When it comes to running a small business, organising the payroll is often one of the most complex administrative tasks. You may have full and part-time employees working at multiple pay rates, so it’s really important to streamline the payroll process to ensure that everyone gets paid correctly and you fulfil your legal responsibilities as an employer.
With this in mind, here are some useful tips for small businesses:
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Make the most of payroll software
With so much to do on a daily basis, it can be easy to make payroll errors – particularly if you’re doing everything manually. One of the best ways to avoid mistakes is to make the most of payroll software which will allow you to create a file for each employee with the correct pay rate and tax rate. With automatic time tracking and real-time updates as well as access to W-2 forms which can be automatically filled in with the correct information, you can’t go wrong with specially designed software for small and medium businesses.
What’s also great about payroll software from the likes of QuickBooks is that it frees up time. Calculating, filing and paying payroll taxes is done automatically and you’ll get notifications and alerts along the way. If someone leaves, simply remove them from the system. And If someone joins the team, all you need to do is add their details and the set-up is complete. If this all sounds a little too efficient, don’t worry. Approving the digital payroll is down to you.
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Embrace a paperless payroll
If you like the sound of payroll software and are ready to embrace a digital payroll revolution, it’s time to ditch the paper. Not only is this much kinder on the environment, but by swapping physical checks for digital payments, everything is much easier to track. Making the switch will also save time as you won’t have to worry about distributing or mailing checks on payday. Furthermore, huge filing cabinets full of documents can become a thing of the past as you store and backup everything electronically. With a digital payroll record, documents also become much easier to search and find.
What about all the forms I need to distribute? You may ask. Well, the good news is, this can be done electronically too. Check out the IRS website and you’ll see that electronically filing forms is openly discussed and by electronically sending to employees you can streamline all your payroll and employer obligations in style.
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Provide anywhere, anytime access
Almost everyone has a phone these days, which is why mobile payroll apps are becoming increasingly popular allowing you to pay your employees, on-the-go. From creating accurate pay-checks to making free direct deposits, payroll apps are designed to make the whole process a lot easier. Furthermore, with automatic updates for payment and tax deadlines, you’ll be sure to stay on top of the administration side of business. Being able to time-track the hours each employee has worked in real-time is also extremely handy allowing for accurate payments to be orchestrated all from one place.
Streamlining your payroll process during the early days of business will ensure everything stays organized as and when your company grows bigger.
