The decision to outsource payroll functions is often a good one, especially for small business owners. Even so, it pays to understand that some of those outsource partners will offer more personalized services than others. What you want is to look closely at a boutique payroll service and what it has to offer. Here are some of the factors that are likely to set the service apart from the rest.
Customized Reporting Options
While there will be standard report formats that can be put to good use, there’s also the option of setting up custom report formats that are to your liking. This is helpful, since it means you don’t have to retrieve the data in one format, then find a way to move it to the internal format used within your business operation.
Think of how nice it would be to save those formats and be able to make use of them any time that you like. They will come in handy when you’re reviewing expenses for a quarter, preparing next year’s operating budget, or even reviewing employee salaries and wages with an eye toward implementing raises.
A Dedicated Team to Communicate With
With some payroll services, you may or may not deal with the same people all the time. Instead you reach a general pool of persons who are trained to provide customer service and support. That’s not the way a boutique service works; instead, you have a team that knows your business well.
That can be helpful in terms of knowing who to ask for if you have a question or concern. It’s also inspires confidence to know there are people at the service who will handle your payroll and it’s particulars from one period to the next. You have more trust that some of the little details related to your payroll will not fall through the cracks.
Full Compliance With Current Regulations and Standards
You can depend on the boutique payroll service to keep to date on any changes that may be found in new legislation or procedures related to revenue agencies. Those do impact the way taxes are calculated for you as well as your employees. It may also mean changes to how those taxes are reported and forwarded to the proper agencies.
Your payroll service will keep you aware of those changes, what they will mean to the withholding process, and even when they will go into effect. That will go a long way toward making sure you are always in the loop about what needs to be done to keep the payroll in full compliance.
Support Around the Clock
There will be support at any time you need it. If you’re working on a project after standard business hours and need to pull some data, there will be ways to manage that. Should you have questions that occur to you on a weekend, there will be someone on call who can help with them. At all times, you can reach out and get the support needed.
That’s not something every service will offer. Make sure that you ask about account support, the availability after usual business hours, and the forms it will take. Knowing that in advance means you will be prepared for most if not all situations that may arise.
Remember that the goal of outsourcing the payroll is to make life easier while keeping expenses within reason. Choose wisely, and you will enjoy everything that you wanted, plus a little more.