Payroll Help

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What Information Is Needed to Set Up Payroll?

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Setup checklist

Print the setup checklist.

Learning how to set up payroll with Patriot Software’s payroll software is easy with our step by step payroll wizard. Gathering this information ahead of time will ensure a quick and efficient setup. To begin, you will need the following items:

  1. Company location information
    • Your business mailing address
    • Any additional work location addresses
  2. All of your tax ID numbers, including:
    • Your federal employer identification number (EIN)
    • Your state income tax ID number
    • Your local tax ID numbers (if applicable)
      đź’ˇNew Employers: Please check out our state specific help for new employers for help obtaining numbers!
  3. Your state unemployment (SUTA) account number and SUTA rate for your company
    • Your state unemployment agency will send you a notice with your rate and account number.
  4. Identify and Bank Info (if using Direct Deposit, or Full Service Payroll)
    • The business owner’s information full name, SSN, address, DOB, and driver’s license number. This is in accordance with the Patriot Act’s Know Your Customer and Customer Identification Program required by our bank.
      • If your identity is not automatically verified, we may ask you to upload the business owner’s photo ID. Acceptable photo IDs are the business owner’s driver’s license, state ID, or passport.
    • A copy of your most recent commercial/business bank account statement.
      Unfortunately we can’t accept a brokerage or personal bank account for the withdrawal of employee direct deposit.
    • Bank login credentials: We can instantly verify the business bank account you want to use for direct deposit.
  5. The employee W-4 form (filled out by your employees), including:
    • Names
    • DOBs
    • Hire dates
    • Addresses
    • Social Security numbers
    • Tax filing status
  6. The pay rate and pay frequency (weekly, biweekly, etc.) for all employees
  7. Workers Compensation codes (if in Washington state or Wyoming)
  8. Details on current deductions & contributions for all employees (if applicable)
  9. All payroll registers for the current year, by pay date
  10. All employer taxes for the current year, by pay date
  11. Copies of all tax filings for the current year (i.e., 941, state & local tax returns, SUTA)
  12. Your Tax Deposit Frequencies (if using Full Service Payroll)
    • How often your federal, state, and local (if applicable) taxes are due (e.g., semi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.) See our help article, “How do I find my deposit frequencies?” for more info.
  13. Tax Authorization Information (if using Full Service Payroll)
    • We’ll ask for a digital signature in our Payroll Wizard for the federal Form 8655, after we verify your personal identity.
    • State Tax Authorization is required by some states. You may see state-specific instructions in the payroll wizard if your state requires third party authorization for us to file on your behalf.

Are you a new business owner?

If you have a new business and still need to apply for these tax accounts, check out our payroll information for employers page for information specific to your state.

Most tax agencies have online applications and you will be able to obtain your account employer identification number immediately. However, if you’ve applied for any tax accounts but haven’t received your tax ID number yet, you can still move forward. In the payroll setup wizard, just check the box labeled “I don’t have my EIN right now.” This lets you complete your setup and enter the missing ID numbers later.

Intimidated by the thought of state registration? For state tax registration made simple, try our partner, CorpNet.

Let us help with free setup assistance

Did you know that Patriot Software offers free payroll setup assistance for all new customers? We can import your employee data and your year-to-date payroll information. Learn more on our help article, “Free Setup Assistance.”

Have questions?
We want to help. We can walk you through the setup process and point you in the right direction, and provide ongoing support. The best part — routine support is free. Call us, chat us, or send us an email.

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