Nowadays, the majority of companies and firms prefer outsourcing their non-core jobs to specialized firms. Payroll services is one of them. However, there are certain aspects attached to outsourcing such services that you need to keep in mind.
Services offered by online payroll services
Online payroll services are cloud-based operations. A firm can manage, access, and run payroll from almost anywhere with the help of cloud-based online payroll, and it doesn’t require any software. A firm can take care of payroll for regular, part timers, as well as freelancers simultaneously with the help of online payroll.
Following are few services offered by online payroll services:
Payment of taxes and related work
Online payroll takes care of paying taxes on behalf of employees and firms as per the local and federal procedure. Besides, the related forms, acknowledgment, and receipts are also being shared with individuals.
Processing of Payroll
Online payroll services automatically take care of things such as how much an employee must be paid in a particular pay-cycle. The already entered wage rates, incentives, extra pays, and other benefits are being taken into account by them. The employees get paid automatically via direct deposit, prepaid debit card, or cheque.
Management of new-hire reporting
Online payroll takes care of the representation of newly hired employees to the Government on behalf of a particular firm. Such a system makes things less burdensome for the employer.
Payroll reports
The operationality, revenue, and allied reports can easily be taken care of by online payroll services, which helps the employer have a micro look.
So, it is easy to deduce that online payroll services are beneficial in terms of overall payroll management. They keep track of salary calculations, tax payments, year-end acknowledgment, forms, and the long list will go on. Such an integrated system literally makes things just a few clicks away for an employer.
How to choose Payroll services
Different payroll service providers have different levels of services. There are few things a firm must look for from a service provider before outsourcing its payroll responsibilities.
Features
A suitable payroll service provider must offer multiple payment options like direct deposits, physical cheques, and ready to use debit cards. A firm must also look for the service provider’s capability to process the payroll depending on the variation in rates.
Ease of use
A payroll service system must be easy to use for a firm and must not require too many brains from their end. The system should have an easy user interface that allows the firm to run payroll and edit the number of employees into the system in a matter of minutes.
Cost factors
All firms look for affordable services. A firm must look into the necessity of commitment documentation, i.e., contract. The frequency of payment to the payroll service provider must also be checked well before entering into any kind of outsourcing.
Reputation
Testimonials of the previous and current clients of payroll service providers provide an insight into their reputation. Thorough research helps the outsourcing firm to stay secure from any upcoming eventualities.
Employee self-service
A firm’s payroll service must allow employees to log in on their own to view their digital paychecks and year-end forms, and acknowledgments. The employee dashboard must be exhaustive and comprehensible.
Integrability
An online service provider must be able to sync with the already used programs of a firm. Such a program includes time and attendance tracking tools along with allied MIS and accounting software.
Support
A firm must consider a payroll service provider who is available just in time of need. A firm must enquire into the availability of a dedicated support team before outsourcing payroll services. There must be a single and main point of contact in case of any situation.
Added services
An online payroll service provider offers several other services such as HR, benefits, retirement plan management, and grievance redressal forums. Such added services could further reduce the efforts of the firm.
Issue of Outages
As it has already been seen that online payroll services are cloud-based operations, this puts business dependent on the payroll service provider. Before outsourcing the payroll, the provider must be inquired about the frequency of outages and downtime for maintenance.
Along with these basic things, certain questions must be considered before a firm could hand over their payroll to an independent payroll service provider. Let’s have a look at them as well.
Can the service provider integrate with employee benefits?
Are they flexible enough to take care of payroll with the growth of your business?
What is the frequency of tax table updates for compliance?
Do they have other clients in the same industry?
What is the level of encryption and security of the firm’s data?
What kind of certification, licenses, and authentication do they have from the Government?
Paybacks of payroll services
There are numerous benefits of outsourcing payroll services to an independent service provider. Few of them are as follow:
It saves a firm’s time and lets the firm focus on its primary objective: the business operation.
It saves the wastage of resources on the less important matters such as taxation etc.
It makes things convenient for the firm, as now they are left with the only task to transfer their data to the service provider.
It enhances the accuracy of payroll in stipulated time.
It improvises the compliance with state and federal laws as the service providers are specialized in the same.
Summing up
There are numerous benefits of outsourcing payroll services from an independent service provider. However, it would be easy to keep key instructions in mind before moving into any kind of contract. It is a financial matter and attached to reputation, so it must be done properly after inquiring into associated things such as testimonials. You should also consider that a firm must put in the least resource towards payroll once it has been outsourced.
Shift Frequency © 2020 – Things to consider before
you outsource payroll services