How Much Does Payroll Cost?

We’re here to help you find the perfect payroll system at the best price for your business.

A new generation of workers has shaped the demands of automated payroll software. As the market for payroll vendors has grown, so has pricing tariffs and contracts. Now more than ever, you can find the payroll solution that's perfect for your business. You can deliver payment schemes fit and flexible for your employees.

Nevertheless, searching through potential vendors, software, prices, advantages, and disadvantages can be challenging. Should you pay in a lump-sum or monthly? What if you need a bespoke payroll suite? How should you factor in additional payments, such as support, maintenance and implementation? Now is your time to act and unlock the potential payroll has to offer. Invatechs are ready and waiting to answer all your burning questions.

In this article, we’ll touch on the fundamentals of purchasing your future payroll system. From the basics of payroll to potential software. We’ll break down pricing, a variety of models and the right software for you. Finally, we’ll introduce you to Invatechs’ very own bespoke and custom payroll suite. With the help of Invatechs, you’ll leave confident in your business’s next steps towards establishing a powerful payroll system.

THE BASICS – HOW PAYROLL SOFTWARE WORKS

Before you can find the right payroll software, it’s vital you understand the basics. This means understanding its functionalities, appropriate vendors and payroll modules. Payroll services come in different forms and serve multiple purposes. You might need something specific or require custom payroll development. The operations and size of your business will play a crucial part too.

Payroll streamlines the payment processes for your employees’ wages. It does this through automated calculations. So your employees are paid on time and directly! Payroll ensures tax payments are correct and ledgers time and attendance. Furthermore, it manages benefit payments, such as pensions or medical insurance.

Automated payroll software has had a significant impact on HR departments. Now, it has become a crucial tool for tax management and form preparation. Payroll automatically calculates employees’ tax payments on a local and state level. It stores tax forms such as W-2 or P60 electronically.

This means automated payroll software is crucial for any business today. It creates rolling reports and tracks your employees’ pay. Whether they’re part-time, freelance or full-time. Hence, it's now an important legal mechanism for any business. More than that, it contains valuable data for your business’s future. This will be key for balancing budgets and deciding how to use resources.

Invatechs has written about the future of payroll, common mistakes and how to avoid them. We’ve also covered the top features every payroll solution should have. We’d recommend checking them out for more in-depth information. Once you understand the basics, you’ll want to consider if you need an in-house or outsourced payroll solution. If you own a large company, an in-house solution might be your best bet. With more capacity and facilities, you can find a payroll fit for your operations. This will be useful if you employ a large team with a variety of contractual agreements.

If you run a smaller or medium-sized business, an in-house payroll solution probably won’t be attainable or necessary. A third-party payroll vendor can still complete necessary tax requests. If it has a clocking in-and-out system, it can generate accurate payments, instead of you having to log hours manually.

Finally, it’s essential to understand the difference between payroll software and a payroll module. Usually, payroll comes as a module (or feature) attached to accounting software for an HRMS (Human Resources Management System). This is useful for aggregating all of your accounting, employee information and resources into one place. This is different from a payroll solution. A solution can offer more comprehensive payment systems and data capture that is bespoke for a business.

By now, you might be getting a clearer idea of what your business needs and demands. So, what is the most cost-effective route for you? Let’s break that down with some pricing models and cost analyses.

WHAT PRICING MODELS SHOULD YOU LOOK OUT FOR?

There are three main ways of paying for your payroll software, depending on the size of your operation. Bear in mind any additional costs as well. Let’s take a closer look.

Monthly Subscription:

A monthly fee grants companies access to their software through the cloud. This model is also referred to as Saas, or, software-as-a-service. It will also include an added fee per employee.

An advantageous part of a monthly subscription is the variety of tiers and services you can adopt. It can vary from a basic payroll solution and software to additional HR advice and rolling technical support. This makes it perfect and scalable for a small to medium business.

If we use a monthly subscription service like Workful as an example: their all-inclusive price begins at $25 a month, with an additional $5 per employee. If you employ 50 people, you’re looking at $275 a month. A company like Zenefits offers different monthly plans from an essential program to a more comprehensive and expensive one. You can really tailor a monthly subscription, depending on what you’re looking for!

Perpetual License Fee: A perpetual license is a lucrative option if your company uses on-site HRMS or accounting solutions. However, the one-off payment will be higher than a monthly subscription. See it is a worthwhile long term investment. You also won’t be able to add features or upgrades like you would with a SaaS model. Nevertheless, you can integrate your payroll module with your HR, time and attendance and accounting features. This is great if you oversee a large business and need all of your vital information in one place. Whilst you can’t add-on features like you can with a SaaS subscription, you can customise the software. This still leaves room for upgrading, depending on your operations and workforce.

Custom Payroll Development:

What if you’re looking for a bespoke payroll suite? Well then, a custom made payroll solution created by an external company can deliver what you’re looking for. It will usually come in the form of a perpetual license fee and can be tailored to your employees’ needs. At Invatechs, we offer our own custom payroll solutions for businesses. We created a bespoke, cloud-based payroll suite for GP surgeries in the UK. We conducted thorough research into UK tax legislation and created a system that could integrate with popular pensions schemes and software tools. With a perpetual license fee or bespoke suite, you’ll be looking at a lump-sum payment of around £60-80k and a 3 month development period.

Additional Costs:

Finally, you’ll want to consider any additional implementation, support or maintenance fees. These will vary depending on your vendor. Integrating software with your HR or accounting modules could cost you extra. Additionally, there’s the cost of inputting employee information or any business tax data. If you have a basic plan, you’re unlikely to receive much in the way of broad support. It might be limited to email or telephone contact. However, if you have a perpetual license fee or custom payroll, implementation, support and maintenance fees usually come included. A perpetual license fee can be a lifesaver when it comes to system failure or unbeatable customer support.

NEXT STEPS – CHOOSING YOUR PAYROLL VENDOR

As we wrap up, let’s break down SaaS vs Custom payroll solutions to their barest components. Ask yourself, what will your business thrive on? Can you trade advantages for limitations? How will your payroll software scale-up as time goes on?

SaaS services look like a clear winner for small and medium-sized businesses. You can find a vendor that offers foundational features, like tax management and preparation, alongside benefits management and automated reports. Vendors, we’ve mentioned like Workful and Zenefits, are great starting places when you’re researching.

Additionally, vendors like Patriot Software and Gusto advertise different tiers. You can pay from $16 per month and $6 per employee with Gusto’s basic plan. Or, they offer The Concierge plan at $149 per month and $12 per employee. With the latter offer, your business can benefit from their HR experts and support team.

Of course, with a SaaS subscription, you might not receive that bespoke, dedicated support and maintenance team. When your business is large and expanding, that might not be something you can afford to neglect. Especially if you work in a sector like transportation or Fintech. If you’re looking for a high-standard, custom payroll solution we have the answer for you.

IN CONCLUSION – LEVEL UP WITH INVATECHS

In this article, Invatechs have covered the fundamental considerations you need to make when selecting a payroll provider. An important takeaway is seeing the variety of options available and feeling empowered in your next steps. We know the research won’t stop for you there. Invatechs is committed to businesses’ tech future and infrastructure. That’s why we offer the very best payroll services and custom payroll development. We can create a bespoke payroll suite for your business. We’re driven by accuracy, time-efficiency, legal compliance and consistency.

Our expertise doesn’t stop there though. We’ve completed commissions for Open Banking applications. We even have a dedicated Invablog filled with research. As we head into 2021, ask yourself what your business will need to thrive in the digital landscape? Is your payroll fit for a new decade? Contact Invatechs today and feel empowered in your business’s technical and payroll future.