Finance
Guide to Streamlining Your Payroll Processing

Introduction
Every month, when that certain day comes around for you to start processing payrolls, many may find the feeling of dread extremely relatable. This process can be very time-consuming and tedious, especially when your business has more than a handful of staff. As your company grows, you hire more staff, and payrolls can get quite confusing. There are your part-time staff members who are paid by the hour, your full-time staff members who are paid monthly, and then there are the selected individuals who are on overtime duty. With the multiple state payrolls, complicated tax filing requirements, and payment methods, you just want the nightmare and headaches to end. While this is extremely demanding and unavoidable, there are some tips for you to simplify the process altogether, one of which is using a paystub creator thus helping you make your job a lot easier and smoother.

Direct Deposit
Though not many companies realize this, switching to a direct deposit to your employees’ bank accounts can save a whole lot of time, effort, and costs. This can be done via an ACH file, which safely transfers your employees’ salaries right into their pockets. If your company has been using checks as a payment method, you may realize that there is a lot of miscellaneous costs involved; which include printing, purchase of envelopes, printer ink, stamps. Not to mention that extra time is required to check through each check to ensure that they are printed correctly, sealed in an envelope and that the correct addresses are written on each envelope. Alternatively, direct deposit pay stubs can be checked online through a portal instead of a ‘pay advice’ that has to be printed on plain paper. Another tool to consider along with this method is a Check Stub Maker that will easily generate pay stubs for you in an effortless manner.
This will effectively cut down on the need for a physical copy altogether. Making the switch will not only streamline the process, but it can also save your company a few extra bucks and a considerable amount of time and effort each month.
Electronic Tax Filing
For certain companies that have to do tax filing themselves because they do not use a payroll service to do the tax filing on their behalf, they can opt for eFiling instead. Short for electronic tax filing, this process can be done online as well, without needing to print and send forms physically. Essentially, the payroll system collects the information through the portal and makes it extremely hassle-free to file your taxes directly. However, one thing to keep in mind is that eFiling is made compulsory by the Federal government and in certain states, so do check the requirements as it is based on the number of employees in a company. Apart from those companies, switching to eFiling is one way to make your payroll processing a lot less burdensome.
Scheduling Reminders
For individuals who are appointed to process payrolls, keeping to deadlines, and remembering important dates are crucial not just for the jurisdiction that you are reporting to but also for your employees. For companies who use in-house payroll software instead of a payroll service, employers are required to report their payroll taxes to their respective jurisdictions, in a format that they approve of. Depending on the different entities and tax amounts, this has to be done either monthly, quarterly, or annually. Furthermore, there is also an unemployment tax that has to be filed every quarter or annually, depending on the laws of each state. With the many deadlines that one has to keep up with in order not to incur a penalty fee, keeping track of the dates is highly important. Making reminders on your own personal calendar is extremely useful, as you are able to have a clearer monthly breakdown of the deadlines, allowing you to start early and get your materials prepared. Remembering your dates last minute will send you into overdrive, as you scramble and panic to get your payroll processing done in an unorganized fashion.

Mass updating
When employers have to send updates to the whole company or a specific group of people, taking advantage of the mass update function on the payroll systems can help you save time and effort. Instead of manually editing each employee’s record, the mass update function will reduce the potential errors that could be made through manual entry, and save you time which can be spent doing something productive. These mass updates could include information on deductions, benefits, payroll information, taxes, leaves, and earnings; all of which your employees need to know about. Look into the payroll system that you are currently using and see if they offer such a function. If they do not, you can consider sourcing for other more modern payroll software and systems to ensure that they are time and cost-maximizing.
Time Entry
Time entry is probably the ultimate bane of anyone’s existence especially for individuals who are in charge of processing payrolls. However, this process can be simplified significantly if your company decides to invest in a time-keeping device. These devices eliminate the need to manually enter records, thus saving hours of your time. It also avoids entry errors as these time devices automatically print out the time that your employees clock in and out onto their time cards. Taking things one step further, there is also the possibility of an online time clock, where hours are entered online via a laptop, iPad, and even their phones; making it extremely fuss-free as the data will be stored online. As such, you will no longer be required to manually gather the data from the time clock.
Conclusion
Payroll processing is indeed an extremely tedious process as it involves precise calculations of finances and salaries, that your employees are heavily dependent on. Though it is impossible to do without this complicated process, there are still several ways to save you some time on it. Finding the right payroll system with the appropriate functions will help to make everything simpler for you, leaving you with more time to attend to other needs. As long as your company consistently sources for new methods and create innovative ways to streamline the process, payroll processing no longer needs to be that time consuming anymore.
Finance
U.S. bank trouble heralds The End of dollar Reserve system

The US banking system is broken, stresses ‘The Asia Times’. That doesn’t portend more high-profile failures like Credit Suisse. The central banks will keep moribund institutions on life support.
But the era of dollar-based reserves and floating exchange rates that began on August 15, 1971, when the US severed the link between the dollar and gold, is coming to an end. The pain will be transferred from the banks to the real economy, which will starve for credit.
And the geopolitical consequences will be enormous. The seize-up of dollar credit will accelerate the shift to a multipolar reserve system, with advantage to China’s yuan as a competitor to the dollar.
Gold, the “barbarous relic” abhorred by John Maynard Keynes, will play a bigger role because the dollar banking system is dysfunctional, and no other currency — surely not the tightly-controlled yuan — can replace it. Now at an all-time record price of US$2,000 an ounce, gold is likely to rise further.
The greatest danger to dollar hegemony and the strategic power that it imparts to Washington is not China’s ambition to expand the international role of the yuan.
This crisis is utterly unlike 2008, when banks levered up trillions of dollars of dodgy assets based on “liar’s loans” to homeowners. Fifteen years ago, the credit quality of the banking system was rotten and leverage was out of control. Bank credit quality today is the best in a generation. The crisis stems from the now-impossible task of financing America’s ever-expanding foreign debt.
America’s chronic current account deficits of the past 30 years amount to an exchange of goods for paper: America buys more goods than it sells, and sells assets (stocks, bonds, real estate, and so on) to foreigners to make up the difference.
America now owes a net $18 trillion to foreigners, roughly equal to the cumulative sum of these deficits over 30 years. The trouble is that the foreigners who own US assets receive cash flows in dollars, but need to spend money in their own currencies.
Before 1971, when central banks maintained exchange rates at a fixed level and the United States covered its relatively small current account deficit by transferring gold to foreign central banks at a fixed price of $35 an ounce, none of this was necessary.
The end of the gold link to the dollar and the new regime of floating exchange rates allowed the United States to run massive current account deficits by selling its assets to the world.
In effect, the market worries that buying inflation protection from the US government is like passengers on the Titanic buying shipwreck insurance from the captain. The gold market is too big and diverse to manipulate.
The dollar reserve system will go out not with a bang, but a whimper. The central banks will step in to prevent any dramatic failures. But bank balance sheets will shrink, credit to the real economy will diminish and international lending in particular will evaporate.
Southeast Asia will rely more on its own currencies and the yuan. The dollar frog will boil by slow increments.
It’s fortuitous that Western sanctions on Russia during the past year prompted China, Russia, India and the Persian Gulf states to find alternative financing arrangements. These are not a monetary phenomenon, but an expensive, inefficient and cumbersome way to work around the US dollar banking system.
As dollar credit diminishes, though, these alternative arrangements will turn into permanent features of the monetary landscape, and other currencies will continue to gain ground against the dollar, concludes ‘The Asia Times’.
Finance
Mastering Writing Skills: Write Effectively for Academic and Professional Success

Most people underestimate the importance of knowing how to write. In school, students are assigned paper after paper. The results help teachers grade their knowledge. But, that’s not the main reason why these are assigned. Essays and other papers give students practice, and a chance to learn effective writing. It’s a lifelong skill that not only serves to land them a passing grade but can also help them boost their professional success later on.
How to Master Your Writing Skills
If you want to make sure that you learn how to write better, both for academic and professional success, here are some tips and tricks for you.
1.Ask Someone to Write for You
The best way to learn how to write is to read what you need to write. If you aim for academic success but don’t know how to craft a paper that gets you an A, get some writing help from a reliable service. Today you can simply go online and request to write my essay and you’ll receive a top-notch assignment. This isn’t just to help you meet a deadline or land a high grade. You can also use it for college learning – to read what a good paper should look like.
When you have a finished piece of writing, this can be your guide. Students often order papers online to meet deadlines or make sure they get a high grade. Even if this is the case, use the opportunity to learn, too – next time you need to craft a similar paper, refer to the one written by an expert to boost your writing skills.
2.Read What You Like
Reading is an amazing way to boost your writing skills. How is this possible, you wonder?
For starters, reading books, articles, other papers, or anything else – can boost your vocabulary. When you read, you also come across different writing styles, giving you ideas for when you need to write.
Even though it might not seem this way when you actually read, reading gives you a lot of useful information that is stored in your subconscious.
3.Practice Writing
If you want to master writing, truly master it, you need practice. Those essay assignments are not enough. You should do some free writing, too. Start your blog or journal, write letters to your peers, join a writing workshop, etc. Just write for the sake of it – practice is very important!
4.Don’t Skimp on the Editing Part
Editing is as important as writing itself – maybe even more important. While some mistakes might be acceptable in school, these are never welcome in professional circles. A single, unintentional mistake can have a devastating effect and ruin the quality or the message in your writing.
Research and writing are tiring, but this is no reason to skip the editing part and submit the work in a rush. If you want to learn to write better, you need to start by editing your work. When you proofread and edit it, you can find the most common mistakes you make and learn how to avoid them.
5.Focus on the Structure
The first draft is often a result of free writing. It’s good to write with the flow without focusing on the details, the mistakes, or the structure. This allows your thought to run without interruptions.
But, you can’t submit the first draft of any writing – not if you want it to be good.
In addition to editing the mistakes out of your writing, focus on the structure, too. Structure makes sure that your ideas get across to those who read the content.
Outlines are very useful for this. Many students see them as a waste of time since they aren’t formally required. However, a good outline can actually cut down the time you spend on editing and formatting your task. It will also make sure that the information in your essay flow and are clear to the reader.
6.Ask for Feedback – and Use It!
Unless you’ve mastered the skill of writing, you’ll make mistakes. This is how you learn, and there’s no shame in it. It’s also the time when feedback can really help you. Ask your mentors, your peers, your parents, and friends to take a look at your writing. Ask them to be blunt and tell you what flaws they find in your writing.
You might not accept all of their notes and feedback, but learning how others view and understand your writing is very useful.
Wrapping Up
Writing requires some talent but most importantly, it requires practice. It is something you learn in time, which is why it’s assigned at every academic level. So, practice, practice, and practice some more. This is how you’ll master the skill!
Finance
FORBES: Where is the Russian banking crisis?

“Sanctions were supposed to kill the Russian financial sector. It did, and it didn’t. Where is the Russian banking crisis?” – FORBES is perplexed.
Yes, sanctions have hurt Russia’s financial institutions. But a Russian banking crisis, one that looks like we have seen in the U.S. recently with Silicon Valley Bank and in Switzerland with Credit Suisse, has not occurred.
There were never any runs on Russian banks. The ruble strengthened. And while most banks are protected by the state – led by Sberbank and VTB – the Russian Central Bank has spent much of the last decade working to clean up the financial system.
For this reason, Russian banks have survived the West’s sanctions regime and stock market delistings better than anyone would have imagined. For a cynical Russian, watching Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse burn down while their bankers are gainfully employed is like smirking before the camera lens in front of a burning building.
Had the sanctions come at the time when the Russian Central Bank was cleaning up its “zombie banks” – all hell would have broken loose. But seeing how much of that mess was swept away prior to the 2022 sanctions regimes taking hold, Russia’s banks remain safe and sound, even if Russian investors in those banks have lost their shirt.
The sanctions policy, the hardest ever taken out on Russia, is 13 months old. New ones pop up regularly. It is unclear what can possibly be next, as Russia’s financial institutions have already been largely cut off from the Western system.
Russia’s financial sector, and its banks at home, aren’t making headlines like banks in the U.S. and Europe are. They have withstood the onslaught of sanctions.
They’ve lost their European and U.S. assets, which will not be recovered for years to come, if ever. Sberbank CEO Herman Gref said in press reports that Sberbank is “the most attacked entity” in the country, which experiences “unprecedented challenges in terms of complexity and power.” He said Sberbank lost nearly all of its assets abroad, leading to massive write-downs.
Yet, Russian president Vladimir Putin smirks at the burning buildings of Credit Suisse and the lost $200 billion in Silicon Valley Bank deposits, needing unprecedented FDIC support to protect account holders. The bank is now insolvent. His biggest banks remain only because most of Russia’s banks over the years have been folded and rendered insolvent. And a danger to the Russian financial system was liquidated.
“Thanks to the professional actions of our banking community, government agencies, and the efforts of the central bank, I want to emphasize that we managed to overcome all these (sanctions) difficulties in general,” Putin reportedly said in Moscow earlier this month after meeting with Sberbank’s CEO. He said that Sberbank’s current stable position was “a good signal for the whole economy.”
With sanctions expected to remain for a long time to come, will Russia’s heavily sanctioned banks fold one day, too?
“Who knows what will happen in Russia, because we all only know what we read in the press and what we read in the press is that Russia did a smart job handling their banks pre-sanctions and so after sanctions they have managed okay,” says famous commodities investor Jim Rogers from his home in Singapore, who has been a director of Russian fertilizer company PhosAgro. “We saw the ruble go down when sanctions were first imposed, then it went up. So in that case alone, the market tells me that somebody in Russia did something right,” he says.
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