19 It’s Farming. And It’s Better. Better Farming | April 2024 and stability in their employment, and timely and often automated pay through direct deposit,” she says. “This may help in attracting and retaining employees.” That’s especially important during a time of farm labour scarcity. Says Neufeld: “Experienced employees are a great benefit to producers, as is their knowledge base of your operation, which in turn can lead to less cost.” Legal obligations Payrolls can also ensure compliance with labour and tax laws. “Keeping current with payroll also meets government reporting requirements, which equates to less money spent on unnecessary filing penalties, interest, and PIER reports,” says Neufeld. A PIER report is a pensionable and insurable earnings review. Neufeld points out penalties and interest are high and can accumulate quickly. Derksen notes that the CRA has detailed rules regarding whether a worker is an employee or self-employed contractor. Several tests and factors come into play and can be found at: www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/ services/forms-publications/ publications/rc4110/employee-self- employed.html. Farmers can also find out their legal obligations and answers to other labour-related questions by consulting with a lawyer with employment law experience, Derksen says. Your accountant can also get you pointed in the right direction, says Neufeld. She explains that provincial governments have different labour standards, and their websites can offer compliance information. “The standards are different for agriculture than for different industries and businesses, so it is an advantage to identify the differences as you engage in hiring practices and compensation,” Neufeld adds. Who takes on payroll tasks If you’re wondering if you should take on the work yourself or send it out to professionals, the answer depends on your operation – including its size, complexity, and labour requirements, says Derksen. Neufeld recommends operators first ask themselves what they know about payroll practices. “The owner/shareholder will be held personally responsible for the correct reporting of payroll and remitting on time to CRA. “They should also determine how much time they can devote to learning more before committing themselves to shouldering the payroll load,” she says. “Could my time be better spent working on my business and hiring the professionals to process payroll?” Watson says that, like any farm decision, it depends on the skills and capacity of the operator to implement and manage such a change. “This is where your accountant and other business advisors can come in to help you decide,” she says. Hiring an individual or firm to manage your payrolls could be a good fit for the typically busy farmer. “We have a saying in farm management – do your best, and hire the rest,” Watson says. She explains that many farmers feel pressured to be the Jack or Jill of all trades. But that stress can be alleviated by outsourcing to professionals, which frees up their time to focus more on other areas of the farm that need their attention. “We tend to perform our best when we’re focusing on the things we love to do. That doesn’t mean we can ignore the other stuff that needs to get done, but find others who are passionate and experts in those things to leverage your collective strengths.” BF WWW.GLENGARRY.CA Let's make it work. When other doors seem closed, ours are open. Sometimes finances are best discussed over a cup of coffee at the kitchen table. It’s where you dream big, and it’s where we sketch out a plan to restructure debt and make the numbers work. We don’t hide behind a big desk. We’re closer than that. We get farming. RICHARD KAMCHEN Richard Kamchen is a veteran agricultural freelance writer and is a regular contributor to Better Farming. Farm owners & payroll
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