A guide to investing in the right payroll solution

The right payroll solution is much more than a piece of technology – it is a critical part of why people come to work. Employees want to ensure that their salary is being handled in a way that inspires confidence in their organisation.

The right system will help you with challenges such as administrative headaches and strategic decisions associated with managing a growing organisation, as well as help you save time, reduce costs and boost employee and management satisfaction and experience.

Assess your needs

Before you start researching the various payroll solutions the market has to offer, it’s important to determine what your business requirements are. Key issues to consider include essential features versus optional add-ons, cost, user-friendliness, integration with existing systems and legislative compliance.

Choosing a new payroll solution can feel like a daunting task, but using the following focus points will help make your decision much easier and ensure you choose the system that is best suited to your business.

Cloud-based software

A cloud-based system doesn’t require physical hardware and can be accessed and updated from any device, at any time. All upgrades and patches are provided by the solution provider. This not only enables businesses to ensure stable operations, but is also a huge convenience for all types of workers, whether they are in-office, work from home, hybrid or nomad employees, as they can work more efficiently and productively.

Employee Self-Service

In today’s fast-paced business world, an employee self-service (ESS) portal is an essential component of a good payroll solution. Managers and administrators need to be able to access and make changes to data immediately so access to real-time information on an easy-to-use dashboard is a must.

Additionally, with an ESS system employees don’t have to wait on their manager to assist them – they can view and download their payslips and tax documents themselves, apply for leave and change their personal information when necessary.

Reporting

There is a famous line: “You can’t know where you are going until you know where you have been”. The same applies to reporting – you need to have all the facts and data to be able to do budgets and future project plans. Having records of past performance will guide and determine future growth to a more profitable business. Your chosen payroll solution must be able to generate the general and customised reports you need quickly and easily, while delivering the assurance that the reports are accurate and up to date.

Compliance management

A compliance management system helps a company incorporate all the laws, guidelines and specifications such as adherence to the Labour Relations Act and other legislation into business processes and operations to ensure that the company remains within legal limits and requirements are met.

Whether your employees are employed nationally or internationally, a good payroll solution should provide all the reporting and calculations you need to stay compliant.

Scalability

You need to make sure that you have the right payroll solution for the size of your business, or you are just wasting time, which is wasting money. Whatever type of expansion you envisage, whether its expanding your footprint or providing new benefits to your employees, the system must be able to handle these complexities and grow with your business as it evolves.

Security

Companies are a bank of information. This includes the personal information of its employees, which is safeguarded by the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). Any breach of the regulations contained in this Act and the company’s information officer faces a fine of up to R10 million or ten years in jail.

Personal information is also extremely valuable, as the 2022 hacking incident at credit bureau Transunion proves. Consequently, the payroll system you choose must be secure and be subject to ongoing support and upgrades to ensure that no information is leaked or hacked.

System Integration

Seamless integration with any other existing systems you may be using to run your business is another important consideration. This will enable you to manage employee data without having to duplicate data capturing, which is not only time-consuming but often results in errors.

Integrated systems also eliminate the need to reconfigure everything should a third-party module need to be upgraded or your business changes.

Reputation

Employees are the first tier of company reputation. They talk to their family and friends and ask questions about their systems and how “their company does things”. If your company is lagging behind, the gossip becomes that the company is backward. These conversations have a ripple effect and become an element of your reputation. The payroll solution you choose must therefore project a positive message of innovation, convenience and professionalism with the employee as the main focus.

All things considered, when it comes to choosing a payroll solution, cloud-based online systems are clearly the way to go. If your payroll administrators are relying on Excel spreadsheets and manual processes to perform specific payroll functions, then it’s time to invest in a payroll solution with the features listed and explained above.

Choosing the wrong payroll solution can lead to your employees being paid late or inaccurately, which negatively impacts their performance and morale. Then there is also the administrative and legal fallout to deal with.To put it simply, a good payroll solution is worth the investment. It eliminates administrative challenges, ensures legislative compliance, and delivers reliability for your staff.

Give CRS a call and we’ll help you ensure you invest in the right payroll solution for your business.