As a guy who has scaled mountains as a rescue climber, you wouldn’t think there would be much that could keep Malcolm Frost up at night.
But for a long time, it was this: Handling payroll tax compliance for hundreds of his payroll, human resources and benefits administration clients.
As CEO and co-founder of HR Ledger Inc. in Auburn and Tustin Calif., Frost and his partners did the payroll taxes for their clients themselves, along with providing payroll, HR and a wide range of benefits administration.
But the complications and potential for error led the company to explore the option of using third-party payroll tax expertise instead. They decided that outsourcing to payroll tax experts would provide an added layer of security and in 2015 they became a client of Asure Payroll Tax Management.
It was almost soon enough: they manually finished up the taxes of a client who was leaving and dropped the W2s in the mail just before turning the process over to Asure PTM.
No Molehills in Tax Filing Errors, Only Mountains
Unfortunately, the forms never arrived. Three years later, there was a nasty bit of communication from the IRS about missing W2s and a $300,000 fine. HR Ledger made it right, going to bat for their former client and getting the penalty reversed. But it was a lesson “in the pitfalls of doing it yourself,” says Frost.
“Asure Payroll Tax Management does all of that for us now,” Frost says. “It’s a layer of complexity, but at the same time, I can sleep at night knowing it adds an additional layer of safety and security for our clients. It allows us to provide a better service.”
Frost, who met his future business partners when they took a mountain rescue course he was teaching in 1977, has a keen understanding of the importance of security, whether it’s finding the right foothold on the side of a mountain, or working with the right partner.
Peace of Mind is Having a $50 Million Crime Bond
His clients, he says, like the added security that comes from having the backing of Asure’s multi-million dollar crime bond. The bond, he says, “makes our clients feel much more confident in going with a non-nationally known payroll service.”
And Frost and his partner love not having to worry about payroll tax compliance. Clients’ tax funds go directly to Asure PTM, which requires end-of-quarter audits to ensure that accounts are balanced and taxes are always paid on time. “That’s a huge benefit,” he says.
The FlexTax® solution used by HR Ledger is a shared services solution that allows them to hold client agreements and retain control of client-facing functions, while benefiting from outsourcing agency-related back-office processing.
Third-Party Payroll Tax Expertise Lets Company Focus on Core Business
Now the company can focus on helping clients manage their payroll, HR, cash flow, benefits and compliance needs, while keeping up with the constantly changing laws and regulations of the modern business climate.
The company serves a broad range of small and mid-sized professional services clients, including insurance companies, contractors, medical and dental offices. In addition to mountain rescues, HR Ledger’s management team has a background in insurance, banking, human resources and benefits administration. It’s a wide mix of expertise that lets their clients sleep well at night too.
Technology, Service and Expertise = No More Payroll Tax Worries
If the security of third-party payroll tax expertise would help you sleep at night, give us a call or click on the link below to learn more about what we can do for you.
We provide expertise and compliance with over 11,000 tax agencies across the U.S. and Canada, along with stellar customer service, competitive rates and fees, a multi-million dollar crime bond, SOC 1 audits, and scalable technology.