Below is a list of IRS forms you need to complete for each new employee or contractor you hire.

I suggest you do not let your new employees work until all of these forms have been completed.

For contractors, do not pay them more than $600 before their forms have been completed.  I suggest you hold their contractor check until you have the paper work in hand.

For all employees and contractors I also recommend you get a photocopy of their social security card and drivers license if possible.

A well organized file cabinet and folder system to keep up with this information will save you a lot of time later.  At our company we both file the paper forms and scan and attach an electronic version of the forms to our employee and contractor records within Service Autopilot.

Employee Forms:

Form I-9 (I also recommend photocopying the employees social security card)

Form W-4

Contractor Forms:

Form W-9 - keep on file a minimum of 4 years

Form 1099-MISC – you must file before January 31st each year for every contractor paid over $600

Request EIN – if your contractor needs an EIN number

Other Forms:

Links to Your State - to locate additional forms or research tax questions

Spanish Version of I-9 – DO NOT submit this version to the IRS.  Use it only as a reference when helping Spanish speaking workers complete the English version.  This is only accepted in Puerto Rico.

Spanish Version of W-4

Spanish Version of W-9


Notes:

New Employees fill out the I-9 and W-4 and receive a W-2 at the end of the year.

New Contractors fill out the W-9 and receive a 1099 at the end of the year.  Contractors do not have to complete the I-9.

In addition to the IRS forms we have each employee sign a short employee agreement and each contractor sign a contractor agreement.

We also have a short information sheet we complete for each employee (this information is also keyed into Service Autopilot).  It asks for emergency contact information, drivers license expiration date, keeps up with uniforms assigned, pay rate, birth date, marital status, etc.

All of our hiring packets are pre-assembled.  This makes it easy to ensure all the forms are completed on time.  For example, if you hire 20 new employees / contrators each year prepare 25 packets every January.  Then, when you hire someone you simply grab one of the packets.

This simple process every January will ensure you are in compliance with the IRS at all times.

Question: Do you have any information you keep up with that I didn’t mention?  — please click on the post and comment at the bottom

I think the best stand to hold your laptop or iPad in your lawn care / landscape truck is a Ram Mount stand.

I’ve been asked many times if we use iPads, mobile phones or laptops in our trucks.

The device we use depends on what the crew / tech / manager does in the field.  Many of our trucks are fitted with (and will be for a while to come) inexpensive refurbished Dell laptops.

They are inexpensive and give us a lot of power.  Most important they have a full keyboard that is fast to type on.

It is much easier and faster to type notes, call details, estimates, etc. from a full keyboard than it is from a small iPad keyboard.

We use a Ram Mount laptop stand.  You can visit their site at www.ram-mount.com.

Over the years, we have tried inexpensive stands but they have not been worth it.  Ram Mount stands are the best.  The laptop stays still while driving and does not bounce while typing.  They are very much like the stands used in police cars.

If you want to mount your iPad in the truck they have a stand for it as well…
http://www.ram-mount.com/NewProducts/AppleiPadMounts/tabid/2614/Default.aspx

This is a interview I did back in 2009 about my lawn care business.   It’s about 30 minutes long.  It has a number of good business ideas and tips that I believe you will find valuable.