Which Payroll Management Solution Is Right for You?

Payroll management is essentially the backbone of every company as it plays an important role in boosting and maintaining the employee livelihood and morale while simultaneously re-allocating the financial resources of the company to the appropriate divisions.

Payroll management is also indicative of the financial health of the company and subsequently, it establishes the reputation of the company amongst its competitors in the same field.

Keeping all these factors into consideration, choosing a correct payroll solution becomes imperative for any organization. In the following sections, different payroll solutions are discussed.

What is payroll management?

In layman’s terms, payroll management is described as the process of administration or overlooking a company’s financial records concerning the employees of the company. These financial records include details of the employees’ salaries, incentives, perks, deductions, etc.

The payroll management follows a set process which can be described in three main stages as follows:

1. Pre-payroll Process

Here the various policies surrounding the net pay of an employee are outlined and examined. These policies, which have to be valid and legal in their definition in the company guidelines, include the Employee Pay Policy, Time & Attendance Policy, Leave and Benefits Policy, Reimbursement Policy, etc.

Apart from that, various inputs are received which are directly related to the payroll management which includes the Variable pay-outs, tax regimes, Month-on-Month pre-processing, Bills for Reimbursements, Attendance inputs, etc. Then, these inputs are examined and validated.

2. Payroll process

This is the actual process wherein the net pay of the employees is computed considering all the previous factors.

At the end of the payroll process, the Net Pay of the employees (or Net Take Home Salary) is finally computed, considering the adjusted taxes and other deductions.

3. Post payroll process

This process encapsulates the subsequent tasks of payroll reconciliation (maintaining and verifying the payroll records), pay-out of the salary, and its record-keeping.

Types of Payroll Management Services

There are primarily four types of payroll services in the industry, these are as follows:

1. In-house payroll solutions

In-house payroll is the most sought out payroll solution for businesses with a limited number of employees on the payroll. The daily operations, inventory management, managing data, and reporting compliance are achievable with the said number of employees; more often there is a dedicated resource, which is in charge of this responsibility.

The most important aspect, however, boils down to the fact that whoever is in charge of the payroll management should be trained to manage it well.

2. Bookkeepers and CPAs (Certified Public Accountants)

This option is preferred by many small or medium-scaled businesses which lack the internal resource to maintain the payroll management; however, the downside to these types of payroll services is that the Bookkeeper or the CPA in charge may use methods that might not be compatible with the company policies.

3. Online Payroll Solutions

Here, the payroll solutions have remote access to the data concerning the payroll management of a company.

4. Outsourced Payroll Solutions

The responsibility of payroll management is handed over to a third party consisting of expert professionals who are well-equipped to cater to the needs regarding the payrolls of the employees.

It is to be noted that with the changing conditions and technologies, different types of payroll solutions have sprung; such as the DIY Payroll Services, Small payroll bureaus and so on.

Searching for the Right payroll solutions

Before choosing the payroll solutions, one should consider the size of the company, the number of employees, the types of the products and inventories, etc. After assessing all of these factors, a suitable payroll management solution is selected.

Below is the list of the best payroll software which might be suitable for your company:

1. QuickBooks Payroll

The QuickBooks software is one of the most sought-after solutions for accounting as well as payroll management.

In this software, the functions are automated and the tutorials are easily understandable. The software offers fast direct deposit options and most importantly, seamless integration with the QuickBooks accounting software connected to the company.

Payroll management is made simple by this software for anyone overlooking the payrolls, regardless of their experience.

2. Gusto

One of the most redeeming features of the Gusto software is that it offers three tiers for small to midsize companies along with some features of human resources (HR), thus appealing to many businesses.

The payroll management functions are automated and can be tuned to cater to the needs of each business. In addition, It is even equipped to track the paid time-off for the employees and has an affordable cost.

3. Paychex Flex

Similar to Gusto, Paychex Flex has additional features concerning HR management, with 24/7 support. The software is easy to use and the reporting features are robust.

Paychex Flex is also known to seamlessly integrate with accounting software such as QuickBooks and Xero as well as various HR management software.

4. Workful

The Workful software has been reputed to provide top-notch customer support services. It also has the provision wherein the employees can easily submit their expenses through the software, which can be reimbursed with the next payroll run.

The software is affordable and easy to operate, moreover, it offers a geo-location time-clock tracking feature that records the times wherein the employees could clock in and out. In addition to it, the software offers document storage. However, unlike other software, the tax filing feature is not automated.

5. OnPay

The OnPay software offers an easy-to-use, affordable online payroll solution and is mainly preferred by small businesses.

There are no hidden fees, in this software and moreover, the financial records are calculated automatically.

The downside is that the payroll submission is not automatic and the direct deposit is not produced on the same day or the next day.

6. 6. ADP

One of the most preferred software for large-scale companies. They have reporting features that are very robust in nature.  in addition to the features concerning HR management.

The software offers several plan options with the lowest-priced plan offering full-service payroll, direct deposit, reporting, and a self-service employee portal for the company’s employees.