The majority of us use accounting and payroll software for our business in order to keep track of our finances. The current state of the economy is leading to a growing number of small businesses opting to use accounting and payroll software for their day-to-day operations. Before you can choose the right accounting and payroll software for your business needs, it is imperative that you know exactly what those programs are and what they can offer you. In this way, you would be able to save yourself a lot of time and effort in getting them set up and working properly in the first place.
There are many benefits to small business accounting and payroll software, including the fact that it provides you with accurate, real-time information about your financial position. As a result, you will be able to track your cash flow, find out who owes you money, and find out who you owe money to. If you do this, you will save time since you will not have to contact people to get the information you need. In order to create a successful payroll system, you need to create a system that is reliable, detailed, and easy to understand.
Understanding Employee Motivation
In order to be a successful small business owner, you probably have two main motivations or goals in mind. Keeping your business afloat relies on earning enough money to keep it going for as long as possible. Another aspect that needs to be considered is to grow your business at the fastest possible rate.
It’s quite common for your employees’ motivations and situations to differ quite a bit from yours. I would like to draw your attention to the following points:
- Since they do not own the business, they will not be making a big profit when (or if) you decide to sell it, as they do not own it.
- Each of them has a different career path, as well as personal goals that are important to them.
- You may only be able to hire them for a short time period of time in your business.
- There is a possibility that they do not have financial stability and will require regular paychecks to make ends meet.
- Aside from rent, food, and utility bills, they also have monthly costs such as food, rent, and food.
- There is no doubt that they work for you solely for the purpose of getting paid, no matter how much they love your business.
It is clear therefore that money is one of the most important motivators for your employees. Money at a set time each month – not money at some unspecified date in the future, but money at regular and predetermined times every month. For this reason, it is crucial for your employees to have an efficient payroll process in place.
Make sure your employees have the tools they need to succeed
The lack of a reliable payment system can have a detrimental effect on the working life of employees and staff morale. Your employees will be happier and more efficient workers if they receive their wages on time and are paid regularly as well as if all administration is done properly. It is therefore essential that you have a payroll accounting system in place if you want your business to run smoothly:
- Automated direct payments
When we know that we will receive a bank deposit on the day we were promised, we can enjoy a sense of peace of mind. Therefore, you should not delay the payment of your employees’ salaries. A direct automated payment will ensure that there will be no delays in the payment process. - Fast updates to tax codes
There is a possibility that the tax codes of your employees may change. Sometimes this is due to new legislation that will affect their income tax bracket as a result of the new legislation. Occasionally, it is a result of a change in personal circumstances, such as a marriage or becoming a parent. The tax codes should be updated quickly and easily by your system. - Accurate tax information
It is common for employees’ salaries to be deducted from them before they receive them in the form of their paycheck. As an employer, it is your job to make sure that the employee has the best possible experience. It is possible that your employees may not have enough money left to live on if you deduct too much from their salary. In the event that you deduct too little, they may have to make a lump sum payment to the tax office at the end of the year, which may put them in financial trouble. The moral requirement for getting these deductions right goes along with the legal requirement for getting them right as well. - Let your employees help
Depending on the size of your company, you may have dozens, if not hundreds, of employees. You must ensure that the information about each employee is updated in your system whenever they change their home address or their personal status changes. If employees are given limited access to their own information, then it is understandable that they would be able to make changes directly to their own information. By doing this, you should be able to cut down on mistakes, and you can set it up so that any changes to information will be checked before being updated. - Manage holiday accounting
Your payroll system should keep track of how many days an employee is on leave each year, as well as their total leave allowance and any carry-overs from the previous year for that employee. If you allow your employees to apply for leave directly within the system, you will be able to improve the workflow efficiency of your company. The manager will be able to approve or deny their applications without the need to spend an excessive amount of time on paperwork. - Process expenses and travel claims quickly
There may be a number of costs that are incurred by your employees, but these costs can be charged to your company. The best way to avoid any potential stress is to ensure that your employees are reimbursed as soon as possible. - Make regular healthcare, pension or superannuation contributions
There may not be a huge amount of money involved in these payments, but they add up over time – and so do any mistakes that may occur. A good payroll accounting software will take care of all these payments for you automatically. In order to keep your employees happy, you need to be able to handle benefits, overtime, and sick days in a timely and efficient manner.
Choosing the Right Payroll Software
The system you choose should be capable of handling all of the points listed above. There is much more to payroll accounting software than that, however:
- Simplify tax paperwork
When you run a business, you will have to deal with a lot of tax paperwork. The best software will make it as simple as possible for you to manage your finances, by linking to all your accounts at once and retrieving all the necessary information at the same time. After that, all you have to do is check it and submit it – usually online. - Take care of new employees and ex-employees
Taking care of payroll and paperwork for employees leaving your company should only take a few clicks of the mouse. There will be a slight increase in complexity when new employees join, but good payroll software will be able to walk you through the process with ease. - Reduce IT costs
A great piece of software is one that you don’t have to worry about. Support is not required in-house, there are no expensive upgrades, and there is little to no downtime. You can stop worrying about IT issues if you use online payroll accounting software (sometimes referred to as cloud payroll software), because all of these issues will be handled over the internet. - Give you access from anywhere
By using online payroll accounting, you are able to store your payroll data securely, as well as access it online, from wherever you are. There is no need to be in the office in order to approve staff payments or to check the payroll figures each month as you do not need to be there. You can do that from anywhere, at any time, using a laptop, tablet or smartphone, no matter what location you are in. - Stay up to date
The law on taxation changes, the income tax rate can be higher or lower, and employee benefits law isn’t set in stone. If you have a good payroll program, you can make life easier for yourself by incorporating changes when they occur, and then rolling them out to your employees at the same time.
Compare the Best Payroll Companies in Canada
| Brand | Starting base price | Additional price per user | Employer-facing payroll app | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceridian | Contact for quote | Contact for quote | Yes | See Plans |
| ADP | Contact for quote | Contact for quote | Yes | See Plans |
| Wagepoint | $12.00/weekly payroll run or $22.00/bi-weekly payroll run | $2.00/additional employee paid/mo. | Yes | See Plans |
| Payworks | Visit site for quote | Visit site for quote | No | See Plans |
| Wave | $20.00/mo. | $6.00/payee/mo. | No | See Plans |
BambooHR
As payroll and human resources go hand in hand, it is worth considering HR software when looking for your payment solution when it comes to payroll. It is important to note that BambooHR covers all your bases, providing a separate payroll platform so that it synchronizes with its main talent management software. It makes it a lot easier to onboard new employees since it allows you to track hours from the moment they are hired. There are also plenty of other features included in the system such as employee databases, applicant tracking, time-off tracking, and digital signatures.
Zenefits
Among the HR platforms that offer comprehensive small business payroll software, Zenefits is one of the best. Time-off tracking, hourly tracking, salary upgrades, and benefits are all integrated within one single platform that can be customized to meet individual needs. There’s no doubt that if your HR department and payroll department work as a team, it will be much easier to avoid making double entries in your payroll system. For example, your HR administrator only needs to make a salary change once in order for it to be synchronized with the payroll system. With other software on this list, there are a number of subscription packages from which to choose, each with its own features and benefits.
QuickBooks
There is no doubt that you are already familiar with QuickBooks, but this accounting software also includes an easy auto-pay feature that you’ll find helpful and convenient. One of the most important benefits of using this platform is the fact that it is designed to run automatically, which means that you will only have to set up your payroll once for it to be effective. Without any manual input from a user, the program will handle taxation, payments, and other issues on its own.
Paychex Flex
The Paychex Flex payroll and human resources software is an all-in-one solution that can be adapted and expanded with the growth of your company. Using it, you will be able to conduct payroll and integrate your HR administration, retirement, and insurance management with dedicated support customized to meet your needs and a deep understanding of the rules that might affect your organization on a daily basis. You will be able to get three months of free payroll software processing for a limited time.
Gusto
Gusto is a cutting-edge online people management tool that assists small businesses in managing their employees more effectively and efficiently. Over 100,000 modern businesses use our tools and services to onboard, pay, insure, and engage their workforce in an integrated, user-friendly platform that is used to onboard, pay, engage, and pay their employees. It is our goal at Gusto to make taking care of your workforce an enjoyable experience, while also assisting you in managing your bottom line and remaining compliant at the same time. You are going to feel like a pro no matter how intricate the scenario is. Develop a workplace environment where everyone can thrive through collaboration with Gusto.
SurePayroll
The SurePayroll Small Business Payroll software is one of the leading online payroll software solutions for small businesses across the country. Personalized support is provided via phone, email, and live chat by an award-winning customer service team based in the United States. With Small Business Payroll, the process of filing payroll is simplified and ensured, which enables payroll to be filed quickly and effortlessly from any location and at any time. Get a 2-month free trial.
Patriot Payroll Software
With Patriot Software’s online payroll services, you can save time and money in your business by reducing the amount of time you spend on payroll. It is specifically designed for the owners and managers of small businesses in the United States with 1 to 100 employees. We offer a variety of payroll solutions that can be customized to meet your needs: Basic Payroll – a monthly fee of $10. There is a monthly fee of $30 plus $4 per employee for the full-service payroll program. Additional employees are $4 each. It is possible to deposit your paychecks directly into your bank account or to print them out.
Conclusion
It is now time to get started on your new small business that you have just opened. In order to keep track of everything that your company needs, whether it is revenue and outgoings, invoices and receipts, it can seem like a mammoth task to find a piece of software that will do just that. It is often difficult to find software that fits the needs of your business and your individual needs with so many options available today. You can begin by comparing the features of each software against the functionalities you need for your business as a way of determining which software is best for you. As a small business owner, we understand what a challenge it can be to find the right software that will meet all of your unique business needs.