Payroll Processing: The Hidden Time Suck Costing Your Business

Your payroll costs do not stop at the dollar amount on the checks you process, it includes the administrative work involved in completing payroll every week. Outdated processes, mistakes, and relying on manual methods all add up to increased processing time and cost.  This can be a limiting factor for companies looking to grow. After all, there is a limit to how many employees your administrative staff can support.

For this reason, it makes sense to look at ways to create efficiencies around your payroll process. This can help reduce errors and lessen the administrative burden involved in payroll. Here are some ideas to help you save time and streamline your payroll processes.

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Audit employee information

Fixing mistakes after you process payroll is frustrating and time-consuming. You can limit this by auditing employee information regularly. This will allow you to confidently process payroll without second-guessing your employee data. Some items you’ll want to include in your review are the spelling of names, addresses, contacts, and direct deposit information. If you have to keep track of certifications, you’ll want to include this in your audit.

Digitize Time and Attendance

Anytime you rely on people to do something manually, you’re going to see more errors. This is especially true when it comes to tracking time. Employees may not accurately track start/stop times, round up their hours or even include non-work time on their timecards. Your administrative staff may make mistakes as they input those manual hours into your payroll system as well. These errors cost money and weigh your staff down in tedious, manual work. By opting for digital time tracking, you eliminate these problems, reduce the time it takes to verify hours and create a greater level of accountability.

Make Payroll Processes Official

Efficient processes can help save your staff time by eliminating guesswork and limiting errors and oversight. This also helps when it comes time to add new staff, or when you have members out due to illness. The best way to do this is to make your processes official. Create a workflow that follows your payroll process from capturing time to processing deposits and fixing errors. Use this to create a checklist that you follow every payroll cycle. Revisit your process to look for ways to add efficiencies.

Automate and Make Payroll Processing Easier

Many companies are still doing things the way they did when they first went into business. This includes mundane processes related to time, attendance, and payroll. While these areas may not seem very important, they are directly tied to your profitability. For this reason, it pays to consider automating them where possible. There are many Robust software platforms for business that can save your company money in admin costs, reduce errors, heighten accountability, and reduce compliance risk.

Dealing with payroll can become a real headache, especially for small to mid-sized companies where the administrative staff is tasked with duties beyond payroll. The time limitations created by payroll processing can limit your company’s ability to grow. Fortunately, you don’t have to be limited by outdated processes. You can use these steps to streamline your workflow, reduce errors, and create efficiencies that reduce the burden your staff feels every week leading up to every payday.

The material presented here is educational in nature and is not intended to be, nor should be relied upon, as legal or financial advice. Please consult with an attorney or financial professional for advice.