One of the most essential tasks that small business owners need to manage is keeping track of their employees’ pay. Payroll requires accuracy to ensure their team gets paid the right amount, on time, while also making sure the tax payments are accurate.
Since many small business owners wear several hats, having great payroll software can help keep track of employee hours, pay, and the amount of taxes deducted from their paychecks. Here are some features you need to look for in payroll software.
What Should Payroll Software Do?
Unless your business only has one or two employees, doing payroll manually takes time. Good payroll software can make quick work of the chore and ensure it is correct every time. It will also have the following features:
Customize the Number of Employees
Helpful payroll software will allow you to change the number of employees in your business easily and efficiently. You may start with only two employees, but the software should quickly adjust as your business grows.
CheckMark payroll software allows you to enter the names of an unlimited number of employees and all the companies you own.
Updated Tax Information
Tax laws change almost every year, so you will need software that is updated regularly with the latest tax tables and deduction amounts.
Accuracy is vital to ensure your employees get paid promptly and avoid problems with the IRS. Shop for software that automatically updates the latest tax information for your business.
Automatic Backup
Fires, floods, and thefts can shut down your business if you lose the company’s records in a disaster. To help ensure the security of your company’s payroll information, the program should automatically backup data to a cloud account.
Using the cloud ensures that you still have access to your employee and customer records from any computer at any time during a chaotic event, or if you cannot make it into the office.
Payroll Options
Great payroll software will allow for payment options for your employees. It should give you a choice between printing paper checks or creating direct deposits for your staff.
The ability to select a way to pay people allows you to issue checks for temporary employees while having direct deposits for long-term workers. It also allows employees to choose the option that works better for them.
Ability to Customize Compensation
It’s essential for payroll software to compensate for the various types of employees working at a business. For instance, you may have hourly employees, along with salespeople who receive a salary and commission for sales.
It’s vital that your software correctly keeps track of the hours they work, sales, compensation, and deducts the correct tax amounts for everyone who works for you. Correcting these mistakes later can be time-consuming and costly.
Secures Data
Cybercrimes cost small businesses an average of $200.000, forcing many of them to shut their doors permanently.
It’s crucial that the software on your computer system is secure and can prevent cyberattacks. Keeping your financial records safe from attack is as critical to your customers as it is for your company.
These six features are among the many that an excellent payroll software needs to have for small businesses. While a software’s customization ability is vital, keeping your company and customer information secure is crucial as well, and essential to your success.
