Outsourcing your payroll doesn’t have to be intimidating or confusing when you use the right providers. The main benefit you get when hiring a full-service payroll company is the broad experience these professionals have with running payroll and ensuring tax compliance for businesses. In fact, according to several studies, companies that outsource payroll services will only continue to grow.
How Does Outsourcing Your Payroll Work?
Payroll outsourcing services offer access to advanced payroll processing and management systems and software. Employees can check everything related to their account and update the information when necessary. You can also gain access to a dedicated HR and payroll consultant who can advise and assist you when needed.
What Kind of Payroll Functions Can Be Outsourced?
If you are considering outsourcing your payroll functions, you can expect the following services to be included. While the list is not comprehensive, the following does represent some of the most commonly enjoyed benefits of outsourcing your payroll functions:
- Employee Salary Calculation and Payment: Calculating the appropriate employee payment and salary can be confusing. Payroll specialists understand everything that needs to be considered when tabulating this important factor of running a business, paying employees correctly. While software can be helpful, outsourcing is the ideal way to handle this as payroll professionals know exactly what calculations need to be made, taxes should be withheld, and other factors are taken into consideration.
- Employee Benefits Administration and Management: Another immensely helpful benefit of outsourcing your payroll is having your employee benefits administration and management handled for you. This means that the professionals can help you determine what benefits you should offer employees, how they should be ascertained, and oversee the management involved in making it all happen.
- Local Tax Calculation and Payments: As they say, the only things certain are taxes and death. Unfortunately, as it so happens, staying on top of taxes and paying what you owe the government can be immensely confusing, not to mention scary. After all, your intention is not exactly taken into consideration. In other words, even if you didn’t mean to pay fewer taxes than you owe or withhold enough taxes from employees, it doesn't mean that you won’t owe back taxes and face fines or set your employees up for an unwelcome surprise at tax time. Payroll services can help you calculate taxes and ensure you pay the correct amount of payments.
- Compliance With Government Guidelines: Speaking of guidelines and government regulations, the IRS estimates that around 40% of small businesses end up paying around $845 in incorrect filings and payments. This is just for a small segment of businesses. Therefore, it stands to reason that by outsourcing your payroll services you can actually avoid potential government penalties. This means you can actually save money in many cases by paying what you owe from the beginning and not having to face penalties after the fact.
Should Your Business Outsource Their Payroll Services?
If things in your payroll management process aren’t going per plan, and you find yourself investing a great deal of your own time into straightening out things or overseeing it, it’s likely time to at least consider looking around for payroll providers.
It can be easy to become a bit intimidated or overwhelmed by the prospect of outsourcing your payroll services. You might think that by managing yourself, even poorly, you are saving yourself the cost of outsourcing to professionals. However, it’s important to keep in mind the number of services that could be handled for you. It’s also to keep in mind that if nothing else, outsourcing can free you up to focus on more important internal tasks that produce income. Your employees will likely thank you as well! Contact us to learn more about our payroll services and discover how we can help manage your payroll tasks more efficiently.
Originally published 12/2/21 - Updated 9/5/23