What are the Components of Payroll?
As a small business owner, there are several components to payroll management that you need to keep track of. These components are not only necessary to run payroll, but are also required by provincial and federal governments. These four main components include:
- Gross income
- Employee benefits
- Employee insurance
- Payroll taxes
1. Gross Income
Gross income, or gross pay, is the total amount of money an employee earns in a pay period before any deductions or taxes are taken out.
Calculating gross income will depend on whether the employee is paid hourly or is a salaried worker. To find the gross income of hourly employees, all that is required is to multiply their hourly pay rate by the total number of regular hours worked. If the employee works overtime, the overtime hours worked must be multiplied by the overtime rate of pay. Then the two figures are added to find the total gross wages per employee.
For salaried employees, the gross pay is a set amount every payroll period. Any bonuses given within a pay period must be added to the total gross income of hourly and salaried employees.
2. Employee Benefits
Employee benefits are part of an employee’s compensation package, which must be deducted from the payroll and varies from business to business. Depending on your business, you may or may not have employee benefits tied to payroll. This is a decision you will need to consider when hiring employees. Offering benefits to your workers shows them you are invested in them, not just their work. Offering a quality employee benefits package is one way to attract and retain your employees.
3. Employee Insurance
Canadian employers are required by law to withhold contributions to the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) and Employment Insurance (EI) premiums for all employees aged 18 to 70. Employers in Quebec must contribute to the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) instead of the CPP.
Employee insurance is paid by both the employer and employee, as it funds maternity and paternity leave, as well as sickness and compassionate care.
4. Payroll Taxes
Taxes are a mandatory form of deduction that must be taken from a person’s gross income. Payroll tax is a separate form of taxation and differs from federal income tax. Each province has applicable payroll deductions, as shown on the CRA’s payroll deductions table.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) mandates that all businesses must set up an account with them through the Business Registration Online (BRO) service to receive a Business Number. As an employer, you must set up this account before the first remittance due date, allowing you to pay the Canadian government’s payroll taxes.