Multiple State Tax Requirements - how do you manage?
I work for a small services company of about 150.
We use Paylocity for payroll and they file our taxes but we are responsible for opening the accounts and maintaining them, updating unemployment rates, etc.
I recently started with the company as the Controller and realized that we have about 32 active states with employees and another 8 or so that need to be closed. Our mailbox (both physical and email) is FULL of state notices, updates, etc.
I have managed to reign in about half of those and access the portals and organize the paperwork - but the other states are either closed (not accepting our filings) or we need to open a new account because I am unable to access the old one because the prior person(s) in charge did not pass along the log in details. Most states require a very lengthy "prove who you are" process to get access to existing accounts. Some require a POA for Paylocity and that is more difficult.
Additionally, our hiring and attrition is pretty regular because we are a services organization, so at any moment I would need to open a new state account or close one when someone leaves (after quarterly filings).
Add to this the boroughs, cities, counties that also require tax set up and it is overwhelming to say the least.
I am looking for suggestions and ideas on how to manage this overall. It frustrates me to no end that these small things take up so much of my time. I spent an hour on the phone waiting for someone in GA Unemployment to answer only to discover I had to call another department for our "paused" account.
There must be a better way. I have historically worked exclusively with PEOs, so I never had to worry about this sort of thing. I need to figure out how to manage this now without losing my mind. Bonus points if you have suggestions for continuity so that if I ever leave the company I feel confident handing over a process anyone can continue without my personal details all over these state accounts.
Grateful for your suggestions!