Tour Operator Employee Hiring & Payroll Guide

Hiring employees

Be creative. Every candidate will be prepared for commonplace interview questions. Find new ways to truly understand how a person thinks.

1. You’ll have a much better sense of your Tour Operator candidate if you get them out from behind a desk and watch how they behave.
2. Be challenging. Put the candidate in situations where they are more likely to show their true selves.
3. If you already have employees, allow them to help. You are not the only person who is going to have to work with this candidate. There is likely already a team of employees you trust that will have to interact with him or her every day. Their opinion should matter.
4. Take them on a tour. Show the candidates around your company, and maybe introduce them to some colleagues. Things to pay attention to:
   1. Are they asking questions about what everybody does and how things work?
   2. Are they curious?
   3. Do they treat everyone they meet with respect, and show interest in what they do?

Recruitment assistance

Where do you go to find candidates? The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions provides recruitment assistance and services to find the perfect candidate. Find information on Unemployment Insurance Tax, minimum wage, labor laws, and more.

New hires

1. All New Mexico employers need to report their new hires and rehires within 20 days of their hire date whether they are full-time, part-time, or temporary workers. Employers who submit reports electronically must report their new hires in two monthly transmissions no more than twelve (12) to sixteen (16) days apart. Complete details on how to register employees with the state and FAQs can be found here.
2. As soon as you start paying employee wages you need to fill out form ES802 (step 9) on-line with the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions.
3. Contact the IRS and the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department or a tax accountant for the appropriate forms and rates for the following: State Unemployment Tax (SUTA), Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA), Federal Income Tax (FIT), State Income Tax (SIT) if applicable, Social Security Withholding (FICA), Medicare withholding, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Form I-9 for Employment Eligibility Verification (step 10).
4. Determine the Necessary Guidelines for Compliance with Title I and Title III of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA): The latest information on this can be obtained via the ada.gov site.

A plan for paying employees

Payroll systems manage everything having to do with the process of paying employees and filing employment taxes. They are put in place to keep track of worked hours, calculating wages, withholding taxes and other deductions, printing and delivering checks, and paying government employment taxes.

Follow these steps provided by the Small Business Administration to set up payroll. Including guidance once again with state and local tax IDs, deciding if you want independent contractors or employees, the W-4 form to be completed by all employees, the Employer’s Tax Guide, and much more.

Talk to your bank about payroll products and services they may offer and/or recommend. There are how-to resources available to help you process payroll yourself as well as many types of Small Business payroll software solutions that calculate and deduct payroll and quarterly taxes, manage state unemployment insurance and much more.

A few on-line payroll resources include:

• Squareup.com how to process payroll yourself – a great step-by-step guide from the W-4 form, applying for your Employer Identification Number (EIN), calculating and withholding your income taxes, paying your monthly payroll taxes, etc.
• Square – for a complete all-in-one product, you can utilize Square for your point of sale (POS), payroll, marketing, gift cards, and customer loyalty programs
• ADP online Payroll Services for Small Business – includes various product packages to help you with payroll, Human Resources benefits and compliance, webinars, product demos, how-to-guides, and 24/7 support.

As stated in the Tour Operator Toolkit – Funding & Insurance Guide, establishing a business banking relationship and business banking account is necessary at this stage if you plan to accept credit cards and a payroll process for your employees.

Download Employee & Payroll Guide PDF

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