Businesses have the demanding and often tedious job of processing payroll throughout the year, including getting employees paid on time, filing taxes, and remaining compliant with laws and regulations. The human resource department or accounting is primarily responsible for keeping track of employee information and ensuring everyone is paid accurately, but as more and more of these office and employee-related processes are digitized, so is payroll.
Payroll software is used by a lot of companies now to streamline this process, especially since it keeps track of all the relevant information, prevents human error, and documents the most important data for tax duties. This article will go over the basics of payroll software, why it’s so valuable in the modern workplace, and how to select the right software for your business.
Employees
Firstly, this type of software ensures that employees are paid. Not only are they paid, but they are consistently paid the correct amount, at the right time, and via the payment method they prefer. If they want a direct deposit and their money divided up into specific accounts, then the automated payments will move the funds to their bank account, 401K account, etc.
Aside from getting paid on time and having easy access to funds, other employee benefits include:
- Can view payment history
Employees need to be able to look into their finances to see how and when they get paid, which is made easy when software stores all of this important data. Employees can see the breakdown of their paychecks, see where their withholdings are going, and more. - Adjust personal information and payment information
When someone moves into a new home, starts banking with a new credit union, gets married, or whatever the change may be, employees do not need to necessarily make requests to the HR department and can instead jump on the payroll software and update their information themselves. - Get answers quickly to questions
Payroll software cuts out the middleman in general and offers information and insights when employees do have a question, which means they don’t have to wait on someone else’s schedule to get that information promptly. - Minimize work disruptions
Getting a hold of HR or accounting during the middle of the day or scheduling an appointment with someone takes away time from actual work tasks or free time from both the employee and the payroll departments. With easy access to payroll information online or using an app, employees can manage their own time and get what they need without losing momentum during work tasks.
Businesses
Employees are not the only benefactors of payroll software—in fact, they benefit even more from this tool. The big advantages are how this software makes teams more efficient, tracks data more accurately, and provides additional tools outside of processing payments. Some specific business benefits include:
- Higher employee morale
Employees appreciate transparency. And when they have access to what they need, get paid on time for what they are owed, and can live their lives otherwise unimpeded, they are happier with their workplace. - Improve security
The personal information of your employees is private, and instead of trying to manage and protect paper files or share that confidential information over insecure channels, everyone has access to what they need without compromising any security measures or data. - Deepen business insights
When payroll information is digitized, processed using advanced and automated software, and integrated with other business tools, it is easier to understand the financial insights for companies. Budgeting, department costs, departmental revenue, and even real-time data can be used for time-sensitive decision-making. - Improve reporting
Payroll software makes more accurate calculations and documentation when it comes to reporting for compliance and any kind of tax needs.
The Rise of the Employee Experience Platform
Again, no two payroll software systems are the same or created equal, but there are some basic functions that you should ensure your program has. If you are going to pay for the software, make sure you are getting the biggest bang for your buck that will take the more laborious tasks using the following features:
- Calculate wages earned
This one is a fundamental function of payroll software; make sure the system you get can automatically calculate the wages of employees whether full-time, part-time, etc. - Integrate payroll with time and attendance
The best programs will help you incorporate your payroll processes with timesheets and attendance practices. This will help ensure all time management factors are digitized and automated, whether your employees are hourly or salaried. - Withhold taxes and other deductions
You should be able to trust the software to accurately calculate and automatically withhold taxes and any other customized deductions for employees. Those deductions are usually editable by the employees themselves, too, so they can tailor their paychecks as needed. - Pay employees
While you may still have managers approve timesheets and other elements of payroll, your software should be able to make automated payments according to your setup. If you pay employees every Friday, you should be able to set those payments up weekly - Run payroll reports
Running your estimates and cross-checking your finances with any tax liabilities can be stressful, wearisome, error-prone, and time-consuming. Payroll software can run payroll reports for you so that you can get the accurate information you need in an instant. - Access important tax forms
Both HR professionals and other employees should have access to tax information and tax forms. These payroll systems should also be safeguarded with security features that guarantee only the relevant people can view confidential data.
You may find that your organization values certain features over others, but especially if you are paying a solid sum of money to use the software, do not accept anything less than the above attributes.