BLUE FOX | Accounting for Nonprofits and Social Enterprises
  • Accounting Services
  • Tax Preparation
    • Tax Deadlines
  • About
    • Our Founder & CEO
    • Our Team
    • We're Hiring!
    • Our Clients
    • Our Philosophy
    • Benefits of Outsourced Accounting Services for Nonprofits
    • Technology Solutions
    • Testimonials
    • FAQs
  • Blog
  • Freebies
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

How "Small" Payroll Mistakes Cause Multi-Year S#!t Storms for Nonprofits

6/28/2022

0 Comments

 

The 4 Most Common Payroll and Tax Compliance Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Picture
There’s something stinky in the air lately.
It smells like past payroll mistakes.
And it takes a while to clean up.
 
Here’s the reality: you want a badass bookkeeper, not a BAD bookkeeper! 

Nonprofit bookkeepers must understand nonprofit payroll and tax compliance. If they don’t, preparers beware.
 
Our accounting team has been cleaning up many stinky payroll messes lately. The kind of messes that only come to light during W-2/1099 time. And many of which started with a tiny mistake years ago that snowballed into a significant issue.
 
So, we thought we would share a few examples to help other nonprofits keep their books and payroll tax situation clean and avoid the cost and totally unnecessary stress of rework. 

(1) ​Incorrectly recording a virtual employee’s work location in the payroll system.

HE MISTAKE: This is a common mistake with the rise of a virtual workforce. If an employee’s work location (the state they physically work in) is not recorded correctly within the payroll system, the payroll provider will not withhold state income taxes properly. Payroll taxes must be paid and withheld based on the state that an employee works in, NOT the state where their employer is located. This mistake is typically caught when employees receive their W-2s.
THE FIX: The employer will need to create a new W-2 and amend all previous quarterly state (and local, where applicable) tax returns to correct the issue. This is a HUGE headache and may result in many penalties and fees.
 
HOW TO PREVENT IT: In the payroll system, ensure all remote employees have a work location that reflects their physical location.  ​

(2) Data is not fully transferred when switching payroll providers.

THE MISTAKE: Companies that switch from one payroll processor to another in the middle of the year, beware. Often, some historic or employee data isn't properly transferred to the new provider. This causes (1) incorrect filing of payroll forms (federal and state) for the period this occurred, (2) errors related to benefits and deductions like retirement balances, unemployment compensation, and workers comp. This mistake is not typically noticed until year-end when W-2 forms are prepared or when the IRS/state sends the notice. IRS penalties can occur.
 
THE FIX:  Audit the data transfer between payroll providers to determine what went wrong. Then ensure the new provider has completed and corrected information before issuing W-2s.
 
HOW TO PREVENT IT: Follow this Switching Payroll Providers Checklist and carefully compare prior employee records/paychecks to current ones after a payroll transition to ensure data accuracy.

Picture

(3) No one files quarterly tax forms (yes, it happens).

THE MISTAKE: Payroll tax returns never get filed in the hustle and bustle of running a nonprofit organization. Typically, the IRS will send notice, and penalties apply. If there was turnover in the payroll administrator position, it would likely take some digging to figure out what was filed and what was not.
 
THE FIX: Pay penalties and backfile tax returns. This is a nightmare from an administrative standpoint.
 
HOW TO PREVENT IT: Hire a professional accounting firm (like us) to manage payroll, follow payroll tax and compliance deadlines, and properly prepare your payroll tax returns.

(4) Payroll taxes are paid in the wrong amount.

THE MISTAKE: Someone with a lack of training in payroll taxes is responsible for the task. There is no reconciliation process, so payroll taxes are paid in the wrong amount.  It can take up to a year to notice this mistake when the IRS sends notice and penalties.
 
THE FIX: Pay penalties, recalculate payroll taxes, and pay the correct amount.
 
HOW TO PREVENT IT: Hire a professional accounting firm (like us) to manage payroll, follow payroll tax and compliance deadlines, and properly prepare your payroll tax returns.
Need Help With Payroll Tax & Compliance? - - - Let's Chat!
Are you surprised by some of these examples?
 
Some of the preventative tips seem obvious, right?! File your taxes on time, pay the correct payroll tax, etc.
 
It's easy to imagine how seemingly "small" things like this can get missed. Nonprofit leaders are stretched thinner and thinner these days with, you know, ALL THE THINGS like:
  • A global pandemic
  • Virtual workplaces challenges
  • National workforce shortages
  • Lack of financial expertise on staff
  • Constant tax law changes
  • New technology options
  • Demand for virtual services
  • And the list goes on…
 
Nonprofit leaders need to know that they are not alone in feeling overwhelmed by financial management. Deep financial knowledge and expertise are not typically found in-house in the nonprofit sector, especially in organizations with budgets between $1-5 million.
 
This is why Blue Fox exists. To lighten the nonprofit manager's load. To educate and serve nonprofits and social enterprises on all things financial management. We tell our clients that we’ll handle the stuff that keeps them up at night.
 
If your organization struggles with payroll and tax compliance issues, give our friendly team a shout.
 
We’ll get you sorted!
Picture
0 Comments

    Our Blog

    Welcome to the Blue Fox Blog! A fairly entertaining source of info and news related to our company, nonprofits, social sector trends, and, of course, accounting. Enjoy!

    Subscribe

    Top Articles

    Back to Basics: How to Set Up Your Nonprofit Chart of Accounts

    How "Small" Payroll Mistakes Cause Multi-Year S#!t Storms for Nonprofits


    Behind the Scenes, New Client Onboarding Call

    When to Hire a Tax Professional - 10 Factors to Consider

    40+ Ideas to Light a Fundraising Fire Under Your Nonprofit Board Members

    Why Outsource Your Nonprofit Accounting to Blue Fox?  Ask One of Our Newest Clients

    Client CASE STUDY: One of The Most Financially Sustainable Nonprofit Orgs We Know

    The Magical Nonprofit Financial Ratio Matrix

    10 Reasons to Outsource Your Nonprofit Accounting
    ​
    How to Make Your Nonprofit Recession-Proof


    ​How to Engage Your Board of Directors in Financial Conversations

    QB Tip of the Month: How to Use Classes for Painless Grant Writing
    ​
    When to Hire an Accountant for Your Social Impact Org

    Are You Paying Too Much for Payroll?

    Company News

    Blue Fox Teams Up With Bloomerang to Develop Nonprofit Resources

    Blue Fox Earns Better Business Bureau Accreditation

    Blue Fox Launches Protected By Logo
    ​
    Blue Fox - The Origin Story
     

    Categories

    All
    Blue Fox Foundation
    Company News
    For Individuals
    For Nonprofits
    For Social Enterprises
    Press Announcements

    Archives

    May 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    July 2024
    June 2023
    March 2023
    January 2023
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018

    RSS Feed

Request A Quote

Services

Subscribe

Contact

Disclaimer


QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor
Picture
Picture
NTEN Nonprofit Technology Network Member
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

BLUE FOX
Phone:
(321) 233-3311, Email: [email protected]
Mailing Address: 2542 Woodfield Circle, Melbourne, FL 32904
Copyright © 2025 - All Rights Reserved
​
​Holiday office closures:
To give our team time to unplug and refresh with their family and friends, the Blue Fox virtual office closes 
for all federal holidays, the week of Thanksgiving, and the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.
  • Accounting Services
  • Tax Preparation
    • Tax Deadlines
  • About
    • Our Founder & CEO
    • Our Team
    • We're Hiring!
    • Our Clients
    • Our Philosophy
    • Benefits of Outsourced Accounting Services for Nonprofits
    • Technology Solutions
    • Testimonials
    • FAQs
  • Blog
  • Freebies
  • Contact
  • Subscribe