Introduction
Every month, when that certain day comes around for you to start processing payrolls, many may find the feeling of dread extremely relatable. This process can be very time-consuming and tedious, especially when your business has more than a handful of staff. As your company grows, you hire more staff, and payrolls can get quite confusing. There are your part-time staff members who are paid by the hour, your full-time staff members who are paid monthly, and then there are the selected individuals who are on overtime duty. With the multiple state payrolls, complicated tax filing requirements, and payment methods, you just want the nightmare and headaches to end. While this is extremely demanding and unavoidable, there are some tips for you to simplify the process altogether, one of which is using a paystub creator thus helping you make your job a lot easier and smoother.
Direct Deposit
Though not many companies realize this, switching to a direct deposit to your employees’ bank accounts can save a whole lot of time, effort, and costs. This can be done via an ACH file, which safely transfers your employees’ salaries right into their pockets. If your company has been using checks as a payment method, you may realize that there is a lot of miscellaneous costs involved; which include printing, purchase of envelopes, printer ink, stamps. Not to mention that extra time is required to check through each check to ensure that they are printed correctly, sealed in an envelope and that the correct addresses are written on each envelope. Alternatively, direct deposit pay stubs can be checked online through a portal instead of a ‘pay advice’ that has to be printed on plain paper. Another tool to consider along with this method is a Check Stub Maker that will easily generate pay stubs for you in an effortless manner.
This will effectively cut down on the need for a physical copy altogether. Making the switch will not only streamline the process, but it can also save your company a few extra bucks and a considerable amount of time and effort each month.
Electronic Tax Filing
For certain companies that have to do tax filing themselves because they do not use a payroll service to do the tax filing on their behalf, they can opt for eFiling instead. Short for electronic tax filing, this process can be done online as well, without needing to print and send forms physically. Essentially, the payroll system collects the information through the portal and makes it extremely hassle-free to file your taxes directly. However, one thing to keep in mind is that eFiling is made compulsory by the Federal government and in certain states, so do check the requirements as it is based on the number of employees in a company. Apart from those companies, switching to eFiling is one way to make your payroll processing a lot less burdensome.
Scheduling Reminders
For individuals who are appointed to process payrolls, keeping to deadlines, and remembering important dates are crucial not just for the jurisdiction that you are reporting to but also for your employees. For companies who use in-house payroll software instead of a payroll service, employers are required to report their payroll taxes to their respective jurisdictions, in a format that they approve of. Depending on the different entities and tax amounts, this has to be done either monthly, quarterly, or annually. Furthermore, there is also an unemployment tax that has to be filed every quarter or annually, depending on the laws of each state. With the many deadlines that one has to keep up with in order not to incur a penalty fee, keeping track of the dates is highly important. Making reminders on your own personal calendar is extremely useful, as you are able to have a clearer monthly breakdown of the deadlines, allowing you to start early and get your materials prepared. Remembering your dates last minute will send you into overdrive, as you scramble and panic to get your payroll processing done in an unorganized fashion.
Mass updating
When employers have to send updates to the whole company or a specific group of people, taking advantage of the mass update function on the payroll systems can help you save time and effort. Instead of manually editing each employee’s record, the mass update function will reduce the potential errors that could be made through manual entry, and save you time which can be spent doing something productive. These mass updates could include information on deductions, benefits, payroll information, taxes, leaves, and earnings; all of which your employees need to know about. Look into the payroll system that you are currently using and see if they offer such a function. If they do not, you can consider sourcing for other more modern payroll software and systems to ensure that they are time and cost-maximizing.
Time Entry
Time entry is probably the ultimate bane of anyone’s existence especially for individuals who are in charge of processing payrolls. However, this process can be simplified significantly if your company decides to invest in a time-keeping device. These devices eliminate the need to manually enter records, thus saving hours of your time. It also avoids entry errors as these time devices automatically print out the time that your employees clock in and out onto their time cards. Taking things one step further, there is also the possibility of an online time clock, where hours are entered online via a laptop, iPad, and even their phones; making it extremely fuss-free as the data will be stored online. As such, you will no longer be required to manually gather the data from the time clock.
Conclusion
Payroll processing is indeed an extremely tedious process as it involves precise calculations of finances and salaries, that your employees are heavily dependent on. Though it is impossible to do without this complicated process, there are still several ways to save you some time on it. Finding the right payroll system with the appropriate functions will help to make everything simpler for you, leaving you with more time to attend to other needs. As long as your company consistently sources for new methods and create innovative ways to streamline the process, payroll processing no longer needs to be that time consuming anymore.