GUIDE

PAYROLL

Key Benefits of Payroll Software

Payroll software benefits and how to choose the right payroll software for your small business

Managers using a Quickbooks Payroll Software for their small business

Learn about the key benefits of payroll software and see how it ensures you stay compliant in Australia.

Payroll accounting can seem like a bit of a headache, even though taking on employees is a sure sign of business success.

Once you start making payments to other people there’s a lot to deal with. Keeping on top of all the changes in tax, employment law and regulatory issues is a complex and time-consuming task. Year-end becomes a minefield with the ATO knocking on your door for tax returns, alongside the race for employee payment summaries, and as you can imagine, it’s a breeding ground for errors and miscalculations.

This is where payroll software comes into its own.

Who needs payroll software?

The simple answer is anyone with employees, or who pays themself as an employee.

What does payroll software do?

In a nutshell, payroll software will ensure you are accurately recording the payments to your staff and reporting to the ATO in a timely manner. That’s crucial in retaining your staff and meeting reporting obligations. Happy staff will remain with you longer, which can also improve your bottom line.

Here are a few reasons why you should use payroll software and how it can benefit your business.

Key benefits of payroll software

Save time

Payroll accounting software such as QuickBooks Payroll Powered by Employment Hero takes the manual number crunching out of the process, leaving your payroll administrator to oversee everything. Tax deductions will be calculated for you. It can also track leave taken, expenses, bonuses, holiday pay, overtime, super and hourly pay or salaries. With the advent of open banking, payments are faster and more secure than ever.

Simplify payroll compliance

Staying up-to-date with current tax rates can feel like a constant game of catch-up. But there’s no need to worry with payroll software. It can track and update all the latest rates so that you are always using the latest tax tables. QuickBooks payroll software includes inbuilt Single Touch Payroll (STP) and pre-built awards to help you stay compliant.

Improved accuracy

As with all aspects of your business, manual data entry increases the risk of human error and potentially costly mistakes. Under-deductions, late payments, miscalculations – they’re all part and parcel of a manual entry system. When all the number crunching is handled by your payroll software, that risk is reduced. You’ll be on top of your record keeping obligations, so it’s much easier to meet deadlines and make payments to the ATO in plenty of time. Especially with a built-in reminder.

Increase employee satisfaction

Some payroll software offers employees access to their own portal. This gives them restricted access to the system and allows them to check details, see their payment history and even book time off. 

Using payroll software promotes transparency with employees and helps build trust among your employees, ensuring they feel confident that they will get paid the right amount on time.

Generate automatic payslips

By law, all employers are required to give each employee a payslip with the details of their pay and any deductions. It’s important that you ensure that the payroll software you choose lets you produce smart (ideally customisable), secure and compliant payslips that can be printed or emailed as well as PAYG summaries (only applicable to those still not on STP reporting) and payroll reports.

Organised record keeping

Payroll software will make your year-end easier with organised record keeping. Automatic tracking, recording and reporting is offered as part of most payroll software. These features make the year end far less stressful for you or your payroll manager – gone are the days of paperwork mountains.

Reduced payroll errors

And there’s another added bonus…It has the potential to save you a lot of money in penalties. Payroll places an extremely high level of responsibility on employers and getting it wrong could potentially be a very painful and expensive experience.

Access payroll data anytime, anywhere

Payroll Software such as QuickBooks allows you to access your employees data anywhere, anytime from multiple devices. With 24/7 access to your payroll records, you can easily streamline your payroll process and work from anywhere.

How to choose the right payroll software for your small business

If you have fewer than 10 employees you can use ATO-compliant free payroll software to report PAYG information online, however, this may not help meet all requirements. Larger businesses, or those looking for additional functionality, will need to use paid-for software that’s ATO compliant in order to meet their obligations. 

To get the most out of your payroll software, choose a system like QuickBooks Payroll with features that can support:

  • Payments and Deductions including the Medicare levy, superannuation, student loans and statutory payments (for example - personal/carer’s leave, holiday pay and parental leave)
  • Superannuation schemes, assessing employees, creating communications and managing contributions including Salary Sacrifice superannuation
  • Several pay run payment options such as weekly or monthly
  • Error corrections
  • Full integration with other systems such as your business accounts, to help provide greater business insight.

QUICK TIP: Make sure the software you choose offers a step-by-step guide to getting set up and offers good expert human support if you’re unsure about anything.

What is the best payroll software?

QuickBooks offers a choice of secure payroll accounting solutions. QuickBooks’ Standard Payroll subscription offers a robust solution for businesses that require fast and non-complex payroll processing, whilst the QuickBooks’ Advanced Payroll subscription caters for more complex payroll requirements such as rosters and employee agreements. Find out more about QuickBooks Payroll.

It makes sense to simplify your payroll – you’ll be glad of this when it comes to year end. With more time on your hands, you’ll be able to concentrate on what really matters - growing your business.

We hope you’ve found this article useful. Find out more about how QuickBooks’ payroll solutions can help streamline the way you pay your employees and stay compliant.

Discover QuickBooks Payroll software today

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