Managing the Firm

The Firm file holds data that is used by all the Clients in Industrial Strength Payroll to compute FUTA and complete Form 940, and to supply Deferred Compensation limits in calculations and reporting.

The Firm is the Transmitter for all e-filing sessions. These include efiling of Forms W-2, 1099, all 900-series forms, and, where called for in the specifications, state W-2 and wage reporting.

If you are an Accounting Firm or other person that is doing payroll for others, the data from the Firm is used to complete the Paid Preparer areas of Forms 941 and other such forms.

Also, if you are an accounting firm that prepares payroll for yourself as well as other Clients, you can restrict access to your particular Client data here.

Because this data is central to so many functions, you may want to restrict access to this file.

This window appears automatically during the initial setup. At any other time, it is reached by choosing Maintain Global Values, or File | Firm from  the Main Menu.

The Firm identification section identifies the Transmitter or Preparer of tax returns to the agency receiving these returns. The IRS requests that you use the exact same information that appears on the letter or web confirmation you received when your FEIN was issued, or when corrected. This helps data-matching and reduces the need for clarifying communications.

It is also used by the Registration function to see who purchased the software.

The Federal Tax ID is the FEIN you received from the IRS. We only accept a FEIN in this field.

There are 2 special entries in this section:

Location refers to the Suite, Room, Floor or other qualifier to your address. For example, our address is 7802 E Gray Road, Suite 100. Suite 100 is the Location, and 7802 E Gray Road is the Delivery address.

Firm Payroll Client is the number for the Client that is the Firm's payroll. Entering a value here blocks Paid Preparer information from printing on the Firm's reports. You are also able to restrict access to that Client.

The rest of the information is self-explanatory.

The Paid preparer section provides the default paid preparer information for any report. It is inserted automatically for all Clients except the Firm Client if the checkbox is checked. There is only 1 set of data in the system but most reports allow you to edit this information if needed.

The Individual's name must match the name associated with the PTIN.

Information in the 3rd Party Designee section supplies the default designee information for any report. It is applied to all Clients except the Firm if the checkbox is checked.

FUTA information is used to prepare Form 940. It is also the basis of every FUTA computation. It is your responsibility to maintain this information.

Maximum wage refers to the taxable earnings limit.

Rate as % contains the effective FUTA rate, expressed as a percentage. Enter the rate net of all credits.

Hint:  Every employer is entitled to the same reduction from the full FUTA rate. This is why you enter the effective rate in this field. Some states  borrow money in order to pay unemployment benefits and are unable to repay that money on time. In such cases, the Department of Labor determines a Credit Reduction that applies to all employers in that state. Should such a reduction happen, the Liability occurs when Form 940 is filed, not before. Do not alter this rate in anticipation of a credit reduction. Doing so causes you to over-report your FUTA liability.

The e-Filing box contains various elements relating to e-Filing as follows.

SSA BSO PIN for W-2 Filing holds the 8-character PIN SSA assigned to you when you are accepted into the BSO Online e-filing program. This PIN is added to the Transmitter record as specified in the EFW2 specification.

Transmitter Control Code for 1099 Series holds the 5-character TCC assigned to you by the IRS on letter L-2484 when you registered for the F.I.R.E. program .

If you want to e-File any 900-series forms, you require an EFIN from the IRS. Enter it in the EFIN box.

The e-File PIN contains the PIN you selected to use with your EFIN.

The blue fields in the Deferred Compensation box are required to properly limit employee contributions to the indicated types of Deferred Compensation. Industrial Strength Payroll supplies the initial values but these are not updated by any update service. You are responsible for the accuracy of these values.

The IRC allows certain taxpayers to contribute extra amounts. Enter the adder only in the column Age 50+ "catch-up" adders.

Click File | Save, choose the Done button, or press F10 to save any changes. If the Save option is not available, check that all the required fields are complete. Also look for any field that is red. Red indicates a problem. Point your mouse at the field to learn about the problem.