What can I gain from outsourcing my payroll? Is it really worth the time, effort, and money finding a payroll expert? These are questions small business owners often ask themselves when faced with the question of whether to do payroll themselves or to get an expert on board.
One of the stumbling blocks a lot of new business owners face is the lack of funding, and they try to compensate for it by doing as much business tasks themselves as possible to save money. Unfortunately, this sometimes means that owners waste too much time on these tasks instead of focusing on the core of their business, and in the process, their business suffer.
In Kent, 76.5% of businesses are small with less than four employees according to the Kent County Council. New businesses have an average one-year survival rate of 91.2% – which means 8.8% of all new businesses in Kent fold within the first year. Don’t become a statistic, all of our business advisory service packages include payroll outsourcing. If you’re unsure whether you should outsource your payroll, here are some reasons why we believe your business could only benefit from it:
1. You Save Time
Doing your payroll each month can take up a significant amount of your day, even if you have only a few employees. It takes valuable time out of your day, which means you have less time to focus on your core business. Think of it as an opportunity cost. Which tasks do you put on the back burner while attending to payroll, and how may it hurt your business?
2. You Save Money
You may think that if you don’t need to pay a payroll professional that you save money. This isn’t always true. It will take them a fraction of the time to do the payroll compared to how long it will take you to do it yourself. To quickly work out how much it costs to do it yourself, work out your hourly rate and multiply by the amount of time it takes to do the payroll. Then compare that with the fee a professional will charge you. Also, bear in mind that you won’t need to worry about penalties due to incorrect or late filings.
3. Compliance with Laws and Regulations Becomes Easy
Payroll laws and regulations are complex, and they keep on changing. Keeping up with these regulations and due dates is a feat on its own. The last thing you want is for HMRC to come knocking on your door because you didn’t comply. If you’ve made mistakes, payroll queries and audits can take up a lot of your time, not to mention the penalties you may face due to incorrect returns or failure to comply with labour laws.
4. You Have Access to the Expertise of Professionals
Professional payroll experts know the process in and out. They specialise in the complexities of payroll taxes and compliance with laws and regulations. That’s what they’re trained to do. When outsourcing your payroll, you have access to their knowledge and technology. They’ll be able to answer all your employees’ questions in a heartbeat.
5. Your Risks Are Lower
Too often it happens that confidential payroll information leaks to other employees. When doing your payroll in-house, there’s always a risk that employees in charge of the payroll function will divulge info they’re not supposed to whether on purpose or by accident, or someone may stumble upon a file in your office or on the server they’re not meant to see. By outsourcing, you don’t need to worry about confidential info leaking.
Don’t set your business up for failure by trying to do everything yourself. Rather spend your valuable time on your core business – brainstorm new ideas, focus on your strategy, develop customer relations, plan your marketing campaigns, and build relationships with suppliers and employees.
Contact us to discuss the pros and cons of outsourcing your payroll function and the different options available to you. If you’re ready to part with the payroll responsibility, contact us to give you a quote.
