” I meant to solve my payroll challenges before I went on leave for the festive season, but I just ran out of time and now I’m worried it’s too late”
Sound familiar?
It’s not too late to save the day. Here are Ten Critical Questions to ask yourself if you want to rescue 2019.
If you answer YES to 2 or more of the questions below – then you are not getting the best out of your Payroll Solution….
1. IS YOUR PAYROLL STILL DESKTOP BASED?
Does your company business strategy require you to move to a cloud based payroll system? Keeping up to date with the latest technology is a must for any business and cloud-based payroll systems are the way of the future. They let you access your payroll from anywhere, on any device, and at any time – and you don’t need to be concerned about back-ups. You also don’t need to invest in hardware updates, or ever need to purchase your providers newest software upgrades. Insist that your new provider has a reputable cloud solution. Cloud based solutions make more sense as conventional on-site payroll systems fall behind on what they can offer.
2. ARE YOU PAYING EXPENSIVE USER FEES?
A simple recurring subscription makes most sense to any business – you only pay for what you use!
Paying a license fee each year is old school. You often end up paying a license fee on top of a software license fee – which are often based on inflexible and complicated calculations dependent on the size of your payslip groups. Only pay for the active payslips that you process each month. Pay for what you use and not for what you don’t need.
3. DO YOU STRUGGLE TO GET REAL-TIME SUPPORT?
Cloud based solutions mean that you can get immediate support. Your provider should be able to login into your system and offer you direct support in real time. Support is a big differentiation. Make sure that your payroll provider allows you to communicate to real people, in real time – who have full remote access to your problem – so that they can give you real help.
4. DOES YOUR COMPANY REQUIRE AN EMPLOYEE SELF SERVICE PORTAL? (ESS)
Employee Self Service saves you time and aggravation by taking complex issues and making them painless and paperless, allowing your employees to self-manage a range of requests on their own. Definitely insist that your payroll system has ESS.
5. DO YOU STRUGGLE TO KEEP UP TO DATE WITH LEAVE AND MANAGING YOUR WORKFORCE?
The administration surrounding Leave, Legislation and Company Policy can be one of the most frustrating processes of any company trying to manage their workforce. In many cases Leave is abused because there is no proper control over how, what and when. On top of this, our labour laws are constantly evolving as the South African government seeks to balance stronger protections for employees with the need to create a business friendly climate. This can be a nightmare to manage. Your payroll solution should automatically manage this for you.
6. DO YOU STRUGGLE TO KEEP UP WITH LEGISLATIVE COMPLIANCE UPDATES?
Legislative compliance updates regarding PAYE, UIF & SDL are often difficult to understand, never mind to keep up with, and you cannot always be sure what is new and what has been gazetted. Make sure that your payroll system alerts you and automatically includes all newly gazetted updates.
7. HOW DO YOU KEEP UP TO DATE WITH MEDICAL AID INCREASES?
It makes sense to invest in a Payroll system that changes as your medical scheme changes. Medical Plans for various medical schemes are frequently updated and having a payroll that automatically manages this for you and applies the required legislative components is a must have for any company.
8. DO YOU STRUGGLE WITH IRP5 SUBMISSIONS?
Make sure that your payroll solution has built-in validations to help minimise complications during the submissions process, and that you have access to expert advice to guide you through the process.
9. DO YOU GET ANNOYED LOGGING IN AND OUT BETWEEN ENTITIES?
Are you tired of having to login and logout between payroll entities? Make sure that your payroll system allows you to access your complete history across multiple between periods.
10. IS YOUR SYSTEM MULTI-TENANTED?
A multi-tenanted payroll system allows one login access to multiple companies – this is the ideal environment for any payroll bureau service. It also allows you to give your accountants access to manage your director’s salaries, while your payroll department manages your other employees.
Any one of these questions could make a big difference to your company, and if you don’t get given the right answers, change to a better payroll solution – it’s easier than you think.
