How to Improve Your Payroll Management

How to manage payroll in an effective and productive manner is a big concern for business owners. While it may seem like a difficult area to optimize, there are a number of ways you can smarten up your payroll so that it runs more smoothly.

Below, we’ll take you through some of the main ways you can level up your payroll management.

How to manage payroll for a small business

Without further ado, let’s delve into some of the top ways to better manage payroll.

1. Go digital

One of the main ways you can make your payroll more efficient is by going paperless. With the added benefit of being more environmentally friendly, it also makes archiving, keeping records and accessing payroll records far easier. In fact, with just a click you can find specific payroll information you need. When compared to spending hours leafing through files and cabinets, this is a real time saver.

Using digital payroll software will also make it easier to send out payslips, as this, along with a number of other processes, can be automated. Again, this will save your payroll team significant time and energy.

2. Combine payroll systems into one

It’s fairly common for businesses to use a range of payroll management systems, each tailored to different tasks. However, you can save time and money by using a single system that caters to all your needs. You may even find a payroll management software that can handle payroll in addition to all your accounting tasks.

Using several software solutions is not only more costly, but can also increase security risk. This is especially true if the software you’re using is outdated. Indeed, the more systems you use, the more opportunity there is for sensitive data to be accessed by unwelcome third-parties. Combining your systems into one is therefore a great way to more effectively manage payroll.

3. Thoroughly train employees

Even with the smartest software, the staff using it need to know what they’re doing. Otherwise mistakes will happen far more frequently than they need to.

Take the time to thoroughly train staff on how to operate the payroll software, as well as any other processes they need to handle as part of payroll. While this may seem time consuming in the beginning, it will save you time down the line as staff can effectively get on with their job and make fewer mistakes as a result.

4. Keep up to date with state and federal tax regulations

It’s crucial that your business stays informed about tax rules and regulations. Failing to meet deadlines or requirements can result in fines and disciplinary measures, which can greatly damage small businesses.

Ensure payroll staff review state and federal payroll regulations regularly to avoid any costly mistakes.

5. Outsource payroll management

Some payroll management software comes with the option of full-service payroll management. This involves your payroll being managed by third-party experts for you, which can remove the burden and stress that payroll management entails.

Even if you have a competent payroll team, you may want to opt for this option simply as a means to relieve some of the pressure payroll duties place on a business. As a result, your staff (and you) can focus on other tasks that require attention.

Improving payroll management: the bottom line

All of the above suggestions for improving payroll have one thing in common: they all involve getting rid of the unnecessary steps and add-ons that convolute payroll. Whether this means outsourcing payroll, handling all processes on the one piece of software, or going fully digital, the end result is the same: less hassle and a more streamlined payroll management.

We can help

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