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Key pros and cons of online payroll services

Key pros and cons of online payroll services

While growth is the ultimate goal of a business, employee welfare is equally important, as employees help organizations achieve their goals. Effective management of payroll is a key part of ensuring employee satisfaction. Today, online payroll management tools have become popular as they help save time and manual effort. If one is considering opting for such a tool, here are some pros and cons of online payroll services to consider:

Pros
1. Timely payments
The process of manually computing payroll can take a long time, increasing the risk of salary delays and, consequently, employee dissatisfaction. Online payroll services offer a user-friendly format, helping HR personnel easily calculate monthly pay based on hours worked, paid and unpaid leave taken, overtime, and bonuses. With automated payroll management, employees receive their payments on time and can plan their monthly expenses well in advance.

2. Cost-effective option
Research by PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that companies outsourcing payroll spend approximately 18% less money than those computing payroll in-house. So, online payroll services enable companies to cut down costs, utilizing the money toward buying equipment or working on business strategies.

3. Timely and accurate tax filing
Payroll errors are exceedingly common among organizations, with the IRS taking many businesses to task each year for faulty payroll calculations. Businesses can also be penalized for errors in filing employment taxes. Online payroll services have tie-ups with tax professionals and financial advisors, who can guide companies through the payroll process and prevent such errors. They can also help ensure that tax returns are filed well before the deadline.

4. Enhanced accessibility
Another major advantage of online payroll systems is that employees can carry out HR-related tasks at their fingertips. For example, they can easily apply for leave through the app, selecting the type of leave and number of days they would not be reporting to work. They can also claim reimbursements, raise tickets, and access their personal information through the app without having to log into their laptops or computers. This data is compiled with other employee data while calculating working hours and pay.

5. Compliance with laws
Many online payroll services help companies ensure tax, legal, and regulatory compliance with time and attendance services and HRIS (human resources information system). Legal and regulatory compliance become even more pressing with business growth, so online payroll services can help businesses save a lot of time and effort in this process.

6. Access to analytics
Businesses and employees have 24×7 access to information with online payroll services. So, whether it is an employee’s number of days worked, or the company’s employee handbook, all information is available under one hood.

7. User-friendly interface
One does not require extensive technical knowledge to operate online payroll systems. Most of these systems have user-friendly interfaces so that even freshers or those without technical expertise can easily access whatever payroll information they require.

8. Data security
Premium online payroll applications ensure that the data stored in them is safe and secure. They also allow companies to password-protect the system and opt for other safety measures like two-factor authentication and encryption to further protect their data.

Cons
1. Extra charges for unnecessary features
Payroll software is cost-effective, but sometimes, it offers additional features that employees and companies may not require. Opting for the entire package means paying extra for features one may not even use. So, one should review all the features offered by online payroll services and eliminate the ones they don’t need. Also, in many cases, online payroll software systems may be based on a subscription model. So, one may have to pay subscription fees every month in addition to the overall installation cost. Alternatively, one can look for online payroll systems and services that involve only a one-time payment.

2. Security risks
While the best online payroll systems ensure data security, most online payroll services depend on third-party vendors to save and update company and employee information. So, in some cases, security risks are unavoidable.

3. Training requirements
Often, experienced employees are set in their ways. They may need extensive training to switch to modern payroll management strategies. Many HR professionals may also require training to get used to the new system and then train other employees to use it. This can take a lot of time and effort.

4. Less control
Some may experience a sense of loss of control upon outsourcing payroll, especially if they have managed payroll in-house for a long time. As mentioned before, they may require training and some time to adjust to online payroll services.

5. No change in responsibility
Although online payroll services take a major burden off a company’s shoulders, the ultimate responsibility still lies with the company. For example, if the company enters incorrect information on the online platform, the results will obviously be faulty. This applies to regular payroll activities as well as filing tax returns. So, at the end of the day, the company is still responsible for its payroll activities even after outsourcing the task.

6. Need for supervision
Large-scale companies may have to actually deploy a team to supervise payroll activities even after they are outsourced. This is because companies might have engaged multiple online payroll services. So, overall supervision can be an additional task even if online payroll services are utilized.

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