How to Pay Your People with Streamlined Payroll Processes

Three payroll tips just in time for National Payroll Week

As an employer, it would be great if your employees showed up every day for the sheer joy of doing their job. In reality, as much as they might love their job, they come to work for a paycheck (and hopefully some job satisfaction too), so it’s critical to pay your employees accurately, on time and conveniently. In honor of National Payroll Week, September 4-8 in the United States and September 11-15 in Canada, here are three ways you can streamline processes to help you manage your payroll better and get your employees paid.

Integrate your data

As systems change and technology advances, the need for integrated data only increases. Moving to one system for employee, timekeeping and payroll data means that your payroll processing time could be cut in half. By reducing time spent tracking down information across disparate systems, you give your payroll professionals valuable time back in their day that can be used on more important projects and tasks.

Using an integrated time and attendance solution can help reduce costs from things like time theft, but it also makes processing payroll more efficient. You can reconcile the information and correct any errors or missing punches as they come in instead of waiting until the end of the week or pay period.

Move away from manual processes

It’s no secret that your employees have to be paid on time. With roughly 50 percent of Canadians and 70 percent of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, employees can’t afford to have their pay delayed. When you use manual processes to pay your employees such as paper timesheets, spreadsheets and physical checks, you increase the possibility of errors or delays. You also risk being out of compliance with state and federal requirements, which can result in costly penalties.

This is especially important for companies with distributed workforces like janitorial and security contractors. You might have one or two employees in the back-office handling payroll for hundreds or even thousands of employees in the field. You need to provide them with the tools to do their jobs as efficiently as possible to ensure your employees are being paid accurately the first time. That’s where integrated payroll software comes in.

Pay your employees with direct deposit

Transitioning to paperless payroll and direct deposits benefits your payroll staff and the rest of your employees. For your payroll department, you save thousands in staff time and material costs by eliminating paper and postage. For your employees, you save them the time of going to the bank and waiting for the funds to deposit to their account. And, with 98 percent of Canadian workers and more than 80 percent of US workers being paid via direct deposit, it’s a standard offering that job searchers have come to expect when considering potential employers.

Taking care of your greatest asset — your employees — doesn’t have to be hard. Integrated solutions can take the headache out of paying your employees right the first time.