Outsourcing payroll comes with clear advantages, all of which contribute to the overall efficiency of a business. However, it’s important to partner with the correct payroll provider to ensure your business’s unique needs are met. The right payroll provider can save you time, money and stress with your payroll processing. Below are five reasons it may be time to consider a new payroll provider.

1. There have been mistakes on your payroll like misclassifying workers, miscalculating wages, using the wrong payroll frequency, miscalculating benefits and/or filing payroll taxes incorrectly.
2. Errors in basic employee information are commonplace.
3. Your payroll system is not compatible with your HR system and HR management processes, resulting in manual entry or double entry of information.
4. You are incurring payroll tax penalties from incorrect calculations, missed deadlines and improper reporting.
5. Employees have difficulty accessing and updating their employment information.

Doing Your Due Diligence

If you have fallen victim to any of these issues, it may be time to conduct some due diligence and find a new payroll provider. If you have decided it is time to make a switch, the next step is defining the requirements for the new provider allowing you to find the best solution for your business.

Below are six questions to ask yourself about your current payroll provider.

1. What aspects of their service have you been dissatisfied with? 
2. Are there key features missing you need/would like to have?
3. What are the current features you use the most? Could any of those be improved on?  
4. How does your current provider align with your budget? How much are you willing to spend for the right solution?  
5. What are some of the pain points you have experienced?
6. Finally, what do you hope to achieve with the new provider?  

Once you have taken the time to answer these questions, you will have a clear picture of what functionality, level of customer service and requirements you need from the new provider. With this list you will also want to make sure to prioritize your business needs, knowing which items are deal-breakers and must-haves. This list will aid in your decision-making process and help you choose the best payroll provider for your business.  

Finding The Right Partner

Now that you have a clear picture of what functionality, level of customer service and requirements you need from the new payroll provider, it is time to start comparing companies. You will want to be clear and specific on the features and specifications you need, your budget for this project, customer service requirements and the needs of the employee interface. Another aspect to consider is how this provider will grow with your company and continue to meet your needs over time.  

As with most things, not all payroll providers are created equally. Some key attributes to look at are their complete range of services, marketplace reputation, how they leverage technology and ease of use of their software. Look at the type of businesses they work with – does that align with yours? Do they offer all the services your business needs and your employees want?

At DM Payroll Solutions, solving our clients’ payroll and workforce management challenges is our passion. Our clients have the benefit of working with a local team dedicated to proactively solving their payroll and workforce management challenges. We take the time to understand your business and provide proactive solutions to your business challenges. Not only is our team local, but our customer service team also holds accounting degrees, allowing them to help guide you through all the complexities of getting your employees paid. We go beyond delivering traditional payroll processing by streamlining your pay, talent acquisition, benefit and workforce management data into an intuitive, single-point-of-contact platform to drive your business’s efficiencies. Contact us today to learn more.