For the fourth consecutive year, Accuchex Corporation has been selected for the 2013 Best of Novato Award in the Payroll & Insurance Service category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).

The USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

The small business tax credit included in the federal health care law is specifically designed for small businesses and small tax-exempt organizations to help make maintaining existing coverage or offering health insurance to employees for the first time more affordable. Read more to find out if your business will qualify.

 The San Rafael Chamber of Commerce recently acknowledged fourteen Chamber businesses on their nomination for Small, Large and Joe Garbarino Green Business of the Year Awards during The State of the City/Taste of San Rafael event, which took place on March 14th, 2013 at the Embassy Suites Hotel. The event  included a State of the City address by the mayor, Gary Phillips. Dinner and desserts were provided by a variety of San Rafael restaurants and bakeries.

The awards ceremony acknowledged all nominees, who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to San Rafael, especially in the areas of leadership, giving back to the community and making a significant contribution to strengthening our local economy. Joe Garbarino Green Business Award Nominees have demonstrated extraordinary efforts to imbed sustainable principles in their business operations and philosophy.

Has your insurance company made material changes to your benefits in 2012-13?  Many insurers have revamped their product portfolios, tweaking plan design to hold down cost.  Are you aware that the Benefit Summaries issued by most insurance carriers distributed by itself is NOT sufficient under federal law to satisfy ERISA disclosure requirements?  Employers have an obligation under ERISA to furnish plan participants with a separate, written Summary of Material Modifications (SMM) outlining those changes.  

A Summary of Material Modification (SMM) must be furnished automatically in the same manner and to the same individuals as a Summary Plan Description (SPD) when a plan is amended, or “materially modified.  This generally means any modification that would be considered by the average Participant to be an important change or reduction in covered services or benefits.  Examples of material modifications are changes to deductibles, coinsurance, copays, drug formularies, eligibility, service areas, and the...

As we say goodbye to summer and hello to fall, make sure you are up to date with these important issues:

IRS Update on FSA $2500 Max – Effective January 1, 2013, the ACA limits contributions to healthcare FSA accounts to $2,500.  The IRS recently clarified that the contribution limits are effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2012, so off-calendar year plans may have a delayed effective date.  Cafeteria plans must be amended to reflect the $2,500 limit. Although cafeteria plan amendments must typically be effective prospectively, the guidance permits plan sponsors to retroactively amend their plan document to set forth the FSA cap, provided the amendment is adopted on or before December 31, 2014.

HIPAA Compliance –  The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently published its audit protocol used in conducting the HIPAA privacy, security, and breach notification audits mandated by the Health Information Technology...

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, Accuchex would like to give you advance notice of days that we will be closed or performing limited processing.

October 8th, 2012 – Columbus Day: Accuchex will be closed and will not be processing payroll.

November 22nd, 2012 – Thanksgiving Day: Accuchex will be closed and will not be processing payroll.

November 23rd, 2012 – Friday after Thanksgiving: Accuchex hours of operation will be 8:30 to 1:00 p.m. and will be performing limited processing.

December 24th, 2012 – Christmas Eve: Accuchex will be closed and will not be processing payroll.

December 25th, 2012 – Christmas Day: Accuchex will be closed and will not be processing payroll.

Accuchex will be OPEN on Novemeber 12th, 2012 - Veteran’s Day, however Banks will be closed.

 The following link is a listing of observed bank holidays provided by the Federal Reserve Bank. http://www.chicagofed.org/webpages/utilities/about_us/bank_holidays.cfm

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Payroll and Banking news: The transmission delay occurring on September 14th, 2012 affected many businesses and payroll transactions across the country. Delayed ACH transactions are not a common occurrence in the payroll and banking industries, but they do occasionally happen. These delays can occur for many different technical reasons, including anything from a software glitch to a file transmission failure. Needless to say, there are many links in the chain that lead to the Federal Reserve Bank and ultimately into your bank accounts.

Accuchex would like to take this opportunity to provide some helpful hints as to how you can better protect yourself and funds, regardless of the circumstance.

Install and regularly update firewalls, spyware protection, and commercial anti-virus software, especially if you're using a broadband or dedicated connection to the Internet, such as DSL or cable. Create strong passwords with at least 10 characters, including lower- and upper-case letters, numbers,...

IR-2012-68, Aug. 23, 2012

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today announced that interest rates will remain the same for the calendar quarter beginning Oct. 1, 2012. The rates will be:

three (3) percent for overpayments [two (2) percent in the case of a corporation]; three (3) percent for underpayments; five (5) percent for large corporate underpayments; and one-half (0.5) percent for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000. Under the Internal Revenue Code, the rate of interest is determined on a quarterly basis. For taxpayers other than corporations, the overpayment and underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points.

Generally, in the case of a corporation, the underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points and the overpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 2 percentage points. The rate for large corporate underpayments is the federal short-term rate plus 5 percentage points....

Accuchex is proud to announce a partnership with the California Chamber of Commerce.  The CalChamber is the largest, broad-based business advocate working at the state and federal levels to influence government actions affecting all California business. We rely on CalChamber to leverage our front-line knowledge of laws and regulations to provide affordable, easy-to-use compliance products and services for our clients

Accuchex is able to extend an exclusive offer to you as a valued client by providing your company with an affordable membership subscription to HR California Express/Help Desk.  With this subscription, you will have unlimited access to the HR California Express Web Portal PLUS each month you will receive 2 Hours of HR consulting time (a $250 monthly value through HR Solutions Partners).  HR Solutions Partners will provide expert answers and advice to your specific HR questions via a toll free number designated for Accuchex clients.  In addition to those two features, you will be eligible to...

Together with the American Payroll Association, Accuchex is celebrating America’s wage earners like you!

Appropriately timed during the week of Labor Day, National Payroll Week (NPW) was created in 1996 by the American Payroll Association to recognize America’s workers, payroll professionals, and the valuable contributions they make everyday.

America’s workers contribute to the strength of our nation’s economy through the payroll withholding system. Payroll taxes and deductions support vital government programs, such as Social Security, Medicare and a host of other services ranging from Transportation Safety, National Guard and our nation’s defense.

Our economic health relies on programs such as unemployment insurance, fair labor standards and child support collection. Payroll professionals across the country collect, contribute, and report an estimated $1.7 trillion per year – that’s 71.9 percent of the annual revenue of the U.S. Treasury. Locally, payroll professionals work hard to ensure...