Payroll can seem like nothing but a financial hindrance to a company’s success, especially if it’s performed manually and is a time-consuming affair. However, viewing payroll as an asset to a company, rather than merely an added cost and exercise that takes up valuable time, can help bring financial insights that may ultimately bring a company more business.
Payroll should only be thought of as a cost, if its true value is misunderstood and it becomes a chore that is fulfilled through necessity each week or month. Since a company’s main and most costly asset are its employees, managing them correctly with a quality payroll system, can add great value to a business.
Not underestimating the value of a payroll solution and its provider, are key to getting the very most from both, and here are a few pointers and guidelines to help you:
- Find out if your new payroll system – and/or payroll professional – is adaptable
The future is an unknown, but you need to be safe in the knowledge that your new payroll system can cope with any changes that might happen for your business in the future. Can the payroll software cope alone with any changes, and if not, is the payroll professional that provided you with the solution, capable of making these changes for you?
- Can the payroll software keep your employees happy?
Payslips are a vital element of any successful business with employees, and are the most important piece of information that they’ll receive each week or month. Since employees are one of the most valuable assets of a business, it stands to reason that a new payroll system should be able to produce pay slips (preventing you from having to do it), and should ideally give your highly prized workers, access to their payslips from different devices and at any time of the day or night.
Employees may also need to produce at least six months of payslips just to apply for a mortgage or loan, and so if they are able to access this information quickly and easily, so much the better.
- Can your payroll solutions provider gain insights from company data?
Payroll systems can be a real goldmine when it comes to gaining valuable insights into the workings of a business, and if this information is handled and processed in an accurate and timely manner, it can be extremely beneficial. While a good software system will store valuable data, you may need the help of a payroll professional to help you get access to it, and to understand it better. A good payroll professional should be there to support you in all ways, from giving technical advice when needed, to adding value to a business by showing how to generate the information to make informed business decisions.
Finding a good payroll system is the first step, but the payroll solutions provider should also help guide you through the system for it to work to your full advantage.