Effective payroll management is an important part of modern businesses. A complex and inefficient payroll management system will cost you both time and money. Therefore, you should focus on finding an effective payroll software solution that is right for your business. After all, if you depend on manual methods for payroll management, you will face major challenges like staying compliant with different payroll laws across multiple countries and states. Accuracy and multi-team coordination will also suffer without a digital payroll system from a reputed payroll software provider.
However, while looking for the ideal payroll software, it is essential to know what features you need to check before you zero down on a payroll software provider. The following tips will help you understand where to look.
What to see while choosing the right payroll software provider for your company?
There are a number of things to see before zeroing down on a payroll software provider. These include:
- Core payroll features
- Security features
- Usability features
Read more: Why Do Companies Hire Third-Party Payroll Software?
What is the Core Payroll Features You Should See?
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Automatic payroll and payslip distribution
Calculating payroll month to month involves collecting a large variety of data from multiple departments and sources. Depending on your business, doing this manually month after month can amount to a mammoth task. Payroll software from a reputed payroll software provider like Omind automates the process, saving you time and boosting accuracy. You must ensure that the payroll is adept at calculating earnings, bonuses, salary revisions, one-time deductions, leave, and attendance, so it is possible to process payroll with one simple click. It would also be wise to look for software that can automatically and securely mail payslips and tax documents to your employees. -
Compliance Adherence
No matter what is your business size, adhering to legal compliance is important. You should keep your business on legal footing by adhering to statutory laws. So, it is wise to choose payroll software that can compute provident fund (PF), professional tax (PT), labor welfare fund (LWF), employee state insurance (ESI), and income tax automatically. The software should have features to personalize PF settings, set multiple work-locations for state regulations, generate reports for tax filing, and automatically adapt to tax laws changes. -
Customizable salary components
You should be able to easily manage payroll, team budgets, and employee spending by catering to diverse compensation structures in your organization. With payroll software from a payroll services provider, you should be able to select various salary components for various job profiles. Here’s an example – you may provide a high fuel reimbursement limit to filed sales employees; even payroll software for small businesses should be able to save those settings as templates to be reused for new employees. -
Online salary payments
Payroll services providers with partnerships with reputable banks that have direct deposit allows you to send employee salaries directly to their bank account without having to exit the payroll program. Alternatively, you can also send salaries to your employees’ bank accounts by collecting their account information during onboarding and inputting it into the software. -
Employee self-service portal
Your payroll services provider should incorporate the software through an employee self-service portal that can help you collect proof for reimbursement or tax declarations from employees, eliminating the risk of human error. The software should also allow your employees to view and download payroll documents such as – payslips, tax worksheets, and Form-16. -
Payroll reports
Payroll reports play a crucial role in budget analysis, tax filing, and governance. Therefore, your payroll software should give you pre-formatted reports, so you can calculate your taxes and reports such as EPF-ECR reports, ESIC reports, and Form 24Q. -
Leave and attendance
Most payroll services in USA have an inbuilt leave and attendance module with its software so that it can set the organization’s leave policy, attendance cut-off cycle, and shift-based hours. If you have a multi-location organization, you should also be able to integrate your biometric data into the software. - Full and final settlements
The full and final settlement process should be seamless. Your payroll software should give you options to account for the parting employees’ gratuity, bonus, commission, and outstanding leave encashments to ensure a seamless full and final settlement. You should also be able to process their notice pay (where applicable) and send the payslips to their preferred email address. -
Spreadsheet support
As you need to collect inputs from multiple sources to process your payroll, payroll service providers prefer software that can adapt to inputs from spreadsheets. the import feature of a payroll software will allow you to carry over data and avoid manually creating employee records. You should also be able to upload multiple employees details, such as – salary details, employee profiles, bank account details, employment history, and other data at a few clicks and save time and effort.
What Are the Key Security features?
- User roles and permissions
Payroll data is confidential, but the payroll process needs the assistance of multiple departments. Therefore, the payroll software provider should give you the ability to clearly differentiate the roles played by each department, barring the access of unauthorized personnel to such sensitive data. The creation of module-based permissions and invitation-only access can help you collaborate with multiple departments while retaining control of private information. - Cloud security
Payroll deals with your employees’ most sensitive information, such as personal details, bank details, salary details, and personal account numbers (PAN). Only the best payroll company can help you ensure the security of such information. Therefore, you should opt for a payroll software provider that can help you safeguard your employee’s data. Features like two-factor authentication provide an extra layer of security for login and keep such data safe.There is something you can ensure to find the best payroll service provider for your business. Whether you are looking for payroll software for a small business or a MNC, you should make sure that the payroll software provider is compliant with International Security Standards, such as ISO/IEC 27001 security certificate. It is the same protocol you must follow while purchasing HR software for large companies.
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Audit trail reports
Payroll software providers that provide audit trail reports can be ideal for your business as it helps your administrators investigate any changes made to employee records. Your super administrator should be able to generate such reports for a time frame to pull in valuable proof during an audit.
What Usability features Should You Look For?
- User-experience
Computing payroll is a daunting task even with one employee in your payroll. also, not everybody is skilled at processing payroll. So, the software you opt for should be easy to use for everyone in your company. A good payroll program comes with a small learning curve with minimal or no training requirements. - Accessibility
You should opt for a cloud-based payroll software solution that allows you to access information from anywhere online. Mobile versions of cloud-based apps allow employees to see your announcements and view their payslips instantly, even when they’re out of the workplace.
The takeaway: The right software makes payroll effortless
Payroll software is a crucial investment for your organization. Switching to a new system can be hard. Before you make up your mind, take your company’s size, pay structure, locations, and recruitment plans into account. Look for a payroll software provider that has all these core features and also takes user experience, accessibility, support, and information security seriously. Incorporating software that fulfills all of these needs will help you build a better business.
