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Cloud Payroll Software
Payroll

What is Cloud Payroll Software?

Cloud payroll software is the newest and arguably the most efficient payroll solution available to businesses. The growing cloud payroll market offers increasing automations and integrations to simplify payroll management. In this article we will discuss what cloud payroll software is, the different businesses that use it and the features and benefits of cloud payroll software. 

What is cloud payroll software?

Cloud payroll software is a payroll solution based in the ‘cloud’ that can be accessed via an internet connected device such as a laptop, tablet or smartphone from any location, at any time. Cloud payroll software allows businesses to streamline payroll processing and simplify payroll operations in real time.

What businesses use cloud payroll software?

Small businesses

Small businesses are increasingly using cloud payroll to streamline and automate their payroll management. QuickBooks Payroll is an all-in-one payroll software for small businesses, specifically designed to help small businesses navigate payroll seamlessly. QuickBooks offers Standard Payroll and Advanced Payroll options that can be added to any QuickBooks Online plan to suit the needs of businesses at different stages in the growth journey. This also allows small businesses the freedom to scale up when they are ready.

Accountants, bookkeepers and accounting firms

Accountants, bookkeepers and accounting firms often revise and review their clients’ payroll as part of their accounting duties. Therefore, having a working knowledge of cloud payroll software that their accounting clients use adds a great skill to an accountant’s portfolio and may help increase their client base.

Cloud payroll software is also beneficial for accounting firms who are likely already using accounting software. QuickBooks offers payroll software for accountants and bookkeepers to streamline their payroll so they can focus on high value accounting tasks and serving their customers.

What does cloud payroll software do?

Small business owners often feel stressed when handling payroll every month. Accuracy is vital when managing payroll and a reliable payroll system such as QuickBooks cloud payroll software can change the way you operate your business. Here’s what QuickBooks cloud payroll features can do: 



  • Automate payroll: Cloud payroll can automate most aspects of the payroll process including scheduling automatic pay runs.
  • Calculate complex payroll calculations and tax calculations: QuickBooks automatically calculates hourly pay, superannuation, overtime, holiday pay, bonuses and tax deductions so you can be confident you haven’t missed anything. 
  • Generate and send custom payslips: Create customised payslips that reflect your business branding.
  • Employee self-service: Employees can access and update personal information and timesheets, request leave and view payslips via the employee self-service app Swag.
  • Automatic award interpretation: QuickBooks Advanced Payroll has modern awards built in to ensure your business applies accurate award wages based on the relevant industry awards.
  • Rostering and wage overview: QuickBooks Advanced Payroll allows you to access rosters and manage shifts, view projected wage costs and set budgets for different shifts or locations.

To learn more about how payroll software works, read our introduction to payroll software for Australian employers.

The Benefits of Cloud Payroll

Cloud payroll offers many benefits to business owners and employees. Let’s have a look at the benefits of SaaS (software as a service) cloud payroll like QuickBooks offers in more detail.

  • Save time: Payroll software automatically calculates complex payroll calculations and keeps your payroll records organised in one place, saving you time to focus on other important aspects of your business.
  • Reduce staffing costs: Hiring a payroll manager or outsourcing payroll can be a costly expense for small businesses compared to cloud payroll software plans that include a more affordable monthly fee.
  • Improved accuracy: Automatic calculations, formulas and built in award interpretation reduce the risk of errors associated with manual data entry.
  • Improved employee job satisfaction: Cloud payroll makes it simple for your team to stay connected with access to employee self-service to manage timesheets, request leave and view payslips and may improve employee morale.
  • Multi-device access on the go: Cloud payroll software allows busy business owners and payroll managers to access payroll information on the go and remotely, from any internet connected computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone, anytime, anywhere.
  • Data-security: Cloud-based payroll provides additional data security and comes with multi-factor authentication, encrypted passwords, and will automatically shut down after a period of inactivity to ensure privacy is retained.
  • Scalable payroll solution: QuickBooks Payroll offers Standard and Advanced cloud based payroll plans so you can scale your payroll operations as your business grows.

Grow Your Business with QuickBooks

Finding the right cloud-based payroll software solution

There is a lot to consider when choosing the right cloud-based payroll software for your business including the features and benefits mentioned above. Read our ultimate guide to payroll systems in Australia to help you determine if cloud-based payroll software is the right payroll system for your business.

QuickBooks Payroll combines two key business functions, payroll solutions and accounting software, to make payroll management simple. You don't need to use two separate systems and do the work twice, you can streamline your payroll and business needs. Book a free setup session to get started with QuickBooks Payroll and get free support from our team of experts.


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