No doubt that following the financially challenging years, we’re all feeling the pinch. Rather than crying over spilled milk, one method your company might save money in 2023 is to improve, optimize and automate your payroll processes.
If there’s anything you can do now, two years into the pandemic-induced economic crisis, streamlining internal procedures to guarantee your organization is receiving the most value for money should be at the top of your list. Continue reading for a list of payroll process optimization suggestions to help you handle this aspect of your organization while saving you time and money.
What are the problems that companies face with the payroll?
Payroll generally refers to the procedure for ensuring that your employees are paid on time. But why is it necessary to optimize it?
Poor payroll systems and badly-design processes might cost your company a lot of money. While manually processing payroll may appear less expensive, coordinating data gathering, such as timesheets, takes time and requires experienced human resources. “Time is money,” as the saying goes.
Manual payroll processing exposes your company to the danger of human mistakes, which may result in many issues. Consider the case where one of your employees, contractors, or business partners isn’t paid on time or receives an inaccurate paycheck. This might breed distrust and lead to losing faith in your company. In addition, this might lead to legal complications, which are always best to avoid in the first place.
That’s why we are writing to you from our experience with all the Payroll Process Improvement Ideas we can propose for your system and business to thrive.
Check the automation ideas for accounting, finance and banking industry.
When is the right time to implement one of the payroll process improvement ideas?
You might need to assess several factors to have a solid answer. Here is a bunch of them:
How long ago was your payroll implemented?
With the huge technological developments and the rapid economic changes, you need to consider being up to date with all your systems, especially the payroll one. 3-5 years are more than enough to have a major upgrade in your approach to cope with the internal changes in the company like personnel expansion & regulatory changes. Also, the payroll system should abide by the tax regulations that change every few years.
Have you evaluated whether your payroll software matches your requirements?
We certainly hope you did! Requirements are pretty dynamic and in constant change. That’s why it’s necessary to assess your legal status, personnel number, expansion plans, updated tax regulations, and any changes in the company’s organizational structure and hierarchy that might trigger some changes in the payroll system.
Do your employees have easy access to the payroll system?
Easier said than done! Employees have the right to look at their status within the company at any point in time and have full access to their benefits, salaries, compensations, reimbursements, rewards, etc.… That must be done securely as it’s susceptible and confidential data, so no one should be granted access to such info except for their data only.
Do all employees receive their salaries on the same day?
Some companies have different pay schedules for employees. For example, part-time employees might receive paychecks once a month, whereas full-time workers get paid bi-weekly. Several pay cycles create more administrative work for payroll staff and exposure to possible human error. By synchronizing all pay schedules, the team can spend less time processing paystubs and sending out checks.
Where is payroll automation within your current system?
Automating your current payroll setup, your employees’ salaries will be processed automatically, and any raises or bonuses will automatically be added to monthly wages as soon as a member of management has registered them in the system. An automated & digital system has an additional benefit that we can’t ignore.