When to Delegate Payroll Duties

When to Delegate Payroll Duties

Many farmers and ranchers enjoy the production area of their operation the most, and when it comes to desk work like payroll, often they rather be out on a tractor.

CliftonLarsonAllen Partner and Farm CPA Today Blogger Paul Neiffer says ag producers should consider what activities in their operation are the highest and best use of their time. For some it may not be doing payroll.
Neiffer: “A lot of our farmers find that it is much easier and much more efficient to turn that process over to someone else -- whether it is a CPA or outside payroll processor or a bookkeeper. It just frees them up to concentrate in the getting the crop in the field, or doing their marketing and those type of tasks that have a lot more reward based on the hours you put into rather than doing compliance on payroll.”
Neiffer shares a realistic litmus test as to whether you should consider delegating your payroll to an expert.
Neiffer: “What we find, what I would say is probably half of the notices from the Internal Revenue Service for our farmers relate to payroll -- they make the wrong deposit; they don’t deposit it timely. As CPAs we hate dealing with those notices and we know that it gives our clients heartburn. If you are getting those notices once a year or twice year then you are a prime candidate to turn that over to somebody else. Obviously you don’t enjoy doing it. Those penalties can cost you quite a bit of money.”  

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