PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

PAYROLL RECORD RETENTION: BEST PRACTICES FOR WRESTLING PROMOTIONS

As a wrestling promotion, it's crucial to maintain accurate and compliant payroll records. Not only does this ensure you're following labor laws and tax regulations, but it also protects your business in case of audits or legal disputes. 

In this article, I'll share some key best practices for payroll record retention that every wrestling promotion should follow.

Types of Payroll Records to Keep

First, let's review the main types of payroll records you need to retain:

• Employee information (W-4 forms, I-9 forms, etc.)

• Timesheets and hours worked

• Pay stubs and payroll registers

• Tax forms and withholding records

• Benefits enrollment and contributions

Make sure you have a system in place to securely store both physical and digital copies of these documents.

Retention Periods

So how long should you keep pay stubs before shredding? The IRS requires keeping payroll tax records for at least 4 years. However, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has a 3-year requirement for payroll records like pay stubs and timesheets.

To be safe, I recommend keeping all payroll records for a minimum of 4 years. For some documents like retirement plan information, it's best to keep them for 6-7 years in case of an audit. 

Here's a quick reference table:

Record Type	Retention Period
Payroll tax records	4 years
Timesheets, pay stubs, etc.	3-4 years
I-9 forms	3 years after hire or 1 year after termination
Retirement plan documents	6 years

Best Practices

In addition to meeting retention requirements, here are some tips to optimize your payroll record-keeping:

1. Digitize records when possible for easier storage and retrieval

2. Restrict access to sensitive payroll data

3. Regularly purge outdated records that have passed the retention period

4. Perform occasional self-audits to identify any gaps in your records

5. Work with an experienced payroll provider to maintain compliance

By implementing these best practices, your wrestling promotion can minimize compliance risks and keep accurate historical records. 

Proper payroll retention gives you peace of mind and frees you up to focus on putting on amazing shows for your fans.

Conclusion

Payroll record retention might not be the most exciting part of running a wrestling promotion, but it's an essential one.

By understanding the types of records to keep, following retention requirements, and staying organized, you'll be well-equipped to handle any audits or legal situations that come your way.

For more tips on managing the business side of your wrestling promotion, visit pwinsider.com, your source for insider knowledge about the wrestling industry.

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!

• Tweet