Payroll record retention is a common oversight for many small business owners, who are in a constant struggle to keep up with their immediate payroll accounting and a dozen other time demands. Did you know that more than just “having the records somewhere,” the payroll information must be kept in a form that is readily available for inspection? If the day ever comes, you can’t just present a room full of filing cabinets and say the records are somewhere in here.
FAQs for Payroll Record Retention
The relevant laws for payroll record retention are administrated by both the federal and state government. Unfortunately, there is almost no standardization in the length of required record keeping. Many Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) require three-year documentation. Some requirements expire after two years, but state unemployment compensation records must be kept for four years or longer. Rather than try to organize which records need to be kept for how long, most businesses and accountants will maintain payroll records for 7 years to ensure compliance with applicable statutes.
We recommend you double-check the exact guidelines issued by the state in which your business operates, but if you’re just wondering what these rules tend to look like, you check out this payroll record keeping guide from Texas.
Payroll Record Retention Software from AMS
Advanced Micro Solutions (AMS) has built a software system that’s perfect for retaining and reporting payroll records. That’s because before we ever try to offer you a fancy software feature for calculating payroll and paychecks, we provide a core set of data management features through our foundational platform, the W-2/1099 Forms Filer. This includes secure data files and reporting features. It also includes versatile file importing. And since this platform creates a sophisticated module interaction with the rest of our software products, your payroll information is automatically tied to your quarterly and end-of-year filing forms, making it easy to document, save, print, and report any payroll information you need for seven years or however you long you want to maintain the records.
Best of all, this modular approach and pricing means that, rather than pay monthly subscription fees that add up quickly, you only pay a one-time fee for each year’s payroll and filing form software. It also means you can pick and choose among those products that do and do not address the accounting services for your company and payroll:
- W-2/1099 Forms Filer
- Payroll Software
- Software-Generated Forms
- Forms Filer Plus
- E-File Direct
- Affordable Care Act Filer
- 1042-S Filer
AMS Payroll Features
We encourage you to check out the entire list of software features available with AMS Payroll. Here are some of the specific features that will ensure you never lose sleep over the status of your payroll record retention:
- Excellent for meeting all small business payroll software needs.
- Supports Federal payroll forms such as the 941, 940, 943, 944 and 1040 Sch H. See complete forms list.
- Includes SUI forms for all 50 states, the District of Columbia See complete forms list.
- State and Federal Tax deposit information, as well as disbursements, can be recorded.
- Easy payer and employee setup. Network and multiple PC installation.
- Support for up to 1,999 payers and up to 9,999 employees per payer.
- Electronically file employer forms.
Contact our Sales and Information team at (800) 536-1099 or download our free accounting software demo to get a better feel for how AMS can help you and your business.