Payroll Picks – A Guide to Streamlining Your Employee Payments

Handling the payroll for a whole team of employees can often be a complex administrative task for business owners. Whilst you can hand individual paychecks to employees when your business is one that is new and comprising of a small team, things get a little more complicated as your business expands and your team grows. Fortunately, there are a number of ways in which you can streamline your employee payments to ensure that everything runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

In this article, we provide you with some handy tips that will assist you in streamlining your employee payments, so read on to find out more!

1. Single Touch Payroll

Single Touch Payroll was implemented by the Australian Taxation Office in July 2018 and requires businesses with more than 20 employees to submit their PAYG withholding and super information when payrolls are processed. This happens for each payslip that your employees receive, rather than monthly or quarterly reports to the ATO. Single Touch Payroll is made efficient with STP-enabled software that can increase efficiency by sending real-time data to the ATO every time you pay your employees. This automated system can reduce the amount of manual labour that goes into sending quarterly or monthly reports to the ATO, freeing up time for you to get on with more important things around the business.

2.    Explain Your Payroll Policies

One of the most important things when it comes to ensuring that your payroll process is one that is smooth and efficient is to always begin by explaining payroll policies to your staff. In order to take some burden off your payroll team, try to simplify your policies when it comes to important issues such as leave, paid time off and commissions. Helping your employees understand these complex topics in a simplified way is a great way to have them clearly defined and eliminate any confusion. This will, in turn, make the entire payroll process a much smoother, more efficient and more hassle-free task for all involved.

3.    Invest In Further Training

Lifelong learning is essential when it comes to running a business as it enables your employees to grow their skills and knowledge while allowing them to get acquainted with any new technology that may help contribute to the success of your business. When it comes to the payroll department, the same theory applies. Staff handling the payroll are part of an ever-developing profession which often demands regular training. Keep your payroll staff at their top game by sending them for training sessions that will acquaint them with new technologies, software and application that can, in turn, equip them with the tools necessary to help streamline your employee payments.

4.    Outsource, Outsource, Outsource!

If you are someone who currently owns a small business and doesn’t have all the resources and time that you need to invest in setting up a top notch payroll system, there is absolutely no harm in outsourcing to a professional payroll management company to help you out in the beginning stages of business. Look for a reliable, well-established payroll management company that will be able to tend to all your requirements in an efficient and effective manner. Many larger institutions have also been choosing to outsource their payroll in the name of saving costs, so regardless of the size of your business, outsourcing is always a viable option.

5.    Keep Up With The ATO

Last but not least, one of the best ways to streamline your employee payments is to ensure that you are keeping up with ATO’s regulations. Failure to comply with regulations can often result in hefty fines that cause your company unnecessary financial costs. Always keep tabs on payroll, tax and employment regulation in order to be fully aware and informed of any changes that may need to be implemented. Keeping up to date with such information enables your payroll team to avoid making any potential mistakes and avoid any delays in the payment system.

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We hope that this article has given you some valuable insight into how you can go about streamlining your employee payments.