Payroll Service

Introduction

When you’re starting a small business, you need every aspect of it to run smoothly right away. You also want it to function with as little input and supervision as possible from you. Your time is valuable, so any tasks that can be streamlined, delegated, or automated will help you get the most out of it.

A third-party provider of small business payroll services can be one of your most useful players because of these requirements. Payroll service providers make the process of paying employees easier by streamlining and automating the process. They can, however, accomplish a great deal more.

You may believe that your company is too small to profit from working with a small business payroll service. Payroll services might be beneficial to your company even if you just have one employee.

Payroll processing services are often the only thing that comes to mind when small business owners think of payroll. Payroll service providers, on the other hand, may help with a wide range of tasks, such as ato single touch payroll services, payroll calculations and many more. Investing in payroll services early on ensures that your company runs smoothly and assists you in troubleshooting possible issues.

Six Ways Payroll Providers Can Help Your Business

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Get Your Company Nimble

As the Australian economy prepared to confront the COVID-19 pandemic, beginning in March 2020, it faced enormous hurdles. Restaurants and travel companies, for example, have shut down. Others, such as those providing critical services, had to quickly scale up to meet big increases in demand.

Despite the significant impact of COVID-19 disruptions, they reflect more general business principles: situations change. They can shift abruptly and without warning at times. The more agile a business is in adjusting to changing conditions, the more resilient it will be. Your business can be stronger if you can leverage on good changes. You’ll be less affected by bad changes if you can limit interruption and downside.

Payroll services ensure that your business is always nimble. You can seamlessly add employees to payroll if you need to quickly scale up your number of employees, for example. They can, however, assist you in downsizing payroll if you need to scale down successfully and quickly.

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Help Tackle Common Business Challenges

Even the most well-run small businesses face difficulties; it’s a given. A well-run small firm, on the other hand, will anticipate issues, particularly those that are prevalent, in order to avoid them becoming problems.

Payroll services can play a particularly important role in four of the areas that Small Business Trends: 2020 identified as the most prevalent difficulties faced by small business owners.

Payroll and other administrative duties were rated as a key difficulty by 11% of small business owners polled for Small Business Trends: 2020. Choosing between options such as cutting checks or direct deposit, as well as ensuring that the proper Federal, state and local taxes are deducted from employee paychecks, are all part of the payroll process.

These jobs aren’t always simple, and they can take up a lot of time for busy business owners. Furthermore, employing and overseeing individuals to do these duties might be more time- and cost-inefficient than dealing with a third-party source who offers turnkey solutions.

Time management is cited as a key difficulty by 13 per cent of small business owners. Attempting to perform payroll functions yourself or hiring and supervising an employee to do so isn’t as efficient as outsourcing payroll services.

Recruiting and retaining employees is regarded as a serious issue by 16% of small business owners. Payroll service providers also provide human resources and risk management services, which can relieve you of some of these responsibilities. For example, they provide templates for job descriptions and access to job posting sites.

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Help Manage and Streamline Rules, Regulations and Services

Payroll and HR departments are frequently charged with staying up to date on sophisticated payroll withholding and coverage rules and regulations. All laws, regulations, and services can be managed by a payroll provider.

Employee benefits are subject to a number of rules, in addition to the mandatory coverage and withholding. Errors can cost you money if you offer retirement benefits to your employees, such as a superannuation plan. Within seven days of payroll, employees’ salary deferrals must be placed into their personal accounts. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) may audit your superannutation plan if your employer misses this deadline by a day. These deposits will be made on schedule if payroll service providers are used.

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Offer Recruiting Support

Not only do 16 per cent of small business owners consider recruiting and retention to be significant problems in running their company, but recruitment can also be a double-edged sword. On the plus side, if the company is to grow and deploy key employees in the appropriate places, recruitment is essential.

However, on the downside, the entire recruitment process necessitates a significant time investment that interferes with other critical responsibilities. According to the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), hiring takes an average of a month and a half and costs more than $4,000. Many businesses turn to staff firms for assistance.

To add to the list of possible drawbacks, not every hire will result in productive and strong personnel. While no one wants to recruit the wrong person, mistakes sometimes happen. If this happens at your organization, you’ll have to spend even more time and money to find someone to replace them. Meanwhile, your personal and professional productivity may suffer.
Payroll services may assist in a variety of ways during the hiring process, including background check assistance, which increases the chances of making exceptional recruits while also protecting against the costs of a bad hire. Payroll services can also help with benefits administration and recruitment.

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Save Up on You Fines and Fees!

A tax audit can be triggered by a variety of factors, including benefits. The ATO audit risk is negligible, at less than 2%, as most business owners are aware. That isn’t to argue that there aren’t any tax penalties.

Infractions such as failure to pay company income tax, and late or underpayment of taxes can result in these fines. These taxes apply even if you are the only employee of your business if it is a corporation or a limited liability corporation that follows the corporate tax structure. Fees and fines can build up over time, depriving your business of much-needed cash flow.

The fines, on the other hand, are rather simple to avoid. Payroll services ensure that your taxes are paid correctly and on time, saving you money in penalties, fees, and fines.

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Help Maintain Employer Compliance

Payroll service providers, such as Guidant, are small company experts, not just payroll processors. Some of their services may be able to assist your business in ways you aren’t even conscious you require assistance. Compliance is one of the most important services. Corporate compliance refers to policies and procedures in place at a corporation to ensure that standards, codes, regulations, and laws are adhered to.

There are two methods for achieving compliance. To begin, you must comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, codes, and standards. Your business must adhere to all applicable safety and inspection regulations, as well as appropriate Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) and Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regulations and federal harassment laws.
Second, establish policies and procedures that must be followed by your personnel. For example, you might need to post safety regulations and other pertinent requirements so that staff are aware of them. Written policies for paid time off (PTO), progressive discipline, and drug and alcohol policies are also required.

Some business owners may wonder if written policies and procedures are actually required. They are a part of the overall risk management strategy for the business. You could face a lawsuit if you don’t explain out progressive discipline procedures and then fire an employee. While this is an uncommon occurrence, clear policies and your ability to demonstrate that you followed them protect you in the end. Your compliance standards, as well as your staff compliance standards, are risk management tools that can help you avoid misconceptions.

Payroll services can assist with compliance by ensuring that needed tax and other withholdings are made, as well as the creation of employee handbooks that outline clear policies and procedures.

We Can Help You Today!

You may believe your company is still in the early stages and thus cannot benefit from a payroll provider. However, for all of the reasons stated above, teaming up with an industry specialist is one of the best decisions you can make. Make an appointment with Insta Bookkeeping today to talk about your needs