Written by – Julie Morris julie@juliemorris.org www.juliemorris.org
Payroll Help: How Payroll Services Create a Smooth Experience
When you started your ecommerce business, you knew that you’d be taking on many different responsibilities. After all, you’re the one who is ultimately responsible for your company’s success. You handle the budget, legal documentation, payroll and more. However, while payroll is among the most important, it’s also a duty you don’t have to fulfill yourself.
Professional services can alleviate some of your stress by reducing errors and helping you avoid common payroll mistakes. Here are some ways that a professional payroll service can help you.
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Always Abide By Regulations
When you handle payroll on your own, you must track employment laws, many of which involve paperwork — and more paperwork. Different employee records must be kept for a certain amount of time to avoid penalties.
At the basic level, a professional payroll service will maintain your payroll records. Without a recordkeeping system or professional staff, disorganization can wreak havoc on your company.
Reduce Your Burden
If you feel overburdened by your responsibilities, it can start to affect your business. Chronic stress is unhealthy for your body and harmful to your company. According to research published in Current Directions in Psychological Science and reported in TIME, people focus less on risk when stressed and more on reward. This makes them prone to making poor decisions and inadvertently overlooking obvious mistakes.
When you’re stressed, it’s easy to miscalculate overtime pay, mishandle garnishments or child support, and miss important deadlines. When you invest in professional payroll services and complimentary software, you can put your time and focus into different aspects of your business to reduce your stressors.
While software can help reduce your stress, so can easing the hiring process. Instead of poring over resume after resume, work with a recruiting agency who can vet potential employees so you spend time only interviewing the most qualified candidates.
Avoid Misclassification of Employees
One of the payroll errors that costs businesses the most is misclassifying those you hire. The most common misclassification results from not understanding the difference between independent contractors and employees. Full-service payroll services can catch mistakes that violate laws and help you to avoid costly consequences
Save Time for Your Company
As your company grows, you cannot possibly focus on every aspect of the company. Running payroll reports, for example, takes a lot of time and you may be prone to mistakes if you run it manually. Payroll reports include payroll register, timesheets, paycheck deductions, time off, and outstanding paychecks. Your reports allow you to evaluate your payroll accuracy and meet all of your payroll obligations.
If you have an online payroll service, you do not have to make manual calculations. You can organize your payroll records and ensure that all of your employee information is accurate. An online payroll service streamlines your business, and when it has features such as auto payroll, you no longer have to worry about your employees, contractors or other workers being paid for their services. You do not have to spend hours throughout the week dedicating yourself to payroll, which frees you up to invest time on other business matters like marketing and customer service.
Employers who handle payroll are more prone to make mistakes than those who have a team behind them and who use automated software. To be successful, you need to adhere to regulations, reduce your stress and save as much time as possible. Payroll is critical to your company’s success, but it is also a complex process where mistakes could cost your company.