The payroll process may be different and unique for every business, but there’s one thing that remains a common thing: it’s as laborious as it’s time-consuming. The reason is simple: payroll is done at least once to twice a month, so that means there’s no getting out of how stressful it can be. Even when your business may have a human resources team dedicated to doing payroll-related functions, it’s still not easy to complete. Remember that when it’s the wages of employees at stake, there’s no room for error.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to optimize and streamline your payroll process. Taking the time to study, assess, and discuss what changes you should implement can help your team identify which of those processes can be considered an investment for the better.
Instead of allowing the payroll process to pull you away from completing the other important tasks in your business, use the tips discussed in this article to make it an easier and more efficient process.
1. Centralize Records Using A Payroll Software
If your business is still relatively small, then you’ll do quite fine with a manual payroll management system. Once you expand in size, however, this may no longer be sufficient. It’s not effective anymore to have to sift through mountains of forms, manually entering data across different computer locations in the office, or scrolling through hundreds of spreadsheets.
To get your payroll done accurately each month, one of the most critical tasks to be done by the payroll department is to keep employee records up to date. This is where centralizing employee records through using Singapore payroll software is a game-changer.
When your business finally automates through software, all employee records are now kept in a central location. If changes have to be made, then those updates are done in real time, and across various files. There’s that sense of uniformity, where the payroll team doesn’t have any confusion about why certain records may not be the same as others.
There are so many payroll software you can choose from, so be selective about this. Each has its respective pros and cons, but it’s on you to weigh those according to your business’ personal needs and circumstances. If a free trial is available, try that out first so you can be sure that the payroll software you’re purchasing is the best for your business needs.
2. Always Complete Employee Records And Make Changes When Necessary
Make it a company practice that employees should immediately report to your HR department if there are changes to their records. These include matters like a change of status (e.g. married, divorced, widowed), change of gender (if applicable and recognized in your state or country), or change of legal residence, among others.
Moreover, complete employee records as soon as they take place. Say, for instance, ten employees had to do overtime work every day for a certain week to meet the tax season deadline. Record those hours immediately. Don’t rely on your mental memory to record them only when your team starts actively computing the payroll for a certain period.
This kind of system will enable a higher chance of accuracy in recording and computing employee wages. You know you’re effective with your system when your business will have little to no wage disputes from employees after every payroll period.
3. Create A Separate Payroll Calendar
Calendars aren’t a thing of the past. They’re still considered must-haves in business. Calendars keep schedules organized so that meetings and deadlines are always met.
For the payroll or HR team, however, their calendar serves a different purpose. This is why they should have their separate calendar with their respective markings.
For example, a payroll calendar should have the following information:
Dates highlighted for holidays, so wage adjustments can be made for employees who report to work during paid holidays; Dates are highlighted for pay dates, so the payroll team can be reminded to complete salaries that have to be sent before the usual pay date in cases when the pay date falls on a weekend or a holiday; Dates highlighted for non-working holidays.
4. Master Your Payroll Laws
Lastly, your team will always have a headache computing the payroll when they’re not masters of your local payroll and labor laws. This mastery should be a requirement.
Henceforth, it’s always a good idea to send members of your payroll team to training and seminars, whenever those are available. This would mean they’re always updated should there be any amendments to your local labor laws.
Conclusion
With the tips above, you can now finally stop wasting your time being so engrossed in the payroll process. Now you can buy your business so much extra time for your other business responsibilities so that those other important tasks aren’t left behind. As you apply the strategies above, don’t forget the most important: to automate a time-consuming manual process. It may just be what you need to finally achieve a higher state of balance in your business, given how time-consuming payroll can be.
