Case Study: How a Payroll System Update Can Pay Back in Dividends
The Challenges: Recently, a K·Coe Isom client was experiencing growing pains. In a few short years they grew from 15 employees to over 150 employees. Their current payroll platform was not able to keep up with the demands of their growing business. In fact, an evaluation performed by the CFO of the company determined that 598 hours annually was being spent keying time data. Additionally, 50 percent of the staff were still receiving live checks – often resulting in problems that required additional manpower for corrections.
The Solution: Through simple automation of the payroll and time-keeping processes, the client was able to save 600 hours on time-consuming tasks, while decreasing errors in calculations, eliminating costly paper paychecks, and automating tax payments, e-filing, and direct deposit. Valuable time and resources were freed up to focus on more important tasks and objectives for the business.
Benefits of and Automated System for Small Businesses
The American Payroll Association (APA) estimates that automation reduces payroll processing costs by as much as 80 percent, much of that from reducing errors in invoices and paychecks. Traditionally, on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, business owners or their accountants pour over spreadsheets, making calculations, filling out government forms, and cut checks for various taxes and payments and then often deposit those payments into various accounts.“Upgrading to more sophisticated payroll automation impacts the time spent on internal payroll processes and compliance, and it has been shown to pay for itself when you begin to evaluate and factor in all of its associated benefits,” says Jessica Stimmel, K·Coe’s TalentPro consultant.
Why automate your payroll?
Peace of Mind: Opting to use computer software to gather and aggregate payroll data, and even process the payroll information, provides peace of mind that you’re paying people accurately, are in compliance, eliminate delays, and can track issues – such as tardiness.- Tax Filing Efficiency: Tax filings are automated to meet tight deadlines and avoid penalties for non-compliance. If tax rates change, your tax tables can also be automatically updated in a computer-based system.
- Gain Valuable Resources and Time: Decrease the process of data gathering, information processing, and disbursement and reporting. It’s easier to add new employees and make salary adjustments or record when an employee quits or is terminated.
- Decrease Expenses: Minimize on printing costs, such as pay slips, through online solutions.