Ditch your outdated payroll solution.
Finding the right payroll solution for your business can be a hard fit. Your business changes, grows and develops. However, we know that changing payroll providers can be more challenging than it needs to be. There are lots of practical and legal implications to consider.
Fortunately, at Invatechs, we’re payroll experts, and equip our clients with bespoke payroll solutions that truly optimize their business. In this article, we’re going to give you a complete guide for changing your payroll provider in 2022. We’ll cover the top things you need to consider, challenges and solutions. We’ll also introduce you to how Invatechs can help with our custom payroll suites.
This article is perfect for employers and companies in need of some payroll help. Ready to make the change? Stick with us, and we’ll show you how.
The Challenges You’ll Need to Consider
The success of your business relies on the success of your payroll. Why? Payroll is more than a means for paying your staff. It’s a powerful HR tool to plot your company’s future. We’ve written extensively about payroll on our InvaBlog. You can learn all about payroll automation, cost, compliance and much more.
Your payroll also holds crucial information about company and employee data. It’s also a key compliance and legislation tool. Above all, it has to pay your staff accurately and on time. You can see now why making the change isn’t something to be done lightly. Here are some key challenges you’ll want to consider:
● Timing
What time of year are you considering changing? Of course, starting at the beginning of the financial year can make the switch easier. That’s because you won’t need to migrate as much data. Doing it in the middle of the tax year can be a different story. You’ll need to ensure all your data and information are stored accurately and are up-to-date before uploading it to a new system.
● Transferring Data
It’s essential to understand how your current payroll solution aids the transition to a new one. Because most payroll solutions, like Invatechs, provide payroll in real-time, you should be able to test the system and data automatically. However, as we’ve stated, accuracy is key. That means ensuring your employees’ information matches with the IRS, state and federal information.
● Fundamentals
It goes without saying you’ll need a payroll solution that can provide you with what you need. That’s why you’re moving! However, not every solution is the same. For example, if your new solution can’t automate efficiently, it might not identify errors when and if you manually input information. This could lead to you under or overpaying your staff.
More than that, different solutions work with different sized-businesses. Ask yourself, do you need to upscale or downscale? Do you need to accommodate for a range of contracts? Do you need payroll that works across multiple states and internationally?
● Legislation
Payroll is a complex field, and legislation is changed regularly. That’s why you need to know your stuff and the necessary compliance. Fortunately, most automated payroll solutions update new compliance themselves.
Ultimately, you need to ask yourself: why are you changing, and what do you want to achieve? Invatechs can help you identify that. Before we do, let’s take a look at some other challenges and their solutions.
Challenge | Solution |
Multiple Pay Frequencies You might pay your staff weekly, monthly, bi-weekly etc. Some payroll systems limit staff to one or two frequencies. | A Flexible System If you need to pay staff on different frequencies and contracts, you need a flexible system. A bespoke solution is your best option for complex payment schedules. |
Navigating Complexity It can be off-putting when changing payroll is just too complicated. Particularly if you’re doing it before the new tax year. | Partner with Experts: A provider should be there to guide and advise you. Such as helping your new payroll integrate with your existing investments and accounting software. |
Tax Compliance: Handling year-end processing, quarterly reviews and documents can be challenging. Doing this and moving to a new payroll solution is all the more difficult. | Partner with Tax Experts: Ensure your provider has APA-certified payroll staff experts on board. They can help you file federal, state and local taxes and ensure your solution is compliant. |
When is the Best Time to Switch Providers?
As we’ve covered, changing in the middle of the tax year can be challenging. However, that shouldn’t deter you if you want to move before then. To make the move easier, we’ve prepared a checklist. This will help you understand what you need to do before you make a move.
Your Checklist for Switching Providers
1. Identify What Your Business Needs
Why do you want to change payroll provider? Is it simply inefficient or is your business expanding? Do you need to collect data you can use to strategize for your company’s future? What’s the best portal for your staff to access the information they need?
Identifying what you want for your payroll is one of the most important first steps for knowing what to look for.
2. Do Your Research
You need to make a cost-efficient move. That means looking for a payroll solution that has the features, integration and accessibility you’ll need. Beyond its features, you also want to know you’re partnering with the right provider. If you’re not getting a custom solution, a detailed step-by-step guide with customer support is a must.
3. Test Your Solution
Testing your solutions side-by-side is one of the best ways to ascertain which is right for you. You’ll want to test for usability, speed and responsiveness. Perhaps most importantly though, test for customer service. How does your provider ensure you’re getting the support you need?
Don’t leave it down to HR alone either. Ask your wider team and employees what works best for them. Once you’ve come to a consensus, you can pick the solution and provider that’s best suited for you.
4. End of Year Reporting
This step is most relevant if you’re changing providers just before the start of a new financial year.
Close off the current tax year after the payroll has been processed. This will give you enough time to finalise the move before the next payment cycle. You’ll want to make sure your staff have their W-2s and all the most up to date information about their tax payments and status. Finally, make sure your end-of-years submissions are complete.
Invatechs Payroll Solutions
Knowing where to start with changing payroll can feel like a minefield. It can have a major impact on your business’s future. If you’re saddled with a solution that isn’t compatible, this can be hugely detrimental to your business’s operations and finances.
If you don’t know where to start, Invatechs is here to help.
When you partner with Invatechs, our team of designers and engineers work with you to understand the best solution for you. We conduct thorough research and business analysis. We provide tech consulting, advising you on the appropriate tech stack. You play a key part in the designing of the software, picking and choosing what features and functionality will work best for your employees.
We can build and adapt the software to fit the processes and ecosystems of your business. Whether you’re a small business that needs a simple automated system, or you’re a country-wide corporation.
Setting up the software won’t take long either. With our deep automation features and API integration, we can import and integrate your existing payroll data. Invatechs’ solutions are built to integrate with popular accounting software. These include Quickbooks, Xero, Sage and many others.
When your system is installed, we stick with you and provide on-going customer service support. We don’t simply install your solution and leave. We’re ready to help when you need us. Want to find out more about our work? Check out our case study on our cloud-based payroll solution for UK government vendors.
In Conclusion – Changing Payroll Provider Needn’t be a Burden
In this article, we’ve identified what you’ll need before you change payroll providers. In summary: know what your business needs, what you want to achieve and partner with experts.
We know it’s daunting taking the leap, but we’re here to help. At Invatechs, we’re not just payroll experts. We offer services and solutions across the world of fintech. We’ve built open-banking apps, satellite tracking systems, tax payment gateways and more.
Our operations span far and wide, which means we’ll only ever use the very best tech solutions that are built for the future.
Ready to ditch your outdated payroll provider? Contact Invatechs today, and we’ll get the ball rolling.