Author: jess

5 Tips for Efficient and Reliable Payroll

Posted on by jess

Payroll is the lifeblood of any organization. Ensuring employees are compensated accurately and on time fosters trust and morale within the workforce. It also plays a crucial role in maintaining compliance, as accurate payroll processing ensures adherence to tax laws and labor regulations. Payroll is a complex and time-consuming process, but it’s imperative to get it right. 

Here we present five tips to achieve accurate payroll and streamline the process, to help keep your employees happy and your company out of court.

Get Organized 

There are a lot of due dates, tasks, reports, etc. to keep track of when processing payroll. Find a system for organization that works for you. This could be a calendar, weekly or monthly planner, or a simple to-do list.

Having a visual reminder of what is coming up can help you avoid missing a deadline and help you handle all payroll tasks more efficiently. This step is important to avoid penalties, interest charges, and compliance issues.

Simplify Your Policies and Procedures

There are many policies that contribute to payroll—attendance, paid time off, expense reimbursement, and commissions, to name a few. Review your current policies to ensure they are clear and concise. By making an effort to simplify your policies, while complying with all labor laws, you can make the process easier for you and your employees.

Develop documented payroll procedures outlining each step of the process, including data collection, verification, calculation, and distribution of paychecks. Clear procedures help maintain consistency and reduce errors.

Provide Electronic Pay Stubs

Foregoing paper stubs by providing direct deposit with online pay stubs can save your company time and money. Although employers in many states can’t make direct deposit mandatory, the benefits for both employers and employees make it an appealing option.

Aside from convenience, electronic pay stubs minimize errors, ensuring accurate wage calculations and tax withholdings. They are also safer and more secure. Electronic pay stubs are encrypted and stored securely, reducing the risk of theft, loss, or unauthorized access to sensitive payroll information.

Keep Up with Changes

Legislation affecting payroll and taxes is ever-changing, so you need to keep up to date on all relevant laws affecting your organization. The IRS typically releases new information in early December for items in the coming year, such as tax withholding changes, new benefit charts, or deduction amounts and new W forms.

Know what these items are and what deadlines you will have to meet throughout the year.

Utilize Technology

Leveraging payroll software and technology can deliver huge benefits. These solutions can streamline payroll processing, automate repetitive tasks, and reduce manual errors. Choose a reliable provider that aligns with your organization’s needs and offers robust reporting features. Intelligently connected platforms can address other human capital management (HCM) needs like time & labor management, benefits administration, onboarding, talent acquisition and management, and more within a single solution.

If processing payroll is keeping you from focusing on the bigger picture, or if you’re reconsidering your current solution, click here to request a call today!

Removing the Fear from HCM Software Implementation

Posted on by jess

We often hear “What we have is working fine. Besides, we don’t have the time or resources to switch providers right now.”

With all the technology and tools on the market today that can streamline your human capital management needs there is no reason to settle for fine. The benefits of these solutions—including an increase in accuracy and a decrease in redundancy—far outweigh the minor inconvenience of switching to new software.

To help ease our clients’ fear of conversion we are completely transparent in our process. We detail what they can expect and how long the process will take. We recognize that no two implementations are the same. Our Transition Team is trained to expect the unexpected and work to uncover all the important details necessary to make our client’s onboarding experience a positive and successful one.

Below is a step-by-step breakdown to help demystify the process.

Step I: Consent

Once the decision is made to engage Counter Point’s services, your HCM Consultant will provide you with a checklist of items, have you e-sign our terms & conditions, discuss timing, and ascertain key contacts within your organization. They will then introduce you to your Trainer.

Step II: Training

Your Trainer will set a timeline based on your specific needs. To keep track of pertinent deadlines and important dates we utilize project management software called Zoho Projects. This tool ensures no detail is overlooked.

At that time, your Trainer will provide you with credentials to access an online training hub that houses a host of tutorial videos and other resources for you to view. These will help you make the most of the live, remote training sessions that may follow.

Step III: Implementation of Time and Labor Management (TLM) and Payroll

To implement TLM, your Trainer will work with you to gather all necessary information including your specific PTO and overtime policies, rounding rules, lunch/meal break times, schedules, etc. These rules are then set up in the system and training of the TLM platform is scheduled. TLM will be set up well in advance to your first payroll processing.

For payroll, your Implementation Specialist will schedule time to extract data from your current system. An automated migration tool that requires no manual manipulation is used for this process. Your employee and company database will be built and configured to your company’s specifications using this data.

To ensure accuracy of your first payroll, your Implementation Specialist will run a parallel payroll before processing. All year-to-date and quarter-to-date earnings for each active and terminated employee will be entered to ensure that taxes, wages, and deductions are in perfect alignment.

Step IV: Implementation of HRIS and Other Platforms

For implementation of HRIS, just like with TLM, we will work with you to gather all pertinent HR information related to your current onboarding and performance review processes and policies, along with your desired employee self-service elections. Then, like TLM, you will be thoroughly trained on the platform to ensure your comfort.

If you plan to add other platforms within our comprehensive human capital management system, like Applicant Tracking, COBRA Services, Learning Management System (LMS), and Carrier Connections, that will follow next.

The Support Doesn’t End There

Implementation is just the beginning of your relationship with Counter Point. By the time your first payroll approaches, you will be assigned a dedicated Customer Service Representative. They will become very familiar with your organization’s unique needs and will assist with any concerns or questions you may have. Additionally, you will receive methodical follow-up from your Human Capital Management Consultant to ensure your needs are met in a timely and efficient manner.

Finally…

Your role is essential to a smooth transition. Merideth McGinley, Counter Point’s Implementation Manager, recommends the following advice:

Be proactive in providing information. By knowing exactly how your business operates, we can get you up and running quicker, and help you make the most of the software.

Embrace the change. While your team may experience some minor inconveniences now, keep sight of the big picture. Soon you will be reaping the rewards and experiencing greater productivity as a result.

Communicate with your workforce. Let them know about the change and how they may be affected. Be prepared to answer questions and manage expectations. We’re here to help if you need us.

To learn more about how Counter Point HCM can ensure you experience a smooth transition, request a call today!