Tax Season's Greetings

There's an old notion of getting a visit from the tax man. As if today's income tax is some reverse Santa Claus taking a percentage of toys from boys and girls based on income level and number of dependents. We should be so lucky. There is no gentleman knocking on our doors and handing us a bill. It's up to each individual to recognize that it's that time of year. They have to do their own math to figure out what they owe (or pay someone to determine what to pay). Most importantly, everyone needs to have the pertinent information available in order to prepare their taxes.

For businesses, that means they not only need to have their own finances in order, they need to provide W2 forms for their employees. The sooner they're sent, the happier the employee.

Tops Laser W-2 Forms

For smaller businesses that don't outsource their payroll, Tops makes it easy to order and print their own essential tax forms. These W-2 forms are compatible with laser printers and can be printed directly from payroll software. Tops also provides envelopes to ensure security, along with 1099 forms and matching envelopes.

The real key to avoiding stress at tax time is to be prepared in advance. Throughout the year, keep all tax information in some sort of file. Track deductions throughout the year with a planner rather than try to go back through old receipts and figure out which purchases are applicable. This helps in the event of an audit as well, as that kind of documentation is hard to forge in hindsight when planners from the previous year go out of stock. If you're filling out the forms by hand, you'll also want a calculator, a reliable pen with anti-alteration features, and, let's not kid ourselves, correction tape.

Nature's Undo Button

Finally, with so much sensitive information out in the open, some of it may need to go away when the filing's done. Households and businesses alike will want to make sure their shredder is up for the task.

More For The HR Crowd

Last time, we tackled the task of simplifying the payroll process, making sure employees are credited for the exact number of hours they've worked and that someone doesn't have to spend all day adding those hours up. Now we come to the more human side of HR, where we look at identifying personnel, making it easy to tell if somebody isn't where they're supposed to be.

Whenever personnel are expected to wear identification, the first thing to determine is what kind they need. "Badges" might only be part of the answer. Simple adhesive "Hello My Name Is" style badges might work for one-day affairs like banquets and luncheons, but won't work for more than a day and are inappropriate for events requiring more security. PVC cards and  badges on card stock are far better, but make sure to buy the right holders (mind the size, orientation and hole position). Do you also want durable lanyards, less obtrusive (but also less visible) card reels, or cheaper neck cords that can be purchased with the holders?

Durable ID Card Holder

Badges for any customer-facing position carries its own set of challenges. Those not only need to be clear and professional, but with a degree of comfort and class that goes beyond holders and lanyards. Before you head to the print shop, consider DIY options that let you print off labels on your own computer and embed them inside sleek magnetic badges at a fraction of the cost.

Dymo LabelWriter 450

Printing for shorter events like conferences or conventions poses its own set of challenges. When badges need to be printed quickly, consider a Dymo label printer to generate names to be applied to premade badges quickly. Alternatively, visitors to a company can be given access badges that void themselves after a day, preventing the badge from being reused inappropriately.

Punching Out Next Year

It's the time of year for office holiday parties, and a time for both executives and employees alike to come together, look over the room and be amazed at just how many people they work with. For growing businesses, someone in that room has to face the daunting task of keeping track of everybody. With the new year approaching, they may want to consider a new approach to managing the human side of the company.

We all remember the image of factory workers lined up to stick their card in the punch clock and pull the lever. That's still around, and still a reliable way to document an employee's hours. But for businesses with many waged employees, who has time to calculate all those hours? New technologies like swipe cards and proximity badges have made the rounds. These are popular not only because it's easier to punch in and out, but the payclock records and calculates all the data. This is then exported to your payroll software.

Lathem PC600 Proximity Badge Time Clock

Want to go even further? Want to eliminate the possibility of an employee losing their card or badge, or even giving it to their co-worker while they skip out unnoticed? Biometric time recorders eliminate all of that. Timeclocks using fingerprint scans are older than you realize, but the new hotness is face recognition. No cards, no fingers- look at the clock and it'll record you as in or out.

Lathem FaceIN Payclock

In addition, if a simple timeclock is able to recognize everybody's face, nobody at the office party has any excuse not to know who all their co-workers are.

Go To The Tape

We're in the middle of football season and rolling into holiday shopping season. The synchronization between the two has meant that football merchandise is a gift that is both easy to think of and easy to find. So it's entirely possible that the football fan in your life has their team's colors on everything in the room/house/property. Now the fandom can extend to their choice in office supplies. Behold! NFL Helmet Tape Dispensers!

Scotch NFL Helmet Tape Dispensers

Each helmet has a standard roll of Scotch tape and can be refilled with... standard rolls of Scotch Tape. The dispenser joins a long list of nifty tape dispensers that add flavor and life to any office.

Your Dog Wants A Cosmo

Right now, about half of the league is available, with more stock arriving for additional teams. Soon you'll be able to get everybody in the league, no matter your preference. Heck, get a bunch so you'll have every matchup on hand.

Tonight's Matchup

College football fans will have to wait for univerity-based adhesive, but something tells me they won't have to wait long.

Cleaning Up The Towel vs. Dryer War

There are some debates where everybody has an opinion, but most of us are smart enough to keep our mouths shut. Proper toilet paper positioning and usage of the Oxford comma come to mind (a third example would give away my opinion on the latter). Public restrooms are the battleground for another such debate: given the choice between a towel dispenser and an air dryer, which will you gravitate toward?

Ready... Set... Fight!

While we're all buying toilet paper no matter how we put it on the roll, this is a fascinating battle as makers of both have millions of dollars invested into being right... or at least prolonging the argument. Team Towel argues better cleaning efficiency and less contamination. Team Dryer points out that dryers don't need to be refilled and create less garbage. Incidentally, the deal offering a free dispenser with a towel purchase is still running.

Truth is, at one time this had been objectively settled: paper towels are better by a landslide. Hand dryers take longer to dry (the high energy output almost cancels out the lack of waste) and bacteria from your hands get blown all over the room rather than end up in a tidy little disposal container. This fight was over until the Dyson Airblade came around.

New Challenger Approaching!

With jets on both sides drying hands faster, dryers still have some fight left in them, despite claims of even worse bacteria contamination (don't touch the surfaces of those things. Seriously.). New studies found that towels still have an edge as jet dryers do more to mask their problems with brute force rather than actually solve them. And everyone agrees that washing your hands properly is far more important to avoiding disease than your drying method. Still, as dryer technology improves, the debate is bound to continue.

Free Returns on Swingline Shredders

We've talked about the importance of having an office shredder instead of relying on third-party shredding services. We've also talked about making sure your company has the right shredder. We've also gushed over Swingline's Stack-and-Shred shredders that do the tedious part for you. Now here's an offer that allows you to not only take our word for it, but see for yourself with no risk.

Free Return Shipping on Select Swingline Shredders

This is an opportunity to try one of five Swingline shredders with a free return if you aren't satisfied. Under this program, you won't have to worry about being saddled with shipping costs if a shredder doesn't work for you. We doubt that would happen, as the selected shredders are all designed for heavy office use, including three different Stack-and-Shred models.

Stack-and-Shred 750X Shredder

All of the shredders are cross cut, shredding paper into small confetti-style particles to guarantee your security. For more information on shredding size or to see more shredders, check out our buying guide.

Out With The Old

This is a Officesupply.com product availability alert! Hon is known for quality and classy business furniture and they wanted us to get the word out about a couple of their lines that are being discontinued later this month. Time is running out on getting a brand of desks, credenzas and drawers that combine subtle touches of style with convenience.

Hon Attune Double Pedestal Desk

The Hon Attune series will be coming off the market on September 28. The series is designed to offer a contemporary look while offering neat accents like frosted glass modesty panels and slim pedestals. If you're still looking for desk furniture after the Attune series is gone, consider the Hon 10700 series. This is durable laminate furniture that has a similar modern look at a much lower price.

Basyx By Hon Versé Series Panel

Another of Hon's sets scheduled to be discontinued is the Simplicity series of panels. These are used to create cubicles and workstations. The suggested replacement is the Versé series by Basyx. This series is easy to put together, offers color options that go better with other Hon furniture and is still lined with the same fabric to allow employees to hang photos, organizers and anything that makes their job easier and more comfortable.