While there’s a great deal of uncertainty and concern surrounding automation, fear is holding many businesses back. However, you use and benefit from automated services every day without realizing it. What if all of your bill payments were no longer automated, and there was a mistake? Now you have a stress headache building and suddenly yearn for the convenience and efficiency of automation.
Now, put yourself in the same scenario, except swap your monthly bills for employee payroll. How’s that headache coming along? Automated payroll services aren’t just a commonly used tool. They’re a business necessity. In this article, we’ll discuss the benefits of payroll automation and why modern organizations cannot afford not to utilize it.
How automated payroll processing works
Automated payroll makes payment processes rapid, risk-free, and less complex. This is why our global payroll platform ensures quick, seamless integration and ease of use. Payroll is already complicated. Why introduce a system to make it even more confusing?
- Integrate with HR and accounting: Automated payroll can seamlessly integrate many accounting, HR, and timekeeping softwares. This establishes a unified, reliable platform that prevents data duplication, saves time, and increases data security.
- Employee onboarding and data management: Simplistic yet effective onboarding is a crucial benefit of payroll automation. Oh, and it’s paperless! Lengthy onboarding processes hinder productivity and employee engagement. Automated payroll does all the hard work, giving you the time to ensure new hires have everything they need as quickly as possible.
- Calculations of wages, taxes, and deductions: Manual calculations are tedious and time-consuming, and mistakes can easily be made. Automated payroll ensures wages, tax withholdings, and compliance are always accurate (and on time). Mistakes can be costly.
- Automatic payroll processing: The days of manual payroll processing are in the rearview mirror, thankfully. Automated payroll allows you to schedule, edit, and optimize payroll processes to suit your needs and offer employees the stability of a reliable and transparent income.
How to choose the right automated payroll solution
In 2023, there’s a tool for almost everything and multiple versions to choose from. Picking the right automated payroll solution is vital for effective use, reliability, and getting the desired results. But how do you choose the right one?
- Assess business requirements: First, it’s essential to identify your business’s payroll requirements and establish your priorities. Discussing your needs with experts and booking a demo is always a good idea. This will give you hands-on experience, insight into how the system can help your current processes, and advice for developing new ones.
- Compare automated payroll services: You should always take the time to compare multiple payroll services, not just the first one you find. This will help you better understand the technology and how its features can apply to unique requirements. If you don’t currently have an advanced payroll system in place, that needs to change! Multiplier’s global payroll platform ensures your workers are paid accurately and on time, regardless of geographical location.
- Case studies and testimonials: Look for first-hand customer feedback on company websites. Case studies and testimonials are fantastic for information and reviews of a product. Real-life examples show how automated payroll helps business owners and why products such as Global Payroll encourage growth and increased efficiency.
Key features of automated payroll services
All platforms have unique designs to suit varying requirements, so it’s essential to identify the key features you need from automated payroll services. When choosing a platform or establishing your needs, you should look for the following key features.
- Direct deposit options: Direct deposits are vital for employees to get their wages on time, directly to their bank account. No delays or paper payslips to take to the bank. Additional options also help you to tailor your payroll to employee needs, such as dividing wages into multiple bank accounts.
- Tax filing and reporting: No more tax headaches! Rather than compiling spreadsheet data and manually inputting tax information for each individual, Global Payroll does it all for you. Less time and energy spent on tax preparation and filing, and so many mistakes prevented!
- Employee self-service portals: Employee self-service (ESS) portals allow workers to access certain payroll and HR elements. Examples include holiday, sick leave, and medical reimbursements. With more autonomy on the employee side, it offers payroll specialists more time and flexibility to focus on more crucial tasks.
- Customize for specific requirements: Automated payroll services need to be customizable, allowing you to tailor it to the specific needs of your business. This could include advanced data protection, global employment requirements (tax and visas), or integrated systems such as timekeeping or attendance tracking. Rigid systems don’t work in a flexible business environment.
The benefits of automated payroll
Do you know the worst thing about automated payroll? It’s realizing how much time you’ve wasted and the stress you endured due to manual payroll processes. Urgh, the spreadsheets of doom. Fortunately, things have changed a lot. Let’s dig deeper into how payroll automation can benefit today’s businesses.
1. Reduce risk and errors
Payroll mistakes are a headache and have the potential to cause lots of trouble. Automated payroll reduces risks by removing human error, ensuring accuracy, and preventing costly mistakes. The importance of paying people on time is immeasurable, with 49% of US workers stating they’d leave their jobs after as little as two payroll mistakes. Let’s say your payroll team has a crazy month, with a few mistakes made. That’s a significant risk to retention, and it’s entirely avoidable.
2. Quick and accurate calculations
Manually compiling spreadsheets and calculating each employee’s pay isn’t an easy or relaxing task. Not to mention more complex aspects such as deductions, taxes, overtime, sick days, or annual leave. It takes time and serious effort, putting a lot of pressure on payroll specialists.
Payroll automation solves such issues by automatically and accurately calculating many different payment types, whether simple or complex. Payment calculation isn’t simple sums and easy processes. It can be very complicated and create room for error. According to statistics, 72% of US employees would experience financial difficulty if their paycheck was one week late. Automated payroll doesn’t make mistakes, replacing headaches with peace of mind for employers and employees.
3. Compliance
Along with paying your workers on time, automated payroll services help you to protect employee data. Compliance is essential in the digital world. Data protection is critical, and data breaches are catastrophic. Multiplier’s Global Payroll platform ensures security with AWS hosting services, and all employee data we process is GDPR compliant. Regardless of location, we help employers adhere to all employment rules, regulations, and specific compliance needs.
4. Save time and encourage growth
The time we save daily using various automated platforms is astounding. Every minor and major process takes moments to complete, not days or weeks. More free time available to organizations and their employees creates new windows of opportunity and freedom to explore new realms of creativity. We’re amidst a substantial global talent shortage, with businesses lacking specialized skill sets and time to upskill employees.
Simplifying workflows and streamlining payroll processes means spending less time on tedious tasks the software can handle. Instead, businesses can help employees improve their skills and gain new knowledge or qualifications to pivot toward new roles. A career development report by LinkedIn revealed that 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if they invested in career development.
Commonly asked questions
Q. Is data security ensured with automated payroll services?
Data security is massively enhanced and made more reliable by automated processes, especially compared to conventional paper systems. Global Payroll maximizes security and compliance with advanced data protection and features such as monitored access.
Q. Can automated payroll systems handle complex tax calculations?
Absolutely! There’s so much room for human error with manual calculations and processes. Automated payroll calculates everything for you, even the most complicated tax calculations. When it comes to your employee’s income and taxes, you can’t afford to make mistakes and create headaches for employees and your business.
Q. What are the advantages of automated payroll systems?
Automated payroll has many benefits, such as improved security and compliance, quicker processing, reduced errors, simplified taxes, lower costs, employee self-service, and detailed reporting.
Q. How do I choose the right automated payroll solution for my business?
Choosing the right platform depends on your business requirements and what you hope to achieve with the product. From this, you can compare various platforms and find the best fit. It also really helps to speak to experts and read customer feedback via testimonials and case studies.
Are you interested in payroll automation? Does your current system need modernization? Talk to our experts today to learn how we can help your business improve and grow with automated payroll services.
