Nanny Agency Jobs How-to / checklist

Choose a nanny payroll service by checking the work it will actually do: setting up employer accounts, processing each payday, handling tax filings, correcting mistakes and supplying records. A low monthly price or the phrase “full service” does not answer those questions. Ask each provider to explain the same household arrangement in writing before comparing offers.

This guide is for US household employers choosing a service and nannies checking how they will be paid. The employer usually selects and contracts with the provider. The nanny needs a clear way to submit hours, see statements and raise a missing payment without being sent between several contacts.

Identify the work that needs handling

Start with the employer's name, work location, start date, pay frequency and actual schedule. Add any second household, work in another state, variable hours or earlier wages that need to be brought into the records. Give every provider the same facts so its answer addresses your job rather than a standard demonstration.

Payroll processing and household employment decisions are different tasks. Someone still needs to confirm the agreed pay, accurate hours, benefits and applicable overtime treatment. Ask what the service checks, what it calculates from your entries and what requires a separate tax or employment adviser.

The IRS Household Employer's Tax Guide says employers generally remain responsible for tax filings and payments when outsourcing payroll duties. Hiring an ordinary payroll service does not, by itself, transfer all employer responsibility. Ask how the employer can obtain filing records and confirm payments.

Compare a written scope of service

Use a separate column for each provider and enter “included,” “extra cost,” “employer task” or “not yet answered.” A blank should stay a question rather than becoming an assumed feature.

  • Setup: Which federal, state and local accounts or registrations will the provider obtain, and which require the employer's action?
  • Paydays: Who enters and approves hours, when must funds be available, and what happens after a missed cutoff?
  • Taxes and forms: Which returns are filed, which documents are only prepared, and who files the household employer's personal return?
  • Corrections: Who can amend an incorrect paycheck or tax form, how is the correction shown, and what does it cost?
  • Support: Can the nanny contact support about access or a statement, and who authorizes a change to pay?
  • Departure: How are final wages, remaining tax filings, account closure and access to old records handled?

Ask for the full fee schedule, including setup, year-end forms, additional employees, extra pay runs and cancellation. Compare the expected annual service cost for your actual circumstances. Keep that cost separate from wages, employer taxes and insurance premiums.

Use provider examples as questions, not rankings

Two first-party examples show why service descriptions need reading carefully. As checked on 31 October 2026, Care.com HomePay describes handling payroll, withholding and tax filings. Ask which jurisdictions and filing duties its proposal covers for your household, and request the current service terms.

Poppins Payroll describes household employer registration support and payroll tax filings, while noting that some initial state registrations require the employer's completion or authorization. Its distinction between filing documents and preparing others is a useful prompt: exactly what will still land on the employer's to-do list?

These are examples of published service descriptions, not a quality ranking or a recommendation for every family. We have not tested their support, audited their filings or determined which will accept a particular arrangement. Prices, availability and included tasks can change; obtain a current written quote.

Test one normal payday and one correction

Fictional example: A family employs Robin on a changing weekly schedule. One provider demonstrates a repeating payment; another explains how the family submits actual hours. The useful comparison is what happens when Robin works an additional afternoon and notices the omission after payroll has been submitted.

Ask both providers to walk through that same example: where Robin sends the correction, who approves it, when the additional pay can arrive and whether a revised statement appears. Then ask how the employer confirms that any affected tax records have also been corrected. Do not enter invented hours into a live payroll account to test this.

For the employee experience, request a demonstration of statement access, password recovery and document downloads. An employer's convenient dashboard is only part of a workable service. A nanny should also know which human contact owns a pay problem.

Write down the handoff before the first payday

Complete this original handoff note together: “Hours go to [person/system] by [time]. [Person] approves payroll. The regular payday is [day]. Questions about missing pay go to [contact]. Statement access is [route]. Corrections are confirmed through [route].” Store it with the work agreement.

If changing services during a year, identify who supplies year-to-date wages and deductions, reconciles earlier payments and produces the year-end forms. Ask the outgoing and incoming providers to confirm their respective final and first payroll periods. Duplicate or missing records are questions to resolve before relying on the switch.

The candidate's next step is to confirm that practical pay process. The employer's next step is to choose a provider only after checking the written scope, outstanding responsibilities and costs. For a statement already received, use the separate pay-statement guide below.

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