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Payroll Wisconsin, Unique Aspects of Wisconsin Payroll Law and Practice

The Wisconsin State Agency that oversees the collection and reporting of State income taxes deducted from payroll checks is:

Department of Revenue

Income, Sales, Inheritance and Excise Tax Division

P.O. Box 8910

2135 Rimrock Rd.

Madison, WI 53713

(608) 266-2776

www.dor.state.wi.us/

Wisconsin allows you to use the Federal W-4 form or the "WT-4, Employee's Wisconsin Withholding Exemption Certificate/New Hire Reporting" to calculate state income tax withholding.

Not all states allow salary reductions made under Section 125 cafeteria plans or 401(k) to be treated in the same manner as the IRS code allows.  In Wisconsin cafeteria plans are not taxable for income tax calculation; not taxable for unemployment insurance purposes.   401(k) plan deferrals are not taxable for income taxes; taxable for unemployment purposes.

In Wisconsin supplemental wages are taxed at:

Annual wages: under $7,970    4.6%

$7,970-$15,590             6.15%

$15,590-$115,140         6.5%

Over $115,140               6.75%

You must file your Wisconsin state W-2s by magnetic media if you are have at least 250 employees and are required to file your federal W-2s by magnetic media.

The Wisconsin State Unemployment Insurance Agency is:

Department of Workforce Development

Division of Unemployment Compensation

201 E. Washington Ave., P.O. Box 7905

Madison, WI 53707

(608) 266-7074

www.dwd.state.wi.us/ui/

The State of Wisconsin taxable wage base for unemployment purposes is wages up to $10,500.00.

Wisconsin requires Magnetic media reporting of quarterly wage reporting if the employer has at least 100 employees that they are reporting that quarter.

Unemployment records must be retained in Wisconsin for a minimum period of six years.  This information generally includes: name; social security number; dates of hire, rehire and termination; wages by period; payroll pay periods and pay dates; date and circumstances of termination.

The Wisconsin State Agency charged with enforcing the state wage and hour laws is:

Department of Workforce Development

Division of Equal Rights

1 South Pinckney St., Rm. 320

P.O. Box 8928

Madison, WI 53702-8928

(608) 266-6860

www.dwd.state.wi.us/er/

The minimum wage in Wisconsin is $5.15 per hour.

The general provision in Wisconsin concerning paying overtime in a non-FLSA covered employer is one and one half times regular rate after 40-hour week.

Wisconsin State new hire reporting requirements are that every employer must report every new hire and rehire.  The employer must report the federally required elements of:

Employee's name

Employee's address

Employee's date of birth.

date of hire

Employee's social security number

Employer's name

Employers address

Employer's Federal Employer Identification Number  (EIN)

This information must be reported within 20 days of the hiring or rehiring.

The information can be sent as a W4 or equivalent by mail, fax or electronically.

There is no penalty for a late report in Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin new hire-reporting agency can be reached at 888-300-4473 or on the web at http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/

Wisconsin does allow compulsory direct deposit but the employee's choice of financial institution must meet federal Regulation E regarding choice of financial institutions.

Wisconsin requires the following information on an employee's pay stub:

amount of and reason for deductions

Wisconsin requires that employee be paid no less often than monthly; union contract may differ.

Wisconsin requires that the lag time between the end of the pay period and the payment of wages to the employee not exceed thirty-one days.

Wisconsin payroll law requires that involuntarily terminated employees must be paid their final pay by next regular payday; within 24 hours if employer closes or moves and that voluntarily terminated employees must be paid their final pay by the next regular payday.

Deceased employee's wages must be paid when normally due to the surviving spouse, children or other dependent living with employee; within 5 days of death-surviving spouse, children, parents, or siblings (in that order).

Escheat laws in Wisconsin require that unclaimed wages be paid over to the state after one year.

The employer is further required in Wisconsin to keep a record of the wages abandoned and turned over to the state for a period of 5 years.

Wisconsin payroll law mandates no more than $2.82 may be used as a tip credit.

In Wisconsin the payroll laws covering mandatory rest or meal breaks are only that minors under 16 must have 30 minutes rest near middle of shift after six hours of work.

Wisconsin statute requires that wage and hour records be kept for a period of not less than three years.  These records will normally consist of at least the information required under FLSA.

The Wisconsin agency charged with enforcing Child Support Orders and laws is:

Department of Workforce Development

Division of Economic Support

Bureau of Child Support

1 W. Wilson St., Rm. 382

P.O. Box 7935

Madison, WI 53707-7935

(608) 266-9909

www.dwd.state.wi.us/bcs/

Wisconsin has the following provisions for child support deductions:

When to start Withholding?    one week after receipt of order.

When to send Payment?    Within 5 days of Payday.

When to send Termination Notice?    Within 10 days of termination.

Maximum Administrative Fee?    $3 per payment

Withholding Limits?    Federal Rules under CCPA.

Please note that this article is not updated for changes that can and will happen from time to time.

Get a piece of the action

The sport, the life blood for many, Baseball is the most popular game in the United States of America. People go crazy over this game, and go to any extent to get hold of tickets, just so they can watch their Minnesota Twins rip through Los Angeles Angels. These Major league baseball tickets are purchased for billions of dollars almost every year. Compared to all the sports played around the country, baseball and that too MLB is the most popular. It also brings in high amounts of revenue into the coutnry when people from abroad visit exclusively to watch these matches.

Children are trained in this sport right from a young age and they either grow up to become baseball players or passionate about the sport. The major teams such as New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox belong to the American league east division.

There are many methods to purchase these baseball tickets. Buying tickets in advance or just before the game starts are options left to the fans. Although buying them before hand is better, since last minute means expensive tickets. And there might not be many left, so don’t take a chance. Purchasing of baseball tickets from fan clubs, stadiums and brokers was how it was earlier. But today, with invention of computers and internet, everything is available at the touch of a button.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays are teams that play in seasons, and so it is possible to pick up tickets from ticketsamerica.com for single games, or baseball playoffs. And these baseball tickets are sold at competitive prices. Apart from this, the site also offers extensive baseball related information such as the teams playing in which town; Game schedules stadium seating facilities, and right down to directions.

Instead of approaching a baseball club or places where tickets are sold, you could pick it off the net. It might work out cheaper, especially when booking for a group. Just make sure to pick out tickets to the games played by Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins for the name of teams will be mentioned on the site. If by mistake you book for Washington Nationals, you might have to find a friend to take it off your hands. Bottom line being, convenience has taken on a new meaning ever since internet evolved. It has changed lives across the globe, bringing people closer.

Diverse Hampers

Business Services UK carry out independent small business reviews from selected businesses within the UK.

Diverse Hampers

Diverse Hampers is a relatively new venture that is located in Somerset, the business is owned and managed by Niki Stewart. I asked Niki about her business life and why she decided to start up Diverse Hampers.

After leaving school I started up an office supply company that became very successful, the company had an average turnover of Ј1.5 million. However due to personal circumstances I decided to leave last November.

I realised there was a niche in the market for providing unique tower hampers within the UK. After spending 6 months researching the business concept, I launched Diverse Hampers in June this year.

Diverse Hampers is slowly growing into a main player in the hamper sector. Niki is well aware she needs to concentrate her efforts on improving her online business model and continue with her marketing strategy. Her company not only provides hampers to the general consumer, she also targets the corporate world by sending out free miniature samples. This strategy is gathering momentum and leading to an increase in orders.

I have fully researched the hamper tower business within the UK and I believe Niki is right when she says there is room for Diverse Hampers to become the main provider in the UK. There product is very attractive and I can see franchise opportunities in the future. There is also potential to move this business into the European market.

Niki is a passionate about business, she is very experienced in business marketing and although Diverse Hampers is still a relatively new venture it is already showing the signs that it could grow into a much larger business.

The best testament we can pay her business is that we have already ordered our own hamper from her company. The team at Business Services UK wish Diverse Hampers all the best for the future. We are sure with a lot of hard work this business will turn this into a huge success.

Acquire New Business

A major part of keeping profitable and growing your business is maintaining a focus on business development. Even when you've got the right mix of work, clients and employees you should be looking for new opportunities. You could establish a process to do this whilst ensuring your existing customers don't get neglected. The process helps you manage new business opportunities in a cost - and time-effective manner.

Generate leads

Identify the types of companies you want to work with and a realistic number of companies you want to target over a given period of time. For example: an accountant with experience in the marketing industry might decide to target five opportunities per month focussed on marketing consultancies.

Finding potential clients and identifying new opportunities can be done through networking events, tenders listed in newspapers and industry magazines and headlines in newspapers about new projects and industry seminars. Keep an eye on your industry and stay aware of new developments.

Track the companies you approach in a database ( you could use Microsoft Excel or Access). Tracking should cover the obvious things (company contact details etc) as well as details of what was discussed, potential works, actions and more.

Qualify the leads

Once you have a list of identified companies you must review to ensure they are realistic opportunities. Some areas to think about include:

• Do you have the right contacts to get started?

• Do you have the right services to offer them?

• How can their website help you understand them better?

• Do you have any conflicts of interest in pursuing this company?

• Does this client have growth potential or would it be a quick job?

• Who makes the decisions? How can you reach them?

3. Raise your business profile

By raising your company profile (no matter how small you are) you'll be able to generate new business with less effort. As a leader in the industry new business will come to you. There are many ways to raise your profile; you could try sponsoring events, adverts and gaining media coverage. The size, location and target market of your business this will dictate what medium to use and the areas to cover.

4. Show them what you're made of

Start to reach your qualified opportunities by showcasing your company's products. Send them a brochure or a copy of any newsletters you produce and invite them to join; show off examples of your work; highlight relevant media articles.

Develop standard template letters in Word to send to potential clients to accompany your credentials/brochures. Ensure you link to your database (Excel, Access or Outlook) when merging the letters and envelopes to ensure you don't have to re-enter details.

There is no specified time for this courting so be patient. It could be six months before anything comes to fruition.

5. Set a meeting time

So you're in the door. Now you need to sell yourself. Tailor the meeting to suit the way you operate as a business. It could be a formal PowerPoint presentation or a discussion over coffee. You may have no choice for the style of the meeting but make sure you are comfortable and well prepared. During the meeting be sure to demonstrate the knowledge you have developed in the previous stages.

6. Follow up

You've presented your capabilities and ideas. Don't stop there. Follow up is essential. This is a major part of the process and should be taken as seriously as the other steps. You'll probably be able to build on ideas from the meeting, or you might find an interesting/relevant article or statistics you could send to re-open discussion. Even if you don't have anything to send, thank them for the opportunity.

Paid Survey

One of the most popular work at home money makers today is paid surveys. I'm sure you've seen one of the following ads:

Cash for taking Surveys, Paid Survey, Get Paid for your opinion, Online Paid Surveys, Get Paid To Take Surveys, Take Online Surveys for Cash!

If you are like I was I'm sure your wondering how does one learn how to make money by taking surveys.

The fact is there are many companies that will pay you to participate in Online surveys, focus groups, and product tests. These are market research companies that are paid by large companies to find out what the public feels about their products. They want to know if their advertising campaigns are working and how everyday people feel about their products. Many Major corporations spend a huge amount every year on advertising. So paying you a few dollars to find out if their advertising is working is not that big of a deal and considered money well spent. They hire market research companies and the market research companies send out surveys to everyday people to see what is appealing to the public.

So now that we understand where the money comes from lets move on to how one finds which companies to do business with, because there are many companies that will waste your time and pay you nothing. The best method in my opinion is by either doing alot of major research or finding a reputable company that has done the work for you. There are a few of these companies around and I highlight them on my website. They companies are called Paid Survey database companies. It's easier to research a few of these than the hundreds of survey companies that are currently out there.

The major benefit to these types of programs is that it saves you time and time is money. You could spend hours searching the Internet for Free Survey companies on your own or you can join one of these Survey database companies that have done the leg work for you. I lean toward Paid Survey directory database companies myself, because I felt I could make more taking surveys during the time I would be going through the many Survey companies. Time is money and many of the companies I have on my website charge a modest fee for access to their database.  Online paid survey databases are not free. Paid Survey database companies charge about $35 - $60 for their paid surveys directory.  Again the time you save and the training you get is well worth the modest fee and I'm glad my wife and I chose to use one of these companies. My wife actually does that side of our business.

Okay, we understand how we make money, how to find the survey companies to deals with and now we will deal with the last bit of information, which is how do we start and what do we need to start making money from home taking surveys.

All you will need is a computer, access to the Internet, email address and a few hours a week to put into your new work at home business. I would suggest setting up a separate email address for you survey business. You don' t have to do this, but I like keeping it all separate myself.  You will need a phone line if you want to participate in some of the areas like focus groups. You can choose whether you want to do that portion or not. It's all up to you.

The next thing for you to do is to choose which Paid Survey Database Company you choose to use.  You can either do the research yourself or feel free to access my site whereby you can read and review the research and recommendations I have made.

In summary

1. Review the available Online Survey database Programs

2. Narrow down the choices to 1-3 programs

3. Find out which ones have a money back guarantee

4. Use your charge card if possible for further protection

5. Sign up & start making money!

Softwarelady

Making Money Online - What Separates The Dream From Reality?

The answer? Firstly accepting that making money online is an ongoing process resulting from hard work, patience and knowledge of internet marketing.

If you look for other people to make you money online, by joining their scheme or plan, then sadly, this will be the truth you will have to face again and again: You'll make them money (because they've put the work into building their online business - and know internet marketing - and are patient enough to see the results) whereas YOU will lose your hard earned cash lining someone else's pocket.

How to get resell software?

Buy software one by one or join a membership club?

You can go to eBay or other sites to find resell software. The problem with this is that you are ending up getting many of the same products each time you are buying a product. You must also use much time looking around the web for new products to add to your site.

If you find yourself a serious membership site where you can download  as much as you want for a small fee. You save the time looking for products yourself and can concentrate on selling and making a great site. This is what a good resell seller would do. He would let other find the products for him and concentrate himself on selling and marketing his site.

Who to trust?

There are many schemes out there and finding the right membership site for resell software are not easy. To help you we have tried several sites and we have a winner. The winning site is not the site with most products but this is the site that takes care of you and help you if you need it. The member service are excellent and if you are a "nice" member they will help you with free marketing of your site.

SoftwareLady.com

After joining and sending a couples of emails to the management of SoftwareLady, we where overwhelmed by the service of this site. We therefore decided to give them some extra point in this article. The site have about 200-300 products you can download. Most of the products comes with resell rights and others are for personal use and some you can use in your work. They have just started a forum for peoples dealing with resell products. There are not many post in this forum yet, but its a start.

The good thing about this site is that they add new products all the time, you will therefore always have access to new products. The second thing is that they always help you if they can. After joining them they gave us free submission to 20 search engines and added us to over 500 link directories. The admin of the site wrote in the email with this offer: "We are trying our best to get our members to succeed".  This is the feeling we have about this site.

If you are thinking about starting your own internet business with resell software - www.softwarelady.com is a place to start

Panama Gets a New Cruise Port in Colon

Introduction - Today it was announced that Panama is opening a new cruise ship port and terminal in Colon on the Atlantic side. The port will open in Dec. 2008. At the present time there is a cruise terminal in Colon to receive ships for a day stop only. Ships generally not passing through the canal will stop at Colon disembarking passengers for tours, shopping trips etc. The ships will generally pull in during the morning and leave at dinnertime. Colon is the second largest duty free zone in the world second to Hong Kong. It is simple for one to take a tour from Colon to the Panama Canal.

Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas - Royal Caribbean has announced that it will be deploying one of its modern ships by the name of Enchantment of the Seas. This cruise ship is 80,000 tons and was built in 1997 and refurbished in 1999 and again in 2005. It is not a flag ship of the line, yet still quite a respectable cruise liner. The boat was stretched out when refurbished in 2005 and is now 990 feet long, roughly as long as an aircraft carrier. The ship carries 2446 passengers and has a crew of 760. There are 6 hot tubs, three swimming pools, a rock climbing wall, spa, gym, full beauty salon, jogging track, and of course it has a rock-climbing wall. How can you cruise without a rock-climbing wall? There is a casino, 10 bars, and the ship has 11 decks extending above the water. This is no slouch of a boat. The itinerary of the boat will be Columbia, Aruba and Curacao with 17 such one-week cruises planned during the first season.

Discussion - Okay so now Panama is going to become a cruise port. The major ports in the general region, broadly speaking, are Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale. Many people in Central and South America have difficulty getting visas to go to America. To take a cruise starting or terminating in the USA one must obtain a visa to go to the USA unless they are able to travel to the country without a visa. Most of the countries are not this way with Argentina being the exception.

The visa process involves waking up early in the morning to go stand online at the USA Embassy waiting to go in for an interview. Numerous documents are required, reasons for the trip, why you are not a risk for overstaying the visa etc. There are fees involved, which are about $165 a person. Many people do not wish to go through this process. Many others are willing to go through the process but are unable to get the visa for various reasons.

Additionally people have been complaining about the treatment they get from USA immigration being unpleasant when they arrive and depart America. This has been hurting the cruise industry in the USA in a big way. Check cruise prices and it is common to see discounts of 50% most of the time from the USA ports of departure. This will give the cruise companies a chance to recover a market they have been missing out on in recent years which is the Central and South American market. It will also give Panama a chance to gain some tourism dollars. People taking cruises frequently come in a day or two before the cruise and stay a day or two after the cruise to see the local attractions.

The word we got was that the other cruise lines would follow suit and begin originating cruises from Panama as well. One could expect to see a bustling cruise port like Miami in the near future is what we were told to expect. We welcome the cruise industry and see it as having a positive effect.

Remember this port is not designed to attract the USA tourist dollar. While some USA tourists will come here the overwhelming majority of the cruisers will be from Central and South America. It is cheaper and easier for the USA resident to take a cruise departing from: Los Angeles, New Orleans, Houston, Tampa, New York, Orlando, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, or Puerto Rico. This is not going to give the USA some sort of leverage to use on Panama to get them to do what they want like weaken banking laws etc. If the Caymans Islands or the Bahamas did not comply with the USA regarding bank or corporate laws the USA could make like very difficult for anyone cruising to these destinations with lots of searching, long delays clearing customs and immigration etc. Places like the Caymans and Bahamas have heavy cruise and tourism industries that provide many more jobs than the banking industry. If you have ever been to the Caymans not many locals work in the banking sector. The new cruise port in Panama has no applicability to the USA since the passengers will not be subject to USA immigration and customs since the cruise boat will not be originating, terminating or traveling to the USA and the passengers will by and large not be Americans.

We are expecting to see a lot of South and Central American destinations like Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Aruba, Curacao, and Columbia. On longer cruises of 10 days or longer the cruise ships could travel to some of the popular Caribbean destinations like Nassau, Caymans, and Jamaica etc. Panama has very wisely chosen to go after the Central and South American tourism market. Is there going to be a Disney Amusement Park in Panama? Stay tuned.

Legal Transcription

Legal transcription service is about preparing legal documents from written or dictated information. It is the conversion of the spoken word into a printable form, such as the proceeding of a court hearing. Here, the legal transcription service assist young or experienced attorneys to prepare for trials, documenting relevant facts and information pertaining to lawsuits, organizing and maintaining client files. The persons working for legal transcription service are trained and qualified in the entire range of legal branches, which include:

1. Court proceedings,

2. Licensed appeals,

3. Presentations,

4. Seminars and conferences,

5. Depositions, hearings, and judgments,

6. Evidence or legal argument.

The legal transcription service provides service to solicitors, firms, and attorneys. Legal transcription service includes both legal and paralegal services like transcribing letters, reports, and different types of correspondence that a solicitor firm handles in a day. The objective is accuracy, fast turnaround and quality reporting.

Legal transcription service should be reliable, prompt and cost effective which in turn will save the valuable time and money of lawyers, attorneys, and professionals. Legal transcription service should include:

1.     Competitive pricing

2.     Fast turnaround time

3.     Good accuracy

4.     Confidentiality

The primary responsibility of legal transcription service should be to provide cost-effective, timely response to transcription needs with a high quality finished documents. Clients should be assured of complete accuracy in content and spelling with editing and grammar correction.

Most importantly, legal transcription service should include a high level of confidentiality to assure the safety of sensitive information being held and processed with strict procedure and confidence.

As different areas of the country and different courts have slightly different formats, the legal transcription service should transcribe in all legal formats. For that, legal transcription service provider should be professional and expert in linguistic skills in specialized area.

Is Freelancing Right For You?

After spending 20 years in corporate America, I decided it was time for a change. It was time to step down from the long hours of laboring for someone else’s benefit, to say “no” to the business trips and after-hours functions, and to begin a new career as a freelance writer. Finally, I’d be able to enjoy the fruits of my own labor, set my hours, and pick and choose my clients and assignments. For the first time, I would be in control, I would be my own boss, and I would write the rule book by which I would play.

Sounds fantastic, doesn’t it? As I’m sure you can guess, becoming a successful freelancer wasn’t as easy as I expected it to be. Instead, it took a lot of patience, persistence and hard work. Whether you are considering becoming a freelance graphic designer, Web master, writer or consultant, here are five points to think about when deciding if freelancing is right for you:

Consider what products or services you’ll offer.

If you enjoy making jewelry, buying and selling real estate or finding priceless collectibles, you may, indeed, have a talent that can translate into a full-time business. If building ant farms or playing online poker is your passion, however, be sure to research the income potential before quitting your day job. Do you have a marketable skill, talent or hobby that you’d like to share with others?

Evaluate your finances.

This step is a critical one, particularly if you are the primary breadwinner in your household. Is it your job that brings in the majority of the income and provides benefits to your family? If so, you can still start your own freelance business, but you will have to plan ahead to ensure your family’s needs are met during the transition from your current job to your new venture. This will not only include managing your current bills, but setting funds aside to invest in your business for equipment, supplies, inventory, staff, marketing, etc. Are you financially prepared to make the necessary sacrifices?

Enlist support.

If you choose to start your own business, you’ll obviously want the support of your family and friends. Take their “you can do it” attitude one step further. Ask for their help answering the phone, sending out mailers, or sharing your business with their friends and acquaintances. In addition, seek out the support of professional groups and organizations in your community as well. Most cities have a chamber of commerce that will allow you to visit once or twice before joining. Other towns have a women’s professional network or marketing group you might join. Do you have a network of support available to you? If so, what will it take to put that network in place?

Assess your personality.

While businesses vary far and wide, the most successful business owners often possess similar traits. Many of us are independent, forward thinking, objective and analytical, while others are creative, passionate, flexible and communicative. We know our products and services, and we know our customers. Above all, we are comfortable making difficult decisions and taking risks. The question is, are you?

Identify your strengths and weaknesses.

Through education, experience, and heredity, we have each been blessed with strengths and saddled with weaknesses. It is crucial to each and every business owner to identify those strengths and weaknesses. I suggest getting out a sheet of paper and dividing it in half. On one side, list your strengths – things like “good with people,” “business savvy,” “ability to make solid decisions.” On the other side, list your weaknesses such as “uncomfortable hiring and firing” or “mediocre bookkeeping skills.”

Once you’ve completed both of your lists, ask someone who knows you well (spouse, friend, peer, mentor, etc.) to objectively critique your lists and make adjustments. For example, maybe you don’t think your bookkeeping skills are up to par, but your wife knows your checkbook is always balanced to the penny.

Afterward, carefully consider your strengths and weaknesses. Make your strengths your greatest assets. If you are good with people, for example, you should be your company’s key spokesperson. If you are creative, assist in the design of your Web site and marketing materials. If you are not particularly business savvy or if you just hate working with numbers, however, consider outsourcing some of those management tasks to an outside firm. Let someone else hire key staff or perform regular bookkeeping. Are you willing to relinquish control enough to maximize your strengths while delegating the other tasks to professionals?

After carefully evaluating these five points and assessing your resources, you should be able to make a sound decision about whether or not a freelance business is right for you. Best wishes to you for many years of freelance success!