Discover the power of automated payroll and its potential to elevate your business.
Long gone are the days of manually entering timesheets and crunching numbers. Automation and new technologies have made the payroll process quicker and easier than ever before. As HR technologies have developed, so have company cultures and standards. Employees expect transparent, effective, and reliable payroll from their employer.
Nevertheless, there isn’t always a one-size-fits-all approach to perfect payroll. The technological and legal infrastructures of payroll are always changing. Different businesses and organisations may need a bespoke payroll solution. For accounting agencies, in particular, premium payroll is essential. As automation transforms businesses, clients expect you to keep up with evolving HR technologies. They expect automation.
Why? Stick with us and this article will reveal everything you need to know.
Invatechs is going to introduce you to some of the best ways to automate your payroll processes. This article is perfect for accounting agencies and businesses alike. We’ll cover some practical tips with money-saving advice. Invatechs can even take you one step further by creating a powerful and bespoke end-to-end payroll solution.
Why Do Businesses Need to Automate Their Payroll Processes if they Want to Survive?
Anyone who owns a business knows why payroll is essential. Workforces need to be paid accurately and on time. So, what exactly is automation? How does it help productivity? What role do cloud-technologies play?
Automation simply processes and streamlines your employees’ wages. It calculates worked hours alongside benefits, and tax deductions through computing systems. This is managed by software that accurately collects and adapts data from across your business. “The cloud” refers to servers you can access over the internet. From these servers, anyone in the world can access software, databases, and files.
Automation and the cloud are a powerful combo. Wages are automatically processed and anyone in your company can find the information they’re looking for on one server. This could be in the form of a mobile or web app, for example. However, automated payroll does more than just deposit wages into accounts. Thanks to evolving cloud technologies, everything employees and businesses need can be accessed on a shared portal. Automation can also accurately track working hours with a clock-in-and-out system.
That’s only the beginning of what automated payroll can do. We’ve covered all of this before on our InvaBlogs page. If you’re hungry to learn more about payroll, it’s your first port of call. What are the future trends for payroll? We’ve got your questions answered. How much does payroll really cost? Look no further. What are the most common payroll mistakes? We’ve got that covered too.
In 2021 and beyond, it’s incumbent upon businesses to adopt automated payroll. Workers and clients expect transparent and easy to use systems. More than that, if you haven’t automated, you’re missing out on so many benefits that will elevate your business. Let’s break down some of those benefits now.
What Are the Benefits of Automating Payroll?
The digger you deep, the more you find payroll truly is essential for your business’s health and prosperity. That’s why clients are always looking for the very best, easy to use and adaptable payroll solutions.
Not only is it a tool to pay your employees, but it’s also invaluable for creating plans for your business’s future. No more scanning through endless spreadsheets. The data and spending information from your employee roster is in one place. That means automated payroll is also the most powerful means you have to track and forecast future spending on employees.
At the end of the financial year, your payroll will truly become your best friend. Why? Automated payroll produces regular reports, ready when you need them. For example, the IRS requires businesses to have at least four years’ worth of employment tax records at the ready. This is where automated payroll can once again save the day.
The software updates ensure you remain legally compliant within your state’s labour and tax laws. Tax rates and tax rules are embedded into the software’s coding. Any additions or deductions are made automatically. For accounting firms, it truly is one of the most empowering pieces of technology you can invest in.
Time is money, of course. Time spent using poor software or manually entering data is time lost. Paying your staff is one of your business’s most costly overheads. Beyond paying your employees’ salary, you might need to be flexible with paying overtime and any other benefits too.
Automation can reduce payroll processing costs by as much as 80% according to the APA (American Payroll Association). HR teams can simply input all the data they need into the payroll system. Alternatively, automated payroll can reduce the need and size of internal HR. This is perfect for smaller businesses who are looking to optimise their team’s productivity.
Crucially, automated payroll reduces any unforeseen human error. Automation has been pivotal for improving data protection and security over the last decade. When and if you need to adapt any information, automation makes those changes instantaneously. No more storing paper copies.
However, as we said, there isn’t always a one-size-fits-all-approach to payroll. There are over 11,000 tax jurisdictions currently in the United States. Thankfully, automated payroll is flexible to your state’s tax laws. Whether you’re operating in Florida or California.
When Should an Organisation Automate Their Payroll?
If you run a very small team, manual payroll might be an adequate solution for now. However, before you know it, you’re facing some steep challenges. For example, your team expands, and you need to spend more time processing their wages. You start to increase your virtual working team and they need to access information about their hours and wages. You start employing people on a range of contracts that alter your company’s structures.
That’s why, no matter your size, investing in automated payroll now is your most practical decision. If you’re an accounting firm that isn’t using automation, you’ll quickly fall behind your competitors. There’s no stopping the future of payroll as more companies adopt automated cloud-based technologies.
In fact, a recent survey from Information Services Group (ISG) found growing mass adoption of cloud-based HR technologies. Furthermore, companies that had invested in cloud-based HR technologies fared better throughout the pandemic in 2020. Clearly, automation and cloud-based payroll is the future.
This is why automated payroll has significant return on investment advantages. Take a look at another example. At Invatechs, we were tasked with creating an automated, cloud-based payroll solution for UK government companies.
Invatechs conducted a thorough study of UK tax legislation and compliance guidelines. We were then able to integrate with several popular accounting software, including QuickBooks. Launched in 2017, our software tool now manages the payroll for hundreds of companies, with over 5,000 staff and partners getting paid through our easy-to-use software every month.
How to Automate Your Payroll
So, how do you automate payroll exactly? There are a number of strategies you can employ. Before you start implementing, consider the key features your payroll will need.
Attendance & time tracking
Reporting
Local, state, and federal tax filing
Paid Time Off (PTO) tracking
Employee data management
A solution that is scalable for your business’s growth
Integration with Human Resource Information System (HRIS) software
Whether you need a custom-made payroll solution or you want to integrate with your existing HR products, Invatechs is here to help. We provide end-to-end consultation and development. This means we can create a solution that’s perfect for your business’s size and corporate environment. Invatechs can create all-in-one software with a combination of accounting, payroll, ERP and other HR processes. If you want to find out more, we’re here to offer a free consultation.
What you need to automate your payroll
Integrate with your ERP systems:
Enterprise Resource Planning is a fundamental system for many SMEs, accounting firms and large companies. ERP systems help firm’s management payments and accounts. Your firm probably has one of its own. One of the first steps you need to take is integrating both your ERP and payroll software. There are many benefits to integrating the two. All of your firm’s data and financials across your business are streamlined and connected. So, any data updates made in one location can be updated across your entire management system. You have full control of customizability, adapting and changing any data.
No more paper:
When you’re transitioning to an automated system, you can initially create a split between paper and digital records. It’s important you don’t leave a paper trail of documents and information however. You can potentially leak information and make the processes more complicated than they need to be. Identify all of your record-keeping and payroll processes and then integrate them into your automation process.
Provide employees with access to their payroll records:
Pay-stubs, W-2s, whatever employees need. Automated and cloud-based payroll makes accessing documents a breeze. You can use a platform that has all the information employees need.
Federal and state tax filing:
Automated payroll is one the best means for ensuring you remain compliant. Most automated software will automatically calculate any state and/or federal taxes you need to pay. You can get the documents in the form of monthly, quarterly and year-end returns and reports.
Back-up to a secure cloud storage:
We’re sure you already know, but it’s crucial you regularly back-up data and records. Fortunately, your automated payroll solution should outline how and where you should back-up payroll data and how often.
In Conclusion – Invatechs, Your Partner for Automation
Automation is changing the world we live in. From payroll to logistics and transportation, it is changing the world of work before our very eyes. That’s why it’s more vital than ever you adopt automated payroll if you haven’t already. As we’ve explored in this article, automated payroll is one of the best tools you have for data collection, ensuring compliance and providing your employees with priority information they need to know.
Nevertheless, navigating payroll can still be a challenging endeavour. Different firms demand different payroll solutions and technical support. If you’re looking to automate your payroll, we’re here to help. Invatechs build end-to-end payroll solutions with stringent criteria that ensure excellent end-products.
Invatechs combines thorough legal research and knowledge with your payroll solution. This means the payroll solution we create will be designed specifically for your state’s specific tax laws and legislation. More than that, our solutions are equipped to process a variety of staffing models and organisational structures. Whether you employ staff on a full-time, part-time, freelance or pay-as-you-go contract.
The icing on the cake: you can get your payroll solution with a one-time payment. This includes maintenance and customisation post-launch.
Our fintech expertise doesn’t stop at payroll either. We’ve created open banking and crypto saving applications. These are alongside other payroll, crypto and transportation projects. Our breadth of knowledge across fintech equips us to build the very best solutions.
So, are you ready to automate your future with the help of Invatechs? Contact us today and we’ll unlock your company payroll’s true potential.