Payroll systems are one of the most important — and complex — aspects of running a business. In Australia, numerous payroll laws and regulations can be challenging to navigate, especially for businesses with limited resources.
Every small business owner and employer has enough on their plate; from managing day-to-day operations to keeping up with the latest compliance regulations, it's easy to feel like you're over your head.
Fortunately, there is a solution: outsourcing to a professional payroll service provider.
Here are five benefits of outsourcing payroll for your business.
1. Guaranteed Compliance When You Outsource Payroll Processing
Payroll compliance in Australia is a complex and ever-changing landscape
While it is true that paying wages on time is an integral part of payroll compliance, there is much more to the broader process. In Australia, payroll compliance includes a wide range of regulations and laws governing everything from superannuation contributions, to tax withholding, to workers compensation.
Employers must also ensure they meet their obligations under industrial awards and agreements. Business owners who fail to comply with these regulations can face stiff penalties, including significant fines and even imprisonment.
As a result, it is essential for business owners to have a detailed understanding of all aspects of payroll & tax compliance.
When you outsource to a payroll provider, you ensure your payroll function complies with Australian payroll legislation. In addition to data security and advice on changing government regulations, payroll companies can maintain the following:
- Employees receiving wages in line with the relevant modern award or enterprise agreement
- The correct payroll taxes withheld from employee wages
- Employees are receiving allowances, overtime and penalty rates in accordance with their governing modern award or enterprise agreement,
- Payment of superannuation guarantee
- Manage late payroll tax filings
- Maintaining accurate employee records & data entry
This peace of mind is invaluable, particularly for small businesses that may not have the in-house payroll staff or HR professional expertise to ensure compliance and accurate payroll management.
Manual payroll processing is especially prone to errors and inefficiencies due to the sheer number of payroll data and records needed, as well as the complex calculations within.
Moreover, businesses that aren’t using payroll software are more likely to make such errors when calculating employee hours, entitlements, and taxes.
These payroll mistakes can lead to underpayment or overpayment of employees, resulting in serious penalties from the Fair Work Commission for non-compliance and payroll fraud. In addition, the time and cost associated with fixing these mistakes can be significant.
In our experience, the best way to avoid these challenges is to outsource your payroll as a service to a specialist provider, such as Pay Cat.
Outsourcing payroll can help avoid these problems, and other regulatory compliance pitfalls businesses may face.
This can be extremely helpful when dealing with complex issues such as:
- modern award allowances
- payroll tax
- redundancy payments
- International payroll
- national minimum wage increases
- annual leave on termination
Here at Pay Cat, we leverage our payroll expertise and cloud payroll technology to provide a suite of solutions and services to help you transform your business payroll management processes from manual to automated.
If you want to know more about Pay Cat’s comprehensive solution and find a plan that works for you, get in touch today.
Outsourcing to a third-party payroll company can be a more cost-effective solution since you won't have the overhead costs of maintaining a payroll department.
We recently conducted a price comparison of having one in-house payroll employee versus having the right payroll outsourcing provider.
You’d be surprised by the results, which you can read in our latest blog post: How Much Does Payroll Outsourcing Cost?
An outsourced payroll provider, such as Pay Cat, often offers solutions to automate time and attendance, rostering, and workforce management.
These solutions can help improve efficiency and accuracy while freeing up your time to focus on other business processes.
For example, Employment Hero Payrollis an all-in-one workforce management solution that automates the entire payroll processing journey from start to finish. From the moment you onboard a new employee until they're paid in full, Employment Hero Payroll places you in complete control with full compliance.
You can easily manage your employee onboarding, time and attendance, leave management, payslips, and super contributions - all in one place. Pay Cat is proud to offer services for support and training in maximising Employment Hero Payroll’s cloud software. If you would like to find out more, book a demo today.
With the complex web of laws and regulations, it can be difficult to keep up with the latest changes. This is where outsourcing payroll services to an expert provider can be beneficial.
An expert provider will include a team of professionals who are up-to-date on the latest changes and can help to ensure your compliance. In addition, payroll outsourcing can deliver various value-added services, such as implementing automated payroll software.
Remember, businesses that don’t take payroll compliance seriously are not only exposing themselves to potential penalties, but they are also eroding employee trust and jeopardising their reputation. If your business struggles with your payroll system, talk to us today about how we can help with our payroll services.
Pay Cat has the experience and expertise to implement payroll processes to ensure your business activities remain compliant, without the hassle and stress of doing it yourself.
