As a small or medium-sized business (SMB), there are excellent payroll providers in the marketplace optimized specifically for your needs as a growing company. These cloud-based, user-friendly options keep the payroll process simple for your team, come with affordable price tags, ensure you pay your employees and your taxes accurately and on time, and offer attractive complementary features (e.g. new hire onboarding, benefits administration, basic timekeeping, paid time off tracking, etc).
Just like any move, there will be a degree of upheaval that comes with migrating to a new payroll provider. However if implemented properly, making the switch to a provider tailored to your needs will be worth the effort in the long run. Here are some important considerations as you select a new provider:
Narrow your search to platforms optimized for SMBs
As a cost-conscious, time-crunched SMB, you need a tool that is 1) easy and intuitive, 2) has an economical price point, and 3) gets the job done accurately with as few labor hours as possible. There are several cloud-based providers on the market that are focused on the needs of SMBs, offering:
intuitive, user-friendly, cloud-based platforms;
helpful customer service;
simple and affordable tiered fee structures (flat subscription + additional fee per user);
employee-facing portals that allow your team to self-onboard, access paystubs, and complete W-2s;
basic HR services: tracking paid time off, benefits solutions, onboarding new hires.
Select a payroll tool that integrates with other essential software
The best SMB payroll products on the market offer many integrations with other popular SMB accounting, timekeeping, and benefits tools (e.g. QuickBooks, Xero, TSheets, Deputy, Guideline). As your company scales, outsourcing the data transfer to the machines makes increasing economic sense, saving your team significant labor hours and ensuring accuracy by significantly reducing opportunities for human error.
Take advantage of quarter close for implementation
If your company can be flexible on timing, migrating to a new payroll provider at the beginning of a new quarter is better, and at a new fiscal year is best. However, if you need to start mid-year or mid-quarter, gather paystubs or payroll journals to share with your new provider. If you choose a tool with employee self-onboarding, give your employees adequate time to walk through the steps and ask questions (almost everyone has questions about the tax sections) before the first payroll run deadline.
Consider employees who live and work in different states
If you have employees that work remotely or commute to the office from their homes out of state, both states should be reflected in their payroll profiles. Some states have ,reciprocity agreements in place, which allow employees to only pay state income tax where they reside. In these cases, keep any certification or exemption forms required by the state on file.
Concluding Thoughts
From your employees’ perspective, getting compensated accurately and on time shows that the company values their contributions. Add benefits administration and a user-friendly employee portal, and the company has powerful tools at its disposal to help compete for talent. There are many SMB-focused payroll products on the market – Series Next Solutions can help you find the tool that is the best fit for your company.
