How to ensure outsourced payroll is accurate
Unfortunately, just because you outsource your payroll doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed accurate payroll processing. You and your employees could still end up on the back foot.
Here’s a few tips for ensuring a timely and accurate outsourced payroll.
The bottom line is even outsourced providers get it wrong sometimes, and that’s why it’s important as a business to keep tabs on payroll accuracy.
So, what can you do to ensure payroll accuracy?
Select an experienced supplier
Let’s go back to the very beginning. When selecting an outsourced provider, it’s important to select a supplier that can be trusted. Whether it’s a lack of security protocol, inexperienced staff managing your payroll and process, or a dodgy contract that doesn’t reflect your needs. Looking for experience on the tin, you’ll want to have the peace of mind that your people are going to be paid accurately and on time. More often than not, more experienced suppliers in the market have the right processes in place to ensure they get the job done time and time again.
Communicate issues
Should you have issues with payslip accuracy, HMRC reporting and data reports, you need tell your provider immediately to ensure they can be addressed in a timely manner and doesn’t happen again. More importantly you need to ask why is this happening? If your provider can’t answer this question you might want to do further digging on their processes.
Understand processes and data handling
Having a top-level awareness of how your provider operates and processes will give you a better understanding of the requirements they need to hit to ensure payroll accuracy. As a customer you’ll want to know things like ‘who is on hand to deal with queries’, ‘what team processes payroll payment’ ‘where do I go if an employee doesn’t get paid?’
Monitor employee queries
Whether it’s an internal team that manages employee queries, or your outsourced provider who takes care of them for you, you’ll want to monitor what queries come through. If it’s simple queries like where are my payslips, what is included in my payslips, or more serious queries around dedications, inaccuracies, and non-payment. Ensure you have visibility or a way of logging employee queries so they can be addressed accordingly.
Understand emergency processes
It’s important to know from your outsourced provider what happens when the worst strikes.
‘What happens if there is a data leak?’ or ‘If funds are held by my bank how will my employees be paid?’ As a business you’ll want the peace of mind that your outsourced provider have everything covered. Emergency payroll processing isn’t a situation any business wants to be in. However, Faster Payments can be used as an emergency contingency plan to ensure employees get paid on time. Therefore, it’s worth looking out for outsourced suppliers that provide this service.
