One of the most important goals for any business, no matter which industry they reside in, is the constant pursuit of peak efficiency in their operations. This extends to all facets of the company, including the critical payroll and HR functions. Modern payroll software solutions offer a number of features that enable organisations to realise their goal of greater efficiency via streamlined payroll and HR processes.
Below are a number of benefits that these features bring, along with an explanation of how they boost the effectiveness of payroll and HR departments.
Automated payroll calculations
Regardless of how many employees a business currently possesses, the crucial responsibility of accurately calculating and distributing each staff members’ pay every pay cycle is a challenge. To ensure mistakes are not made, all pay components must be carefully included and tallied when required, representing a time-consuming task for all involved.
Luckily, today’s payroll software solutions possess the ability to automate calculations for payroll including back pays, termination payments, leave management and taxation, easing the burden on payroll managers. Various additions and deductions can usually also be created to include popular allowances that are frequently applied such as travel, meals and mobile phones.
Simplified superannuation payments
The calculation and payment of superannuation including concessional contributions such as the Superannuation Guarantee, salary sacrifices and voluntary employer amounts as well as non-concessional contributions including personal and spouse contributions can often be a challenge. Add to this the need to determine each employee’s eligibility for super contributions, plus the task of correctly paying the precise amount into each individual’s chosen fund at the appropriate time, and completing superannuation payments each pay cycle turns into a time-consuming process.
Payroll software can alleviate both the risk of error, and the difficulty associated with accurately handling superannuation. Calculations to establish contribution amounts as well as Superannuation Guarantee eligibility can be completed automatically. Software solutions also enable the remittance of superannuation contributions using EFT to participating funds that can be attached to each employee. Additionally some payroll software systems offer access to a superannuation clearing house service allowing much easier distribution of information and contributions to employees’ chosen super funds.
Human resources functionality
The effective management of staff is one of the most important aspects of operating a successful business. Not only does the proper utilisation of human capital promote increased productivity, it also facilitates numerous other benefits to an organisation.
Many modern payroll software solutions boast generous human resources functionality to assist businesses in achieving improved workforce effectiveness and talent management. Detailed employee records can be easily maintained with information on an individual’s medical details, probationary period, skills and competencies. Tools are often included to track accidents and incidents as well as rehabilitation to make the daily management of Work Health & Safety (WH&S) issues simpler. Training management functions can enable the effective development of staff skills by allowing the capture of comprehensive information including course providers, venues, cost per head and training manuals. Recruitment facilities allow the critical process of locating and acquiring talent to be completed more efficiently by tracking vacant positions, applicants, interview processes and promotion to employees.
Abundant reporting options for effective analysis
The ability to generate reports and detect adverse trends by analysing payroll data is important for all companies searching for a higher level of efficiency. Unfortunately the exercise of producing these reports, especially custom-made versions containing specific data, can be time-consuming.
Assistance is now available with the comprehensive reporting and analysis options that are now commonplace among payroll software solutions. Normally offering a suite of standard reports, most payroll software programs also include numerous other options allowing users to quickly generate different reports upon request. Some systems also cater for a business’s need to build specific reports for their requirements by allowing the creation of custom-made reports from scratch, providing unlimited flexibility for reporting and analysis.
