Why Choose BDO Northern Ireland?

What Should You Look For In Choosing Your Payroll Partner 

1. Reputation

You should only select a provider once you are satisfied that they are competent and reliable, have longevity in business and will be around for your future.

2. Experience 

Ask your provider how long they have been providing payroll services and if all of the relevant staff are suitably qualified to undertake the services they offer. Also, ascertain the depth and scope of their expertise in related areas such as taxation or wealth management.

3. Suitability 

Make sure that your provider understands your business and your requirements, and more importantly, that they can deliver on time. Also, it is important that they are flexible enough to change as your company expands or contracts.

4. Technology

Your provider should be using the most up to date technology in terms of processing and data security systems.

5. Transparency

Different providers vary in what they charge, so make sure that you can be billed in a manner that suits your business,. Also, ask that all set-ups, recurring and hidden costs are clearly defined and discussed at the beginning. Unexpected surprises can strain relationships very easily.

6. Client Focussed

Ensure that they really value your business and they want you as a client. Establish their customer service record, and insist on a high level of communication with an accessible manager. You will need to constantly communicate with your payroll provider.

7. Compatibility

Finally, and above all, make sure that your payroll partner is easy to do business with. Ask for references if you need to.

Top 10 Reasons to Outsource

1. Cost

For many businesses, an in-house payroll service is a money burner.

Whether your business has less than 20 employees or greater than 200, there’s a very good chance that you can save money by outsourcing your payroll operations. Determine how many hours your employees are devoting to payroll-related activities, calculate how much you’re spending and compare the amount to the cost of an outsourced solution. Also, be sure to factor in the money your business spends on tasks like printing and distributing cheques, creating tax documents, for example.

2. Productivity

Payroll management is a time-consuming activity. With this burden removed, your employees can focus on doing more productive things, and you may even be able to trim your staff’s size.

3. Accuracy

Payroll mistakes can be painful, angering employees and — more ominously — the government. A good payroll-services provider is far less likely to make a serious error than your in-house staff.

4. Reliability

In-house payroll activities function as reliably as the people doing the work. With a payroll service, output speed and quality won’t vary in accordance with vacations and illnesses. You also won’t have to spend time helping new hires understand your business’s payroll system.

5. Speed

Since payroll-services providers are specialists with vast technical resources at their disposal, they can process even the most complex payrolls at very efficient timeframes. Unlike most employers, they can also accommodate a temporary influx of seasonal workers without acquiring new systems that will remain dormant for the rest of the year.

6. Insight

A good payroll-services provider will be well versed in all areas of payroll-related tax laws and regulatory mandates on all levels. Although your employees could aim to achieve the same level of understanding, it would take a considerable investment in time and effort and may not be the best use of their time.

7. Accountability

If salaries are delayed or paperwork is mishandled, it’s the payroll-services provider’s responsibility to fix things as quickly and efficiently as possible

8. Flexibility

Boring, repetitive payroll work can act like an anchor on your business. Your staff, when freed of payroll responsibilities, will be free to focus on other, more creative aspects of their work, allowing you and your employees to focus on growing your business

9. Security

Do you have the time and energy to closely supervise your business’s payroll for time and rate abuses or other unsavoury activity?  Most payroll services firms have technologies that can spot and alert clients to various types of payroll fraud, such as payment manipulation and “phantom workers”. This also provides your business with a level of assurance and confidence you may otherwise not have.

10. Peace of Mind

There is a lot to be said for the peace of mind that outsourcing payroll services can bring to a business owner or manager. You’re left to focus on running a profitable business. Whilst knowing that the important but time intensive administrative side of the business is being efficiently and effectively managed.