It’s been 11 years since the iPhone entered the world and completely changed our expectations of a phone. Prior to the iPhone all we wanted from our phone was that it made calls and sent text messages, and if you could play the odd game, that was a bonus.
We couldn't conceive a world where you would watch videos, access the internet, post pictures, play music and run an office from a single device... and the purpose of the device... to make phone calls, would be relegated to a footnote. But in the years since the iPhone launched, our expectation of what features our “phone” should have are far more than just calls and texts.
In a similar way, payroll technology is currently where phone technology was 10 years ago. Right now all payroll managers expect from their payroll software is to calculate tax, produce payslips and generate some basic PDF and excel reports.
And with the proliferation of cloud based software in every industry from accounting to email, the expectations of payroll managers are also starting to change. The idea of having timesheets, employee portal, manager portal, real time online reporting, mobile apps, and leave management all in a single system - and one that also does tax calculations and payslips that are fully compliant - is no longer an unattainable utopia, it’s what modern payroll managers are now expecting from their payroll systems.
Just as our expectations of the phone changed, so too are the expectations of payroll software. Quite simply, payroll managers shouldn’t be limiting their expectations of software based on what has previously been available, rather, they should be setting their expectations based on what is now possible based on the movement to modern, cloud based payroll systems. To help on the journey, take a look at your payroll software and ask yourself if it is performing in these three key areas:
All-in-one
Does your current payroll software manage expenses, leave, timesheets, rotas as well as the pay run? Or are you switching between systems and struggling to get a clear view of what’s going on? Businesses that use an all-in-one system save on average a minimum of 6 hours per pay run, not to mention huge cost savings on each system.
Empowering employees
Does your current system empower employees to manage their own data from an employee portal or mobile app? Or are you responsible for chasing employees for timesheets and updating their new bank account and/or managing a plethora of leave request emails?
Some 27% of our day is spent on our mobile phone, so it makes sense to use this for work. If you’re running pays for your own business, or for multiple clients in a bureau, it’s important to find a solution that allows employees to manage their own data, saving payroll managers precious time to focus on what’s important - the pay run.
Compliance
Payroll quite rightly has complex compliance regulations in place to protect employee data. Finding a payroll solution that ensures complete compliance across GDPR, RTI, HMRC and Pensions will not only be a time saver, but give you the peace of mind that you’re doing what’s best for your business and clients.
Businesses that embrace new technology are more inclined to retain their existing customer base, as well as create the time savings to grow their business. Rapid advancements in payroll technology have opened up a great opportunity for businesses to review their existing platform, and identify where there is potential to reduce cost and improve efficiencies. Seize the opportunity and expect more from your system - you might just find you have been using a Nokia 3310 the whole time you could have had an iPhone X.
Phil Bernie co-founded KeyPay, a cloud based payroll and workforce management tool in Australia in 2012, new to the UK in 2018. Since its launch, KeyPay now serves over 75,000 Australian businesses and processes over $17 billion a year in employee payments. Phil heads up the UK developer team and focuses on transforming bureau businesses through payroll automation and simplification.
It’s been 11 years since the iPhone entered the world and completely changed our expectations of a phone. Prior to the iPhone all we wanted from our phone was that it made calls and sent text messages, and if you could play the odd game, that was a bonus.
We couldn't conceive a world where you would watch videos, access the internet, post pictures, play music and run an office from a single device... and the purpose of the device... to make phone calls, would be relegated to a footnote. But in the years since the iPhone launched, our expectation of what features our “phone” should have are far more than just calls and texts.
In a similar way, payroll technology is currently where phone technology was 10 years ago. Right now all payroll managers expect from their payroll software is to calculate tax, produce payslips and generate some basic PDF and excel reports.
And with the proliferation of cloud based software in every industry from accounting to email, the expectations of payroll managers are also starting to change. The idea of having timesheets, employee portal, manager portal, real time online reporting, mobile apps, and leave management all in a single system - and one that also does tax calculations and payslips that are fully compliant - is no longer an unattainable utopia, it’s what modern payroll managers are now expecting from their payroll systems.
Just as our expectations of the phone changed, so too are the expectations of payroll software. Quite simply, payroll managers shouldn’t be limiting their expectations of software based on what has previously been available, rather, they should be setting their expectations based on what is now possible based on the movement to modern, cloud based payroll systems. To help on the journey, take a look at your payroll software and ask yourself if it is performing in these three key areas:
All-in-one
Does your current payroll software manage expenses, leave, timesheets, rotas as well as the pay run? Or are you switching between systems and struggling to get a clear view of what’s going on? Businesses that use an all-in-one system save on average a minimum of 6 hours per pay run, not to mention huge cost savings on each system.
Empowering employees
Does your current system empower employees to manage their own data from an employee portal or mobile app? Or are you responsible for chasing employees for timesheets and updating their new bank account and/or managing a plethora of leave request emails?
Some 27% of our day is spent on our mobile phone, so it makes sense to use this for work. If you’re running pays for your own business, or for multiple clients in a bureau, it’s important to find a solution that allows employees to manage their own data, saving payroll managers precious time to focus on what’s important - the pay run.
Compliance
Payroll quite rightly has complex compliance regulations in place to protect employee data. Finding a payroll solution that ensures complete compliance across GDPR, RTI, HMRC and Pensions will not only be a time saver, but give you the peace of mind that you’re doing what’s best for your business and clients.
Businesses that embrace new technology are more inclined to retain their existing customer base, as well as create the time savings to grow their business. Rapid advancements in payroll technology have opened up a great opportunity for businesses to review their existing platform, and identify where there is potential to reduce cost and improve efficiencies. Seize the opportunity and expect more from your system - you might just find you have been using a Nokia 3310 the whole time you could have had an iPhone X.
Phil Bernie co-founded KeyPay, a cloud based payroll and workforce management tool in Australia in 2012, new to the UK in 2018. Since its launch, KeyPay now serves over 75,000 Australian businesses and processes over $17 billion a year in employee payments. Phil heads up the UK developer team and focuses on transforming bureau businesses through payroll automation and simplification.
