Managing payroll is a critical part of any business. However, this can be a stressful and time-consuming process, especially if you decide to handle everything in-house. You can find yourself spending a considerable amount of time on this aspect of your business when it could be spent on other more profitable aspects. With that being said, in this post, we are going to take a look at some of the top payroll tips for your business to follow in order to maximize the efficiency of this process and take the stress off your shoulders.
Keep up to date with payroll legislation – A lot of business owners who find themselves in a spot of bother do so because they are not up to date with payroll legislation. Therefore, they believe they are handling everything above board when, in fact, they are not. Regulations can change all of the time, which is why it is a good idea to keep up to date with the latest news so that you make sure you do not miss out on anything important. You do not necessarily need to know all of the changes regarding tax and benefits but if you take your eye off the ball you could end up missing something important.
Keep a running profit and loss statement – To get a good idea of your business’s monthly profit you should keep an accurate and updated profit and loss statement. This is a good way of bringing your attention to any of your costs that can be cut or reduced or that are completely unnecessary. This is also a good way of ensuring that you account for any of the current taxes that your company owes.
Purchase payroll software – Any good accountant will advise you to have quality software in place to speed up the process and handle things more efficiently, as you will be able to automate numerous elements of the payroll process. From the generation of payslips for employees to tax and NI calculations, you will find life a lot easier once you have effective payroll services in place. But, remember, software is not enough on its own, which is why it is also good to take advantage of a fixed fee accountancy service, as you will discover below.
Train your employees in the software you use – There is no point in investing in payroll software if none of your employees know how to use it. You could decide to simply let them figure it out themselves, but this is extremely time-consuming, and you can be sure that your workforce will not be making the most of the system. This is why it is better to invest in a payroll software training course. A short course can make your employees more efficient and save a considerable amount of time.
Know your big deadlines – Finally, it is likely that you will have a lot of different deadlines that your business has to meet. You should prioritize the big deadlines, as this will allow you to work ahead of time to make sure that any problems do not arise. After all, if you miss a vital deadline you could find yourself facing a large fine.
