Outsourcing Your Payroll? Here Are 5 Important Things To Look For

Looking for the perfect payroll partner for your business can be a hit and miss. Eliminate that risk by planning ahead and knowing the crucial characteristics to prioritise when looking for a payroll service provider. Here are 5 points to help narrow down your list and make the best choice.

1. Expertise and Experience

This shall always be counted as one, as expertise is gained through intensive training and experience. It is a definite must to choose a payroll partner who are experts in the complex field of payroll. How to check for this? Ask the payroll service providers to give at least 3 credible references and seek them out for feedback and recommendations about the provider.

Apart from this, their payroll specialists should be well-versed in two major things: the payroll software of your choice, and the legislations around the Australian payroll process. Also, they should be proactive in getting the latest trainings and updates on these two main elements as these frequently change and could be the main reason for discrepancies when taken for granted.

2. Flexibility

Your payroll service provider should be flexible in ways more than one. There will never be a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to payroll outsourcing services. Each company has unique practices and needs and you should be able to find a payroll partner that can accommodate these by customising a payroll solution that is most suitable for your company. This includes adapting to the software that you currently use instead of having it the other way around.

Another thing to consider when outsourcing payroll is the time difference. Your payroll provider shall be able to meet your company’s working hours, wherever in the world they may be. This is to ensure alignment in execution of tasks and meeting goals.

3. Proficiency in the English Language

Communication is vital for any outsourcing venture to be a success. And to have proper communication, you must literally be speaking the same language. All instructions and tasks will be done through online means—email, Skype, instant messages, so it’s important to partner with a team that possesses superior communication and comprehension skills in English so you can always be on the same page.

4. Quality Assurance

Integrity, transparency, standardisation, accuracy, and timely work—these are definitely what every business would want to achieve in all business processes. And the only way that you can achieve these is to check if your payroll service provider has a Quality Assurance policy in place. Having this could be one of the major benefits of outsourcing payroll, as there is somebody in charge of establishing standard processes and systematically checking each stage of those processes to ensure a high level of service and quality is being delivered every time.

Under this, the provider should also have a robust confidentiality agreement that protects all the critical information you have shared with them.

5. Contingency Plan

There are some inevitable, unfortunate events that might happen from time to time, and the best way to know if the payroll service provider is right for you is when they have a strong and reliable contingency plan in place. This proves of their commitment to deliver quality and timely service no matter what mishaps may arise. They should be ready for calamities, have back-up when an employee is sick or suddenly leaves, and have a systematic plan to combat any form of service disruption.

As long as you are looking ahead and have identified which features matter most to your organisation, then finding the ideal payroll processing services provider won’t be a tough decision to make.

If you are a fan of reliable systems, standard processes, flexibility, back-up plans, top-notch expertise, and professional service, then you don’t have to look any further. D&V has established that and more so you can move forward with your business in the most optimal way. Get in touch with us now to learn more on how we can manage your payroll processes effectively!