Managing payroll in your business can be problematic. You need to make the decision whether you continue to process your own payroll or use a payroll company for payroll outsourcing.
If you do choose to use a payroll service then you would expect it to replicate your existing processes at the very least. But what can payroll outsourcing add to your business? What value can it add.
By choosing a payroll company you are buying into the expertise and resources they have. You should be able to gain over and above what you could achieve yourselves. Typically, better technology gives advantages.
Examples of technology based added value services could include
Enhanced payroll reporting
The software used by your outsourcing company should be more advanced than your own software, it should be able to provide significant reporting improvements. It should give you comprehensive analysis of your payroll costs. It could help you check your payroll easier by providing exception reporting.
Customer portals
Full 24/7 access to your payroll data. Many payroll companies offer a secure portal for their payroll customers allowing them to access their payroll data around the clock.
Some portals will allow you to electronically approve your payroll before payment, reducing the volume of paper needing to be produced, speeding up the payroll cycle and providing a secure payroll platform.
Self service
Epayslips are now becoming widely adopted. A few payroll providers can provide this facility allowing your own staff to access all of their payroll information online. With an epayslip it eliminates the need to produce payslips. This is particularly common with remote workers and service based industries.
Integration and data exchange
You can expect your payroll providers software to readily integrate with other systems you may have such as finance and HR. The sharing of data between applications is now commonplace both in sending information to your payroll provider and updating your own systems once your payroll is completed.
