Payroll management, like many other tasks in modern business, has become more reliant on software in recent years. Small businesses are especially reliant on software – they often cannot afford to hire large cadres of trained HR and accounting staff. Payroll management software eases the workload assigned to administrative staff. It ensures that every employee is paid what they are owed in the most labor-efficient manner possible. Not all payroll management programs are the same. Some inferior software lacks the user experience features, data collection elements, or connectivity that really make payroll management programs worth the cost. Here is a quick rundown of some of the features shared by all good payroll management programs.
Accuracy
Accuracy should be expected as a bare minimum from payroll management software. The world of business is currently going through a ‘great resignation.’ Employees are leaving their jobs in record numbers. Valuable employees can be tipped over the edge into resignation if they are not paid accurately for the work that they do. Payroll management software allows for accurate administration of payments, which should help with employee retention.
Connectivity
The chances are high that payroll management software is not the only kind of administrative software being used within a business. It is essential that payroll software is connected to and integrated into the company’s network of systems. One of the most important integrative relationships should be between payroll management software and accounting software. Accounting software like QuickBooks should be automatically updated with payroll data and vice versa. This minimizes the number of errors caused by a lack of information sharing and allows departments to take each other’s activity into account when planning budgets.
Onboarding Automation
One of the most complex tasks in payroll management is the successful integration of new employees. New arrivals have traditionally faced issues with receiving their first paycheck and receiving the money that they are owed. This can harm employee retention efforts and leave a small business in a rather precarious position.
Good payroll automation software allows for the automation of onboarding – enabling new employees to be seamlessly integrated into the paid workforce.
Tax Automation
Traditionally, Human Resources teams lease with accountants in order to correctly pay tax on salaries and make deductions from paychecks. This is immensely time-consuming work. Good payroll management software allows HR teams to automate tax deductions and reporting. Each employee’s tax code is typed into the system, allowing for the complete automation of taxation.
Reporting
Good payroll management software generates regular reports based upon the data collected during the course of administering payroll. Payroll data is immensely important for the identification of protocol errors and the development of strategically planned budgets. There are many kinds of payroll data. These include demographic data, bonus data, promotion trend data, and inquiry data. All of these datasets can be synthesized into a report by payroll management software. Large-scale, long-term strategy relies heavily on broad datasets, and payroll data can play a huge part in creating these.