No one starts a business to spend inordinate amounts of time calculating payroll and payroll taxes, and owners have far more valuable ways to spend their time. Where an hour of managing the business can be worth $100s/hr, payroll is a low-value, repetitive task.
It can also be costly if mistakes happen or taxes are paid late. None of that needs to be the case with a simple and effective payroll software solution, and the money and time saved can make such software a business no-brainer.
The Benefits of Payroll Software
After seeing the benefits of payroll software, company founders can’t doubt the value is undeniable in many aspects.
Here are the main reasons every company should be using payroll software.
Time savings
Business owners go into business to do what they do best and that generally doesn’t include tabulating, tracking, and paying payroll and the associated payroll taxes.
Spreadsheets and calculators are not an acceptable replacement for working alongside employees, creating new initiatives, analyzing performance, or simply managing the business. Low-value tasks are time spent not creating value.
An owner’s time has a value to it that is worth far more than the cost of payroll software. At a minimum, it’s worth $50/hr, but more often than not, it is worth $100/hr plus.
Running payroll is much like the Myth of Sysiphus, essentially pushing the rock up the hill only to watch it roll back down and have to push it up again. Payroll software puts an end to hours better spent doing what the business owner does best, run their business.
Save money
Payroll software saves money in several ways beyond allowing owners to manage their business.
It also saves employees time by alleviating the need to fill out time cards, check on their payroll, answer calls from the boss to make sure they’re on the job, and from having to come into the office to turn in their hours.
Just one lost hour per day per employee can equal thousands of dollars a year in lost productivity.
Reducing human error and the potential for time padding also saves thousands per year.
Integrated with time tracking software, employers know when employees are on the job, get automatically notified when electronic time cards are complete, and eliminate calculation errors.
Payroll taxes get paid on time
Missing a payroll tax deadline could end up being a costly error. Company owners can rest at night knowing their payroll taxes are automatically calculated and always paid on time.
The federal, state, or local government won’t come calling unexpectedly.
Secure the data
Keeping data in-house is risky, especially as cyber security breaches continue to rise. Hackers covet employee information, and an internal spreadsheet is like winning the lottery. Knowing that data is saved to a secure and encrypted source is crucial.
Another data risk is that it is accidentally deleted.
Having files in-house makes this possible, meaning all the payroll calculations must be performed again. It was enough to calculate attendance, expenses, bonuses, and payroll taxes the first time; a second is too much.
Cloud-saved data isn’t going to go missing from a hard drive.
It’s easy to set up
Setting up payroll software isn’t going to be time-consuming, resulting in frustration. After the software is up and running, adding or removing employees is easy. No training time and associated training costs are required to get up and running right away.
The ease of setup and use means it’s easy to start saving money and time.
It easily imports into accounting software
There is no need to do payroll only to enter it into the company’s accounting software, and it easily imports and ensures entry errors don’t happen. Even more, for companies that utilize job costing, time is saved, and financial statements are accurate.
Accuracy in a company’s accounting is essential when seeking out financing options like loans and lines of credit and structuring to sell. When mistakes and lost time add up, tens of thousands can be erased from the company’s valuation.
An inexpensive solution can make a business worth tremendously more when it comes time to sell.
It grows with the company
No matter how much the company grows, the payroll software grows with it.
The software will scale with the business, whether used for ten employees or 200.
It’s Time for Payroll Software
The most straightforward evaluation of whether or not a business should undertake a new initiative or expense is if the savings exceed the cost. A payroll software solution doesn’t provide just significant savings but exceptional savings in both money and time.
Add in ease of use for the owner and employees, and it’s a win for the whole company.