Small businesses that offer paid time off (PTO) must manage accruals accurately to avoid labor law violations. Our PTO accrual calculator lets you determine the appropriate accrual rate to use per pay period based on your business workdays, hours in a workweek, and annual vacation days. PTO Calculator 1. Decide How Much PTO to Provide…
How to Set Up an Employee Benefits Program in 6 Steps
As your employee base begins to grow, a natural next move is to offer benefits outside of traditional compensation. From an employee’s perspective, benefits are a part of the total compensation package they consider when taking a position. To attract and retain top talent within your industry, you will need to develop a robust and…
Ultimate Guide to a PTO Policy (With a PTO Template Policy)
A paid time off (PTO) policy commonly combines vacation, sick time, and some or all personal time into a single bank of paid days off for employees. The advantage to employees is that they get to manage their approved time away from the workplace while employers offer an affordable benefit that is highly valued by…
Cafeteria Plan (Section 125): Features, Costs & Providers
A section 125 cafeteria plan lets a business owner offer affordable employee benefits while giving themselves a payroll tax break. Section 125 is officially an IRS pretax vehicle nicknamed “cafeteria plan” because employees can choose pretax benefits like medical or dental insurance or opt to receive the equivalent amount on their paycheck, paying taxes on…
15 Coolest Emerging Company Perks to Watch for in 2019
A 401(k) is a nice perk for employers to offer employees, but have you ever shared a keg with colleagues at the office or enjoyed an all-expenses-paid trip to Thailand? In our “I want it now” society, many companies are realizing that if they want to keep employees for the long term, they need to…
Top 25 Employee Incentive Programs from the Pros
Employee incentive programs are a way of compensating and motivating employee performance with pay and benefits. Most research proves that it’s not money alone that inspires employees to do their best. We therefore asked top business professionals and performance improvement experts what kind of employee incentive programs work best for them. Here are their recommendations….
What is a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) & How Does it Work?
A flexible spending account (FSA) is a benefit you can offer your employees instead of or in addition to health insurance. It helps them pay for medical and/or dependent care and childcare expenses using pre-tax dollars. FSAs lower your employees’ taxable income at year-end, so they also lower your business’s payroll taxes. is an HR…
How to Set Up a Profit Sharing Plan
A profit sharing plan can be an innovative compensation strategy for business owners to motivate and reward their employees. There are 2 kinds of profit sharing plans: those that defer profits to a retirement plan and those that make profits a part of the base compensation plan. We also will talk about gainsharing here, another…
Fringe Benefits: What They Are & How They Work
Fringe benefits is the umbrella term for any benefits, from health insurance to paying for weekly team lunches, that an employer provides to an employee, contractor, board member, or business partner. Many fringe benefits are considered tax-free by the IRS and can be a great value-add for your employees. In this article, we will explain:…