When people go into business for themselves, they quickly realize that one of the most time-consuming tasks they have to focus on is managing payroll. Payroll is an incredibly important area of any business; after all, your employees are counting on accurate paychecks to cover their living expenses. In addition, a bad payroll process can be costly to your company's bottom line. The following list describes some of the best ways to streamline your payroll process to save time and avoid errors and frustration.
Clear Records
Nothing disturbs the accuracy of a payroll process more than not having clear records on hand. Having clear records means keeping correct and current information on your employees as well as records of the payments you need to make to vendors. Expected payments should also be taken into consideration as it is often an issue that new companies wait too long for their clients to pay while they themselves have their own expenses to cover that start to go past due as they wait.
Time-Tracking Software
Manually entering hours and minutes for each employee into a program can take a ridiculous amount of time, which could be spent instead on growing the company more rapidly. According to Hubstaff, this time-consuming process can also lead to multiple errors in your numbers, which can cause significant, company-wide mistakes, such as paying your employees too little or too much each week. Time-tracking software can speed up the process significantly while reducing errors. The inclusion of time-tracking software also builds a sense of trust with your employees because now they must arrive on time and leave when they are supposed to.
Using Third-Party Processes
Third-party processes, or factoring, can provide you with the service needed to get employees and yourself paid on time. This option puts all the work of payroll into the hands of a third party that has the manpower and resources to deal with these issues on a 24/7 basis. According to OTR Capital, there are a few advantages of factoring, but it may not be for everyone. However, factoring is a common solution used by many companies, big and small, to reduce the workload involved with payroll processing.
Getting your employees paid on time is one of the most important things you can do as a business owner. Not only does it build trust and respect within your community, but it also keeps you from overpaying or potentially getting sued. Therefore, every business owner should consider the list of tips above.
If you need help with your payroll, contact us and we can help!