october2021 - 6

FEATURE
Automation Solves Payroll Headaches
By Mary Girsch-Bock
IF YOU'VE EVER done payroll for your own business or a
client's business, you'll understand just how stressful the
process can be. Employees are extremely proprietary about
their paychecks and will notice the smallest discrepancy.
Luckily, most payroll software
and service providers have made the
entire payroll process a lot easier than
it used to be. But even with simpler
payroll methods available, the payroll
process remains one of the more complicated
processes a business needs to
deal with regularly.
For example, here are just a few of
the things that a payroll department
is tasked with:
* Adding new employees to the payroll,
including entering base pay, any
additional pay, direct deposit information,
and local, state, and federal tax
deductions
* Paying hourly and salaried employees
* Paying contract workers
* Setting up additional deductions
such as health and life insurance,
retirement plan deductions, HSA
deductions, and any other miscellaneous
deductions
* Entering and accurately tracking
available vacation time, sick time,
comp time, or PTO
* Calculating and entering overtime for
qualified hourly employees
* Calculating and paying taxes to the
correct tax authority
* Paying insurance premiums to the
appropriate vendors
* Entering any salary adjustments
* Removing terminated employees
from payroll
* Ensuring that all local, state and
federal labor laws are properly
adhered to
* Passing out paychecks or paystubs to
employees
These tasks can be timeconsuming
for a small firm with a
few employees. Imagine processing
payroll manually for hundreds or
thousands of employees.
That's why businesses small and
large are turning to an outside payroll
software or service provider to do all
of the heavy lifting. Designed to make
life a lot easier for payroll departments,
in many cases, the only thing
that payroll department employees
need to do is ensure that hours and
employee pay amounts are properly
entered, and run the payroll.
That's because much of the work
of the past has been removed from
the plate of the payroll department
employee and put squarely on the
shoulders of the employee. With a
self-service option offered by most
major payroll service providers, the
new employee is now responsible for
entering personal information, direct
deposit details, and desired tax deductions.
That same self-service option
also allows your employees to access
all of their pay stubs, update personal
information, and even change their
tax deductions, all on their own.
Because many of these small
businesses do not have a human
resources department, most of these
payroll services have now added HR
resources that can be accessed by
both the employee and payroll staff.
While payroll will always remain
one of the most scrutinized tasks a
business undertakes, by using an outside
payroll provider, you can decrease
the amount of paperwork that your
payroll employees normally need
to tackle each pay period. Another
benefit of using an automated payroll
system is that you'll likely experience
a reduction in errors, which in turn
will make your employees much happier.
And by reducing the amount of
paperwork, you'll be allowing your
payroll manager to manage the process
rather than spend the majority
of their time correcting errors or
entering data.
Payroll services come in all shapes
and sizes, allowing you to make the
choices that best suit your business.
There's never been a better time to
make the move to an outside payroll
service. So why not get started today?
■
6 OCTOBER 2021 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
october2021

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