Here are 34 seconds on why we should meet

Watch this quick video on tax credits employers often don’t know about.

Employers can save on taxes to Uncle Sam in an easy and powerful way. Work Opportunity Tax Credits are under utilized by many employers and are easy to get for the employees you may hire anyway.

Watch this quick 1 minute video to find out more

 

I envisioned FreshHR out of a need I saw that medium and small businesses often lacked the experience, time and resources to have a process to effectively evaluate and select the models, vendors and products in the HR Suite to reduce liabilities, costs, inefficiencies and attain congruences with organizational goals. As a former Insider, Sales Producer and Sales Leader in HR, PEO (Professional Employer Services), Insurance and Payroll services for over 20 years including 15 years at ADP I give my clients a unique and powerful advantage. As I grew and my 5 Step Process successfully helped companies transition to better suited Models, Vendors and Products, I discovered a pattern of needs in two areas that was holding organizations back from their growth potential, Capital and Human Capital.

 

☁ Why Instigate Change in HR? On top of the great liability to a business owner and the dollars involved, the HR Suite needs to be as efficient as possible at reducing liabilities, improving the employee experience while controlling costs.

☁Why FreshHR? I find improvements in areas that the clients weren’t aware were possible often working in collaboration with the client’s CPA to uncover these ways of reducing expenses and tax liabilities with generally six digit and often multiple six digit results. Some examples I am helping beyond efficiency in the HR Suite are Work Opportunity Tax Credits or WOTC, R&D tax credits, Engineered Cost Segregation studies and increased retention with “Daily Pay”.

If you…

• Need Improved strategies to increase cash flow
• Need access to industry best practices for increased HR efficiency and effectiveness
• Want reduced exposure to liabilities in the HR Suite
• Want happier employees, increased productivity, and reduced turnover

then visit www.myfreshhr.com or email me jim@myfreshhr.com Specialties: Human Resource Info Systems | Work Opportunity Tax Credits | Cost Segregation Studies | Daily Pay | R&D Credits | Payroll | Property tax

 

A quick video on the trend that is here to stay in the HR/Payroll world.

 

Thousands of Job Openings Amid Crisis

More than 2,000 Michigan companies are seeking to fill crucial, immediate positions in logistics, healthcare, manufacturing, and agribusiness industries. It may seem that amongst the Coronavirus crisis, this wouldn’t be the case, but the State of Michigan isn’t the exception. We are seeing this happening across the country.

During this crisis, consumer demand in specific industries is swelling. Chief amongst these are online retailers, supermarkets and online grocers, restaurant delivery firms, and health and health care companies. These companies are racing to fill staff as demand for their services soars.

Amazon, CVS, Dollar General, Domino’s Pizza, Instacart, Kroger, Lowe’s, Papa John’s, Pepsi, Publix, Walgreens, and Walmart are the national companies leading this hiring surge.

Company Estimated Hires
Aldi 9,000
Amazon 100,000
CVS 50,000
Dollar General 50,000
Domino’s Pizza 10,000
Instacart 300,000
Kroger 20,000
Lowe’s 30,000
Papa John’s 20,000
Pepsi 6,000
Publix 20,000
Walgreens 9,500
Walmart 150,000

In addition to on-site workers, the demand for remote workers has risen dramatically. The research firm Thinkum shared information that global job postings by video chat platform Zoom nearly doubled from January 1st to March 9th. At Slack, a company that makes and supports online messaging software, job postings jumped 50% over the same period.

Does the fact that these companies are hiring mean that the Coronavirus crisis has not impacted them? No. It means there is a demand, and companies across the country small to large are seeking ways to support their communities. “We’re spending less time thinking about the revenue and less time thinking of anything other than can we give our associates the support that they need, can we be a good corporate citizen,” said Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison.

We are doing the same thing. What can we do to support our struggling employers, communities, and have an impact on the economy? We can share a tax credit that will have an immediate effect on all companies hiring from one employee to thousands.

The Workers Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a Federal credit for employers hiring individuals who qualify from specific target groups. This credit has a long history going back to the 1940’s and has been extended through the end of 2020. In 2019 the Work Opportunity Tax Credit and Jobs Act was introduced to the House to make the credit permanent.

Employers can receive from $2,400 up to $9,600 for a qualifying employee. About $1 billion in tax credits are claimed each year under the WOTC program, according to the Department of Labor. We have a full expectation of our current crisis that this dollar amount will increase.
GMG has created proprietary software that allows employers to quickly screen for and claim the WOTC.

Please visit our website for more information GMGSavings.com/Services/WOT

A client ask me recently how often they should pay their employees? There are many options.

In general over the last 25 years working with manufacturers I have seem several  pay frequencies that companies use to pay their employees.  The most common I’ve seen is bi-weekly with some who employ more low wage employees feel the need to move to weekly. Its not uncommon to see 2 pay cycles, salary bi-weekly and the hourly employees paid weekly.

Semi Monthly is seen from time to time and is great for salary workers when you don’t have to worry about pay week ending time for over time calculation purposes but but adds complexity when to cut off the pay period in time to process payroll for the hourly workers. This is often the 15th and the last day of the month.

Monthly pay cycles are rare but I have seen them from time to time generally for a salaried work force and almost always are Asian owned companies or the occasional  European owned company.

EOWEO-for “every other weekend off.” Running a 24 hour operation such as some heat treating where the cost and time to start up and shut down equipment makes it impractical to shut down nights and weekends. Employees follow a 14-day pattern of 2-days-on, 2-days-off, 3-days-on, 2-days-off, 2-days-on and 3-days-off.

Yes that one needs a chart to follow but it works.

Choosing a pay frequency (s) for your team is not always easy and needs some thought about the unique business needs and about the make up of your employees, hourly or salary.

There was a time when paying less often saved you money. Bi-weekly was cheeper than weekly, not 1/2 the price but significantly less. I don’t see that much any more and while many payroll companies still charge per check, many have gone to PEPM, per employee per month. In that model you often can produce payroll more frequently with little or no additional fees.

What about paying daily? What a night mare? No, not really but I will save that for next time.

Jim Stowe runs FreshHR, a Macomb Township Michigan consulting organization as

CHIEF INSTIGATOR of: HR EFFICIENCY ,TAX REDUCTION & COST OPTIMIZATION.

Jim has an extensive background in HR services including over 30 years at companies such as ADP, General Mills and Liberty Mutual among others and holds a Master’s Degree in International Business from Central Michigan University

If you have hourly workers you know the workforce is tight and getting them in the door is only the beginning, keeping them is the challenge.

Top that with pressures:

– unemployment at an all-time low making recruitment nearly impossible for HR Managers

– instant gratification minded millennial workforce

– and a need to provide a wellness benefit to retain employees.

You may also know many hourly workers live paycheck to paycheck and experience a variety of financial pressures that impact their productivity and focus on the job.

If you recall Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs you may recall the lower on the pyramid you go the more basic the needs. It might be food and shelter or maybe diapers and baby formula that is on their mind Wednesday and payday is not until Friday.

One current trend employers are leveraging is generically referred to as “daily pay”. This allows employees to take payday advances between paydays and have them paid back on payday. Money can be immediately available to the employee. This is managed by a 3rd party who accepts the liability and recovers the funds from the employee bank account on payday plus a fee, generally less than $5. These providers of this service take steps to reduce this risk such as having employees use an app. that Geo tracks them to ensure they have been to their work address consistently and the employee gain trust with the vendors and amounts available may increase with time. Employers can also transmit Time and Attendance data to the service and allow for an even better experience for the employee, access to more cash and payroll deduction for the loan etc.

Case studies show increased applicant flow, (some 2.5X) along with about 15% or more reduction in turnover. When employees know they can get paid that same day if they show up to work, they show up. Here is a quick video that explains it better. https://player.vimeo.com/video/340910190

Photo via Pexels

8 Tips For Women To Get Ahead In Their Careers

By now, most of us accept that women face some specific challenges when dealing with their careers. This is slowly changing, and more and more businesses and industries are beginning to understand and confront the problems women have historically faced in the workplace.

But these gradual changes can be frustrating when you’re trying to advance your own individual career. Here are a few simple, actionable tips women can put in place right away to give their career a boost, whether you’re a business owner, manager, or just starting out on the corporate ladder. 

Set Up A Website

If you have your own business (or sell your services as an independent consultant), you’ll already know the importance of owning a website. However, all women can benefit from a bit of personal branding.

A good website can help people find you, allows you to make a good first impression, and boosts your professional image. To make sure it is good, you need to build a quality website, which requires that you carefully research web builders and hosting options. This can seem like a difficult task if you feel like you lack the savvy, but there are some great host providers that are perfect for busy professionals who need extra support. Hosting firms like SiteGround, for example, provide a wide range of custom hosting options and flexible yet affordable packages, and their service can be particularly beneficial for individuals and small businesses.  Due diligence here will pay off when you launch a website that elegantly showcases your skills and talents.

Support Other Women

Women supporting each other in the workplace benefits everyone. Women get a network of people they can count on, and everyone else gets a more cohesive and productive work environment. If you want to take it a step further, start a women’s network at your company. Even if it’s just small gatherings to brainstorm, it can be an effective way to provide and receive support.

Start Prepping For Your Next Raise

Asking for a raise doesn’t just happen overnight. There is a lot of groundwork you should put in if you want to maximize your chances of getting what you want. This could include working later, taking the initiative with new projects and mimicking your boss’s work ethic. Start working on this now, and you’ll be much better positioned to ask for that raise in a few months’ time.

Sponsorship Over Mentorship

There are many benefits of having (and being) a mentor. A mentor can be someone who works in the same organization as you and champions you, helping you to create connections and even access concrete opportunities. According to Glassdoor, the power of sponsorship is particularly useful for women and minorities.

Keep A Career Journal

Journaling is a great way to process emotions and ideas, and this can easily be applied to your career. There are many ways a career journal can help you: as a log of ideas and advice, a reminder of successes and compliments, or just a place to vent and set new goals. All you need is 15 minutes of your day and a notebook to start feeling more centered and confident at work.

Network Smart, Not Hard

Few people can claim to genuinely enjoy networking. The good news is you can get the same (or more) benefits from carefully selected events than from simply clicking “attend” to everything reaches your inbox. Check out this article from Forbes which shares how a variety of professionals identify worthwhile networking opportunities.

Know Your Worth

The ability to set your own rates – and thus side step the wage gap – is one of the biggest benefits of being a female entrepreneur. However, many women struggle to get this right, and still end up undervaluing themselves. These tips from I Will Teach You To Be Rich offer some simple, straightforward systems to price your work fairly.

Get Training

You can never stop learning, and you can never have enough training. Identify what your weaknesses or areas of improvement are, and look for ways to fill those gaps. In particular, focus on any soft skills that could use some help – leadership, communication, problem solving. Since these are closer to character traits and ingrained habits, they can take more effort than simply learning to use a tricky piece of software. But for that exact same reason, soft skills can be some of the most useful and rewarding to develop.

The challenges faced by women are not universal. Every woman faces different problems in her own workplace or industry. However, the strategies outlined here are helpful and applicable to just about everyone. If you are feeling frustrated or stalled in your career, use these resources and actionable points to get things moving in the direction you want.

Delta Airlines.  Harley Davidson.  Starbucks.  Hewlett Packard.  Household names in wildly different fields, but each with the same key to success – managing indirect costs.

 

Business is built on tension between driving revenue and improving efficiency.  The systems underlying financial success tend to be hidden, sometimes dull, often tedious…and critical.  However, there’s some good news – small, simple tweaks can impact the overall financial health of your business.

 

Just like a household budget, start with cost reduction.  Think about your last balance statement.  Odds are, credit card transactions now make up the majority of your sales, and you’re by no means alone.  On average, businesses in the U.S. spend between 2%-5% of their annual revenue on credit card processing fees, and this doesn’t account for the added costs of machine rentals, contracts, and hidden fees. Most businesses are overpaying on transaction fees, and can partner with specialized organizations to negotiate lower rates on multiple charges without changing processors.  Imagine the savings!

 

Now, let’s talk cost segregation. Chances are you’ve probably heard about those who use it successfully – in a nutshell, it’s accelerated depreciation to get enhanced tax breaks for your business, allowing you (as a franchise owner) to benefit from bigger tax write offs, sooner.

 

Engineered cost segregation is a specialized engineered study, that seeks to accelerate depreciation of each building component for both an owned new build  or renovation or a build out or renovation for a leased property.  For example each loses value at a different rate; cost segregation allows you to claim deductions based on these accelerated depreciation schedule vs straight line depreciations schedule and reduce your tax burden.

 

Last but not least is hiring incentives.  Most employers know the basic math – the more employees hired, the bigger the tax burden.  BUT WAIT – there’s an alternative to that inevitable equation – the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, or WOTC for short.  Maybe only 1/3 of companies use WOTC, but claim $1B in savings each year because of it – in short, WOTC rewards employers for hiring the right people!

 

Employers who hire WOTC qualified candidates (for example, a veteran, a returning citizen, or a person with cognitive impairments, to name a few) can receive between $2,000-$9,600 in tax credits per employee, with no limit on how many employees they can hire.  Plus, there’s a simple, free calculator online to help find all the tax breaks you might be missing.  Human resources becomes a profit center, your business gets more quality candidates, and our entire community grows.

 

At the end of the day, the health of your business is the health of your bottom line.   Now is the time to build a plan for the year ahead; check your credits, use these resources, and you’ll be well on the way to great success.

 

Jim Stowe runs FreshHR , a Macomb Township Michigan consulting organization helping coach companies get better HR systems, and vendors, saving money in unexpected areas.  Jim has an extensive background in HR services including 15 years at ADP among others and holds a Master’s Degree in International Business from Central Michigan University.

 

Click here for more about cost segregation:  Click to estimate your benefit

 

Click here to read more about the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC): http://myfreshhr.com/business-tax-reductions/new-hire-tax-credits/

 

Click here to learn more about Fresh HR & how we can help your business: http://myfreshhr.com/hr-services/

Can you you pass up $10,000 per hour?  As I’ve worked with many companies over the years I know that managing their business can be challenging. I was thinking thru the math of one client who couldn’t find the time to take advantage of work opportunity tax credits. She hired a lot of hourly employees and in her industry about 1 out of 2 generally qualify for employer tax credits  at an average of $2,400 each.

So I did the math on the 3 steps it takes to manage the process to get the credits.

1.  It takes less than one minute to send the screening link to applicants prior to their interview,
2.  Once the decision to hire is make, it takes another minute to log in and convert the applicant to “hired” along with the hire date
3. She just needs to update payroll information to verify that the employee hours worked, maybe 5 minutes

So for 7 minutes work, to get $1,200 (1 of 2 qualify for $2400) is just over $10,000 an hour!  Can you pass up $10,000 an hour?

#wotc #payroll