Your 5-Point Checklist for Selecting the Perfect Payroll Software
You have a lot to choose from. Tons of payroll software applications are out there and choosing the right one is often a trial & error situation.
But knowing what to look for takes the guess work out of choosing the ideal payroll system for your company. Whether large or small, your company needs five essential features that give your payroll process the flexibility & reliability you need when paying staff.
Efficient payroll software benefits your company by:
- Streamlining and automating payroll
- Saving time in HR (and time is money)
- Removing human error from an often sensitive process
- Allowing staff to benefit from special features such as self service and alerts
The following five aspects are not included in every payroll software application. But you can check for these features when selecting yours if you want to ensure more efficiency in your HR department.
Does it have Multiple Payment Accommodations?
Do you prefer bank transfers, PayPal or cash? Well, everyone has a different preference nowadays. Your employees are no exception.
Consider the fact that hiring freelancers is a common practice in business today, and each one has his or her own account preference when it comes to being paid.
One of the most important features to look out for in your new payroll software is the accommodation of multiple payment methods. Regular bank transfers are still the most common method of employee payment today, but it certainly isn’t the only.
Employees and freelancers appreciate it when you are able to accommodate their preferred method of payment. So look out for this feature before making your next payroll software purchase.
Does it have Staff Notifications?
When it comes to being paid, most of us like to be in the know. It gives us a sense of control to know when money is moving in or out of our accounts.
Many payments are released on a schedule. An employee could be anywhere when this payment comes through. Consistent, regular notifications give employees the control they desire to recognize when payments have been made.
Notifications are features on payroll software that can be linked to mobile numbers. When a payment is about to be made, the employee will be notified of the time and the amount of each payment.
If you can find HR software that can do the above, your staff will love you for it and so will your freelance workers. It’s a feature that not all payroll systems possess.
What are the Self Service Features if Any?
Relatively new to payroll software is the ability for employees to manage their payroll process themselves.
Sounds a little tricky, doesn’t it?
It’s actually quite simple, safe and convenient for both you and your staff members. Here’s how this feature plays out.
Access
The biggest perk for employees is the ability to see what’s going on with their salaries without having to meet with HR to do so. Thanks to easy access for each respective employee, your HR team is freed up to attend to other matters.
Leave Tracking
Leave days can be monitored by self service payroll software. it’s a feature that allows employees to track their leave days and it also calculates unpaid leave pro rata.
This system removes all human input from calculating how much staff members should get paid after unpaid leave days have been taken. It also allows them to check their leave situation themselves, thereby saving more time for HR.
Employee Info
Be honest; you hate it. Updating employee information is a tedious process—but it has to be done.
With self management payroll software, employees can update their information themselves. Instead of info updates becoming HR’s problem, the responsibility falls to every employee to update their own personal information.
Overtime
Calculating overtime shouldn’t take up that much time. But it does. Errors do occur when calculating overtime and discrepancies take up the time of HR as well as the employee/s in question.
These problems are removed when decent payroll software comes into play. A feature to look out for is overtime calculations which are included in most self service HR software applications. Employees can clock in their hours manually on their phones and have their overtime calculated accordingly.
Staff Loans
As if self service payroll systems didn’t do enough, here’s another feature you’ll like. It’s the ability to log & manage staff loans for individual employees who want advancements on their pay for personal reasons. If your company gives out staff loans, this is a feature you MUST have.
Does it Include Mobile Facilitation
So what about you in HR? Are there features that go beyond staff convenience and actually make your job easier?
Yes, there are. You can now do facilitate your payments from anywhere with a flexible mobile feature. If HR can’t be at the office, they can now make payments remotely from home or anywhere else. This means HR can work remotely if they have to, and staff are paid on time even if HR isn’t at work.
Are You Free to Schedule Payments Flexibly?
Scheduling payments in a flexible way should be an uncomplicated process. Surprisingly, many payroll applications don’t possess this feature at all!
A company that has regular staff will set a salary date for all staff. This is the norm.
But the way we do business is changing. Companies work with contractors, freelancers and temp staff all the time.
Payment scheduling therefore needs to be as flexible as possible to accommodate all of these variables in hiring.
Look out for a payroll system that gives you complete autonomy regarding freelancer payments, contractor payments, scheduled deadline payments without disrupting regular staff payments.
Begin streamlining your HR process and begin with payroll. It’s a huge time saver when all these little jobs are done for you. So save time & money and get payroll software that brings a whole new level of productivity to your business.
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