Use Excel for W-2 Form Printing

Use Excel for W-2 Form Printing

Use Excel for W-2 Form Printing : Multi-thousand tips to make your life easier.

W-2 is a form that contains an employee's annual salary as well as the total taxes deducted from their income. This form is completed and sent by the employer to employees for reference at the end of each year. This is done regardless of whether you are running a small, medium, or large company. It is the company's responsibility to file this and share the information with each employee, no matter how challenging and lengthy the computation can be.
To save time and cost, big companies purchase software applications that will handle the computation for their hundreds of employees. But if you are running a small company, it may not be practical to buy such software. You can simply use Microsoft Excel to print W-2 forms. Here's how it's done:

• Things you will need for W-2 form computation and printing:
  • Desktop computer or laptop with Internet connection
  • Microsoft Excel 2003-2007
• Prepare your tools. For this W-2 form printing guide, you will need to have Microsoft Excel installed on your computer or laptop, preferably version 2003-2007. You will also need an Internet connection for certain information throughout the steps below.
• Get employee records. Most companies nowadays have computerized systems for employee records, including payroll systems. Make sure you have the necessary information with you before you start. Also, visit the Internal Revenue Service or IRS website to know how much tax was paid by each employee.
• Create a W-2 form. There are several samples of W-2 forms available. If you have an Internet connection, you can browse through different samples and create one specifically for your company using spreadsheet applications such as Microsoft Excel. There are also templates readily available for download and use to make life even easier for you. Once the download has been completed, double-click on the template icon for installation.
• Use a Microsoft Excel template. Launch Microsoft Excel and click on "File" from the top menu bar. This will present a list of menu items. Click on the "New" command. This will prompt a window that will ask you whether you want to use a blank workbook or use one of the templates listed. Click on the "Installed templates" menu from the leftmost column. This should display the W-2 template you previously downloaded and installed. Click on this and select the "Create" button.
• Accomplish the form. Now that you have a template to work with, get the records of each employee and fill out the fields. This will be the longest part of all. But do not rush this step. It is important that all the data and values you put here are correct. The template will automatically calculate all the information supplied, so it is imperative that there are no typo errors, especially in the amounts and percentages.
• Print the completed W-2 form. Once done, double-check the data entered before you print. Click on the "File" command again from the top menu bar, and then choose "Print" from the list.

After printing all the forms, take time to recheck the data if need be before releasing the forms to employees.