Five simple tips for speeding up payroll processing: outsourced edition
Even with an outsourced payroll process, the end of the month can feel like a rush. But not anymore! Follow these five simple tips for faff-free payroll processing.
Integrate Time & Attendance with payroll
So you outsource your payroll, great! That means experts are doing the heavy-lifting for you when it comes to the end of the pay period. But how do you know your people are being paid accurately for the hours they put in? If you’re continually be challenged by employees with issues on the hours they’ve reported and what actually hits their bank it sounds like you need proper integration. A truly integrated T&A system that communicates directly into payroll will not only save you time, it reduces the chances of human error, time theft and improves payroll accuracy. So no more collecting loose paper timesheets at the end of the month and happy employees all around.
Correct time errors as the occur
While sometimes you might think tomorrow is a better day, or ‘you’ll get to it at some point’ it is far easier to correct employee time errors as they happen, rather then backdating them. Solving issues in the moment means a less pressurised countdown to payday. Do yourself a favour and correct them when you see them.
Combine pay schedules
Do you have different pay periods by country, department and location? This can make things complicated, and not to mention messy – even with an outsourced payroll solution. If you want to get clear visibility and make that payday a little less stressful then combining pay schedules can be a quick way to solve that issue. Aligning this allows your department to focus on one task at a time, not one hundred.
Go paperless
We don’t have to bang on about the beauty of paperless. Employees cheering your name, reduced human error, mother nature thanking you for not printing every payslip. Paperless payroll can have a glorious impact on the end of month too. It means singular input for things like timesheets, cutting costs in print, maintaining data security and the big one; a reduction in data input at that all important month end.
Training
Even with an outsourced payroll provision it’s important to have regular training with your supplier. The last thing you need is the data input form to be completely different moments before you’re paying your people. Much like every industry payroll & HR is not static, and if you’re working with a good supplier, we’ll better our bottom dollar that they’ll be updating their system from time-to-time. Forgo the midnight panic and have regular check-ins to ensure you’re using the system correctly and it’s working for both parties.
