Payroll run by people who know US payroll tax
Payroll has to be right every cycle. We take the whole cycle off your desk and run it on a published calendar.
A missed Form 941 deposit turns into a federal penalty. A misclassified overtime hour turns into a wage claim. A new state that nobody registered in turns into three quarters of back withholding notices. None of these problems announce themselves on payday. They show up months later, in a letter, usually addressed to the owner.
We work as your payroll department, not as a separate software vendor. You keep your payroll platform of record and we work inside it. Whether you run Gusto, ADP RUN or Workforce Now, Paychex Flex, QuickBooks Payroll, or the provider your CPA set up years ago, we log in, build the run, review the register, get your approval, and submit the deposits and filings through that platform under your EIN. Client funds never move through YFG.
That structure matters for two reasons. Your filings stay under one provider of record, so the IRS and each state agency see one continuous trail. And if you ever bring the function back in house, everything already lives where it lived before. There is nothing to migrate and nothing to unwind.
Pricing depends on headcount, pay frequency and how many states you file in. Most clients run their back office for 40% to 60% less than a comparable in-house team, and payroll is usually the piece that pays for itself first, because the hours it gives back belong to an office manager or a controller with better work to do.
What you get every pay cycle
This is the standing scope of a payroll engagement. We put it in writing before the first run, so nothing here turns into a line item later.
- Payroll register reviewed before every runWe build the run, then reconcile hours, rates, overtime, bonuses, commissions and reimbursements against your timekeeping source before anything is approved. You see the register first, not a surprise debit.
- Multi-state withholding applied correctlyResident and work state rules, reciprocity agreements, local city and school district taxes where they apply, and state unemployment assigned to the correct jurisdiction for each employee.
- Overtime and tipped wage calculationsFLSA overtime at the regular rate, including nondiscretionary bonuses and shift differentials, plus tip credit, tip pooling and tipped minimum wage true-ups where state law requires them.
- Deductions, garnishments and benefit withholdingsChild support orders, IRS levies, creditor garnishments, medical, dental and vision premiums, HSA and FSA contributions, with pre-tax and post-tax treatment set up correctly the first time.
- 401(k) deferrals and remittancesEmployee deferrals, employer match and participant loan repayments funded on schedule and reconciled to the recordkeeper report each cycle.
- PTO and accrual trackingAccrual rules by tenure or hours worked, carryover caps, and balances that match what the employee sees on the pay stub.
- Federal and state tax depositsForm 941 deposits on your semiweekly or monthly schedule, Form 940 FUTA deposits once quarterly liability passes $500, plus state withholding and state unemployment deposits.
- Quarterly and annual filingsForm 941 each quarter, Form 940 annually, state unemployment wage reports, state withholding reconciliations, and year-end Form W-2, Form W-3 and Form 1099-NEC preparation and distribution.
- Payroll journal entry posted to your booksA clean entry in QuickBooks Online or Desktop, Xero, NetSuite or Sage Intacct with gross wages, employer taxes, benefit liabilities and accruals split by department, class, job or location.
- A cycle summary you can read in a minuteTotal gross, employer burden, cash required, funding date, check date, and anything that needs your attention, sent before the debit hits your account.
Payroll situations we handle
Most payroll looks simple until one of these shows up. We price for them from day one rather than treating them as exceptions.
Multi-state and remote teams
Employees in several states, employees who cross state lines inside one pay period, and reciprocity between neighboring states. We identify the withholding and unemployment registrations you need, prepare the applications, and keep each state account current as your footprint changes.
Learn moreHourly, salaried and tipped
Blended workforces on different cycles. Weekly hourly crews, semimonthly salaried staff, tipped servers and bartenders with declared tips and service charges, and salaried nonexempt employees who still earn overtime.
New hire onboarding
Federal Form W-4 and state withholding certificates, Form I-9 collection and retention, direct deposit authorization, state new hire reporting, and setup of the pay rate, department, accrual rule and deduction codes before the first check runs.
Contractors and 1099-NEC
Form W-9 collection, TIN and name matching before year end, payment tracking through accounts payable, a check of each vendor against the reporting threshold in force for the year, and Form 1099-NEC filing with federal and state copies by the January 31 deadline.
Learn moreCertified payroll and job costing
Prevailing wage rates, fringe benefit treatment and weekly certified payroll reporting on Form WH-347 for public works, with labor allocated to jobs, phases and cost codes so your job cost reports mean something.
Learn morePayroll tax notices
Send us the letter. We trace it to the filing and deposit record, determine whether it is a misapplied payment, a rate change or a real error, and prepare the response or the amended return, including Form 941-X and state equivalents.
How we take over your payroll
A takeover is not a switch you flip on a Friday. Here is the sequence, and what each step asks of you.
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File review and scoping
We review your last four quarters of Form 941, your Form 940, state withholding and unemployment returns, current rates and deposit frequency, the employee roster by state, and every active pay item, deduction code and accrual rule. This is where most surprises surface, and now is the cheapest time to find them.
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Access to your platform
You add us as a user on your existing payroll system and grant access to the state agency portals and the accounting file. You keep ownership of every account. We work inside your environment, so nothing has to be rebuilt or migrated.
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Parallel run
We process one full cycle alongside your current process and reconcile the register to the penny against your last processed payroll: gross wages, taxes, deductions, net pay and employer burden. We do not take over the run until those numbers agree.
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Cutover and payroll calendar
You get a published calendar for the year with timekeeping cutoffs, approval windows, funding dates, check dates, deposit due dates and filing deadlines. Everyone on your side knows exactly when their part is due.
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Steady state and year end
Every cycle: prepare, review, your approval, submit, post the journal entry, deposit and file. Every quarter: reconcile Form 941 to the general ledger and to the state returns. Every January: Form W-2, Form W-3 and Form 1099-NEC out the door by the 31st.
Filings and deposits we prepare and submit
Everything below is prepared and submitted through your payroll platform of record, under your EIN and your state account numbers. Deadlines shift when a due date falls on a weekend or a federal holiday.
| Form or filing | What it covers | Cadence | Typical deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form 941 | Federal income tax withheld, Social Security and Medicare | Quarterly | Last day of the month following quarter end |
| Federal tax deposits (EFTPS) | Form 941 liability | Semiweekly or monthly, set by your lookback period | Wednesday or Friday after payday, or the 15th of the following month |
| Form 940 | Federal unemployment tax (FUTA) | Annual return, quarterly deposits once liability passes $500 | January 31 |
| State withholding return | State income tax withheld | Monthly, quarterly or annual, by state | Varies by state and deposit schedule |
| State unemployment wage report | SUTA taxable wages and contributions | Quarterly | Generally the last day of the month following quarter end |
| Form W-2 and Form W-3 | Employee wages, withholding and benefit reporting | Annual | January 31 |
| Form 1099-NEC | Nonemployee compensation paid to contractors | Annual | January 31 |
| New hire reporting | Newly hired and rehired employees | Per hire | Within 20 days of hire in most states, sooner in some |
Scroll the table sideways on a small screen.
Platforms we work in
We meet your stack where it is. If you already pay for a system that works, keeping it is almost always cheaper than replacing it.
- Payroll platformsGusto, ADP RUN and Workforce Now, Paychex Flex, QuickBooks Payroll, Paylocity, Rippling and most regional providers. If your current provider is doing the job, we keep it and work inside it. If it genuinely is not, we will tell you why and what a move would involve.
- Accounting systemsQuickBooks Online and Desktop, Xero, NetSuite and Sage Intacct. Payroll entries are mapped to your chart of accounts and to your department, class, location or job structure, on an accrual or cash basis in line with US GAAP and your reporting needs.
- Time and attendanceQuickBooks Time, Homebase, When I Work, Deputy and restaurant POS exports. Hours are imported, checked for missing punches and unapproved overtime, and reconciled before the run is built.
- Spend, AP and reimbursementsExpensify, Ramp and Bill.com. Reimbursements either ride along with payroll as a nontaxable line or stay in accounts payable, whichever keeps your books and your 1099 reporting cleaner.
- Benefits and retirementCarrier and broker portals for medical, dental, vision, life and disability deductions, plus most 401(k) recordkeeper portals for deferrals, employer match and loan repayments, reconciled to the payroll register every cycle.
Common questions about outsourced payroll
Do you become our payroll provider of record?
No. Your payroll platform stays the provider of record, and deposits and filings go out through it under your EIN and your state account numbers. We operate inside your account as your payroll team. Your funds move from your bank to the agencies and your employees, never through YFG.
We just hired someone in a state we have never paid in. What happens?
We identify the registrations you need, usually a state withholding account and a state unemployment account, and we prepare the applications. Registration takes a few days in some states and a few weeks in others. We never delay an employee's pay while we wait. We withhold at the correct rate from the first check, then file and remit for that period once the account number arrives.
Can you handle tipped employees across several locations?
Yes. We handle tip credit, declared cash tips, credit card tips, service charges, tip pooling, overtime at the regular rate, and state tipped minimum wage true-ups. Labor is reported by location, so each unit's cost lands in its own department in the general ledger. We also track the wage data your CPA needs for the FICA tip credit on Form 8846.
Who answers employee questions about paychecks?
We do, if you want us to. That covers pay stub questions, Form W-4 changes, direct deposit updates, garnishment questions, PTO balances and Form W-2 reissues. If you would rather keep employee contact in house, you route only the technical exceptions to us. Either setup works.
What happens if we get an IRS or state payroll tax notice?
Forward it the day it arrives. We trace it to the underlying filing and deposit record and work out what actually happened. Most notices come down to a deposit applied to the wrong period, an unemployment rate change that never reached the payroll system, or a return filed under the wrong account. We prepare the response and, when a correction is required, the amended return.
How long does a takeover take?
Two to four weeks is typical. A single-state employer with clean records on a current platform can move faster. A multi-state employer switching mid-quarter with open agency notices takes longer, because we reconcile the quarter before we accept responsibility for it. We give you a date after the file review, not before.
Do you also prepare Form 1099-NEC for our contractors?
Yes. We collect Form W-9 before the first payment, keep TINs current, and track reportable payments through accounts payable. We apply the filing thresholds and file Form 1099-NEC with the IRS and the required state copies by January 31, along with Form 1096 where paper filing applies.
What does it cost?
A flat monthly fee based on employee count, pay frequency, the number of states you file in, and how much of the surrounding work you want included, such as contractor payments, benefit deduction administration and general ledger posting. The scope is agreed in writing before the first run. There is no charge per question and no surprise line items. We quote it after a short call, at no cost.
Get a free consultation and a no-cost payroll quote
Tell us your headcount, your pay frequency, the states you file in and the platform you run today, and we will send back a flat monthly quote and a written takeover plan at no cost. Call (209) 456-5966 or email info@yfgconsultants.com for a free consultation.