As an online entrepreneur with a few staff working for you remotely, you double up as a payroll manager for your company. This can be a daunting task since ensuring that your staff gets paid on time is paramount to your growth. With this added role, you’re probably spending so much time processing payrolls, months on end.
While the dynamics of payroll processing differ from one business owner to another, there are some pointers that you need to take to heart so as to be more effective.
Keep reading for seven things you can do to handle your payroll management services.
1) Start Going Paperless
The first thing you should do is to go paperless with your payroll management services. If you eliminate paper processing, you’ll save time and resources. Estimates suggest that the costs involved with just a single paper check average $3 per check. By going paperless, thus, you not only cut costs but also improve the security of your corporate data.
On top of that, making the transition to an electronic payroll system means your employees get paid promptly and accurately; thus, chances of checks getting misplaced or lost go way down. Besides, many employees do prefer being paid through an electronic means.
2) Install Effective Software
Technological innovations make it possible to automate nearly all the payroll management services, making payroll management easier than ever before.
The secret behind this is choosing and then installing software that suits your business well. The modern market features an abundance of software options, and you can either pick options that are ready to go or have customized software created just for your company.
With the right Payroll software, you can eliminate redundant tasks, including things like routine timesheet updates or filling in the hours worked. Also, you can use tools such as calculators for payroll tax deductions to figure out the deductions you need to make from employee wages or salaries. As such, using technology can make your entire payroll process a much smoother ride as you can automate most of the tasks that you had done manually.
3) Bring Your Various Pay Schedules into Alignment:
For effective payroll management, the organization is key. This means establishing favorable payment schedules and making your employees aware of them.
You can commit to paying weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, depending on your nature of business. Just remember that the more often you issue paychecks, the more likely it is you’ll get errors and duplication from multiple processes. If you’d like to prevent needless confusion, minimize your pay cycles and align all your employee paydays.
Keeping up with a single payroll schedule is a lot simpler to do than three or four different schedules. You’ll seriously decrease the chances of errors. Maintaining specific payroll dates also helps employees know when they’re going to get paid. Payroll that isn’t paid on time might risk federal penalties.
4) Get the Right Payroll Management Services Training:
The processes of payroll management are always evolving, and you can possibly see many new changes to both federal and state regulations and laws. HR professionals have to keep their education up about the more crucial aspects of their work.
Staying up to speed with things is essential in regard to progress with technology and the demands placed on HR departments. For example, numerous laws govern payroll processing, and HR professionals have to track all these deduction rules so they can understand the tax procedures and continue to be effective in handling payroll management services.
5) Get Your Payroll System Streamlined with Your Other Current Systems:
Before you buy any payroll software, you need to ensure its compatibility with the systems you already have in place. If you don’t do this, then you’re going to have numerous issues. To start with, your accounting system and payroll system have to be integrated. That makes for easier calculations and accurate payments. Streamlining your integrated systems lets you manage your complete payroll management service effectively. Take the time necessary to review every step of your process so you can analyze it and see how to optimize it all.
6) Keep Up with The Rules and Regulations
Another crucial facet of effective payroll management service is making sure that you keep up to speed with every rule or regulation related to it.
Based on their roles, employees might be classified into various categories. Independent contractors might only work for temp projects, and they might involve simplified payroll processes since they don’t get the benefits your permanent employees receive. This is why you need to study and truly understand how to classify employees properly to avoid mistakes.
7) Outsourcing Payroll Management Services:
This might shock you but outsourcing your payroll management might prove cost-effective. Outsourcing your payroll services might be a smart move if you lack the resources or time necessary to invest in a totally new payroll system and process.
It’s not just small businesses doing this, as even bigger companies sometimes choose to outsource things. The cost savings far outweigh the investment. Also, payroll service providers know what it takes to manage payroll processes with efficiency but without errors. This saves you time, but only if you find the right payroll service provider for your company.
Conclusion
You should always be looking for ways to improve your payroll management services, whether hiring an experienced payroll manager as your business grows or considering outsourcing payroll management altogether. Whatever you decide, use these seven tips to get you started.
