Reduce Payroll and Increase Take Home Pay

As you know, the biggest financial burden for a security company is payroll.

Here’s a tip that you might want to consider to reduce your payroll and increase security officer take-home pay at the same time. How in a world is that done? Well, read on…
First impressions are lasting impressions. A security officer’s uniform is a major part of that first impression. If you’re like most security companies you supply your officers with uniforms. There’s a better
way to do it.

For simplification’s sake, let’s assume that you have 100 security officers and you pay them $15 an hour. Leaving overtime out of the picture for now, your weekly payroll for one security officer’s 40 hour week would be $600.

Considering 100 security officers, you are looking at $60,000 per week with an annual payroll expense of $3,120,000.
Here’s how you can decrease your payroll expenses and, at the same time, increase the security officers take-home pay.

Instead of hiring security officers at $15 an hour hire them at $14.50 an hour. Then give them $.50 an hour for uniform maintenance. Based on a 40 hour week, that equates to $20 a week that will not be subjected to payroll tax, giving them the entire $20 in their pay check.
You will not have to pay payroll tax either. That’s $20 a week for one officer, $2,000 a week for 100 officers and $120,000 year-end of non-payroll tax.
It doesn’t stop here, there are additional benefits.

  • Liability insurance is based on payroll, with $120,000 less payroll your insurance premium will be reduced.
  • Unemployment insurance is also based on payroll. Again that $120,000 is no longer calculated.
  • Workman’s Compensation insurance is also based on payroll. Again you get the same insurance premium reduction.
  • Any other expense that is based on payroll would be reduced accordingly

What happens if the security officer has to work overtime? They are paid time and a half at $14.50 not $15 an hour.

The most beneficial aspect of this program is that because your paying them for uniform maintenance security officers will be required to keep their uniforms clean. This will help your company’s first impressions and in turn your reputation, which in turn should bring in more business.

Bottom line, based on the aforementioned calculations this program should save a security guard company over $30,000 a year.

Caution: You cannot automatically reduce existing security officer’s hourly salary using this program. But when they see that new security officers are getting this extra benefit. Most will want to participate. In those cases we suggest you have them submit a signed statement requesting that payroll enroll them in the program.
Existing officers due for a pay raise, give them the option of participating in the program.
Caution: be sure to check with your legal and financial advisors to ascertain if your state has any restrictions regarding this type of program.