0324: Effective Strategies For Contractor Timecard Issues

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0324, And It Will Be About Effective Strategies For Contractor Timecard Issues Employees need to fill out timecards. The most practical reason is that all employees want to get paid, early, often, and regularly.   For those of you that are parents, do you remember when you brought home your newborn baby? They need food, water and diaper changed. You learned all about "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" Some children who are born on a HOT summer day seem to get "overheated" quickly and do not suffer quietly.    If you have employees, you may notice in some similarities to raising children because in some cases you the contractor take over where your employee's parents left off. They want their paychecks (allowance) on a regular basis, and it had better not bounce at the bank due to insufficient funds.   If any of your construction worker's paychecks do happen to bounce or they are not able to cash it at the bank because your construction company does not have enough money in the payroll account then most likely you will find whatever tools and equipment they have easy access to at the nearest pawn shop.   In almost all cases, in addition to visiting the local pawn shop if an employee does not get paid "On Time," they may contact your local state agencies and even Federal agencies for assistance. Please understand payday is "Results Driven," your results, not theirs and "No Excuses Allowed."   Purpose Of All Timecards:   1. Pay Employees   2. Fill out Government Forms   3. Job Costing for a better bottom line   As the employer, you need to have the timecard as the foundation for making sure employees get paid. Employees need to fill-it-out their timecard and total it, including anyone on salary. You can create your timecard, or you can download our FREE timecard form and modify it to fit your needs. Timecard needs to be something more than a few numbers scribbled on the back of a paper bag or the nearest Home Depot receipt (those are already full of footprints and coffee stains).   After all, timecards (timesheets) are entered into QuickBooks, save and file them. Do this even if you are using a 3rd party payroll processor. You may need to reference the information later.   Timecards should have the following - the more the detail, the better:   Company Name   Period Payroll Covers   Employee Name   Days of Week worked   Hours Worked with Start / Stop and lunch breaks   Total Regular Hours   Total Overtime Hours   Special Hours Quarterly tax returns for Washington State Employment Security and Washington State Labor & Industries cross-reference each other to review the same employee wage data in different ways.   Quarterly tax returns for Washington State Employment Security Quarterly Reports want employee wage detail, including:   Name   Social Security Numbers   Hours Worked   Gross Wages   Washington State Labor And Industries Wants Summary Data Including:
  Labor code worked under   Total hours per classification   Total wages per classification   Washington State Labor And Industries set the rate for each contractor based on their experience rating.   Example of Washington State L&I Contractor Rates

  It is always optional to take the employee deduction from employees paycheck based on risk classification worked. Taking more than allowed is not acceptable.   We recommend all construction company owners deduct the maximum allowed from each employee and bring it up early and often in your safety meetings because it helps them focus more attention on safety which helps lower overhead costs and benefits everyone. It is essential to understand the Psychology of Construction Field Employees. Click here for more.   Whenever any employee is requesting unemployment benefits, their request is sent to the employer to verify they are or have been an employee. The Washington State Employment Security computer may auto-fill the form and sends a letter to the first company on the list. It is imperative that someone in your office double-checks the accuracy of the request and notify the Washington State Employment Security if it is not your employee. Companies have similar names, and each state wants to apply the risk to the proper company. They also want to verify if any employee is saying they have worked for a company which they were a 1099 contract employee or trying to submit a fraudulent claim.   Part-Time Employees   What about an employee who is working part-time and sometimes receiving unemployment benefits?   Washington State Employment Security will send a form for the employee to fill out, breaking down the hours and gross pay week-by-week for a period that is in question.   Example of Washington State Employment Security Wage Verification

  This can be for all the hours worked from a 12 to 52 week period, including time worked during the previous year. Your source document is the timecards and pay-stubs, and you may need it if you have to prove their hours and the more detail in their handwriting, the better!   Washington State Employment Security wants to know:   Does the social security number match?   What is the rate of pay?   Is there any other type of benefits?   What is your pay cycle?   What is the last day of the pay period?   Are original timecards (sheets) available?   What are the daily hours with a weekly total?   What is the weekly total earned?   What day were the wages paid?   The dollar amount of wages paid?  

Conclusion:

All forms are easy to fill out if you have all the data in a readily usable format that accessible. What you do as a contractor is "Easy To Do" if it is something you do all of the time.   As QuickBooks experts in Contractors accounting and contractors bookkeeping, paperwork is our particular skill set. We know what to do! Let us help you so you can do what you do best!  

We help a little or a lot depending on your needs. I look forward to being able to assist you with any option that best fits your company. 

Please feel free to download all the Free Forms and Resources that you find useful for your business.  

About The Author:

Sharie DeHart, QPA is the co-founder of Business Consulting And Accounting in Lynnwood, Washington. She is the leading expert in managing outsourced construction bookkeeping and accounting services companies and cash management accounting for small construction companies across the USA. She encourages Contractors and Construction Company Owners to stay current on their tax obligations and offers insights on how to manage the remaining cash flow to operate and grow their construction company sales and profits so they can put more money in the bank. Call 206-361-3950 or sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com

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