A practical payroll handoff starts with a clear distinction: what is already on file, what belongs to this pay period and what has changed. The following approach is a suggested organization method for small employers in BC. It combines preparation questions with selected federal and provincial record requirements; it is not a complete payroll compliance checklist.
Key points
- Keep employee setup records separate from the information approved for each pay period.
- Record changes and their effective dates instead of assuming the previous payroll is still correct.
- Check which federal and provincial requirements apply to the employment situation.
- Share employee information securely and confirm approvals, filings and payments separately.
Set up an employer file and employee records
Keep employer and payroll account information securely, together with the agreed pay schedule, the person who approves payroll and the division of responsibilities. Do not include account credentials in a routine handoff. Give the payroll preparer enough context to identify the employer and period without passing around unnecessary personal information.
CRA's employee-setup guidance covers obtaining the employee's social insurance number, determining the province of employment and getting the applicable completed TD1 forms. Keep these records in the agreed secure location. Use the forms appropriate to the circumstances rather than treating a generic checklist as the form-selection rules.
Province of employment follows CRA rules; it should not simply be copied from the employee's home address. Flag changes in where or how someone works so the applicable treatment can be checked. This is particularly useful information to raise when an arrangement changes, rather than making an unverified payroll adjustment yourself.
Prepare the information for each pay period
As a working routine, assemble the pay-period dates and pay date, approved hours or salary information, additional pay, and any benefit or deduction changes. Identify when each change takes effect and whether it has been approved. Keep supporting deduction instructions or authorizations where relevant; providing a document does not itself determine whether a deduction is lawful.
Where federal payroll deductions apply, CRA requires records of employee hours and amounts withheld for income tax, CPP and EI, together with relevant documents such as TD1s, issued information slips and filed returns. Keep a history of completed payroll rather than relying only on the latest totals.
Check the applicable BC record requirements
Where BC's Employment Standards Act applies, section 28 specifies payroll records including employee identity and start information, wage rates, daily hours, benefits, gross and net wages, and deductions with their reasons. It also addresses vacation, statutory-holiday and time-bank information. The daily-hours requirement is not limited to employees paid by the hour.
BC employment standards do not cover every employment situation. Federally regulated work and exclusions under the legislation need separate consideration. Use the official scope guidance before assuming a rule applies, and keep questions about coverage or employment rights outside a routine record-preparation checklist.
Flag starts, departures and other changes
Keep a change log for new employees, departures, leaves, pay changes and benefit changes. Record the relevant dates and questions, not just a short label such as 'finished'. For leave, vacation and holidays, gather the dates and supporting pay records relevant to the situation without using this article to calculate entitlements.
A Record of Employment contains work-history information, including insurable earnings and insurable hours. Whether and how an ROE is required depends on the applicable rules, including interruption-of-earnings rules. Gather the relevant employment and pay-period history for assessment rather than assuming every change has the same reporting treatment.
Keep history ready for year-end and bookkeeping
Employers have responsibilities for reporting income and deductions on the applicable information slips. A practical year-end preparation file can include payroll totals, issued slips, filed returns and unresolved differences. If payroll has moved between systems or providers, identify which periods each set of records covers.
For the bookkeeping handoff, agree which payroll summaries and payment information are needed rather than sending entire employee files by default. The companion resource, What to Prepare for Monthly Bookkeeping, covers the wider monthly records package.
Your payroll preparation checklist
- Confirm the employer, pay-period dates, pay date and approval contact.
- Keep required employee setup records and applicable TD1 forms securely organized.
- Flag changes relevant to province of employment for review.
- Provide approved hours, salary changes, additional pay and benefit information.
- Include relevant deduction instructions and supporting authorizations.
- Gather applicable vacation, leave, holiday and time-bank records.
- Identify starts, departures and the payroll history needed for applicable ROE or year-end work.
- List unresolved questions and confirm who approves, submits and arranges payments.
Confirm responsibilities before processing
MH Ledger&Co Ltd. agrees on payroll inputs and employer approvals before processing. T4 preparation, applicable ROE support and filing-related steps are confirmed within the scope; preparing calculations does not automatically include paying employees or remitting funds. To discuss support, describe your pay schedule without employee details. Never send employee SINs, banking information or payroll files through the general inquiry form; arrange a secure sharing method separately.
