Running a small business is hard. When you are running the show, you are responsible for everything from the efficiency of the back office operations to the success of the sales force, but that does not mean you have to do everything on your own.
To the contrary, there are times when strategic decision making and smart delegation can improve your operations and help you get more done. The management of your payroll is a case in point. You could handle the payroll process, delegate the task to a trusted employee or get the assistance of your bookkeeper or accountant.
No matter who is tasked with payroll operations, there are plenty of benefits to using online payroll software to get it done. Here are 12 of the biggest benefits you can enjoy when you switch to online payroll software for your small business.
1. Greater Employee Satisfaction
If your employees are not happy, you will not be happy. If you neglect the morale in your office or factory, you could find your best employees voting with their feet and heading for the door.
Using online payroll software increases the efficiency of your operations and reduces the likelihood of mistakes that could earn you the ire of the front-line staff. That gives you one less thing to worry about and helps you keep your best workers right where they are.
2. Better Accuracy
Nothing is worse than a mistake in the payroll system, and using online software reduces the likelihood of those costly errors. Making an error that shortchanges your employees could destroy morale in your company and even lead to legal problems for you and your firm.
Making a mistake that pays your workers too much could leave your business without working capital, and the logistics of getting that money back could be a nightmare. With online payroll software, you can greatly reduce the risk of human error and make sure your employees get exactly the pay they have earned.
3. Save Time
Payroll is not exactly a fun job, and chances are your designated staff member does not look forward to monthly payroll reconciliation. Using online payroll software can make their task easier and save them an enormous amount of time.
That time savings means the designated payroll processor will have more time for other tasks, increasing the efficiency of your operations and lowering your overall costs in the process. Switching to a software-based payroll management system can also reduce the tediousness of the task, providing you with one more big benefit.
4. Enhanced Data Security
The security of your data is essential, and payroll data is especially sensitive. Your payroll file contains personal data like birth dates, mailing addresses and more, it is up to you to protect that information.
The best online payroll software uses state-of-the-art security to protect that sensitive data and keep it from falling into the wrong hands. That alone is a great reason to make the switch.
5. No Specialised Experience Needed
Running payroll can be a real challenge for someone without an accounting background, but online payroll software flattens the learning curve and makes payroll processing far easier. That means you can assign the payroll task to employees who do not have accounting backgrounds, lowering your costs and making cross-training possible.
The fact that online payroll software does not require any specialised training or credentials is one of the things that makes it so popular. Instead of wasting your accounts staff valuable time on tedious payroll tasks, you can use their talents for other things – like preparing management reports.
6. Automatically Creates an Audit Trail
Having an audit trail is important for all financial aspects of your business, including how you process your payroll and pay your employees. It is common for questions to arise regarding payroll and pay, and a single disgruntled ex-employee could cause real problems for your business.
When you use online payroll software make salary and superannuation payments, you can easily review the payment logs, check tax and super guarantee rates and prove that all payments were proper and no one was shortchanged. Gathering that kind of data could take days with a manual system, but the software can do it in a matter of minutes.
7. Easily Customisable
Manual payroll systems are hard to customise but customisation is far easier with online payroll software. Quality online payroll software can be customised to the needs of each client, whether that client is a small startup with less than a dozen employees or a growing business with hundreds of workers.
8. Strategic Automation
Automating processes where you can save your business a lot of money and payroll is one of the best examples. Processes that would take dozens of hours and require a dedicated staff of workers can be done by a single employee in a matter of hours.
Once the online payroll system is set up and all of the employee data imported, your designated staff member can simply enter the number of hours worked, check the results and authorise the payments. Your employees will be happy when their salary payments arrive, your designated payroll person will be happy the job is done, and you will be happy that everything is running smoothly.
9. Automatic Tax Updates and Super Payments
If there is one thing you can be sure of it is this – the tax tables and superannuation rates will continue to get more complicated with every passing year. Running your small business is not going to get easier any time soon, so you might as well prepare for it now.
One of the biggest benefits of online payroll software is that it can be seamlessly updated every time the government decides to tweak the tax code and make the lives of small business owners even more complicated. It might not make your taxes any more affordable, but it will at least make complying with the ATO easier.
Online payroll systems also make it easy to stay SuperStream compliant. Quality solutions will allow you to sign up and choose a superannuation payment gateway to save time by paying employee superannuation contributions electronically when processing payroll.
10. Anywhere Access
When you use online payroll software, you can store your data securely in the cloud. That cloud-based system provides you with enhanced security, but it also gives you and your staff members secure anywhere access.
Your designated payroll processor can check the accuracy of payroll reports, generate tax forms and process salary and super payments from anywhere there is an internet connection, making the job easier for everyone.
11. Cost-Effective Solution
As a small business owner, you have a vested interest in keeping costs low and profits high. Switching from a manual paper-based payroll processing system to a more efficient online payroll software system can save you enormous amounts of money and allow you to invest those funds elsewhere in your business.
The cost savings you derive from the switch to online payroll software will ramp up as your business grows, making the investment even smarter as your firm continues to add new workers. In the end, you can enjoy better results, lower costs and a more strategic approach to running your business.
12. Ongoing Customer Support and Training
Using a paper-based payroll processing software has a number of big disadvantages, from lower efficiency to a greater cost. One of the biggest drawbacks, however, involves training and support. Your payroll processing specialist may know how to operate the old system, but what happens if they leave? Will they have the time to train a replacement, or will you be on your own?
When you upgrade to an online payroll software system, you will benefit from ongoing support and upgrades, but you will also get the training you need to operate the software efficiently. You can train several employees to use the software, making your life easier when vacation time rolls around and flu season takes its toll.
As you can see, making the switch from manual payroll processing to online payroll software carries a number of important benefits. If you want to improve the efficiency of your business operations, lower your costs and keep your employees happy, there are at least 12 reasons to make the online payroll software switch today.
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