Did you know 82 million U.S. employees are affected due to payroll problems? However, 54% of U.S. employers have acknowledged the fact that there is potential improvement in their existing payroll policies and practices through proper payroll management. That being said, there are different factors to consider when selecting the most suitable payroll software for your Sri Lankan business, such as features, convenience, integrations, support, etc. Therefore, this blog will help you evaluate these factors and help you select the payroll software that is on time, convenient for your business, accurate and has all the required additions and deductions for all your employees.
1. Define your business payroll requirements
Before researching the various types of payroll software available, you need to understand what your business requires regarding features, costs, size, convenience and durability. For this purpose, take a piece of paper and note down the following:
- How many employees do we have?
- How many temporary employees do we have?
- How large is the business?
- What is our payroll budget?
- Will employees possess benefits through payroll software?
- How often will we conduct payroll?
- Who will manage the payroll, and how much experience do they have with it?
- Will pay slips be provided to employees?
- Do we need standalone payroll software?
Based on your answers to these questions, you can evaluate the available payroll software and choose the most suitable software that suits your business’s payroll requirements.
2. Decide the level of business analysis you require
You need to select a payroll software which can handle your business analysis requirements. Thus, you need to decide if you need to assign payroll costs to separate cost centres in the business? Do you need to analyze your payroll costs in different departments? Therefore, you need to select a payroll software that can manage your business’s reporting demands by generating accurate reports like payroll summary, deductions, EPF and ETF, wages, etc.
3. Comply with payroll laws
Every company needs to comply with labour-related laws and payroll legislation. Having payroll software that complies with the Sri Lankan labour laws and payroll legislation will prevent costly and unwanted legal penalties from your side.
4. Research and examine payroll software features
Here are some of the payroll features to consider for your business when selecting a payroll software:
- Integrations – the number of integrations a particular payroll software offers will help you smoothen the payroll process, improve analytics, save time, cost and resources. Payroll software which integrates with Human Resource software and accounting software can significantly reduce the number of risks of managing information from various departments.
It’s also helpful to consider payroll software that integrates with time cards. In this manner, you don’t have to enter employee hours manually.
- Employee self-service app – this feature will provide your employees with easy access to their payroll data. An employee self-service portal should generally show the leave balances, working hours, tax forms etc.
- Mobile app with GPS tracking – for convenience, you need to consider having a payroll software that offers a mobile app or a mobile-friendly website to record employee attendance and access other features. The mobile app is ideal for businesses with different office locations, teams, or too many employees or if employees have to go to a site visit and log their attendance in that area.
- Payroll reports – for a more detailed analysis of your business’s payroll, you must ensure that the payroll software you select has proper reporting functions. This should provide salary reports, tax reports and payroll summary reports.
- Notifications – select payroll software that offers email, SMS alerts, reminders and push notifications.
- Security – Your company will be managing confidential information. You must select a payroll software with strong security features like password protection, solid storage and limited access control.
To understand the different Sri Lankan payroll software, which you can select based on features, visit our blog on the Sri Lankan Payroll Software Comparison.
5. Decide your payroll budget
The payroll budget is integral to many businesses’ payroll software decision-making process. Based on different payroll software, the pricing depends on the features, modules, subscription basis (monthly/yearly) etc.
We have included this information in our previous blog on the Sri Lankan Payroll Software Comparison.
6. Examine customer reviews
It’s helpful to examine customer reviews when selecting payroll software. This will help you gain direct advice from customers who have already purchased the payroll software. You can check such reviews on Google reviews, social media comments and website testimonials.
FAQ’s
1. What should my business look for in a payroll software?
- Affordability.
- Convenience.
- Features.
- Technical support.
- Security.
- Integrations.
- Compliance with labour laws and payroll-related legislation.
2. Can my business handle payroll alone?
Yes, of course! However, based on the payroll software you select depending on your business requirements, you might need extra training and knowledge on handling payroll. Most Sri Lankan payroll softwares provide such assistance.
3. How much should I pay for a payroll software?
This all depends on the number of employees, the features and modules you select, and the payroll features your business requires.
4. Do I need a payroll software?
Suppose you have many employees and want to pay employees weekly or monthly. In that case, you may need payroll software to conveniently handle the payroll process to ensure timely and accurate employee salary payments are generated.
5. What does the payroll software do?
Payroll software helps with paying employees for their time worked in the company. It will ensure over time, the number of hours worked and so on are recorded and automate time-consuming tasks such as drawing up salary slips, complying with labour laws and tax regulations etc.
Therefore, we hope that this blog has provided you with a comprehensive understanding of how you can wisely select a payroll software for your business that satisfies your business’s payroll requirements.
Resources
https://www.thesmbguide.com/how-to-choose-a-payroll-software
https://www.zenefits.com/workest/payroll-stats-small-business/
