Managing a payroll is one of the biggest challenges facing small businesses today. If you have never needed to set up a payroll before, or if your business is expanding it can be difficult to know where to start. However, there are a few steps you can take to manage a payroll that suits the needs of your small business. Let’s discover 3 essential tips that can ensure you pay your staff accurately, on time, and within the law.
Details Are Everything
When managing a small business payroll, it is crucial that your records are totally accurate. Even small mistakes can be expensive to put right and can lead to problems in the future, so take time setting up your employee details correctly. At a minimum keep records of employee start dates, up to date addresses, dates of birth and so on. Furthermore, collecting employee information should be done in a confidential, professional, and thorough manner.
Employees are typically paid weekly, fortnight, or monthly and so establishing a system that can handle the most appropriate payment period for your small business is vital. Keep staff employment records for as long as is legally required and consider setting up direct bank payments as these can avoid any stressful late salary payments. Above all, remember to check in on your payroll system on a regular basis. This ensures that you can amend any staff details such as hours or salaries as appropriate and generate reports that highlight the bigger picture.
Invest In Payroll Software
Small businesses in various diverse sectors use payroll software to automate the entire process. This takes care of everything from insurance and tax calculations to generating payslips, as well as keeping up with legislation and providing information for tax returns. As with anything related to money, setting up a business payroll system using software should not be rushed so be careful to consider all your options before making any major decisions.
If you do use software or an online package to manage your payroll, make sure you choose a platform with a good technical support system in place. Technical glitches that prevent staff from being paid can be stressful and embarrassing so always check to make sure online or telephone support is part of the deal. Not sure where to begin? Finding a Payroll Company such as Zenefits that offers an integrated, easy to use system, with advanced features that sync with the rest of your HR efforts, can make things easier.
Review Your Payroll System
If your payroll system has been in place for a while, it might be time to complete a payroll audit to ask whether employees fully understand the procedures in place. Communicating with staff can identify any areas of misunderstanding such as timesheet submissions. All employees at a small business are affected by payroll processes so solicit feedback about what works and whether any areas require improvement.
Automated systems can be affected by data entry errors concerning tax status and old pay rates, so completing regular audits of your payroll process is in your best interests. To ensure your payroll system is effective, verify and reconcile all documents to make sure price values match across your records. Once this is complete, test out software to ensure that it is properly integrated with your time and attendance systems. Finally, employees must be made aware of their role in the payroll process so that they can complete tasks such as time sheet submissions properly and on time.
Managing a successful small business payroll by accurately delivering employee pay checks reflects positively on your brand and establishes your ability to maintain high employee retention. Ultimately, investing in the right system can simplify the workload and through developing a payroll strategy that supports your employees, you can understand how your budget is being spent, allowing you to concentrate on running your small business.