Lois Sellers receives the Travelers Superstar award for the Second Quarter 2012

People Lease and Account Services Group are pleased to announce Lois Sellers has received the "Travelers Insurance Superstar Award". This award is presented by the Travelers Select Accounts team, which stated Lois's knowledge of products and systems, her cheerful attitude and her dependability are just a few of the characteristics that made Lois the obvious choice for the Travelers Superstar of the Quarter Award.

A People Lease employee since July 2011, Lois is the staff customer service agent who is also licensed in property, casualty, and life & health. Lois is known for great customer service and being highly customer oriented. Lois attributes her success over the years to a genuine desire to ensure that her customers are all receiving premier insurance care. Lois brings over 15 years of experience in the corporate, billing, accounting and customer service industry. Lois is originally from Louisville, Kentucky and moved to Mississippi two years ago to pursue her career in the insurance industry. Lois' dedication and commitment to our clients gives them the peace of mind knowing their insurance needs are always handled timely and professionally. She enjoys traveling, bicycling, the outdoors, and spending time with friends.

Congratulations Lois! Thank you for all you do for Account Services Group, our insurance carriers, and especially your customers!

People Lease Service

Businesses succeed or fail based on one very important factor: service. Here at People Lease, we consider our success to be a direct result of the hard work we put into keeping our customers happy.

At People Lease we handle the back-office chores associated with employee administration. We provide companies with services like payroll, benefits, retirement, and deal with making sure our customers stay compliant with federal and state regulations. To do this effectively we work closely with our clients to make sure their needs are always met.

We know that every business is unique with its own unique problems. We service clients both large and small. No matter what size the company is, our staff is completely dedicated to providing perfect service. Our clients know that the well-being of their employees is one of the most important aspects of a successful business and we know that any difficulty will affect an employee’s peace of mind. That’s why any small problem is a big deal to us.

At the end of the day, People Lease clients know that we’re there for them. Our clients can always pick up the phone and talk to one of our payroll specialists and get personalized solutions to their employee administration concerns. If you want more information on what we can do for your company call us today at 601-987-3025.

Keeping Up With Employment Taxes

Whatever your business - if you have employees, you have employment taxes. For each hire, you are required to withhold the employee's federal income tax, FICA, Medicare, along with state income tax and state disability insurance in most states. As the employer, it is your responsibility to make sure these taxes are deposited to the government. Employee taxes are held in trust funds to be deposited by the employer using Form 941.

It's also the employer's duty to match the employee’s FICA and Medicare contribution amounts. All funds are deposited with the US Treasury Department through electronic funds transfer. The schedule of the deposits is dependent on the amount of the liability. Each quarter the taxes are reported to the IRS via the Form 941.

Your company must also pay into the federal and state unemployment funds. The federal rates depend on how much the employee’s pay is each year. Also, each state has different requirements and rates for unemployment taxes.

Failure to deposit taxes on time or mistakes in reporting taxes results in penalties levied by the IRS. It’s very important for companies to be on top of all aspects of their payroll or things can get expensive. If you have questions about your taxes or any employee administration concerns, contact People Lease today at (601) 987-3025.

Disaster Recovery Plans

With hurricane season on its way, small business owners might want to find the time to think about their disaster recovery plans. Of course, businesses should always be prepared for disasters at any time. You never know when you could be faced with flood, fire, accidents, or even computer malfunction.

Having a good plan in place can significantly reduce the costs incurred and can be the deciding factor in your company's survival in the event of a disaster.

To start on your disaster recovery plan, first you need to find out what events are most likely to cause disruption in your business and plan accordingly.

Over the years more and more businesses have begun to rely on computers to run their business. As a result, businesses need to develop effective back-up and recovery strategies to reduce the impact of disruptive events. Keeping your records backed-up and secure are essential to any disaster recovery plan. Many businesses use on-site or remote backup drives to keep their data secure. A newer option is cloud computing, where your information is stored via the internet. Look around to see what's right for your business.

Another factor to think of is how you will access the data in the event of an emergency. Will you need an alternate worksite or will employees be able to do their work from home? Will communication be disrupted?

Of course, the most important part of any disaster recovery plan is the safety of employees and patrons. Make sure employees are well-trained in what to do in case of emergency.

Here at People Lease, Hurricane Katrina was a definite eye-opener in the importance of disaster recovery plans. We would be glad to share our experiences with any business owners looking to make their own plan. Contact us anytime at 601-987-3025.

Happy Memorial Day from People Lease!

Fire up the barbeque and get out the sunblock, Memorial Day is almost here. Many Americans will be travelling to a vacation spot or having cookouts with friends and family this weekend. Many more will be shopping the sales aisles. Whatever you’re doing, Memorial Day weekend is a great time for not only fun, but also remembrance.

Memorial Day is the unofficial kickoff to summer. Schools all over the nation are out for summer vacation or will be very soon. With kids looking at a few months of fun in the sun, Memorial Day is the perfect time to start celebrating.

But whether you're attending a parade, having a picnic, or going on vacation, keep in mind that Memorial Day is for remembering those who have given their lives in service of their country. Formerly known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day was declared a federal holiday in 1971. Flags everywhere are flown at half-staff to honor fallen soldiers until noon on Memorial Day and are then raised to full staff to show that their sacrifice was not in vain. So, whatever your plans are for the weekend, please take the time to remember the meaning of the holiday.

Have a fun, safe, and happy Memorial Day weekend!

Background Checks

For the past few weeks we’ve been posting about hiring methods and practices (you can find the posts here). During our research, one of the things we’ve discovered is that an essential part of the hiring process is checking out a prospect’s background. You really can’t afford to be surprised by a candidate’s previous history. After all, if an employee's actions hurt someone, the employer may be liable. A bad decision can wreak havoc on a company's budget and reputation.

People Lease offers a fantastic employment screening service to all our clients. With our service you’re able to establish a prospect’s identity, obtain driving and criminal records, get information on illegal substance tests, confirm the existence & validity of licenses, and confirm education & employment information provided on their resume. Another part of the service includes contacting references with customized questions (according to job description) about their relationships with the applicant, and his or her personal and professional reputation and activities.

People Lease is here to help you with hiring and all aspects of employee administration. To learn more about these services and others, please contact us today.

After holidays full of excess eating and big spending, the New Year approaches and everyone starts in with their Resolutions. As individuals, people resolve to lose weight, quit smoking and spend more time with their families. Good and noble endeavors to be sure. But what about in business? Are there any resolutions you should be implementing at work? Sure there are. Here’s a few for starters.

1.      Start your day earlier. “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,” said Benjamin Franklin. Seems to have worked for him. Think about it – more time in the morning means more time to devote to things you probably won’t get to do otherwise. Like exercise, read the paper, or eat breakfast. Starting your day off early means you can come into work on time, fully awake and ready to face the challenges of the day.

2.      Work smarter, not harder. Since you’re already at work and feeling productive, think about the things you can do to make your job a little easier. Do you have some daily or weekly tasks you put off but then get distracted from? Get them done first thing and let the rest of the day fall into place. Have a hard time finding files after you’ve saved them? Work on a filing system that’s easier to navigate. You have to think about the things that are keeping or slowing you from achieving your goals and change them.

3.      Cut down on waste. Sounds simple, right? It is. Think about the things you and your company are doing that wastes company resources like paper, electricity, or - worst of all - time. These things are costing your company money. What you have to look for are alternatives to what’s costing you money now. Can you send more emails instead of wasting paper corresponding through fax? Are you using up those “promotion-only” pens you spent so much money on in the office instead of handing them out to potential clients? And it has to be asked – are you still wasting time doing your own payroll?

4.      Go green. Speaking of working smarter and cutting waste; how much can your company save by lowering utility costs? Green isn’t just a hippie buzzword anymore. Companies are saving money each year with green initiatives like better insulation and water-conserving options. Eco-friendly options like recycling have been known to boost customer support, as well. Look around your office, especially your trashcan, and see if there’s anything “green” you can be doing.

Remember, like your personal New Year’s Resolutions, your business Resolutions will require you to stick with it to be effective. Those above are just a few options you can implement. Have any other suggestions? Feel free to comment below.