You may find that hiring an accountant or bookkeeper to record these transactions can help you spend more time working on your business. In addition to the gross pay and withholding in the previous payroll journal entries, ABC Company has incurred additional payroll liability expenses that must be recorded. In this section of payroll accounting we will provide examples of the journal entries for recording the gross amount of wages, payroll withholdings, and employer costs related to payroll.

The idea is that workers and businesses would take home a little extra with each paycheck and that would encourage them to spend more and stimulate the economy. Payroll taxes include Social Security, which takes out 6.2% of your income up to $132,900. Payroll taxes also pay for Medicare, which takes out 1.45% of your income.

Review entries to ensure that debit and credit columns are accurate

To choose the right payroll software for your business, consider your objectives and budget, then choose the solution that aligns with them. If you have a proper payroll system, you can calculate the gross pay and withholdings for each employee automatically. Done right, you’ll be able to get an overview of all payroll-related expenses and transactions. As mentioned above, this entry is the initial record of all the expenses owed and paid, including payroll tax, salary, and labor. The items included in this entry aren’t limited to those, however, as you could also be adding things like retirement 401k, various insurances, or other deductions.

• Wondering how payroll accounting differs from cost accounting?
• Other items may be specialized payroll options, such as a 401k plan.
• The next step is to calculate all the payroll payments within your organization.
• Keep in mind that it’s important to demonstrate your knowledge of relevant tax laws on your resume.
• It doesn’t include rent, utilities, equipment, inventory, or any other business expenses unrelated to employee compensation or benefits.

The business submits both the employee’s and the company’s contributions to Social Security and Medicare. Most often, you will pay federal taxes when you pay Social Security and Medicare taxes. With respect to disadvantages, when companies outsource their payroll system, they must rely on individuals outside the business for accurate accounting.

Keep Track of Your Biggest Expense

It also helps you to ensure that you are within budget throughout the year. We gave you some tips in prior steps to help check yourself along payroll accounting examples the way, but a payroll reconciliation is a more in-depth approach. Check the numbers against the data you gathered from your payroll system.

The gross wage is the expense charged to the income statement. The control accounts are all balance sheet accounts representing liabilities for the amounts deducted from the payroll. And since you paid her, you no longer owe her net wages, so you also decrease your payroll payable liability account by $1,545.13. Adept business owners closely monitor cash flow, especially payroll costs. You can record your payroll system’s transactions, income, and expenses using reliable accounting software.