Accounting functions.

How soon after you receive my payroll data will I receive my finished payroll?

We can ship your payroll to you the same day the data is received provided it is received by 12:00 p.m. The timing of your receipt of the payroll will depend upon which shipping method you select.

What are my options for making tax payments?

We include our TotalTax service in all of our payroll packages. With this service, you are free from the worry of timely payment and filing. We take care of it for you.

If, however, you prefer to file your own taxes, we can accommodate that for you by providing the figures and/or the checks drawn on your account for the payments. Since our fee schedule is based upon TotalTax payment, we are unable to provide a discount if you choose to file your own.

Can my employees designate more than one account for direct deposit?

Yes. An employee can designate up to four different accounts for direct deposit.

How can we transmit our payroll data to you?

There are several ways and you may choose which is most convenient for you.

  1. You may fax or e-mail your data to us.
  2. We can call you for your time and payroll data.
  3. Or we will provide you with a simple spreadsheet for you to complete and submit to us electronically.
  4. We can also interface with most on-site time clock and web based timekeeping formats for seamless data transfer.

Can you provide Workers’ Comp Reporting?

Yes. We can provide a monthly report with premium calculation based upon the classifications and rates you provide us.

Can you report pay by division, department, job, etc.?

Yes. We have a variety of different ways to report pay depending upon your need.

What kind of reports can I get?

With every payroll, you receive a payroll liability report with deposit requirements and due dates, a detailed employee payroll register, department registers, and payroll worksheets. On a monthly basis, you can elect to receive a detailed employee earnings report covering the entire month, a sick/vacation register, a tip register, and a workers’ compensation register.

There are numerous additional reports you can request based on the needs of your company and your accountant. If you would like a list of the available reports please give us a call and we can e-mail it to you.

Can you provide time card labels?

Yes, and time cards too!

Can I get reports on any format such as Excel?

We do have the capability to export many of our reports to Excel as well as PDF, DOC, RTF formats; however, we use a proprietary report writer to produce our standard reports. This allows us to build universally applicable reports and sometimes they just won’t export well to other formats.

We can also access your data via Crystal Reports. Many reports and exports have already been written. Please ask if your are looking for a specific data set. Otherwise it would require customized programming and the associated costs.

Do you limit the types of pay increments to hourly or salary?

No. We can accommodate either pay types. We can also itemize different types of pay such as commission, vacation, sick, PTO, holiday, tips, etc.

When do I need to have funds in my bank account to cover my payroll and tax liabilities?

Sufficient funds in collectible form need to be in your bank account one banking (bank holidays and weekends do not count as banking days) day prior to pay date.

How will I know when you have debited my bank account for the funds?

For most of our clients their bank account is debited one day prior to the payroll date. For our clients whose bank offers online banking they can view the debit the day prior to the payroll date. Of course, the debit will also show on the bank statement.

How will I know the amount I need to deposit to my account?

The liability page of your standard payroll reports itemizes the amount needed. For most of our clients we email this report as the payroll is processed to give you the most amount of time to make your bank deposit.

How quickly can you get me my payroll totals each pay period?

This actually depends more on you than us. As the processing day progresses we get more and more payrolls. The earlier you get it in, the earlier we can process it. Getting your payroll processed early in the day does not change when you have to have your bank deposits made.

If you submit your payroll by phone, we can provide the totals at the end of the call. If you provide payroll information via fax or e-mail (and need the figures prior to receiving your processed payroll which contains the liability page with the figures) we can either fax or e-mail the totals to you.

If you use our online payroll application, you can preview your entire payroll including reports and bank deposits before it is submitted for processing.

How long does Online Payroll take to set up?

You can access your payroll data in minutes.

Can I continue using my timekeeping program?

Yes!  We will show you how to import the time and attendance data directly into the payroll system.  We have yet to find an import format we cannot import.

For additional answers, please visit our Contact Us page. You can also email and call us directly at:

info@hrledger.com

Phone: (800) 451-1136 or (530) 887-3812
Fax: (800) 451-1137 or (530) 887-3807