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Wondering what is payroll software and why you need to use one? You have landed at the right place. In this research, we will discover every crucial piece of information about payroll software - right from its definition and types to its advantages, features, how the system functions, and much more - in detail.
Payroll management is something that often gives businesses a headache; especially when they have to do it manually. After all, there is only so much to check, calculate, process, and file; with zero room for any error. That explains why a majority of organizations, big or small, have turned to payroll software to make things a bit easier.
» What is Payroll Software?
In simple words, payroll software is an application that organizes, manages, and automates employee payments. It streamlines all the payroll activities and keeps precise records of the same. That lets you access a particular piece of information, whenever you need it, right away.
The payroll software can track the working hours of your employees to calculate their pay for the set period based on the rate of pay. Moreover, it can also print and deliver checks and initiate direct deposits.
What about taxes; you might ask. Well, the software system can handle taxes and other deductions, too, depending on employee attendance, working hours, and wages.
A majority of payroll software systems, whether for large companies or small businesses, also help you stay up to date with the latest tax laws.
While payroll software is usually a part of comprehensive HR software systems, you will find many standalone products available in the market.
If you are an entrepreneur or businessman, you already know how hectic payroll processing can be. From calculations of salaries and deductions to tax filing and reporting, payroll is much more than compensating employees. Fortunately, the payroll software is here to make this job simpler.
A payroll software solution is an application that manages and automates payroll activities. Some systems are a part of comprehensive HR software systems, while many are available as standalone solutions.
Payroll software provides you with accurate calculations of your employee salaries, after taxes and other deductions, based on your set organizational policies. It considers employee leaves, time logs, as well as overtime hours and perks, to arrive at precise pay.
Moreover, such automated systems let you make direct deposits to your employees’ bank accounts, eliminating the traditional process of check issuance and distribution while saving a lot of your time and resources.
What's interesting is, the features of payroll system vary from system to system. All you need to do is understand your requirements. And you can get a tailor-made, scalable system, irrespective of your industry type or company size.
Since there are a plethora of systems available out there, it might be tough to choose one. Don’t worry, though. We have compiled a list of the top 10 payroll software here to make things a bit simpler for you.
» List of Top 10+ Payroll Software
1. Rippling
Rippling is a full-service online payroll software that is efficient, reliable, and easy to get started with. The software provides instant payroll processing, as quick as 90 seconds. You can use Rippling to sync your HR data with its payroll system, relieving you from having to manually calculate the deductions or enter the working hours. Just click the “Run” command, and the software will run the payroll for you.
This payroll software also provides you with automatic compliance and tax filing capabilities. That ensures you always follow all the necessary regulations without missing a deadline. What’s more? You can pay people across the globe with Rippling’s smart solution.
› Features
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- It is an online payroll software for businesses.
- It provides payroll processing that runs in an instant without compromising accuracy.
- It tracks your employees’ working hours & PTO.
- It allows an organization to smoothly manage their global payments to employees and contractual workers.
- It is tax compliant and adheres to all the local, standard regulations related to payroll.
- It includes powerful reporting tools.
› Benefits
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- It saves you precious time, resources, and effort.
- It frees you from manual data entry with automation.
- It provides you with a correct picture of where your business stands in terms of payroll.
- It offers seamless integrations with 400+ tools, including QuickBooks, Xero, and TSheets.
- It enhances your decisions with precise analytics and actionable insights.
› Pricing
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- Rippling is available with a starting price of $8 per user per month. You can also request a custom quote based on your requirements.
2. ADP’s Payroll Software
With its user-friendly interface, ADP’s Payroll Software is developed to meet the requirements of organizations of all sizes. There is something for everyone, whether you are a small business, a growing firm or a large, complex corporation.
ADP’s payroll system encapsulates all the necessary resources so that paying your team or handling taxes doesn’t become your nightmare. All thanks to its automated and accurate payroll process. In addition to that, you get uninterrupted access from your preferred device, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
› Features
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- It automates labor-intensive operations, such as deductions, calculations, and paper check issuance.
- It can integrate with HR software, as well as time and attendance systems. Thus, it becomes possible to manage payroll, benefits, 401(k) contributions, and employee attendance from a single place.
- It provides compliance with the latest state, local, and federal government laws.
- It has a team of experts to offer active support.
› Benefits
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- Payroll task automation, along with integration with other systems, saves a ton of your time, improving efficiency at all levels.
- 24/7 access to data from any device increases convenience, especially if you have a diverse team in different timezones.
- The automated reporting feature offers clarity on the patterns and trends.
- Tax compliance ensures you don’t miss out on any updated regulations and access to required forms.
› Pricing
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- The cost of ADP’s Payroll Software depends on the type of your company and the number of employees. You need to fill up a form on their website in order to get a custom quote or get in touch with them on call.
3. Patriot Payroll
Patriot offers an online payroll mechanism in the form of its Basic Payroll Solution. Since the solution is available online, you don’t have to go through the downloading and installation process.
Patriot’s Basic Payroll is easy on your budget and uncomplicated to use. It streamlines the payroll processes of small to medium-sized businesses with a team size of up to 100 employees. With this online solution, you will be managing the recurring payroll runs and payroll taxes yourself in a more productive manner.
Patriot’s other offering is Full-Service Payroll. In this solution, its team will be managing your payroll taxes for you after you are done running your payroll process.
› Features
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- Its payroll is customizable and flexible. For instance, you can personalize deductions, 401(k) contributions, and health insurance.
- It lets you define rules for time-off accruals as per your company policy.
- It consists of multiple pay rate set up. You can add a maximum of 5 pay rates for each of your hourly employees.
- It provides a variety of detailed payroll reports, including reports of tax liabilities, payroll register, and contribution history.
› Benefits
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- The personalization makes the solution adapt to your organization’s unique payroll needs.
- As the traditional payroll processing gets automation, you get sufficient time to devote to other significant business matters.
- As the solution is online, you can access the information anytime, anywhere simply through your web browser.
› Pricing
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- Patriot’s Basic Payroll is available at the base cost of $10 a month + $4 per employee. On the other hand, the pricing of its Full-Service plan begins at $30 a month + $4 per employee. You can also try the solution for free for 30 days.
4. Zenefits
Fully integrated and ease of utility are something that makes Zenefits payroll a popular choice. Whether you run a small entity or a multinational corporation, this payroll system software is capable of meeting your distinct payroll needs. The best thing is each Zenefits plan comes in with all its advanced features to take some burden off you.
The system offers seamless integration with your existing systems - be it HR or accounting. If that was not all, the software ensures compliance with all the regulations necessary for a business. Also, its administration window is simple enough for anyone, whether it is managing and running payroll or consuming information.
› Features
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- It can easily integrate with your current HR ecosystem; syncing data, including new hires, hours worked, time offs, salary changes, and benefits deductions.
- It offers automated reminders, compliance, and direct deposits.
- It provides dynamic pay stubs and mobile access.
- It includes built-in reporting - right from general ledger to payroll timeline.
- It takes care of your taxes and filing.
› Benefits
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- Integration with your HR system saves considerable time for you to focus on other important issues.
- The mobile accessibility, together with detailed pay stubs, lets employees get any information they need about their pay and deductions no matter where they are.
- The reports make your payments more understandable.
- Automatic compliance and tax filing ensures you don't miss deadlines.
› Pricing
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- Zenefits offers three base plans for its payroll system - Essentials, Growth, and Zen. While the Essentials is available at $8 a month, per employee; the Growth costs $14 a month, per employee. The last one is priced at $21 a month, per employee. It also offers various add-ons to add to its base plans.
5. QuickBooks
Quickbooks’ Online Payroll System aims at easing the payroll worries of businesses of all sizes, across niches, from accounting firms to nonprofits to restaurants. With its impeccable features, the system provides you with accurate payroll whether you have 2 employees or a team of many. Set it up for an automatic run, and you can rest assured that your staff will get their dues exactly as per the schedule.
The online payroll provider, Quickbooks, offers tax compliance as well. The solution can calculate, deduct, and file the taxes, on-time so that your business steers clear of any tax troubles.
› Features
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- It offers automated payroll, taxes, and forms. In fact, it also renders tax penalty protection should you make a mistake and obtain a penalty.
- It provides direct salary deposits in your employees’ bank accounts.
- Its time tracking equips you with timesheet approvals and invoice creation on the go.
- It consists of customizable reporting to give you an insight into your payroll, attendance, tax summary, and much more.
- It offers expert support through chats and calls if you ever feel stuck in the process.
› Benefits
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- The automation of payroll activities leaves significant time for you to invest in other vital business matters.
- Timely payments act as a motivation for employees.
- The detailed reports empower you to make informed decisions on key business operations.
- The access to expert help, right when you need it, makes sure things stay smooth all the time.
› Pricing
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- The Quickbooks Payroll is available in three plans: Core, Premium, and Elite; all having distinct pricing. The packages are on per month, per employee basis.
6. Gusto Payroll
Gusto Payroll enjoys wide recognition as an easy-to-use payroll system. It has a neat design that gets things going faster, even if you’re working on it for the first time. Moreover, the system can be set on an AutoPilot to let things settle on their own.
With Gusto’s payroll, you can easily track and auto-sync your team’s working hours, whether they are salaried individuals or professionals working on an hourly basis. You can personalize the pay schedule and form multiple rates of pay for each payment cycle. Furthermore, your payment timetable can be flexible, weekly, monthly, or twice per month.
The system works well with accounting solutions as well, such as QuickBooks, Xero, and Clover.
› Features
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- It offers automated payroll and tax filings. It also takes care of all the tax-related forms with e-fax and e-signature technologies.
- It makes payroll paperless with its direct deposits.
- It lets you create workers’ comp policy hassle-freely.
- It offers off-cycle payroll and bonus distribution whenever the need be.
- It supports report generation and downloading, from payroll history to paid time offs to tax payments.
- It provides mobile access, across devices.
› Benefits
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- There is no fee for set-up.
- Anytime online access to payroll information on laptops, mobiles, and tablets keeps you updated all the time.
- Automated tax compliance and calendar sync free you from remembering the deadlines.
- New hires can enter their details directly into the system, eliminating the to-and-fro of papers.
- Time tracking and Integrations with other systems, like accounting, ensure accuracy.
› Pricing
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- The Gusto Payroll caters to businesses through four different plans:
› Basic - Available at $19 a month + $6 per employee per month
› Core - Available at $39 a month + $6 per employee per month
› Complete - Available at $39 a month + $12 per employee per month
Concierge - Available at $149 a month + $12 per employee per month
7. OnPay
The OnPay Payroll solution caters to the payroll requirements of small businesses. It is a full-service payroll system with hassle-free integrations with your existing HR, accounting, and timekeeping software.
Optimized for mobiles, OnPay automates the tedious and time-consuming payments and tax filing procedures. What’s fascinating is, it works fine whether you are a team of 3 or 300. In fact, you can grant permissions when it comes to payroll duties. From direct deposits to hassle-free set-up to 401(k) retirement plan integration, OnPay offers a smooth experience for diverse entities, including nonprofits, restaurants, and farms.
› Features
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- It offers direct deposits, checks, and debit card options for payments.
- It offers zero restrictions on the number of monthly pay runs. Moreover, there are no charges on pay run cancellations.
- It packs in employee onboarding and self-service characteristics.
- It provides the formation of multiple pay schedules and rates.
- It consists of a custom report designer.
- It renders active support, right from setup and integration to data migration.
› Benefits
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- The automated payroll process gives you ample time on hands to concentrate on other critical business aspects.
- Multiple pay schedules at varying rates let you organize all sets of your team better.
- Integrations with HR and other software eliminates data redundancy to give accurate information.
- Mobile access enables you to avail information whenever you need it.
› Pricing
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- OnPay Payroll costs you $36 a month as a base fee + $4 per person per month. The plan includes free setup and the first month. Alternatively, you can also opt for a free one month trial.
8. Paycom
Paycom’s Payroll System is a single solution with an aim to simplify the otherwise complicated payroll procedures. Considered an effective payroll software for large companies, this solution works fine for companies with a team size of 0-50 as well.
With its precise, advanced, and automated processes, Paycom’s payroll strives to help you keep your payroll run quick and on-time. Thanks to the timely payments, your efforts to motivate and retain employees get a significant boost. Its Online Payroll arms you with repeatable processes that you can rely on for each pay cycle.
› Features
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- It is a single software that automates a variety of your payroll-related processes.
- Its Online Payroll processing syncs data systemwide, letting you get rid of re-entry and data duplication.
- It provides your employees with 24/7 accessibility to their pay stub information.
- It offers expense management for faster and easier reimbursements.
- It includes a customized and detailed report generation.
- It offers payroll tax management to help your business stay compliant with all the necessary laws.
› Benefits
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- Since you can manage everything from a single software, you are relieved from having to integrate multiple systems or complex manual data entry tasks.
- Online availability adds more flexibility to the entire procedure.
- The assistance of a dedicated specialist ensures your payroll process keeps running smoothly at any time.
› Pricing
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- For Paycom’s Payroll Software pricing, you need to reach out to the team. You can fill out the form online with your company details to request a meeting or give them a call.
9. Paychex Payroll
With Paychex Payroll, you can accelerate the reliability of your organization’s payroll. The software makes the calculation of salaries and taxes, logging of employee working hours, and keeping up with the latest hour and wages regulations smoother and seamless.
The Paychex Payroll Platform enables you to have a thorough look at both your present and future payment cycles. In fact, it is possible for you to complete your upcoming payroll right from its Payroll Center. The solution fits well with the varying requirements of firms of all sizes and stature.
› Features
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- You can customize deductions and earnings.
- You can leverage its employee self-service that makes the addition of new hires a hassle-free process. The employees can feed and update their own information directly into the system.
- You can generate in-depth analysis and reports of your payroll.
- You can rely on the automated payroll to take care of your tax calculation, payments, and filings.
- You can choose from multiple payment options of direct deposits, Pay-on-Demand, pay cards, and paper checks.
› Benefits
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- The computerized processes boost overall effectiveness while saving a lot of your time.
- The in-depth reports help you stay updated on all the essential information which, in turn, enhances your decision-making capabilities.
- As the solution works well with other systems, including HR, workers’ compensation and time and attendance, managing business processes becomes simpler as a whole.
› Pricing
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- The Paychex Payroll offers three plans - Paychex Go®, Paychex Flex® Select, and Paychex Flex® Enterprise. The first one costs $59 a month + $4 per employee. The remaining two plans have customized pricing based on your unique requirements.
10. Sage HRMS Payroll
Sage HRMS Payroll is on the market as a part of a comprehensive HRMS solution, as well as as a standalone system. No matter what you choose, the solution empowers your financial team with a robust tool to carry out payroll on-time, for each pay period.
The payroll solution by Sage HRMS is flexible enough to adapt to your individual needs, regardless of the nature and size of your business. Moreover, you can rely on its customized paycheck creation or go with its Sage Payroll Checkprint that offers ready-to-print paychecks.
› Features
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- It offers the tracking of employee leaves, attendance, and time offs.
- It provides your employees with a self-service portal to make it easier to enter and update details.
- It includes tax calculation and filing services.
› Benefits
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- You get to access all the critical data in one place.
- The automation of manual payroll speeds up the whole process while increasing its authenticity and proficiency.
- The customizable features enable you to handle the payroll process as per your business needs.
› Pricing
- You can reach out to the Sage HRMS team through call or by filling up the online form to receive a quote.
11. Zoho Payroll
Zoho’s cloud payroll system fulfills the diverse payroll needs of businesses of varying sizes. It streamlines payroll management and operations so that your employees get to receive timely salaries each pay period.
With its online payroll solution, Zoho lets you run payroll in mere clicks. All the calculations are computerized so that you or your payroll team can remain stress-free. Furthermore, it takes the distribution of salaries, together with payslips, online. The solution also ensures your business stays away from compliance penalties by handling tax compliance and filing for you.
› Features
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- It allows the creation of different pay slabs for different employees based on their role in the organization.
- It offers your team role-based data accessibility.
- It packs in an employee self-service portal with collaborative features.
- It lets you set one-time or recurring pay runs of bonus.
- It ensures adherence to the latest tax laws.
- It provides smooth integration with Zoho’s accounting and HR management software.
- It has provisions for payroll report generation.
› Benefits
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- Diverse salary structures make the payroll much more manageable.
- Statutory compliance makes sure your company avoids any legal trouble.
- The self-serve portal takes a little burden off your payroll team.
- Since you can define user roles, you are in control of who can access which information.
- Integration with other software improves your organization’s overall productivity.
› Pricing
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- The Zoho Payroll is available for a monthly cost of $19/Upto 3 employees. Its annual premium plan is priced at $190/Upto 3 employees. Please note that it works for a team of at least 20 with no restrictions on the number of users. You can opt for a 30-day free trial.
- • Zoho also offers a free plan that works for up to 10 employees with a single user.
» What are the Types of Payroll Systems?
When it comes to employee payroll management systems, there is no one-size-fits-all formula. A start-up and SMEs would have a different set of payroll requirements than that of multinational corporations’. Therefore, there are various types of payroll systems to meet such diverse needs.
At the heart of it, though, you can think of any payroll system as a medium that helps businesses process their payroll.
There are three major types of payroll methods, detailed below:
› Manual Payroll System
A manual system for payroll is nothing but the handling of payroll operations on your own or by your payroll person. For instance, your local garage or general stores might be managing payroll tasks manually. From recording employees’ attendance to calculating their wages by handing out monthly checks to complying with local tax laws, everything is either managed by the owner or the appointed staff.
Since everything has to be recorded and maintained manually, there are more chances of error occurrence. From the cost point of view, it doesn’t levy any burden on your business.
› In-house Payroll Software System
The in-house payroll software system is a computerized application that handles all the payroll-related operations for you. It is a relief if you want to shift from the manual payroll work. The software is programmed to carry out multiple tasks accurately, right from tracking employee attendance and working hours to calculating their pay with appropriate tax deductions.
The payroll software system comes in with different features to cater to the varied needs of entities of all sizes. Depending on the size of your organization, you can choose to handle the system hands-on or hire payroll staff.
As far as costs are concerned, you have to invest in the software, its training if necessary, and maintenance.
› Outsourced Payroll System
An outsourced payroll system refers to opting for the services of established payroll service providers. Such service providers have in-house professionals to tackle the payroll needs of the client companies. Whether it is pay calculations or direct deposits, they take care of everything as per the agreed schedules to relieve the burden off you.
With the outsourced payroll service, there is no need to hire dedicated payroll staff, saving additional costs. You only have to pay a fee to the services providers.
What’s interesting is, numerous outsourced payroll service providers also offer online solutions, allowing client firms to access payroll registers and data.
» How Does Payroll Software Work?
Now that you know the basics about the payroll software system, along with its types, you must be curious to find out the way this system works.
The payroll process can be categorized into three phases: Pre-Payroll, Actual Payroll, followed by Post Payroll tasks.
› Pre-Payroll Phase
The pre-payroll stage begins with defining the basic organizational policies relating to attendance, leave, pay, perks, and tax. Once in place, these policies act as a solid backdrop for other operations to lean on.
The next step is the collation and input of data, including employee attendance, leaves, and overtime during a particular pay period. A lot of payroll systems have integrated attendance and leave management to make things even smoother. Such details form the basis for payment calculation and withholding of tax and deductions.
Once the system has this data together, it validates it prior to payment processing to ensure zero discrepancies.
› Actual Payroll Phase
It is the phase where the actual calculation of salaries takes place. It proceeds to generate the net pay after setting aside the necessary deductions and taxes post which the payroll is processed.
› Post Payroll Phase
After processing the payroll for the pay period, the post payroll stage ensures compliance with all the regulations and laws. The system records and stores this payroll data, including the mode of transfer. The report-generation also takes place in this step, outlining departmental and/or location-based employee costs, attendance reports, trends, and much more concerning that specific period.
Without the software, handling all these tasks becomes a hectic, time-consuming procedure.
» What are the Features of Payroll Software?
There are many payroll software out there in the market. But which of those would be the best one for you? That largely depends upon your requirements and the features of the software. While every payroll system will have varying features, there are some common, vital characteristics you must know.
› Employee Onboarding
A good payroll system incorporates seamless employee onboarding, wherein, employees can be enrolled onto the company payroll quickly. The software lets you attain all the profile details of the new hires, such as personal information, post hired for, salary information, and payment details, from a single place. That saves a lot of time and effort.
› Customization
Every organization has different policies and procedures. The same is true for organizational hierarchy - beginning from junior-level employees reaching up to the leaders. Therefore, the ability to customize payroll software turns out to be a significant feature. From customizing salaries, deductions and benefits to reimbursements and reports; an effective payroll system will offer it all.
› Direct Deposits
With payroll software, you can bid adieu to the traditional act of printing and distribution of checks. Thanks to evolving technology, the system is capable of making direct deposits from your firm’s bank account to your employees’ bank accounts on-time, every time. Moreover, several systems also allow you to set varying payment cycles for different employee base.
Direct transfers make your staff receive their salaries faster while also saving paper.
› Tax Filing
Manual tax filing is a tedious task, just like payroll. It has increased the potential for mistakes and delays. That’s why most of the payroll software systems include tax filing capabilities.
The system not only calculates and deducts taxes but also files the same with the concerned authorities. Furthermore, the system checks for tax due dates, in addition to tracking the filing status and exemptions. Everything in compliance with local or federal laws.
› Employee Self-Service
A must-have feature for payroll software, ESS or Employee Self Service enables your staff to carry out some tasks on their own. Whether it is downloading their payslips, updating their contact details, inputting investment declarations, or accessing their tax sheets; employees can handle such operations on their own. As a result, there is greater transparency and quick resolution to questions.
› Compliance Management
Adhering to the local, state, and federal guidelines are critical for any business, regardless of its size, especially the employment laws and tax regulations. As these rules keep changing time-to-time, the payroll software comes in with automated compliance management.
Thanks to this feature, the software automatically updates when there is a change in regulations. That, in turn, ensures your data and filing align with the latest laws.
› Reporting
With built-in accurate reporting, the payroll software can give you significant insights on your payroll data, right from the budget and workers’ salaries to taxes and attendance. In addition to that, the reports provide valuable patterns and trends that your accounting and HR teams can utilize to boost efficiency. For instance, it can help manage overtime schedules or better allocation of resources.
› Integration with Existing Systems
Effective payroll software offers smooth integration with your existing systems, such as accounting software or a time-tracking system. For example, whenever your employees log a shift, the same would reflect automatically in the payroll system. Or whenever you process payroll, the details would be recorded in your ledger automatically.
Such integrations save a lot of time and effort while reducing the possibilities of errors.
» What are the Benefits of Payroll Software?
Wondering why should you opt for payroll software in the first place? The following list containing the advantages of using payroll software will help you make a wise decision.
› Facilitates Accurate, Timely Payments
With the arrival of payroll software, you no longer need someone to carry out manual calculations of your employee salaries. The software takes care of that, in addition to making direct salary transfers to your employees’ salary accounts. Thus, your staff gets precise payments, as per your set payment cycle, on-time.
› Saves Costs
A conventional paper-based payroll processing requires you to hire a team of experts to handle the various payroll-related tasks, from salary calculations to tax filing. That adds a burden to your business as these professionals demand hefty pay for their services.
On the other hand, payroll software proves to be a beneficial option as it only requires a one-time investment. Moreover, such systems are highly scalable and customizable. So, even when your company grows in the future, the software allows you to add more people to the payroll hassle-freely.
› Saves Time
From data entry to calculations of salaries, taxes, and deductions, the payroll software automates a plethora of hectic tasks of your personnel. That saves them a lot of precious time which can be invested in other vital operations.
› Streamlines Onboarding
With payroll solutions, adding new hires to payroll is not a headache anymore. You can obtain all the necessary details from a single place, speeding up the entire process. Some software also allows employees to upload the required documents into the system directly. The editing options are available as well, in case there is a need for modifications.
› Increases Productivity
Salaries and perks always act as a source of motivation for employees. Since the payroll system ensures timely payments, the employees’ morale gets a tremendous boost. That, in turn, increases their focus and productivity.
At the same time, the automated payroll gives a breather to your HR and Finance staff, letting them concentrate on other crucial issues.
› Decreases Chances of Human Errors
When it comes to manual calculations of salaries and taxes, the cross-verifications of employee data - be it attendance register, tax eligibility, or logs of regular and overtime shifts. Humans are more prone to making mistakes. However, using payroll software can help you avoid the scope of such mistakes due to its automated system.
› Offers Easy-to-operate Functionality
If you thought you need to be a pro to use the best payroll software, let us tell you that it’s not the case. A majority of such solutions are easy-to-use with no requirements of specialized credentials for handling. Most of them possess their own training manuals to get you started.
› Accelerates Compliance
Keeping a tab on the state, local, and federal tax regulations is everything but easy for your HR and payroll personnel. However, good payroll software takes that burden off you.
The system can track these laws and update accordingly to make sure your tax filing and deductions are as per the newest regulations. That saves you from the troubles that arise out of non-compliance issues.
› Seamless Access to Payroll Information
Whether it is your employee seeking information about their paycheck or your HR team needing some details, the payroll systems make information easily accessible.
› Stores Data and Reports
Unlike the traditional payroll systems where you had to organize and keep piles of papers for future records, the payroll software takes things digital. It creates and stores all the data and reports in the system or in the cloud.
» How to Choose the Right Payroll Software?
Selecting the right payroll software is not at all a cakewalk. There are many factors you need to consider before you settle for one of the many options you have out there. What those factors are, let’s find out:
› Ease of Use
The payroll software should offer a nominal learning curve so that your HRs don’t have to run pillar to post to tackle their regular duties alongside. Look for a system that is simple to use with a clutter-free user interface, impressive user experience, and relevant feature hints.
› Scalability
Before you decide to go ahead with a payroll software solution, ensure that it is scalable enough to meet your future requirements. It should be able to grow alongside your firm’s growing demands. Switching from one payroll system to another frequently is neither feasible nor affordable.
› Tax Compliance
Keeping up with tax deadlines and changes in regulations is a headache for accountants. Therefore, it is advisable to look for a payroll system that is tax compliant. That way, your organization will not miss any updates in the laws or deadlines.
› Security
No matter which payroll software you choose, it is going to store your staff’s sensitive information, including their personal and bank data. Hence, you must make sure the software offers top-notch security, day-in, and day-out.
› Accessibility
The ability to access payroll information, no matter where you are, is another important factor. You can go for the cloud-based payroll solutions for such anytime, anywhere accessibility with multi-device support.
› Reporting
Opt for payroll software that provides you with a built-in and customizable reporting feature with effective insights on patterns and trends. It aids in the decision-making process significantly.
› Support
Regardless of how much we hate system failures or glitches, they do take place; without a warning sign. Therefore, always check if the vendor you have chosen offers quality support - be it through email, chats, or calls.
› Free Trials
Free trials not only give you a chance to get familiar with the solution but also let you gauge whether it meets your needs in the first place. Therefore, opt for a payroll system offering a free trial with full-feature accessibility.
You can also try a couple of them, compare the features, and then purchase the one that fits your needs.
» What are the Trends in Payroll Software?
With rapid changes in technology over time, the payroll software has been evolving as well. There are always new features to look out for, making the whole process simpler and more efficient for your payroll team. While fresh trends keep emerging at regular intervals, it’s best to keep an eye on what’s happening to stay ahead of the curve.
The Upcoming Trends in Payroll Software
› Cloud Technology
The cloud-based payroll software is anticipated to cross the $13 million-mark by 2026. Cloud technology enables you to access your payroll data from anywhere, at any time. That offers added flexibility and convenience, especially to the teams spread across the world, working remotely or from home. The security of cloud-based platforms is also fetching more takers.
› Artificial Intelligence
AI, with its dynamic features and functionality, has been revolutionizing a plethora of business operations across niches, including payroll. The AI-powered payroll systems are more intelligent when it comes to compliance, payroll distribution, and queries - all while lowering the risk factors.
› Integration and Automation
With data playing a critical part in organizations’ success, more businesses are vouching for systems that integrate with their existing ERP solutions completely. It simplifies data collection and analysis, while automated activities offer greater accuracy and operations flow.
› Gig Economy Inclusion
As more freelancers, gig workers and contractual professionals are becoming an integral part of entities, there’s a growing demand for flexible payroll solutions. Businesses need systems that allow them to make innumerable, hassle-free changes, categorize employees, and set different pay cycles.
» How Much Does Payroll Software Cost?
Every payroll system has a different set of features and functionalities to cater to a variety of requirements. Some are full-service solutions, while some offer limited features. As a result, the pricing of the software varies significantly, depending upon what it brings to the table.
Some systems are available for a monthly fee, a few require you to take the annual subscription, while some charge you a one-time upfront license fee. The cost fluctuates from $5 a month to $300 a year to $2000 as a one-time fee.
In the end, it all boils down to the vendor, software features, security, and the support provided.
Thus, it is best to carefully go through what you’re getting out of the product, compare different solutions, and then settle with one.
» Conclusion
Payroll is one of the most crucial processes for any business. It is difficult, time-consuming, and needs accurate details, irrespective of the size of the business. That’s where payroll software steps in with its automated processing, data storage, and customizable characteristics. To help you save time, resources, and cost. Since the features of payroll solutions vary from system to system, it is wise to identify and list your requirements before you go software shopping.
