Like every Subway restaurant owner, Stan needs to keep a master file of important employee information. This file contains every employee’s name, address, phone number, Social Security number, rate of pay, hours worked per week, and W-4 form. Stan employs two part-time “sandwich artists” and no full-time managers—yet.

If his sales continue to be high, he’ll need to hire someone to manage operations so that he can spend more time analyzing the financials—with Lila’s help—and growing his business. Most restaurants hire primarily part-timers with a core of full-time employees, but the numbers vary from restaurant to restaurant. Benefits vary too.

Stan, for instance, plans to offer health and dental benefits when he hires a manager. He knows what a great incentive these benefits are, with health costs so high. He pays his sandwich artists, Rashid and Ellen, the minimum wage because they both have less than a year’s experience. However, he’s talking to Mariah Washington about creating some incentives to keep them motivated. If Rashid and Ellen are with him for a full year, they’ll see a nice raise in their biweekly paychecks. Both the frequency of pay and the tax rates vary by state and sometimes by city or county.

Stan must record all this vital information and report it to the various state, local, and federal authorities. In addition, Stan includes total payroll expenses on the weekly sales and inventory report, which he submits electronically to headquarters from his point-of-sale (POS) screen.

Scheduling workers and keeping payroll records are the bane of Stan’s existence. These tasks are so incredibly time consuming. He was pleased to hear, then, at the last meeting of his local North American Association of Subway Franchisees (NAASF) that the new POS terminals will soon offer an electronic scheduling package.

“Wow! That will really help,” said Stan cheerfully to another franchisee. “No more different colors of ink just to keep track of who will work when! Now I can plan around Rashid and Ellen’s exam schedules without a hassle. Scheduling might just become my favorite module in the new system.”

“Sure,” said Javier Gonzalez, another owner. “Now you can concentrate on payroll records. What fun!”

“Ay. Quelata,” Stan groaned. What a drag!

Discussion Questions 

1. What payroll records does Stan need to keep for his Subway restaurant?

2. What other information might Stan want in order to schedule working hours for each employee?

3. How does the payroll register help Stan prepare the payroll?