How an online payroll system benefits businesses

Undoubtedly, payroll is one of the most taxing yet crucial tasks that an organization has to manage, and it must be done carefully to improve employee morale and keep compliance issues at bay. Every aspect of employee payroll, from calculating wages to documenting payroll reports, has to be error-free to enhance the confidence your employees have in your organization. This makes managing payroll manually, especially at a time when employees are scattered in different locations, a pain that you don't want to inflict on your team. Adopting an online payroll system is the most ideal thing to do, considering how paycheck errors and inconsistent pay schedules can even force employees to leave your organization. If you are wondering if an online payroll system is worth the investment, here are five benefits that come with adopting one:

• Supports remote payroll calculation

An online payroll system automates the complete payroll calculation process, meaning payroll can be processed seamlessly, accurately, and on time, no matter where your employees or teams work from. Because payroll systems are often tightly integrated with HR software, yours should gather any leave, attendance, and timesheet data required for payroll calculation automatically. This makes collaboration among HR, finance, and payroll teams easier by providing clear visibility into each step involved in payroll processing based on suitable roles and permissions. For instance, somebody from the payroll team can log in to the system anytime and track if the reimbursement claim submitted by a particular employee has been approved by the finance team. Similarly, different documents like proof of investments, bills for reimbursement, and more can be collected through the system itself.

• Comes with built-in and custom features

Modern, cloud-based payroll management systems are loaded with several useful features that make payroll processing breezy and convenient. For instance, online payroll software often comes with direct deposit capability, allowing you to send an employee's salary right to their bank account. Payroll systems also help organizations simplify tax calculation and filing. Similarly, the customizable features in the payroll system allow your organization to run payroll in a way that is consistent with your organizational rules and regulations. For instance, you can define your pay schedule, decide how earnings, deductions, and reimbursements should be calculated, choose a payslip template that is suitable to your organization, and define who should access what. Further, compliance is no headache either because most payroll systems comply with local and regional payroll laws by default.

• Makes payroll convenient for employees

Because everything is automated, there's no room for errors in payroll, and employees can be paid on time more consistently. This will surely go a long way towards improving the trust your employees have in your organization. In addition to this, most online payroll systems come with a built-in employee self-service portal that empowers your employees to track and manage their payroll activities hassle-free. Through the portal, your employees can get a clear understanding of their salary structure, download their payslips anytime, submit proof of investments, declare their income tax, understand their pay growth, and more.

• Promotes data security

Payroll involves a substantial amount of sensitive data that has to be managed with the utmost care. Managing payroll data manually makes that data vulnerable to theft or even destruction. However, payroll management software systems ensure the highest level of data security. For instance, not all the data found in these systems will be available to everybody in your organization. Access can be defined based on the role an employee has. Two-factor authentication can also be enabled to keep unauthorized access at bay, and sensitive employee information can be encrypted.

• Simplifies documentation

Documenting payroll records is super important for combating compliance issues that may arise as you grow your business. Because all your payroll processes are centralized online, the necessary data can be accessed from anywhere, anytime.  Similarly, reports containing key information like the number of hours employees have worked, the number of days they've taken off, the total salary paid to employees, and any tax or reimbursement information can be generated in no time as all the data is present readily within the system.

Wrapping up

How you manage your payroll operations shows your commitment towards paying your employees consistently for all the hard work they put in to support your business. With a dedicated online payroll system, there'll never be a month when employees were overpaid, underpaid, or not paid on time. We hope this blog gave you insight on the benefits of an online payroll system.

Zoho People, our HR system, is tightly integrated with Zoho Payroll, our online payroll management system to cut down the administrative burden associated with payroll management. It automates the complete payroll process from payroll calculation to record-keeping. Learn more about our payroll integration.