Payroll is one of a business’ highest and most time-consuming expenses. The ability to pay your employees in full and on time is essential if you wish to maintain loyal and talented staff. Today, many companies rely on payroll management services to ensure that their payroll functions run seamlessly. What is payroll management exactly?
Understanding Payroll Management
Payroll management refers to the administration of a business’ financial records, including salaries, bonuses, incentives, deductions, and net pay. Concise record-keeping is not only important for employer organization but is also required for tax purposes. Failure to comply with income tax laws could result in costly legal repercussions.
Verifying Payroll & Deductions
No matter how small, payroll processing is a critical function for all businesses. Payroll may be processed on a weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, or even monthly basis, although the average pay length is every two weeks. Before a paycheck can be issued, payroll must be processed, which involves collecting and verifying timecard information and making deductions.
Deductions may include insurance premiums, benefits, retirement plan contributions, and withholdings. Once payroll reports have been analyzed, payments can then be issued to employees. As sending out checks manually can be time-consuming and increase the risk of error, many companies now utilize direct deposit bank options.
Management Of Employee Benefits
An important component of payroll is the proper management of employee benefits. From medical and vision to life and retirement, these benefits must be accurately handled to ensure that each employee receives the benefit amount that they are entitled to and that the business does not overspend on employee benefits.
Payroll management services are designed to make this process easier by tracking and managing health, dental, and vision insurance pay deductions; pay-as-you-go workers’ compensation; qualified retirement plan deferrals and remittance; and vacation, sick, and PTO benefit accruals. If you find that your business is spending too much time on these administrative tasks, consider hiring a PEO consultant to take over these responsibilities. This will leave you more time to focus on other critical business tasks.
Tracking Hours Accurately
A recent Harvard Business Review report found that as much as $7.4 billion per day could be lost in the U.S. due to untracked work hours. For payroll management to be effective, the data must be accurate. This means that employees must be tracking their time and specifying project times. Time tracking does not need to be a nuisance.
In fact, it can be fast and easy for employees with the use of time tracking technology. Advanced technology allows employees to clock-in and clock-out, as well as perform other important functions, such as requesting a day off. A PEO consultant can assist you in setting up a system designed to accurately track hours for concise payroll management.
Effective Communication Platforms
While communication across the workplace is essential for greater productivity and fewer errors, many companies still lack in this department. Oftentimes, lower-level employees are not provided with a clear understanding of what is happening outside of their immediate roles, which can result in a reduction in effectiveness.
Misunderstandings can occur when employees are not given the proper information or when data is not immediately available. With the help of a payroll management professional, you can set up an effective communication platform for your business that allows employees to easily open a line of communication with higher-ups. Whether they need to take time off or would like to make changes to one of their benefits, having a communication platform in place can streamline this process.
Transparency Through Cloud-Based Management
Technology has changed the way that payroll management is performed. With the introduction of cloud-based payroll management, it is now easier than ever to maintain an affordable and hassle-free payroll system. A cloud-based management system is suitable for businesses of all sizes and provides management with round-the-clock instant access via desktop, tablet, or smartphone.
When your company implements cloud-based payroll management, you can help ensure that your payroll obligations are always met with precision and timeliness. In addition, cloud-based management allows for greater transparency. It can be easily integrated with other software programs and applications, and it keeps businesses protected with regular back-ups. Employees can also access their personal information with any device through a self-service portal.
Speak To An Experienced PEO Consulting Firm
As payroll can be a daunting task for any business, many companies are now turning to cloud-based payroll management systems. Payroll management services have the ability to handle all of your business’s payroll processing and compliance responsibilities to ensure that your business remains on track and free of tax-related legal consequences.
When you contact BenefitCorp about payroll management, we will match you with a qualified PEO consultant who will assist you with the management of wages, earnings, deductions, and other payroll obligations. For more information about cloud-based payroll management services or to speak with an experienced PEO consultant, contact BenefitCorp by calling 972.737.7875 or by requesting a quote online.