In a nutshell, “turnkey” means “we do it all” as opposed to “you do some and we do some”.
We recently sent an email to over 1,000 startup founders regarding payroll pain points. Overwhelmingly, state payroll tax registrations were the biggest pain point. When we dug in, though, it was not just the registration. It was the stress of entering the information correctly into Gusto or Rippling, updating the rates and especially dealing and acting on snail mail from these states and emails from Gusto and Rippling threatening to block payroll if something was not fixed.
Many firms will do registrations and many of these firms will also forward snail mail the states send once you are registered. Their service stops there, though. You then need to enter the state specific account numbers, unemployment rate and other identifying information into Gusto or Rippling.
You will also need to deal with the snail mail and notices from the states. Some of these notices are just informational or paper copies of tax forms that Gusto or Rippling will eFile and can be ignored. Other notices, though, such as request for missing tax returns, rate changes, new payroll tax laws (a lot of states are in the process of passing Paid Family and Medical Leave laws), demand for additional taxes, changes in filing frequency, etc. need action.
The firms that forward the mail from the states do only that – they receive the mail, scan it and forward to you. If there is any action needed, it is your responsibility to get it done – not theirs.
All of our registrations include “turnkey” service. So, “we do it all” – we will respond to all notices, enter new information into Gusto or Rippling, file pre Gusto or Rippling payroll tax returns, update the payroll system with new information such as new rates or filing frequencies, etc.
Our service is intended for startups that do not have an HR or Accounting Department. The other services are more intended for larger companies.
