Why is geocoding important for payroll?

We at Symmetry believe that geocoding is so important for payroll that we use it in all of our software tools. Geocoding ensures the most accurate tax calculations. By translating addresses into latitude and longitude coordinates we are able to precisely pinpoint these coordinates on tax boundary shapefiles in order to return the withholding forms, taxes, and wage rates that apply to each employee.

When it comes to tax determination the adage of “garbage in, garbage out” applies. If employee work and home addresses are missing or incomplete, payroll managers and payroll product managers are not able to determine the proper withholding settings for employees. When employees are set up incorrectly in payroll systems, companies can be subject to audits, fines, and the burden of producing W‑2cs at the end of the year to correct inaccurate withholding.

For companies who are quickly adding employees to their business whether through acquisitions or organically, geocoding can be an efficient way to audit employee home and work addresses and ensure employees have completed the proper withholding forms and have accurate tax set ups.