The size of your organization means a heavy workload for management. On top of that, every month, there is constant stress to make pay slips and transfer salaries. Additionally, if you are a startup with just a handful of employees, that means payroll is all on you! You don’t have a specific department to handle this work. Hmm! That’s a hectic situation with tons and tons of work already on your table. The solution is quite simple, and let’s jump to it.
Introducing Payroll Automation Software
Payroll automation software is simply tools that take stress out of your payroll work. Well, payroll software automatically calculates employees’ pay and offers one-click pay transfers. You can also schedule payments and manage other relevant records in the system.
Usually payroll is a part of a full-fledged human resource managements system (HRMS). So, the systems can work effectively to save time and money for your business. Furthermore, advance features of payroll systems make the whole process a breeze.
HR and payroll teams use payroll automation to streamline tasks like calculating compensation, generating reports, and ensuring team members receive their salaries. This system reduces manual effort and minimizes errors. Ultimately enhancing employee satisfaction and reducing the company’s stress.
Benefits of Payroll Automation
Payroll automation offers multiple benefits for all sizes of companies. So, whether you are a micro business with only 2-9 employees or a large enterprise with more than 1000 employees. Payroll automation holds a lot of advantages for you. Let’s dig deeper into the details:
Time Savings:
As your business grows, so does your works and mangement needs. According to case studies an average company spend 10 to 30 hours each month to process payrolls. Additionally, if the work force is larger than 50 employees, it will take more time to process.
However with payroll automation softwares you can reduce the manual data entry work. Furthermore, payroll processing become easy. As you already have employee data, just few clicks will be enough to process their payroll.
Accuracy and Compliance:
“Humans are prone to error, but the beauty of technology is its ability to learn from those mistakes.”
Look! Payroll automation software are basically computer program. It can be web-based, cloud-based of system applications. But the main point is they are less prone to errors. There are 0.01% of chances that a program make errors. So, the accuracy and compliance form an automatic system is guaranteed!
Do you know that 49% of US workers consider switching their job after two mistakes in payroll? The pay of an employee is the biggest motivation to work. So, errors in payroll are unbearable.
Additionally, payroll automation softwares strictly follow tax laws and updates in tax laws are quickly updated in this systems. So, there is reduced chance of penalties and fines as everything is already aligned with compliance.
Cost Efficiency:
Cost is a major concern for businesses, and most companies don’t have an in-house finance team. According to data, 53% of businesses outsource their payroll to make room for important tasks. Doing so saves money for their business. However, having payroll automation software drags down the cost a lot more. You don’t need to hire an HR executive to process payrolls. Just fill in the important data of employees once in the system, and it’s good to go.
Although, all the tasks aren’t automated but it lower downs administrative services. On top of that, your business doesn’t need external payroll services now!
Employee Satisfaction:
As we discussed, employees don’t tolerate mistakes in salaries. So, to keep employee satisfaction a priority companies need to use automation payroll systems. Literally, it saves from a lot of headache. You can expect timely and accurate paychecks. Furthermore, a lot of softwares offer self-service options for employees which increases the satisfaction to the next level.
Key Features to Look For in Payroll Automation Software
Every payroll automation isn’t the same. Especially one that processes extensive features at zero cost. Although quality software is available at a low cost, its features may vary. So, here I have picked essential and critical features a payroll automation software must have:
Automated Payroll Processing:
Payroll automation means removing the manual steps from process. The overall quality of work remains the same, but the time to process paycheck is reduced. In simple words, your choose payroll automation software should save you time. That time can be later utilized in more important business work such as making growth strategies.
The system must automatically calculate salaries as a primary feature. Furthermore, it must calculate deductions and benefits of each employee to save time.
Tax Management:
Tax regulation has changed drastically in the past two decades. So, old software for payroll automation is outdated now. For this reason, you must opt for payroll automation software that is continuously updated with tax laws. That way, the system will be able to automatically calculate taxes for each employee.
Furthermore, the automatic tax calculation feature of payroll automation software will make filing and reporting a walk in the park.
Employee Self-Service:
A payroll automation system must work for both organization and employee. The employee must be able to see his/her records and update personal data and other details. It will ensure mutual trust between the organization and its employees. Furthermore, it will help the employees to better manage their records and see their leaves and attendance.
In addition to these services, employee self-service must include access to pay stubs and tax forms. It will make the overall process more smooth and reliable.
Integration Capabilities:
Last but far from least is the capability of integration with other HR and accounting software. Go for software that covers everything from human resource management to finance. Otherwise, look for a system that is compatible with all other systems.
Payroll applications for small businesses must include integration powers or come with a complete suite of applications. It is better if the application is compatible with popular software in the accounting and human resource fields.
Popular Payroll Automation Software Options with Extensive Features
We are in digital era and every problem have an app as solutions. So, does the payroll systems. As you search on the internet for “Payroll applications for small businesses,” there will be a plethora of results. But, hold on! Don’t stumble on the first option you get online.
Here, we have picked the best options available for small businesses. Additionally, we calculated the cost vs value for each one to give you the idea:
No#1 Software: E-Work Force Payroll:
On top of the list we have E-Work Force Payroll automation software with a divers range of features. No matter you company size, the software is compatible with all size companies. On top of that, it come with 30 days free trial with all its features.
Are you a micro business? No problem! E-Work Force Payroll software can handle the tiny details of your team. Furthermore, if you have an enterprise-level company, there still are no problems. Let’s discuss its features and pros, as well as use cases in detail.
Features:
- Direct Deposit: Employee are paid directly in their account
- Multiple Form Submission: The automatic payroll software allows you to submit multiple forms, print, and see detailed views all at once.
- Dynamic Reports: E-work Force Payroll will enable you to generate dynamic reports in real time.
Pros:
- Better user experience and easy-to-navigate design.
- 24/7 customer support with calls and chat features.
- Dynamic price plans to suit different needs.
Use Cases:
- It can be used for large size businesses, including firms with 1000s of employees. Like construction contract companies.
- Suitable for small-size corporations with 10 to 100 employees. Like software houses, digital businesses, and restaurants.
No#2 Software: OnPay:
OnPay comes second on our list. Its the best software to include tips and commission for employees. Suitable for restaurants and businesses that directly sell to customers. In other words an great option for B2C (business to customer) businesses.
Features:
- Multiple payroll schedules for different employees
- Allow tax form submission, including primary tax forms w-2 and 1099 forms.
- Easily incorporate additional payments, including tips and commissions.
Pros:
- Come with a variety of HR features
- Basic minimal cost
- Limited to small corporations (not extensively effective for large-scale businesses.
Cons:
- No chat and call support on weekends
- Fewer benefits enrollment features
- Not suitable for multi-tier handling
No#3 Software: TimeTrex:
Timetrex is an effect yet underrated payroll automation software. It comes with an attendance record, leave management and other HR-related features. Additionally, it is available both onsite and cloud base. You can count on it due to the low costs associated with it and the free trial.
Features:
- Tax management and form submission are a breeze for this software
- Come with a lower price tag
- Suitable for mid-size organizations
Pros:
- Per employee cost is low, $5 each
- Come with a free trial of 30 days
Cons:
- The features are a little bit complex to understand and operate
- Provide an outdated user experience
- Setting up this software can be complex and time-consuming
Comparative Analysis of Discussed Software
The best part is that every software we mentioned here comes with a trial period. So you can try each feature before buying it. Talking about features, E-Work Force stands alone due to its extensive list of features, from tax management to the employee portal.
Moreover, talking about prices E-Work Force software come with dynamic plans. That means you can talk with the team and addres your needs and requirement to get a custom plan. Where else other payroll softwares come with a fixed price tag for each employee record.
How to Choose the Right Payroll Automation Software
Look! The rule is simple. The software that provides extensive features to automate payroll tasks is the one you opt for. There are no hard and fast rules for choosing a specific software. The idea is to use software that offers you peace of mind and smooth workflow. Follow the tips below to select the right software:
Assessing Your Business Needs:
The first step is to determine what you are looking for in payroll automation software. Talking about basics, you must get these features from your payroll software:
- Employee Portal
- Pay Stubs
- Bank Integrations
- Security Management
- Report Creation
These are just basics, that each organization expect from a payroll automation softwares. However depending on your company need you may have other requirements too. For instance if your company hires contractors, you must have a contractor portal in your software. Additionally, complexity of payroll may ask for other requirements as well.
Budget Considerations:
Always consider cost vs. value for automation tools. If the price of software is more than an HR charges for payroll work. You can ditch the software on the spot! Yeah, businesses should be extremely careful about the cost vs. value weight of a system. Here is a breakdown of software with the price and value they provide:
| Payroll Service Provider | Trial Period | Cost per Month |
| E-Work Force | 30 days with access to all premium features | Dynamic prices (contact for quote) |
| Justworks | Not Available | $59 monthly subscription for upto 49 employees |
| TriNet | Not Available | Contact for quote |
Basically, most of the payroll system work on monthly subscriptions and offer services over the internet (cloud based). It is ideal to look for a web based solution as its easy to manage and provide reliable data saving options with high-end security walls.
Ease of Use and Implementation:
As we discussed in the above sections, there is software with outdated UX. Don’t settle for them. Even if the price is low, the user experience matters a lot. It not only appeals to the eye, how will it saves your employees from work fatigue? In other words, it enhances work proficiency. Additionally, user-friendliness will save your part of the work, too. Features like “self onboarding through portals” will allow users to manage their profiles on their own. So you don’t have to complete these tasks manually.
Over and above that, choose a system that offer 24/7 online support. Again! You can relay on E-work Force Payroll application for training and 24/7 support.
Customer Support and Service:
We agree that softwares are less prone to errors. But, what about break downs, system failures and malfunctioning? Things can happen, so they solution is having a software with a good support team on your back. Some softwares offer chat and call support on working days only. You can’t expect same level of support on weekend. Therefore, its better to go with a software that offer support off days too.
You can look for company reviews and ratings to get a better deal.
Implementation and Integration of Payroll Automated Application
Implementation of payroll automation application shouldn’t be chaotic. Otherwise your team will get irritated by system ending up with same old system. So, let’s see how a payroll program is implemented. Here we are taking E-Work Force system as an example.
Steps for Implementation:
First of all, you need to contact with sales team to purchase application. E-Work Force present dynamic pricing plan according to your needs. So, first get a quote and finalize the deal.
After that, you will get access to sign up screen. Continue signing up, the customer team will be next to you during the whole process. Once you are done with sign up process. Simply login and there you have it.
- Make your company! On the top right corner of the screen, you will find a short menu. Here, you can create a company, change, and do more kinds of stuff.
- Once you create the company, you can move to add the company location and employee details.
- Additionally, you will be able to manage payroll and generate paystubs.
Training and Onboarding:
E-Work Force stand on your back during the whole training and onboarding session. At any point you can call or get email support from us in a snap.
Common Challenges and Solutions for Payroll Automation Software
Problems and solutions always come in pairs. Yeah, there are payroll automation software available to ease your stress. But watch out! Many of the payroll automation freeware come with glitches and loop holes.
Look! Payroll is a crucial system for any company, and having glitches in that system means financial problems. You might get attacked by account hijackers, ending up losing all your hard-earned money.
Data Security Concerns:
In 2013 Target’s data breach made the history. The event led to 70 million PII (Personal Identifyable Information) theft and personal bank account information stolen.
Choose a software that minimizes data security concerns. Let’s talk about the E-Work Force payroll system that comes with two step verification and end-to-end data encryption. In simpler terms, your data is protected perfectly with our security walls.
Managing Change:
Most of the organization already maintain records of employees and attendance. Although these system are more manual still feeding all the information in a new database become a giant task.
It is recommended to opt for a system that allow easy data transfer while maintaining the security. You can consider E-Work Force for easy data transfer. There are tons of templates available. Moreover you get the option to import and export your employees data through Excel files.
Future Trends in Payroll Automation
The future of payroll is all about automation and accuracy as the world is rapidly evolving with technology trends. We can predict pretty much all the trends of payroll automation processes. Here are some details for your reference.
AI and Machine Learning:
With the help of AI and machine learning AI system will become more powerful and reliable. It will become easy to analyize data and make future predictions. Additionally, as AI is developing more sense day by day, more enhanced automation features are expected in near future.
Cloud-Based Solutions:
Well, cloud-based solution isn’t future anymore, it’s now! Most of the web-based system including E-Work Force is available to add value to your company and save time. All the data is backed by strong servers, so data breach and break downs aren’t problem anymore.
Additionally, the scalability of payroll system is not limited to a specific size, as the system is evolving and improving every single day.
Enhanced Employee Experience:
Last but undoubtedly amazing trend in payroll automation systems is employee experience. With stand out technology, user experience is getting better and better. Now users can access all the information via mobile device. Additionally, advance self-service options will be the game changer!
Ready, Set, Automate: The Wrap-Up
Payroll automation means saving a lot of time. Furthermore, it opens a whole new world of possibilities for automating tasks that take hours of manual work. The benefits of an automatic payroll system can’t be justified by words. However, you can try the E-Work Force payroll system to automate things to the next level. And experience it in action.
So, stop scrolling and jump to the quote form. Fill out that short form and wait a little to get response from our sales teams. You can also try other available automation solutions available in the market but ultimately you will land here for the best. Additionally, the E-Work force system is continuously evolving and improving so expected future features will be all in your software.
FAQs:
What is automated payroll software?
Automated payroll software is a tool to help you eliminate manual payroll tasks. Basically, the idea is to increase work efficiency by reducing data entry, basic calculation, and tax processing tasks. A basic automated payroll software should be able to:
- Automated Payroll Processing
- Offer Employee Self-Service
- Integration Capabilities
What is the difference between manual payroll and automated payroll?
Simply put, manual payroll need more work as you need to do each and every entry and calculation yourself. On the other hand, automated payroll system offer more flexibility and options to automate task and perform calculations. Additionally, automated payrolls allow automated reports and form submissions.
What is an example of a payroll system?
E-Work Force system is the best example of automated payroll system. It comes with a wide range of automation features and up to date technology integration. In short a best choice for all size of businesses who need payroll processing.
How can I automate payroll?
Invest in a good payroll automation system. Most of the softwares are available on subscription. You can opt for one with good speed and quality features.
What is the best payroll software to use?
There are plent of payroll softwares available with all claiming to be the best softwares. However, we suggest turning for E-Work Force payroll automation software.
