Many business owners find that taking care of their payroll responsibilities is frustrating but manageable when they only have a few employees.
But when things start to step up, they also need to change. Even businesses with in-house HR personnel can struggle to manage their payroll when there’s an ever-growing team.
At that point, it’s time to bring in software to help or outsource the job entirely. Most businesses find that software is the way to go, but in any case, the main thing is that you stop managing your all-important payroll with spreadsheets and simple bank transfers.
In this post, we’ll outline some of the key signs that it’s time to step things up. Any one of these should serve as a warning sign, but if you find yourself nodding along with multiple, then take action.
It’s Becoming Time-Consuming
Even if you or your team can manage payroll, it’s worth asking whether it’s the real best use of your time. After a certain number of employees, managing payroll becomes something that can eat into a significant chunk of the workday. Even if it’s just a matter of inputting data, it’s still probably not the best use of time and energy.
You’ve Had Payroll Errors
Taking care of payroll is viewed by businesses as an administrative task, but employees see it much differently. To them, it’s not just another task; it’s the difference between having money in their account or not. Your employees work hard, and they expect that their wages will be paid in full and on time. DIY payroll practices can produce errors at any scale, but they’re especially likely once the business has a team of employees onboard. If you’ve had more than one payroll error, then it’s time to look for a payroll outsourcing company to work with. That’ll help to virtually eliminate payroll mistakes, as well as offering a wide range of other benefits too.
You’re Concerned About Compliance
Payroll laws and regulations change frequently. Keeping up to date with them is important, but also time-consuming and often confusing. Using software or outsourcing payroll to an expert company can ensure that your business stays ahead of the curve. After all, it’s a lot easier to take a proactive step to compliance rather than having to play catch-up later on down the line.
You’re Fielding Too Many Questions
Your employees will naturally have questions about payroll from time to time. They’ll also need access to payslips, such as when they’re applying for a mortgage. If you’re fielding questions that you don’t know the answer to, can’t keep up with, or that the employee could manage themselves if they had access to the right payroll software, then it’s time to put a new system in place.
It’s Dependent On One Person
Having one person in charge of payroll is fine when there’s only one employee. Beyond that, it’s a risk. Your business can’t function without payroll, and if that person is ill or unavailable, then you could quickly run into problems.
