The IRS is doing more small business audits.  It will be common for them to do some checking on corporations (especially S corps) and their owner compensation.  At a minimum, you should start some small salary for any owner that does any work for the corporation as soon as practical even if there is very little net income or even a loss.  Having no compensation on the officer salary line on the 1120-S is not likely to be a good strategy.  Every owner that is doing some work for the business is to be paid some wages at a fair market rate.  You can start with a small number before you have $20,000 in profits, but it is usually best to make the salary at least $7,000 and file the forms to avoid some of the potential risk of penalties.  A good rule of thumb is to have the officer/owner salaries exceed the other profit distributions to themselves.  It is usually best to go ahead and increase those salaries at least a little each year.  But it really comes down to facts of the skill and critical role of the owners, as well as how much time and effort is put into the corporate business.  This link is about this topic and good reading if you are in this situation.  http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2006/506/essentials/p46.htm.  

It is a good time to decide on the final owner wages for the year by December, so that all of the payroll reports can be completed right away in December or early in January.  This avoids delays to getting tax forms timely filed, taxes paid and minimizes penalties.  It can even help us start on your income taxes sooner.  The fourth quarter of the year is the best time to follow through completely, consider paying in additional income tax withholding so that income tax penalties can be minimized if more income taxes are or will be owed.  Please give our office a call if you need additional assistance or to discuss the facts in your particular situation.  It is good to plan and know the tax you could owe.

My recommendation is for businesses to find a good payroll service that concentrates on this line of work.  This helps the business get the best possible service on this critical component.  Payroll needs to be done right and timely in order to minimize penalties for late filing or late payment, which are all too common.   Avoiding these employer penalties can make the payroll service fees a worthwhile expenditure for your business.  The new corporation owner should plan on this as part of the incorporation and begining of business.  My office does help with minor payroll questions or correspondence and will prepare some amended or late filed forms when needed.  A payroll service that does payroll full-time, though, can do a lot better job to make sure you keep in compliance and don't miss any important dates on the calendar.