12 hours.
That’s how long the average small business owner spends on payroll functions each month.
Have you ever thought of how you could possibly make better use of this time? Perhaps for a way to run payroll more efficiently?
So that you could use that time on tasks that could actually make more money for your business? You could be spending quality time interacting with customers, rolling out new marketing strategies or sifting through resumes to hire your next sales manager.
Regardless of whether you outsource payroll or handle it in-house, there are ways that you can run payroll more efficiently. Here are 5 ways how.
1. Ensure all employees understand the policies when it comes to payroll.
Having an employee handbook can help with this. This will help eliminate questions pertaining to important topics such as leave policies, paid time-off policies, etc.
No, it doesn’t need to be a 100-page manual or encyclopedia. With the ready availability of technology nowadays, consider using a Human Resource Management System (HRMS) instead. Store all your employees’ information and have your company’s policies readily accessible to all staff from the HRMS.
If you’re able to direct your employees to the handbook, you can avoid being pestered with questions coming directly to you and you can run payroll more efficiently.
2. Be organized.
As with many business functions, being able to stay organized will be extremely helpful come the time to process your payroll each month.
Wouldn’t it be nice to not have to scramble to ensure everyone has handed in their timesheet, not missed any punches for the pay period, or made a last-minute change to their employment details without first informing you about it? All these tasks can force you to come to a grinding halt in the middle of your payroll processing as you need to resolve these items first.
Although at times, some mess is unavoidable, there are still methods you can employ to run payroll more efficiently. One way would be the use of automation. For example, your employees will automatically receive reminders to submit their timesheet if they have not done so before the due date. Additionally, having your payroll-related reports generated and filed orderly will come in handy in the long-run.
Being organized will help you to stay on track and run payroll more efficiently when the time comes.
3. Time really is money.
Make sure to cater adequate time regularly (whether this is weekly or monthly) to devote to running payroll. As a small business owner, you’re probably often running a mile a minute while trying to fit everything within.
Payroll management requires accuracy and efficiency. Paying your employees on time is also of the utmost importance in order to maintain employee engagement and trust in your company. Thus, set some time aside regularly to be able to handle payroll-related matters. This will ensure that you’ll not end up having to rush through it and risk any important items that need to be entered.
4. Streamline your payroll process.
And by this, I do not just mean investing in a payroll software (which you already should), but consider syncing your payroll functions with a time attendance and leave management system as well.
This way, when someone clocks in (and out) for the day, you don’t have to worry about manually transferring that information to your payroll system. Save time on having to manually calculate the hours and eliminate the possibility for any human calculation errors.
The same goes for an integrated leave management system with your payroll software. Just as everyone deserves some time-off from work, so do you. With both systems integrated, you can be sure that your employees are taking the appropriate time-offs from work, which will be accurately reflected in their payslips.
5. Keep updated with new regulations.
This is one of the most common mistakes when it comes to running payroll for any business.
Failing to implement the latest legal changes and regulatory practices can put your business at risk. Especially when money is already so hard to be earned, you definitely would not want to spend it on paying off late fees and penalties.
As a small business owner with a thousand things on your mind each minute, staying ahead with the new regulations may not rank the first. Nonetheless, staying compliant to local regulations is still imperative. An efficient way to do so would be using a recognised payroll software which is already compliant to local law and regulations. This way, you can run payroll more efficiently without having to worry about whether you’re compliant or not.
JustLogin is a HR software provider specialising in cloud Payroll, Leave and Time & Attendance applications. We help you automate your HR, so you can focus on your people, culture, and business. Sign up for a Free Trial now to learn how you can run payroll more efficiently.