As a business owner, the payroll company that you decide to hire to help manage your payroll services matters more than you think. Every payroll company not only offers different services but may also use different platforms and hold different policies that do not match up with your business plan. You should carefully consider which company will offer the most and keep good communication with your team so there are fewer problems in the future. Finding a long-term payroll company can help make managing your business a smoother process overall. Therefore, we find that asking these 10 crucial questions can help you pick the best payroll company for your business:
When hiring a payroll company, the first thing you should examine is what services and support they provide. Some companies may have cheaper monthly rates, but will only be able to calculate the wages and supply a bank file for taxes and superannuation. You also don’t want to get tied up with a payroll company that tries to offer you their exclusive online platform that is unreliable and insecure. Ask your potential payroll company exactly what assistance they offer and don’t offer to avoid working with a company that is both cheap in price and service.
Most businesses prefer for a payroll company to include multiple in-house services to avoid having to give their confidential information to multiple establishments. These add-ons generally include things like HR support, accounting, and business tax assistance that are all included in one convenient platform. You may find that a payroll company that incorporates employee and migration law, employee self-services, and recruitment aid in the workplace are well-rounded and a great professional choice.
When searching online, you may find that many companies do not put a clear price tag on their payroll services. Some providers charge monthly for a set number of services while others charge monthly per employee in your business. Certain companies may also charge extra for add-on services that other companies would include with their monthly package. You may find that using a provider that offers free trials or directly calling a provider about their pricing structure will supply clearer results in what they charge extra for.
If there’s one thing you should know about payroll companies, it’s that the platform that they use makes a huge difference in the user-interface quality your business will experience. Most advanced companies will have a cloud-based payroll platform which will allow you to interface with other accounting software like MYOB, QuickBooks Online, or Xero. Using an up-to-date platform is beneficial to ensuring that it will have the capability to grow with your business and that is will also easily integrate with other internal payroll systems you have been using in the past. This way you know that your information is backed up and running on a system you can trust.
General Ledger integration or GL integration is when a payroll company integrates your current system that tracks all of your business’s financial transactions, such as revenues, assets, expenses, liabilities, and equity. Make sure that the payroll company you hire includes GL integration with their accounting software so you don’t have to pay extra for it. Otherwise, you may also have to manually enter the payroll data, or find a way to transfer CSV files which causes unnecessary hassle.
While considering why you should hire for payroll service, it’s important to understand that the electronic communication between you two must be transparent and understandable. Payroll companies have different ways of sending reports of your payroll stats with different levels of information included in them. Asking for an example of their reports would help demonstrate what file type they send it in, and whether or not they include data like total payouts, company co-pay, or tax deductions that you want to keep a record of.
Both employees and contractors of your business should always have access to their payroll information. Any reputable payroll provider will have personal portals built into their platform for employees or contractors to access their pay stubs. It’s convenient to work with a company that has lifetime employee accounts so that they can retrieve their payroll details whether or not they are currently employed at your business anymore.
The process of submitting work hours and other employee pay details will depend on the company you choose to help you manage that data. Some payroll companies will have a scheduled submission hour online, and others will have you use specific portals that are more secure than the rest of the platform. Some companies include a timeframe for making changes after submission to avoid processing delay. They might also have alternative methods to submitting confidential data which is why you should ask what security measures they are taking to protect your information.
Nothing is worse than when you are working towards pay stub deadlines and your payroll company is not available to assist you with any system issues. A good payroll customer service center makes a world of a difference when you have immediate questions or concerns. Problems regarding your finances are something that should be taken care of directly and efficiently by people who care about the well-being of your business.
Something that many business owners do not consider is that they need a payroll company that is capable of scaling their services to meet your growing business’s needs. If you need to add additional users or different accounting services, you’ll want to work with a provider that can match your pace. Make sure to ask about the process of upgrading your payroll package over time to avoid having to switch payroll companies while your company is in the middle of renovating into something greater.
Choosing a payroll company can be stressful if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for. And as business management models continue to become more digital, there will undoubtedly be even more payroll companies to pick from in the future. Fortunately, companies like PayTech make the process easier by providing simple payroll pricing and packaging as well as add-on services that will help your business grow. These packages clearly list each what is included in each service so that you won’t have any questions left unanswered. Let PayTech help expand what your business can accomplish with paperless payroll, tax assistance, self-services for employees, and a QuickBooks interface that is straightforward and efficient.
