The Buyer’s Guide to HR and Payroll Software
Not all HR & payroll software is created equal. Different platforms have been created to specialize in some functionality, which means it’s important to know what to look for when considering a new system. Throughout this short article, we’ll be reviewing the key features you should expect from any worthwhile system so you can make an educated choice on your next payroll platform.
HR Features
The Human Resources department plays a vital role in the success of any organization. Here are the key features you should look for when considering new HR software.
- Onboarding – From screening potential applicants to complete new hire paperwork, onboarding can certainly be a time-consuming process. Fortunately, most HR software will offer onboarding solutions that allow the necessary paperwork to be completed digitally, reducing the number of times data must be re-entered while also ensuring the proper forms are filed.
- Task Management – The larger the organization, the easier it is for your company to become unorganized. Unfortunately, an unorganized workplace is unlikely to reach peak productivity levels, so you must find a way to manage all of your employees effectively. A task management system can help with this by allowing you to assign specific tasks to individual employees.
- Time Tracking – The number of hours an employee puts in each week must be tracked accurately, lest your employee retention rates fall. Time tracking ensures employees are properly credited for their time on the clock. Remote clock in/clock outs even allow the employer to verify that an employee was on the job by using GPS to verify their timesheet information, effectively preventing time card fraud.
- Compliance Documentation – Maintaining the proper documentation for all full-time and part-time employees (and contractors) is a legal requirement for all businesses. HR software can store and organize this information for you, allowing for easy retrieval in the event of an audit. This will also help you complete year-end reporting more effectively since the system can generate reports for you using the information collected thus far.
- Benefits Management – Software like UZIO allows employees to manage their benefits, eliminating the need for a trip down to HR. Self-service benefits management enables employees to change their benefits as needed while also reducing the workload for HR staff.
Payroll Features
For your workforce to be productive, they will have to be properly and promptly compensated for their time. The features below will help ensure this happens every pay period.
- Payroll Calculations – Manually calculating payroll is ineffective and time-consuming. Fortunately, payroll software can use the timesheet information to accurately compute employee payroll in real-time, eliminating the need for manual calculations. The payroll platform will apply federal, state, and local taxes and any additional deductions like health care costs, child support, or retirement plans on each paycheck.
- Paycheck Distribution – Your choice of payroll software should offer multiple forms of paycheck distribution. The most common options are by check, direct deposit, or via prepaid debit cards. Having your payroll platform manage paycheck distributions ensures that all employees are compensated on time without requiring any manual input or maintenance from payroll staff.
- ACA Compliance – Tax laws are complicated and constantly changing, which puts your business at risk for non-compliance (and hefty fine!) if you’re manually calculating employee paychecks. Your choice of payroll platform should stay up-to-date with the current tax laws, keeping your business ACA compliant while generating paychecks and filing payroll taxes according to schedule.
- Year-End Reporting – Creating payroll reports takes a lot of time if done manually but can be done quickly and easily using the year-end reporting feature on your payroll platform. Payroll software uses all the data collected thus far to generate year-end reports, eliminating the chance of errors and reducing the amount of time required to complete your year-end paperwork.
While the above features are all basic requirements of any worthy payroll platform, you’ll also want to consider other factors, such as the scalability or integrability of any platform. After all, your new software should help grow your business, not limit it! To learn more about the additional aspects, you’ll need to consider when choosing a payroll platform for your business,
