How to Improve Your Payroll System
Regardless of how large or small your company is, if you have employees then you know the struggles of trying to ensure that you have a solid payroll system in place.
Getting your team paid on time and correctly, though, is vital; for both your company and your employees. In addition to ensuring accurate paychecks, it’s also important to prepare and deliver your taxes on time; and in accordance with state law.
Having a modern time tracking system in place is one of the best places to start if you’re looking to improve your payroll system. This will allow you to ensure that your team is paid on time; every time, and accurately; no matter how many workers you employ. It will also account for time off; paid leave, vacation time, and more; easily integrating with your payroll system for better accuracy.
In addition to a robust time tracking system, though, there are a few other things that you can do to ensure that your system is everything that it should be. From implementing policies to ensuring integration and conducting regular audits; here’s a look at some of those things now.
Switch to Software-Based Time Tracking
According to a 2014 Payroll Operations Survey by Deloitte Consulting, the top challenge that companies face with payroll processing is manual processes (23%).If you are still doing manual time cards and time tracking, then it may be time to consider upgrading. Not only will automatic time tracking help to ensure accuracy with timekeeping, it will also help to simplify your payroll process immensely; eliminating potentially costly errors and mistakes and ensuring that your employees get paid for the hours they worked.
Integrate the Process
You may have a payroll system that works for your team, but if it isn’t integrated with other areas of your business; such as payroll, as well as invoicing, estimating, and reporting; then you’ll be missing out. For this reason, if you’re thinking of upgrading your time tracking system; it’s worth considering a solution that will allow seamless integration with your payroll processing system. This will allow you to benefit from a simpler and intuitive system, enabling you to eliminate many common errors and mistakes;
Have Clear Policies
The clearer your policies, the easier it will be for everyone to stay on the same page. This is especially important if you have multiple team members; or a distributed team that’s operating from different parts of the world. Regardless of how complex or simple your policies may be, it’s vital to ensure that everyone understands how they work; and is fully onboard with them. By having clear policies, you can ensure that everyone is on the same page, and will be able to help eliminate mistakes, frustration, and confusion.
Understand Tax Policies
If you don’t calculate your payroll taxes accurately, each error you make could result in a fine. Failure to comply with the IRS payroll regulations fines are generally high, and your company will have to fix your errors, make the original payments and still pay the fines. Tax laws vary from state to state so it is important that your payroll staff is well-informed.
Conduct Regular Audits
Performing audits on your company can help to keep everything running smoothly. Regular audits are important; and can prove to be invaluable should your employees claim that their payroll is delayed or inaccurate. While mistakes happen, running regular checks can help keep those mistakes to a minimum and help correct them sooner, rather than rather.
Outsource
Many companies simply choose to outsource their payroll to avoid the hassle and confusion of payroll and taxes. By outsourcing, you can eliminate most of the complications involving taxes, but it’s still important that you have a general understanding of taxes, regulations, and requirements. Just because you outsource, doesn’t mean you are off the hook!
Involve Your Employees
Finally, even if you have the best systems around, your employees might not completely understand the process. By taking the time to communicate with them and address their concerns, you can help to bring them up to speed, reducing needless errors as well as highlighting areas of your policy that may need to be explained more clearly.
If you’re looking for ways to improve your payroll system, start by considering the type of system that you currently using; and determine whether a new one could benefit your company. If you’re using a manual time card system; or a system that doesn’t integrate with your payroll processor, it may be time to think about making the switch to a new, modern time tracking system; one that will allow you to improve accuracy, help to ensure compliance with tax laws, all while saving time; and making your job easier as well.
