How To Pick The Right HR Payroll Service Provider?

There is no denying the fact that payroll management is crucial for a business. But, at the same time, we cannot overlook the challenges HR professionals face while managing as well as processing payroll.

After years of manual struggles, we have got a ray of light in the form of HR payroll service providers lately.

At present, businesses can find a number of HR service providers and payroll software to navigate payroll compliance in new markets and implement global payroll.

However, selecting a good payroll service provider remains a difficult task.

In this blog, we will tell you everything about payroll service providers and a few effective tricks to pick the best one for your organization.

What Are HR Payroll Service Providers?

As the name itself suggests, a payroll service provider is a company that provides payroll processing services to people who do not have any idea about in-house payroll management.

This is a good option for businesses that want to set up payroll in several countries. In such a scenario, outsourcing payroll can save time as well as energy for HR managers, helping them to concentrate on other critical activities.

According to a latest survey by GPMI, 26% of respondents stated that they chose international payroll providers for smooth payroll processing.

So, HR payroll service providers can, undoubtedly, be very helpful for businesses facing payroll-related problems now.

What Do HR Payroll Providers Do?

You already know what payroll service providers do. Now, you should clearly understand what is included in such services.

When you rely on a payroll provider, the company will help you in:

• Computing gross pay & deductions of every employee
• Checking income tax & deducting other contributions like provident fund
• Computing & paying payroll taxes & contributions on the employer’s behalf
• Filing & paying taxes related to payroll
• Taking care of leave as well as paid time off
• Processing salary checks
• Managing payroll records
• Sending timely reports
• Reporting & adding new employees into the system
• Providing a payroll software that integrates with a company’s existing systems

Remember that not every payroll provider offers all the services we listed above. It usually varies from provider to provider.

Also, you may have heard about full-service payroll providers. For those who haven’t, they are the ones who not just compute employees’ salaries but also deposit the same into every employee’s bank account.

What Are The Different Types of Payroll Providers?

Now, let’s learn about three different types of HR payroll service providers available in the market today:

• Wholly-Owned Global Payroll Providers

First on the list is wholly-owner global payroll providers. They are one single payroll provider that provides services in a host of countries.

If you select this, you will get one service contract, a single partner for queries, and a single system for reporting as well as collecting data.

• Local Payroll Provider

A local payroll provider is also known as an in-country payroll partner. If you are planning to expand your business to the global market, this is the best pick for you.

Local payroll providers are the ones who provide their knowledge in payroll management in one single country to foreign organizations that are willing to explore new markets.

• Payroll Aggregator

Lastly, payroll aggregators are the providers who collaborate with several in-country service providers to give users wider country coverage.

They usually have different payroll providers in different countries but under one service contract.

Note: When you choose a payroll provider for your organization, keep in mind the type and size of your business. There are various other things to be considered, which we will talk about next.

How To Choose A Payroll Provider?

So, these are some awesome tips for you all to pick the right HR payroll service provider for your company:

• Exemplary Customer Service

Visit their website for testimonials, reviews, or ratings. Contact their existing users and know how their journey has been so far. Ask about their customer service. Also, ask if they process the payroll on time and accurately.

This may sound like a tedious task to many of you but it can be really helpful if you do it before making the final call.

• Have Experience & Knowledge

You rely on a payroll provider when you do not have the expertise to carry out the payroll process. So, the provider you choose should have good knowledge and experience in the same.

To check this, ask the company for relevant certificates to gauge their total experience in the market. Check their track record and number of satisfied customers.

• Fair Pricing

Yes, making a decision only on the basis of money is the wrong thing to do. However, that doesn’t mean you should invest more than you should. The pricing should be fair and most importantly, as per the market standards.

To avoid investing more, decide on a budget beforehand and check the minimum & maximum prices of payroll providers in the market.

• Easy To Use & Understand

Not just the pricing but you should also check if the system is user-friendly. Every feature should be clear and straightforward.

In addition to this, you should also check if it scales as per the needs and headcounts of your organization.

Other than the aforementioned things you should also examine a payroll system using the following factors:

• Targets for payroll processing like how much time they take to correct mistakes.
• How much automation do they use?
• Do they stay compliant?
• Do the features they provide solve your payroll challenges?

Conclusion

We hope this blog cleared up all your doubts related to HR payroll service providers.

As we all can witness, today, new age HR tech is truly evolving to automate many aspects of human resources operations.

So, it is perhaps the best time to innovate, as the Covid pandemic has offered all of us an opportunity to relook at and change the growth trajectory of our companies by choosing the best for every process.