Should small businesses outsource their payroll?

Processing payroll is a recurring financial operation for every business. And since payroll is a substantial business expense, small businesses need to set aside dedicated time & resources on it periodically.  Research suggests that, on average, a small business spends over 120 hours in a year on payroll taxes alone. And that’s excluding the time spent on rectifying payroll miscalculations. Most SMEs manage their payroll on spreadsheets. Some businesses prefer their payroll to be handled by external professionals to avoid any delays. This, in turn, creates more bandwidth for the team to focus on business growth goals. But which payroll approach is most suitable for your business & why? Let’s dive into the deets. ⤵️  

Advantages & limitations of outsourcing payroll

If you’re looking at outsourcing your payroll, you must first consider the perks & setbacks of doing so. This will  help you make an informed decision that’s most suited for your business. 

Pros	Cons
Efficient & accurate	Prone to errors
Focus on organisational goals	Time-consuming & tedious
Simplified verification	Repetitive verification
Single repository for tax declarations	Manual efforts
Employee self-service portals	Expensive
Reduces paperwork
Adhere with compliance

  In the above table, the pros of outsourcing payroll seem to outweigh the cons. This indicates that outsourcing payroll is a relatively viable option. However, there is a twist in the tale. 😯  Traditionally, outsourcing payroll means finding an agency that will manage your payroll end-to-end. They might do it manually or with the help of a software/tool. But imagine having an option where you don’t need to outsource your payroll but can benefit from the pros of outsourcing. Baffled? 🤔 Let me explain.  What if you could manage your payroll in-house with a smart & efficient payroll management solution? One that’ll help you save all the time & resources spent on manually tracking, calculating & processing payroll. This way, you can stay in full control of your payroll anytime, anywhere. At the same time, ensure that accuracy & compliance is maintained along with automation of payroll.    Sounds like the best option there is, doesn’t it? Let me unveil this state-of-the-art payroll solution built ground up for your business. 🥁  Open Payroll — India’s best payroll solution for small businesses. 🥁 But before we deep dive into the benefits & features of the platform, let’s analyse when is the right time to consider a payroll solution.  

When should small businesses consider a payroll management solution? 

Small businesses usually outsource their payroll when their employee count reaches 15 & above. Some consider payroll management solutions instead so as to avail swift & easy salary processing. But the real question here is — should small businesses consider a payroll solution right from day one?  Well, the answer is yes! 🙋‍♀️ Businesses should hunt for a complete payroll solution that caters to their needs right from the start. This will enable them to set up a hassle-free payroll process from the beginning — without actually needing to outsource it.  

Why should small businesses manage their payroll themselves?

Salary processing can be quite a battle for small businesses like yours that juggle multiple tasks. Your time is the most valuable resource & running a small business certainly requires a lot of time & effort.  In order to grow your business rapidly, you’d need to focus on expanding & scaling your business. And for this, business processes like payroll must be made simple, both for you & your team.  If your team is managing payroll the traditional way, they must be doing it in 3 stages:

1. Pre payroll activities
2. Actual payroll process
3. Post payroll process

Although the steps involved are not very complicated, the whole process does eat up a lot of time. This is certainly the time that you might as well invest in more lucrative tasks. However, outsourcing your payroll is expensive. The fee can vary depending on various factors such as the location of your company, size of the workforce, frequency of the payroll, tax requirements, etc. Hence, it’s important to consider a payroll management solution that you can afford to help you organize & fast track your payroll. Also, this will help you manage your entire cash flow in one place.  

How to choose a suitable payroll solution for your business?

While choosing a payroll solution, you must ensure to choose one where your entire payroll can be automated. Not one where someone still has to oversee the steps before the disbursal. You must consider your finances & do the math based on the number of employees you intend to hire. All of this while making sure compliance is maintained. Here are some useful features that you should watch out for:

1. Automated processing – Auto-calculations & timely automated payroll processing
2. Time & leave management – Easy configuration of work hours & leave cycles
3. Compliance – Never miss compliance deadlines for TDS, PF, PT, ESI, etc 
4. Real-time reports & insights – Seamless year-end payroll audit
5. Customer support – Reliable & prompt support
6. Employee experience – Declare investments, download payslips, apply for leaves & reimbursements, etc   

 

Level up your payroll management with Open Payroll

Open Payroll is India’s most desired payroll solution for small businesses. The wide range of features available will give you an edge in acing your salary processing — like never before. Here are some of the reasons why this payroll solution is loved by HR & Finance teams alike:

• Easy attendance management
• Smart leave & holiday management
• One-click payslip generation
• Direct salary & TDS payments
• Generate important reports
• Employee self-service portal
• Manage the life-cycle of employees

The best part?  Open Payroll comes with Open’s business account which will help you combine your banking, payments, expense management, accounting, taxes & payroll in ONE place. So are you ready to set up seamless payroll management for your business? Yep! It’s time to automate your payroll with the best payroll solution in town. Get started for free & explore the platform today.   Related Articles – How to simplify your salary processing with Open Payroll How to make instant vendor payments on Open How Open brings banking & finance together for your business Bulk Payments, now made smarter with Open’s Payout APIs How to make salary payments in minutes with Open How to collect & track payments like a pro with Virtual Account APIs