Managing the payroll within your business is a crucial task. And as your business grows, it can be an increasingly complex and time-consuming one. The good news is that you don’t need to handle this yourself but instead, you can use a fully managed payroll service to do it for you. But what is this and what are the benefits for your business?
What is managed payroll?
Fully managed payroll is a service that handles all of your payroll needs for you. Rather than employing someone within the business or trying to do it yourself, you outsource it to a professional company who specialises in the service. Payroll is a very important part of having staff within your business and is an area with lots of rules and regulations, so accuracy and speed is very important. By working with a specialist, you can get access to these skills.
Benefits of a fully managed payroll service
So how do you know if a managed payroll service is what your business needed? Let’s take a look at the benefits of such a system to help you see why it would work for your company.
1. Work with a partner
As a small business owner, there’s always the worry that letting go of control of elements of your business will mean that they aren’t done properly. And this is understandable but when the element in discussion is payroll, this isn’t something you need to worry about.
That’s because a managed payroll service is more of a partner than anything. They work with you and your staff to ensure the process runs smoothly. You can have the services that you need, and the payroll company will work with you to ensure they get the information needed to make the process run smoothly. And when choosing a payroll provider, you can also check the level of security they have on data to be confident in giving them things like staff bank information.
2. Ensure you comply with regulations
Payroll is a complex matter and if it goes wrong, it can cost your company money. There are also lots of deadlines and requirements around paying staff, income tax and national insurance. By working with payroll specialists, you don’t need to be up to date on all of these things because they will be.
You will also receive all relevant information to store within your business to show what pay has been paid, tax and income tax deducted and other areas such as pensions. Then if there are any queries, you have all of the paperwork to show you have complied with the rules.
3. Avoid costly mistakes
Payroll mistakes can be very expensive. If you don’t pay staff on time, your business is liable for any costs they incur due to this – bank charges are one example. Not only that but there’s a loss of trust between you and staff that can have a negative impact on the workplace. The same can apply to some degree where pay is incorrect – staff are waiting for that little extra money from overtime then don’t receive it.
By using a payroll expert, you can ensure the chance of this happening is almost none. The use of specialists systems and having processes in place that ensure everything is done on time means there is very little chance of missed or late payments. All you need to do is ensure relevant information is provided to them on time.
4. Control payroll costs
While there are costs associated with using a payroll service, these are often more efficient than having someone full or part-time to work in the business, especially for small and medium businesses without a large workforce. The reason for this is that payroll isn’t always a full-time job so when you outsource, you only pay for what you use.
Not only that but you don’t need to invest in specialist payroll software and train someone to use it. You won’t need equipment to run it or a place for the payroll person to work – all of this will be done offsite. All you need is the right internet connection to send the relevant information to the payroll company and they will handle it.
5. Use your time in the best way
Finally, by relieving you of the burden of sorting payroll, you can use your time in the best way. This usually means working with customers, overseeing staff and generally running the business. Not trying to remember what you need to do next for the payroll process!
The same applies to having someone have a go at managing it. If they aren’t a payroll specialist and this isn’t what they do, then working on the payroll can take them away from the main job they were employed to do.
Payroll solution
Outsourcing your payroll is the perfect solution to the issues around having staff. You can be certain everything is done on time, income tax and National Insurance are handled and pay is sent to staff accounts on time. And you can be freed up to work on the areas of your business you do best.
Payroll is a complex system that requires some specialist knowledge and training and that’s why many businesses choose to outsource to an expert, rather than risk falling into the deadline and penalty trap with HMRC. Cintra Payroll are here to help. To speak to a payroll provider and streamline your payroll process, get in touch using the details below.