Best Ways to Set Up Profit Sharing in Business

By Emily Pribanic - Last Updated on January 6, 2020
Best Ways to Set Up Profit Sharing in Business

A profit sharing plan is a great way to incentivize your employees, motivate them to churn out higher profits for business, and improve employee collaboration.

Profit sharing can be beneficial for your business. This is how to set up a plan for maximum benefit.

It can be confusing and tedious to learn how to set up a profit sharing plan for your business but a profit sharing plan can be an excellent and innovative way to motivate and reward your employees. There are a few profit sharing plans for small businesses including ones that defer profits to a retirement plan and a compensation based plan.

What Is a Profit Sharing Plan?

So, what exactly is a profit sharing plan?

Well, since profit sharing is when a company contributes a portion or percentage of pre-tax profits to a pool to be distributed among employees, a profit sharing plan, otherwise known as a PSP, is a document that specifies what share of profits employees will receive, their eligibility requirements, and other details about the profit sharing the business is implementing. If you’re looking to become one of the many companies with a profit sharing plan, follow these simple rules to learn how to set up a profit sharing plan for your employees.

Profit Sharing Plan Rules

Before you begin to set up a profit sharing plan for your business, it’s essential to thoroughly understand profit sharing plan rules. A profit sharing plan is available for businesses of all sizes and your business can establish an employee-profit-sharing plan even if you have other retirement plans in place like 401Ks.

While your plan will have a lot of flexibility and, as an employer, you have full discretion over how and when contributions take place, profit sharing plans may not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees. It’s also important to understand that the contribution limit for a company’s sharing of its profits to employees is lesser than 25% of an employee’s compensation or $55,000. Before you begin the process of setting up your employee-profit-sharing plan, you must fill out Form 5500-series-return/report and disclose all participants of your profit sharing plan.

Step-by-Step Process for Profit Sharing Plan

Before you set up your profit sharing plan, it’s essential to guarantee that your business is profitable and that you’ll continue to turn a profit for at least three years or else your plan will lose all credibility.

Step 1) Determine Purpose

To ensure that your employee-profit-sharing plan will be successful, you must have a solid idea of what you’d like to accomplish with the plan. For businesses that have an aging workforce, a profit sharing plan that will help your employees retire more comfortably is best. If your business is looking to attract more senior level employees, a deferred profit sharing plan can help you attract these employees and keep them working for you longer.

Step 2) Draft Your Plan

To ensure the success of your employee-profit-sharing plan, you must have clearly defined written terms and thoroughly think your plan through. Begin your draft by gaining input from not only experts but from within your company as well. When you include your employees in your profit sharing plan set up, you’ll better meet your company’s individual needs and goals.

Step 3) Educate and Communicate Your Plan

Many plans fail because employees don’t understand how they can individually influence the overall profits of the company. Make sure your employees fully understand the principles behind profits and how they work. When you make the education of your employee-profit-sharing plan an ongoing communication process, your profit sharing plan will begin with and maintain success.

Step 4) Consider Your Options

While there are two main types of employee-profit-sharing plans, they’re not your only options. Incentive programs might target profitability for the company but they don’t address any failures or weaknesses of the company which could cause the business to fail down the road. Flexibility is key to any successful variable pay program so even once you’ve implemented your employee-profit-sharing plan, it’s essential to regularly review it and update it as your business grows and changes.

There are many companies with a profit sharing plan in place and these businesses have found much success. Employee-profit-sharing plans send a message to employees that they’re all working together toward a common goal. Many companies with a plan have found that employees work harder to ensure the business succeeds and are more motivated to turn out high profits for the company. If your business doesn’t have this plan in place for employees, this article is a great way to learn how to set up a profit sharing plan for your business and show your employees you appreciate their hard work.

Emily Pribanic | Emily is a graduate of the University of North Texas. She has her B.A. in Advertising with a concentration in Copywriting. Emily has been writing since she was young and has a creative imagination. She lives in Dallas, Texas with her family and two cats.

Emily Pribanic | Emily is a graduate of the University of North Texas. She has her B.A. in Advertising with a concentration in Copywriting. Emily has been writing s...

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