Payroll can be one of the departments that causes a company the most headaches. Payroll mistakes are a real annoyance for both payroll department workers and the employees who receive paychecks that have accounting errors on them. If you want your payroll sysrem to operate as smoothly as possible, then implement these five necessities for a successful payroll department:
1. Everyone Knows the Rules
You should have a payroll policy that is clearly stated to all employees. This payroll policy should be given to employees when they are hired, and it should also be posted in the office in a prominent location. When this is done, employees will not have any cause to complain about not understanding the payroll rules.
2. Use Technology
In the 21st century, there is no excuse for your payroll department to still be working by hand. You should have all of your payroll processes taken care of by Quicken or some other form of accounting software.
3. Writing Checks
The way you handle your checks depends on the size of your company. If you are a small business, there is no problem with just using personal checks to pay your employees. You can order checks online to make this simple. If you are a larger company, then you may wish to consider the advantages of having paychecks printed for you at a printing company.
4. Do Regular Audits
If you do not keep track of things in the payroll department, little mistakes can quickly compound and spiral out of control. It is therefore very important to perform regular audits on the payroll department. Make sure to perform audits at least every few months. A detailed audit should also be performed at least once a year.
5. Keep Current
The tax laws seem to change irritatingly often. Every year, the IRS changes the tax code to help make the payroll department employees’ jobs a little more troublesome. It is very important that the department stays up to date with all of the latest changes to the rules. This will keep your company in compliance, and it will avoid you having to pay penalties for mistakes.
If you implement these five tips, it will help your payroll department to run smoothly. It will keep you in good graces with your employees come payday, which will help to keep them happy working at your company. Always remember to thank the payroll employees for doing a great job. It is a hard job that should be rewarded accordingly.