How to make payroll management as easy as it can be
Managing payroll can start to become difficult when you’ve got a team of more than a dozen employees who are all working various schedules. You don’t want to be overpaying your employees because that’s just an unnecessary waste of money, but then you don’t want to underpay them either because that could create lower morale and lead to people quitting or stirring up burdensome issues for managerial staff who have to correct the underpayments. Fortunately, you can heighten the accuracy of your payroll management practices while also making the process easier by following this simple guide:
1. Use a convenient check issuing system
Having a disorganised system for cutting checks is the fastest way to create unnecessary hassle for yourself when it comes time to manage your company’s payroll. Using a good check printing system will let you spend less time worrying about check issuing and more time focusing on the mission-critical aspects of the business. Ideally, you should be able to print out check directly from your accounting or payroll management software. That way, you won’t have to use more tools than necessary to get the job done.
2. Track hours in an online interface
Keeping track of employee hours is a central part of payroll management. Surprisingly, there are still many small businesses that keep track of hours using a conventional paper shift schedule. While there’s nothing wrong with posting the schedule for everyone to see, actually keeping track of the clock in and clock out time of your employees in an accurate manner will ensure that you’re not overpaying. If you’re still using a paper-based system, consider the accumulative benefits of utilising a more modern solution in the form of a cloud interface. That way, you’ll always have up to date information regarding your employees’ hours, pay periods, upcoming shifts, and other key data you’ll need to make better management decisions and perform payroll management with ease.
3. Encourage employees to sign up for direct deposit
Many companies will offer employees an incentive or one-time bonus for enrolling in the direct deposit program because it helps to automate the entire payroll management process. The more employees who sign up for direct deposit, the fewer checks you’ll have to print and mail out. Plus, by taking this route, you’ll be reducing the chances of logistical errors because the funds are only being transferred digitally – no mailing address, names, or other printed information to mess up. As long as you’ve correctly inputted the account holder’s identifying information such as routing number and tracking number, your transfers will go through every time with a few clicks of the mouse and a simple designation of the dollar amount.
Payroll management is only a full-time job for massive corporations
As long as you’re not running a huge company that has more than a few hundred employees, you can use the tips above to turn payroll duties into a side job that any manager can take care of. Even so, when you do scale up into needing a designated payroll manager, you can still benefit from the advice given above.
