Payroll is more than just paying your employees. There are a number of different areas that make up the payroll process. Things like tracking employee time, withholding payroll taxes, setting up employee contributions and deductions, and so much more go into the entire process. That is why manual payroll is tedious and tiresome. An electronic, paperless payroll process can save your business time and improve its’ financial health. Let’s take a look at the benefits of switching to paperless payroll.
What is paperless payroll?
Paperless payroll is the process of paying your employees, and everything else that goes along with maintaining payroll compliance, online. When moving this entire process online, there is no need for any physical paper documents. This is achieved by using a payroll software, such as isolved. Payroll software has the ability to house all information digitally and maintain compliance throughout the payroll process. Electronic payroll software can:
- Pay employees via electronic funds transfer (EFT) such as direct deposit
- Withhold proper payroll taxes
- Electronically file quarterly and yearly taxes
- Onboard and offboard employees
- Securely store employee and company data
- Track employee time and time off
- Maintain company benefit information
- Give employees online access to paystubs, W2s, and more via an employee self-service module
- Store historical payroll information
What are the benefits of switching to paperless payroll?
Switching to payroll software brings many benefits for businesses.
1. Reduced administrative burden
First, an important benefit of electronic payroll is the reduced workload and time savings that your payroll or human resource department will experience. According to a recent study, the average employee spends 40% more time looking for documents in a filing cabinet as opposed to digital storage.
Instead of having to review employee timecards manually, managers can quickly approve or edit punches and have those automatically flow into payroll for processing. Any employee contribution, deduction, or direct deposit changes do not need to be manually corrected as they are automatically reflected in the payroll software when updated by the employee.
2. Errors are eliminated
As with any manual process, human errors are inevitable. With electronic payroll, those human errors are eliminated. Not only will the mistakes not occur, the extra cost to a business of correcting a paycheck will be eliminated.
3. Supply savings
Another benefit of electronic processes is the supply savings for businesses. With a paperless process, there is no need to use physical paper or printing ink, resulting in a costs savings for the business. According to the same study referenced above, the average office employee using approximately 10,000 sheets of paper per year. Moving to a payroll software will reduce the majority of this wasted paper.
4. Tax compliance
Using a payroll software, especially when outsourcing your payroll, provides added payroll tax compliance for your business. Correct payroll tax withholdings and employer matching are no longer an issue. These FICA, FUTA, and SUTA payments can be filed electronically through the payroll software, saving your staff time and money in potential fines levied by the IRS.
5. Timely and accurate pay for your employees
One way to increase employee retainment and engagement is to consistently paying your employees in a timely and accurate manner. Electronic payroll will accomplish this. Direct deposit is a faster and more efficient way to pay your employees. Writing and sending paper checks will result in a delay in employees receiving their pay. Furthermore, paychecks are more accurate when using automated software since those human errors are eliminated.
6. Access from anywhere, at anytime
Finally, all members of your organization can have access to their pay from anywhere at anytime. It is key to look for a payroll software, like isolved, that has an employee self-service feature. This allows your employees to login on any device. From their employee self-service page, employees can:
- View and print paystubs or W2s
- Update personal information such as name or address
- Update or change direct deposit information
- Clock in and out
- Request time off
- Enroll in benefits and make changes to their benefit contributions
- Submit expense reimbursements
What to do next
All in all, switching to a paperless payroll process is a great move for any business. Paper Trails provides the tools necessary for your business to improve your payroll process. Additionally, your administrative headaches will be reduced, your financial health will improve, and compliance issues will be eliminated. Learn more on things to consider when shopping for a payroll software here.
Contact us today to get started with paperless payroll!