The Top Payroll Trends to Watch out for in 2017

Payroll is an extremely vital aspect in any business. Salary is only one service that your payroll consists of; employees will often also have benefits such as insurance, paid time off, additional vacation pay, or need to take a leave of absence. As a result, you need to make sure your HR and payroll functions are on top of the latest trends and are able to keep up with the continuing technological advances. As your business grows and expands, your payroll processing must grow as well. Below are the newest payroll processing trends and developments your business should monitor.

Accessing Payroll from Smartphones and Tablets

Employees don’t want to wait for a paper check or stub, and these documents can easily be lost. When an employee needs to know their number of hours worked or available time off, the ability to access this information from their phone, tablet, or other smart device is a lifesaver. This allows your employee to access real-time data from wherever they are. If your business doesn’t offer this capability, you may want to consider outsourcing or hiring a payroll company that has the ability to offer this available trend. A professional payroll processing company can also provide the security needed to ensure only authorized users have access to this information.

Cloud Payroll Capabilities

Similar in scope to increased access to payroll information via smart devices, cloud technology allows businesses to handle payroll processing online, allowing more office space for more efficient activities. In addition to freeing up space, using cloud technology allows businesses to lower the cost of payroll processing while improving the efficiency. HR personnel also have the ability to process payroll at any time, allowing for flexibility when needed.

By moving payroll processing software and activities to the cloud, companies are able to receive software updates the moment they are available. This reduces delays during the workday and allows the updates to occur at a more efficient time. This is especially helpful for larger corporations that have more complex payroll requirements.

How Outsourcing Payroll Makes This Manageable

Outsourcing your payroll will allow you to work with a company that has experience in cloud-based payroll processing. This allows a high level of efficiency while minimizing costs and time, making this decision especially beneficial for larger companies that have complex situations. In addition, during situations that require more work than usual, outsourcing your cloud-based payroll to a processing company allows you to save money by not having to pay overtime to your HR employees.

Increasing Tax Complexity and Regulations

With the passage of the Affordable Care Act and the increasing regulations that go along with it, businesses need to pay even more attention to their tax obligations. If you choose not to provide insurance to your employees, you need to make sure the taxes and fines associated with that decision are properly handled. There are also fewer available deductions and exemptions available for businesses, so you want to make sure you pay the proper amount.

How Can Outsourcing Payroll Help?

By outsourcing your business’s payroll, you can also outsource other financial aspects of your business. Many payroll processing companies will offer additional services, allowing you to bundle your business’s needs into one convenient package. You can also rest easier, knowing that the complicated tax paperwork is being performed by experts with years of experience.

Increased Levels of Data Security

With increased tax complexity and employees having access to payroll information on smart devices comes the need to protect sensitive information. With the increasing risk of identity theft comes the desire for employees to know that their personal information is safe. Trends for data security include automatic log-off after a period of inactivity as well as additional layers of security such as requiring confirmation of email or text message codes.

How Outsourcing Payroll Can Help

When your business hires a payroll processing company to handle their data security, they are allowing companies with experience in automated payroll to keep their employees’ information safe. Payroll processing companies perform these activities everyday for multiple companies. As a result, they can perform the processes in the most efficient methods, removing the burden from your company.

Teamwork Over Individualism

From small businesses to multi-national corporations, companies are discovering the benefit of using team solutions. Very rarely do companies ask a sole HR manager to only handle payroll and employment-related actions. HR management is frequently assisting with other departments, allowing companies to leverage their skills in other areas for increased efficiency. Employees at all levels are encouraged to progress together as teams rather than as individuals. As a result of these higher levels of efficiency, payroll is improved for companies due to the need for fewer individuals. This leads to lower costs across the board.

Decline in Cost of Payroll Management

With higher levels of efficiency due to the increased teamwork comes the need for fewer employees to perform individual functions. This allows companies to reduce their payroll, thus reducing the cost of managing their payroll. Fewer employees means fewer obligations for insurance, taxes, and salary.

How Outsourcing Reduces Costs Further

When your business hires a payroll processing company, you allow a team of another sort to keep reducing your costs. Businesses with larger requirements are able to bundle those requirements into a single package, allowing the payroll processing company to use experts in their fields to work together as a single team. Businesses are also able to hire a company that can create a package of the appropriate size and work with different types of employee benefits, such as part-time and full-time packages.

Payroll processing requirements change constantly, and businesses need to spend a significant amount of time working to keep on top of the latest trends. By hiring a payroll processing company, your business can allow an experienced team to do the work for you, saving your business time and money.