Payroll is one of those tedious jobs that very few are passionate about, but it is one that is vital to the company.
Thankfully, there are ways that enable you to save time and money while processing payroll. Read five of them here. If you’re going to succeed in the modern workplace, then you need the right tools and strategies to streamline your processes.
1. Make Sure You Have the Correct Employee Information
Payroll becomes twice as hard when you have to redo the process time and time again because you have incorrect information for your employees. Once you have all the correct information, payroll becomes easier. You should remind your employees to update their information if anything changes, for example, if they move and get a new address. Some software systems make it simple for employees to login and update their information.
2. Find a Payroll Software You Love
While there are many great software options out there, some are better than others. The pricing is based off how many employees are in your company. Not only will you be able to organize and process payroll with this software, but you can track time off, compile training, and track employee benefits. Companies have long used spreadsheets to track important HR information, but now it’s time to take it a step further and use HR software. There are many more capabilities of software like being able to click a button and see dashboards and create reports within a few seconds. Spreadsheets can’t compete with that.
3. Create an Efficient Process
In order to save time and money with payroll processing, you need to create an efficient process. After completing the payroll process once or twice, you should have an idea of all of the steps it entails. Make a list of these steps. Look over the list and decide what you can do in order to complete these steps quicker. There are always small adjustments to make so you can complete tasks faster and more thoroughly. After you have found some tasks you can adjust, review your whole process to see if you think you have made it more efficient. If yes, great job! If not, keep reworking it until you have found the best way to handle your tasks to complete the payroll process.
4. Use Direct Deposit
Most companies when they are starting off, print checks and deliver them to the employees. Having paychecks delivered directly into your employee’s account has many benefits. Not only will your workers appreciate it, but it will get rid of the risk of them losing it and needing you to rewrite their check. Another benefit of direct deposit is that it is so much faster than signing all of the separate check one-by-one. Writing and printing checks takes time and money. You will save all of that time and money by using direct deposit.
5. Quantify Your Time
It is important to know how much time you are spending doing payroll and how much that time is costing you. While you are trying to break down your payroll processing steps to create a more efficient process, quantify each step. How much is payroll really costing you? Maybe you should consider online software like mentioned above. It’s true you pay a fee to use the software, but it could be a lot less than what you are spending right now. You could also consider outsourcing certain HR administrative duties such as payroll processing. Some teams are small and don’t have the means to take care of it themselves. You should choose whatever works best for you, but it all starts with quantifying your time to give you an idea of how much time and money you are really spending on payroll.