Every business organization usually has more work to do than time; regardless of their time-management prowess.
A good solution for this headache is outsourcing.
Non-core business functions like payroll processing won’t make your brand any money. Or affect your brand’s competitive strategy. But as a business owner, it does have a say on how much work is slapped on your table at month’s end.
Think about this – more than 10 million businesses in the United States outsource their payroll. They have good reasons for doing this. Payroll management can be quite tiring and boring even for the best hands.
There are lots of other reasons why businesses outsource their payroll. We’ll talk about that later. First, ask yourself this question:
Why do businesses like yours still carryout in-house payroll processing?
Millions of businesses don’t outsource their payroll processing for three major reasons:
- Cost: Small businesses, especially, believe it is more cost-effective to handle payroll processing in-house. Sooner than later they discover this isn’t the case. The time, resources and personnel required for in-house processing aren’t cheap. It actually costs more.
- Control: Business owners prefer to be in total control of all payments process. They want to stay ahead of every change being made. This ends up giving them major hassles.
- Confidential: In most cases, businesses don’t outsource because they prefer to keep all payroll information highly confidential. What they don’t know is that confidentiality is the hallmark of any good payroll processing firm.
Why outsourcing payroll processing is important
You were promised more reasons why outsourcing payroll processing is absolutely necessary. Here are five:
1. Escape the tedious, time-consuming process
Payroll processing can be really tedious. The payroll manager would have to carefully enter and manage ever-changing data of employees. This data must also be checked for errors. That’s not even the half of it.
Businesses in the United States must understand and comply with hundreds of State and Federal laws that govern the payment of salaries. Plus, there’s the small matter of filing taxes correctly.
Even for small businesses with less than 100 employees, these tasks can be quite daunting and time-consuming. That’s where a payroll service comes in like a knight in shining armour.
2. Save money
A popular question most businesses ask about outsourcing payroll management is, do we get to save money? The simple answer is yes. Payroll processing and management cost money. But outsourcing it saves you money.
If your organization outsources its payroll processing, you guys won’t have to spend thousands of dollars paying for the latest technology and training staff on how to use it. And you won’t need to dedicate computers and man hours to that purpose.
There’s also money to be saved from the mistakes you’ll avoid. On average, small businesses in the United States are said to have a $4.5 billion payroll tax problem. This is mainly due to incorrect payroll filing. An outsourcing service can help avoid this problem.
3. No retainer for top experts and technology
Businesses prefer to employ the best experts to handle every task in order to ensure a competitive advantage. The same goes for payroll management.
Managing payroll is the job of seasoned professionals. And they need to deploy the latest technology that allows managers and employees to access their payroll information online, perform self-service and so on.
Getting this done can be cumbersome for an in-house team. Whereas an experienced payroll service can do this without breaking a sweat while complying with government jurisdictions.
Another valid point to be made is the fact that you won’t have to babysit these professionals or add them to an ever-growing payroll.
A credible payroll service will give you access to their cutting-edge technology and wealth of experience. They’re always a phone call or email away – all the perks of the superb customer service they offer.
Occasionally you can get Payroll companies to come in and train your management team or staff on anything related to taxation and financial management. Some even handle Human Resources (HR).
4. Focus and achieve more
Being able to pay salaries will do very little to help you meet your business goals. But when done poorly, it could put your business in serious jeopardy. A line has to be drawn somewhere.
Outsourcing your organization’s payroll processing can help you win on both sides. You get more time to focus on core business objectives; which ultimately means you can satisfy your customers better.
Small business owners understand how much they can achieve without all the niggling issues – especially those associated with paying salaries and the legal and tax issues involved.
5. Less risks
There is an element of risk involved in payroll processing. A slight error could ruin everything you’ve been working on for so long. Plus there could be far-reaching financial and legal consequences that follow.
Besides the risks that accompanies in-house incompetence, which cannot be underestimated, there’s also the risk of embezzlement and misappropriation not to mention identity theft.
A competent payroll provider will not completely eliminate all risks surrounding payroll management, but they would certainly help reduce them to the barest minimum.
How to choose a good payroll service
It’s time to choose. There are numerous payroll management companies in the United States that will vie for your company’s business. So you must be careful in making the right choice or risk running into what you’re running from.
A proficient payroll service should be one with a proven track record. They should have a long list of satisfied clients under their wings.
Also, a good payroll service should be able to provide excellent customer service – because you’re definitely going to be communicating frequently with your payroll provider.
Finally, we’d advise you to choose a payroll service provider that can do the following:
- Fill out your tax information and file it correctly
- Give you smooth access to your payroll data
- Monitor the changing employee payment data and make the required adjustments with minimal fuss.
- Offer you the best technology. They should guarantee that your data is kept confidential and secure and offer you the modern convenience of being able to monitor what’s happening from your mobile phone.
We did the research for you and found a reputable and competent payroll processing provider in ADP-Solutions. Although there are many others, ADP is our top pick.
Time to take action
It now up to you to take action or continue enduring the difficulty of in-house payroll processing.
Remember, the business benefits of outsourcing payroll processing by far overshadow the fee you’ll have to pay. Check out ADP to get a payroll service that ticks all the right boxes.