However, employees open up a nasty bit of financials (at least to me) – payroll. Of course, all accounting is annoying to me, but payroll has added pressure: making sure employees pay what they need to, but still get what they deserve; navigating through the incredible bureaucracy surrounding tax and payroll law; and still running a business!
So, yes, for a Small Office/Home Office business (SOHO) owner, I’m delighted to say I don’t have employees – or payroll headaches. But I’m in the minority – and for those others, it makes perfect sense to offload your work to another company. Yes, you pay extra, but as we know, governments are very unforgiving when it comes to mistakes in taxes. And annoying your employees with payroll delays or mistakes can affect morale, and thereby the bottom line. Long story short, it’s not something you should spend your core strengths dealing with – better to stick to your main business!
Years ago, payroll was a local thing, and you dealt with either a small accounting group locally, or with a remote, large payroll company, and expected delays (checks were commonly a week to two out of date, so as to make sure the employee times reached the company early enough to send checks back). This often meant a local firm would be more responsive. However, with the Internet, the situation is reversed; a large, national company has both the speed and resources to do a better job, and quite likely at a lower price.
So, no employees? Join the club! Got employees? Then search around ASAP for a better payroll program, and give up managing it locally and focus your manpower and resources where it needs to be – making money for your company!
