The 5 Payroll Questions Business Owners Ask

Hiring your first employee or growing your team changes how you run your business. Payroll quickly moves from something you have heard about to something you need to understand.

At C Campbell Agency, these are the questions business owners ask most often when they are starting payroll or trying to make sure they are doing it properly.

1. How do I set up and run payroll?

Before you can pay someone, you need a payroll account with the CRA, proper employee information collected, and a system that calculates deductions correctly.

Many businesses run payroll in QuickBooks Online because it calculates tax withholdings and tracks remittances automatically. But software is only part of the equation. Payroll needs to be set up properly from the beginning including pay types, vacation tracking, and deduction settings.

When the structure is right, running payroll becomes part of your routine instead of something you stress over each pay period.

2. What am I responsible for as an employer?

This is where most business owners feel unsure.

As an employer, you are responsible for withholding income tax, CPP, and EI from your employee’s wages. You are also responsible for contributing the employer portion of CPP and EI and remitting those amounts to the CRA on time.

You must keep accurate payroll records and issue T4s at year end.

Understanding your responsibilities clearly makes payroll far less intimidating.

3. Do I have to pay stat holidays and vacation pay?

If your employee qualifies under Employment Standards, then yes.

Statutory holiday pay follows specific eligibility rules, and vacation pay must be accrued as a percentage of vacationable earnings from the start of employment.

This is where working with your bookkeeper matters. Proper tracking ensures vacation accrual and statutory pay are calculated consistently and recorded correctly in your books. Most payroll mistakes happen not because owners ignore the rules, but because the setup was never reviewed.

Clean systems prevent confusion.

4. Do I have to run payroll, or can they be a subcontractor?

This is a very common question.

Whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor depends on the working relationship. Control, independence, tools, and how the work is structured all play a role.

It is not simply a choice. If someone functions as an employee, payroll needs to be run properly. Clarifying this at the beginning prevents problems later.

5. If I terminate someone, do I have to issue an ROE?

Yes. When employment ends, an ROE must be issued so the employee can apply for Employment Insurance and so your payroll records are properly closed.

Final pay must include any outstanding wages and vacation pay owed.

When payroll has been maintained properly throughout the year, this process is straightforward.

Payroll Should Feel Clear

These questions are normal. They come with growth.

Through conversations with local business owners, including those connected through the Chamber of Squamish, a common theme continues to surface. Payroll and labour costs feel heavier than they used to. It shows up in the annual Squamish Chamber survey and in targeted events like the Creative Compensation and Company Culture Panel co hosted by MyHR. Business owners are looking for clarity and structure, not more complexity.

At C Campbell Agency, we help business owners set up payroll properly, understand their responsibilities, and keep their books organized as their team grows.

When payroll is built on clean systems, it supports your business instead of slowing it down.

Contact us today to schedule your free consultation to discuss your business needs and discover how working with local QuickBooks experts can make all the difference for your business.