What Should I Look for in a Payroll Company?
How are you currently paying your employees? If you are handling the payment processing manually for each pay period on your own, you already know that it can take a lot of time and effort. You might not be capable of bringing on a full team to handle the payroll due to the costs you would incur. If that’s the case, you may find that it’s a better solution to work with a professional payroll company.
Consider a Payroll Company
These companies can provide the payroll processing that your company requires regardless of its size or complexity. They can handle payroll tax statements, year-end taxes, and many other functions that you would have to do otherwise. When you opt for a full-service provider, they may also be able to handle employee deposits and withdrawals, withholding, garnishments, new hire reporting, and more. They could handle freelance employees, as well as full-time and part-time workers.
Consider how much time you would have to spend doing this on your own. Even if you have an HR department, they might not have the capability to take care of all of the payroll tasks that are required. Choosing a payroll company that makes use of quality payroll software and that can be a complete payroll solution will be a great option. Of course, you need to know what you should be looking for before you hire a payroll company.
Most Important Things to Look for With a Payroll Company
Easy and fast implementation is essential. You must work with a payroll company that can implement its services into your business without disrupting the current pay schedule. Check to see what other types of businesses they have worked with and see if they match your company’s size and needs. They need to be transparent about what needs to be done regarding the implementation.
It is also vital to choose a company that has a good professional reputation in the field. You need to have someone that you and your employees can trust. After all, the payroll company will have access to confidential data, such as SSNs, tax information, etc. They need to have secure systems that have features like data encryption or multi-factor authentication. They should also have a risk assessment team.
You need to be sure the company can handle all of the required payroll taxes and that they keep up with all of the tax compliance rules and regulations. They should be able to update the payroll taxes annually and take care of the tax filings and payments, as well as year-end processing.
The cost of the payroll company should be considered, too. How much do they charge for their services? Does the cost match the features and services they promise? Get an estimate of the cost and make sure there are no hidden costs that could be added to the service. Will this be something that your company can afford, and will it be cheaper than handling the work on your own? Often, it comes down to a matter of convenience. Working with a payroll company makes these processes easier.
Take the time to do your research when you are looking for complete payroll services through a third-party company. Make sure they are the right solution for your business at its current size, and that they can scale if your company grows.
Another Alternative for Payroll
If you still want to keep your payroll in-house, there is an option that could work well for you. You can choose to use payroll software that can handle most of the same types of things that the payroll company would be doing. Payroll software for small businesses can often be automated for the payroll and the taxes, which will help you to save a lot of time without the need to outsource the work.
Of course, just as you need to be sure you are choosing the right payroll company, you also need to be sure you are choosing the right payroll software. Learn about the features, how to implement the payroll software, and then determine whether it will be the right option for your business or not.
