How to hire your first employee
- Gross pay per pay period
- $2,115.38
- Hourly equivalent
- $26.44
- Paid time off, hours a year
- 120
Every figure on this page is computed from the inputs you enter, by the method stated below it. The only constants HeadcountDesk supplies are the published federal payroll tax rates and the overtime multiplier, each cited where it is used. The defaults are a worked example to replace with your own.
How to hire your first employee, in the order the paperwork actually has to happen: register as an employer and get the federal and state numbers, decide the pay and whether the role is exempt, write the contract and the handbook, verify eligibility on the I-9 within the deadline, set up payroll with the withholding, get workers' compensation cover, and onboard on day one with the acknowledgements signed. The employee contract builder on this site writes the contract from your figures, free; HeadcountDesk Pro keeps the whole file.
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Register, then budget the true cost
The employer identification number, the state withholding and unemployment accounts, then the cost: the wage plus the employer's Social Security and Medicare, FUTA and state unemployment, workers' compensation and any benefits. The free true cost of employee calculator on this site produces the annual figure from the wage.
Decide the pay, the classification and the contract
Hourly or salaried, exempt or not, and the overtime that follows for a non-exempt role. Unless exempt, employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act must receive overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek at not less than time and one-half their regular rate, per the Department of Labor. The free employee contract builder on this site writes the contract from those decisions.
The handbook and the forms before day one
Even for one employee the handbook is where the PTO, the hours, the conduct and the discipline are written down once. The free employee handbook template on this site produces it; the W-4, the state forms and the I-9 are on the onboarding checklist.
Day one, with the acknowledgements signed
The onboarding checklist on this site lists what has to be signed and set up; Pro keeps the signed record against the employee and reminds you what is still open. From the vendors' own pricing pages: Homebase lists Essentials at $24 per location per month billed annually or $30 monthly, with a free Basic plan for one location of up to ten employees; BambooHR lists Core at $10 and Pro at $17 per employee per month; Deputy lists Core at $6.50 per user per month. HeadcountDesk Pro is $24 a month per location.
How to hire your first employee: common questions
What do I need before my first employee starts?
An EIN, state withholding and unemployment accounts, workers' compensation, payroll with withholding, a contract, a handbook, and the I-9 and tax forms ready for day one.
How much does a first employee really cost?
The wage plus the employer taxes, workers' compensation and benefits. The free true cost of employee calculator on this site adds them up from your figures.
Do I need a handbook for one employee?
You need the policies written down once, and the handbook is where. The template on this site is free.
Will it do what you need for How to hire your first employee?
Tell us what your business needs and we will tell you straight whether HeadcountDesk Pro does it today, whether it is coming, or whether you are better off with something else. A person reads these and replies.