Top three reasons you should outsource your payroll

Ever wondered “should I outsource payroll”? Getting payroll done on time (and properly!) every pay cycle is critical to keeping your business compliant and your employees happy. Keep reading to find out why outsourcing payroll might be the best thing for your business.

Businesses of all sizes use payroll outsourcing in Australia to save time and have peace of mind that it’s done right. If these three things are happening in your business, it might be time to look at payroll outsourcing services.

1. You’re paying your employees late

One of the main reasons why businesses outsource payroll, is to avoid paying their employees late.

What happens if payroll is late? Employees hate nothing more than being paid late – closely followed by underpayments and any other discrepancies on their payslips. It’s uncomfortable for employees to ask why they haven’t been paid, especially if the person responsible is their manager or the business owner.

Whatever the issue, if you’re getting complaints from employees, it’s probably time to get an expert involved before you find yourself in hot water wondering why you didn’t outsource payroll.

Sometimes businesses are worried about the cost of payroll outsourcing services, but as we say, what’s more expensive: outsourcing your payroll and having an expert do it, or risking the penalties and fines for non-compliance? Spoiler: external payroll services probably aren't as expensive as you think.

Get an instant pricing quote on Project Alfred’s payroll outsourcing services.

2. You’re struggling to find enough hours in the day

Sometimes even with the best intentions, businesses find it difficult to run payroll on time. The extra time spent on payroll for even a few new hires really adds up, especially over a whole year. Payroll might be time-consuming, but whether it’s done by a finance team or the business owner, this is a deadline you never want to miss.

If you’re wondering “why outsource payroll?”, consider the time you spend processing it, looking up appropriate awards, and researching Fair Work (the list goes on). It can actually be more costly to run in-house payroll.

Outsourced payroll providers are up-to-date with all legal requirements and have the skills and resources to run payroll quickly. Time is money, and outsourcing repetitive tasks is generally a better return on your investment than doing them in-house.

When you consider the time spent processing payroll, looking up appropriate awards, researching Fair Work – the list goes on – it actually becomes more costly to run in-house payroll.

‍3. You’re not sure if you’re up-to-date with the latest awards and payroll rules

A big reason why businesses outsource payroll is to keep on top of the latest rules and regulations. Fair Work sets out the Australian Government’s workplace laws. This includes everything from leave entitlements, award rates and other obligations employers owe employees.

We’re not going to list all of the ever-changing regulations you need to comply with, but you should seriously consider outsourcing your payroll if:

• You’ve got employees on awards
• You don’t have employment contracts (or compliant contracts)
• You’re getting confused about how to handle long service leave or redundancy payments

So, why outsource payroll? Peace of mind that you’re doing the right thing is one of the biggest advantages of outsourcing payroll services.

Good to know: Worker’s compensation (WorkCover) is a compulsory form of insurance for all employers in Australia and provides protection to workers if they suffer a work-related injury or disease. Normally, WorkCover requires the employer to pay the worker during payroll, then they reimburse the approved wage.

In your payroll software, you should be able to set up a new pay item in payroll settings and select ‘exempt from superannuation’, but don’t tick the exempt from PAYG Withholding box (unless specified to do so by your employee’s award).

Or, let us help.

Our payroll and bookkeeping services give you access to experts so you won’t need to spend any more late nights stressing about whether you’re doing payroll properly.

Still wondering why you’d outsource payroll? Here’s how it works at Project Alfred

There are many ways to outsource your payroll, so make sure you understand what you’re signing up for as some payroll outsourcing services are full-service, and others leave parts of the admin up to you.

At Project Alfred, we take the time to look at your payroll needs. We’ll determine what software is best for your business; the majority of our clients are using either Xero or Keypay. We’ll also make sure all your relevant registrations are up-to-date, such as WorkCover, PAYG, Single Touch Payroll, as well as your Super Guarantee obligations.

Depending on your needs, we can be either behind the scenes or a direct point of contact with your team.

Project Alfred can:

• Process timesheets
• Process leave applications
• Process salaried employees
• Provide a payroll summary
• Upload to your bank for you to approve
• Deal with all the calculations and paperwork surrounding any terminations or new hires

Think of all the time you’ll save when you’ve worked out why to outsource payroll!
And if you’re only just starting out with payroll and this to-do list is making you anxious,
don’t stress. If you outsource your payroll to Project Alfred, all this will be on OUR to-do list (not yours). You can focus on your core business and we’ll make sure your payroll is under control from the outset.

Ready to take the stress out of payroll? We’ll help you understand why businesses outsource payroll.

Get in touch