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Outsourcing Your Payroll – What to Expect?
Posted on 03 March 2017 by Noreen Munro
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OK, so maybe you've given some thought to this in the past. Perhaps you can see the benefits of outsourcing your company's payroll, such as cost savings (overheads, rising software costs, Auto Enrolment Management, Staffing, Computer Hardware, covering staff absence etc), but you have no idea of how payroll outsourcing works;
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How difficult it will be to transfer the payroll over to a payroll provider?
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How much extra work will I have to dedicate to the process?
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How much will I have to do on an ongoing basis once the payroll has been outsourced?
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What will it cost?
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Will I have to make staff redundant?
The truth is, that no two payrolls are ever the same, even within the same industry. They may be structured differently, have different pay components, pension schemes, departmental structure, reporting requirements……the list goes on.
However, this is where Firefly Payroll can steer the way and show you just how straightforward transferring and processing your payroll can be. We are experts in streamlining the way that a payroll is set up and operated within a payroll system, often able to identify ways of improving a payroll database structure to enable payroll processing to run more efficiently.
So what happens if you decide you want to explore the possibility of payroll outsourcing but you still have some uncertainties and questions you would like answered?...........
……….give us a call!
We will be only too happy to meet with you and talk further. We are not sales people, we do not arrive at your office door rubbing our hands with glee because we have a 'foot in the door', ready to unleash our hard sale tactics! We actually want to meet with you, to understand how your payroll works and make it work better for you. At Firefly Payroll we understand that the payroll function within most companies does not generate revenue, however it is a necessity. And it's essential that payroll management is accurate and efficient.
We are happy to meet with you to discuss how your payroll is currently processed, understand the intricacies and show you ways that we feel the entire process can be improved and optimised.
Therefore the first step in deciding to outsource your payroll is to do your research. Hit the internet, search for payroll companies……there are a few big ones out there! We all do varying degrees of payroll management. Some will claim to manage your payroll but then offer you a portal where you input all of the data and all that the provider does is provide payslips at the end of the month. (Ironically, these tend to be the more expensive of the payroll providers).
There are some of us that sit in the middle, large enough to cope with your payroll but small enough to still have a working relationship with. There are a few payroll providers that fall into this bracket. And if you are looking for someone to actually take ownership of your payroll management, i.e. handle all of the payroll input, process the payroll, provide reports, journals, payslips, auto enrolment management etc, then this is where I would suggest you begin your research.
There are of course many accountancy firms also providing payroll services. Again, these can fall into different categories with many operating their own payroll bureau and others managing only small payrolls but dealing with them themselves. Some accountants even outsource their entire payroll function to other providers, and whilst this can sometimes be beneficial, it is always a question worth asking when doing your research.
Once you have shortlisted a few providers that you feel may be able to manage your requirements, pick up the phone, talk to them or even drop them an email. We all want new business and we will most probably all want YOUR business, this is how we make our living after all. But you should be able to get some advice and at least preliminary talks carried out over the phone. This will enable you to reduce the shortlist to perhaps 2 or 3 providers. Maybe you'll even get down to just one payroll provider that you want to talk further with.
Arrange a meeting. Invite your lucky chosen few to sit down and talk, face to face. Either at your office or at their's. Sometimes it is worth arranging a meeting at the payroll provider's place of business. You will want to see where they are located, how secure their offices are and even get a feel for the office atmosphere. Wherever you choose to meet, I would always advise that you do at least meet. An awful lot of business transactions are carried out on personality, either rightly or wrongly it does happen. And if you are going to trust someone with something as critical as your payroll, it makes sense to know them and decide that you are happy to allow them that responsibility.
How difficult it will be to transfer the payroll over to a payroll provider?
The majority of payrolls can be transferred across very easily. In most cases, we can take an export from your payroll system into either Excel or CSV format and import it straight into our system. Most payroll systems will allow exports into CSV and we can often talk you through the process or even visit your offices to assist with the process.
Next week we will explore the process behind how a payroll is transferred across payroll providers or payroll systems in more depth.
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