4 Steps To Help You Improve The Efficiency Of Your Payroll
Posted on: 28 February 2016
When it comes to running a business, payroll processing is an important component. To help ensure you keep employees happy and your business running efficiently, here are a few steps that you need to take to minimize or prevent errors with your payroll:
1. Start Conducting Regular Audits.
If you aren't conducting regular audits right now and you've had some complaints regarding the company's payroll, then now is a good time to start. This is the most effective way to identify a potential issue, as each step of the payroll process is isolated and itemized from start to finish. Depending on the type of timecard and payroll system you are using, regular audits will also catch employees who are inputting inaccurate information on their manual timecard, misclassifications of newly-hired employees, and failure to update the pay system for an employee's raise that they received last week.
2. Make Certain That Your Payroll Policy Is Transparent for Everyone.
One of the most common reasons employees have a problem with payroll is due to a misunderstanding of the policy. These include things such as classification of workers, amount of taxes to be withheld, etc. Therefore, it makes sense to ensure that a transparent policy is a primary focus. While it will not be a foolproof solution to any and all payroll problems, it will help eliminate some of the most common. Your policy should include things like how the process itself works, how salaries are decided, how employees are classified, procedures for mistakes, vacation earnings and how promotions are determined.
3. Request Employee Input for Improvements.
There is no better source for necessary improvements than the people that are most affected by the problem: your employees. Communication between yourself and your employees is key to ensuring everyone is on the same page and fully understands what's going on at the workplace. Schedule a meeting that is solely dedicated to issues with payroll. Ask your employees what works for them and what they would like to see improvements on. Truly listen to what your employees are telling you, make the changes and then request further support from employees after those changes have been implemented.
4. Know the Payroll Tax Laws.
This is where the really tricky stuff comes in. Payroll taxes can be confusing, especially if you're a first-time business owner or if you've never handled the payroll part of the business before. The federal government requires certain taxes to be withheld at a specific rate, payroll taxes to be paid in a timely manner to the IRS, and payroll to be issued to employees at a certain frequency, among other things. If you fail to follow these rules, you face the risk of paying a hefty fine.
If you're confused about managing your own payroll, consider speaking to a professional payroll service for assistance, like A & C Accounting & Tax.
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