Sep 2022
8
6 features your payroll software should have
Running payroll can be a headache, depending on what payroll software provider you use. Nobody wants to be using outdated, clunky software that isn’t updated regularly, or one that is not compliant with the latest payroll legislation. On top of that, using outdated software can take up a lot of time that could be spent on developing your business instead.
It’s time to choose a payroll software that not only processes payroll quicker, but that automates many other payroll tasks for you, such as paying employees, and submitting payroll information to HMRC. This means less evenings spent in the office processing payroll, and more free time to focus on customers or exciting plans for the company you’ve been putting on hold.
Here are the top six features that payroll software providers should be offering your business in 2022.
1. HMRC functionality
Using a HMRC compliant payroll software is the most important feature to look out for when choosing a payroll software provider. Staying compliant with the latest legislation should be at the forefront of your decision-making process. From automatically generating FPSs to submitting RTI forms, there are many automated features out there that are available to businesses that can streamline their duties to HMRC. This allows your business to both save time and reduce the workload involved in running payroll.
2. Integration with Accounting Software
Manually re-entering figures from your payroll software into your accounting software can be a tedious part of your payroll workflow. Not only that but inputting the wrong figures or entering the same data twice can lead to errors, which can be time-consuming to rectify. Using a payroll software that’s integrated with your accounting software can transform this process into a simple and seamless task, by transferring the data from your payroll journals directly into the general ledger within your accounting package. This can greatly reduce the time you spend on payroll, each pay period.
3. Distribute payments from within the software
Running payroll and paying employees used to be entirely separate processes. Between creating bank files, ensuring all the pay information is correct, and ensuring that payments will land in employees’ accounts on time; paying employees can take up a significant amount of time each pay period. Thankfully, choosing a payroll software provider that’s integrated with a direct payment platform can now offer you the ability to pay employees from directly within the payroll software.
An example of this can be seen when using an integrated payment platform which uses the Faster Payments service, where you can pay employees in as little as 90 seconds from within the payroll software. This integration can also provide you with more flexibility in your business by letting you schedule payments in advance. This offers you peace of mind around your payments by allowing you to make any necessary last-minute changes to your payments, before they’re distributed.
4. Auto enrolment and pension integration
While auto enrolment has made saving for retirement easier for employees, it has made payroll a more time-consuming process for employers. Whether you’re assessing employees’ eligibility, enrolling them into a pension scheme or sending out enrolment letters to employees, this can be incredibly time-consuming as a busy employer.
Thankfully, with the right payroll software in place, these tasks can now be more automated from within your payroll software. The Pensions Regulator has encouraged businesses to use a software that can help you comply with these auto-enrolment duties. For an even smoother experience, we also recommend choosing a payroll software provider that is integrated with leading pension scheme providers, streamlining this process even further for you.
5. Generate payroll reports
Producing payroll reports is an important tool for many businesses, as it can be used for financial forecasting. Having a payroll software that can generates reports which can include a variety of metrics is key when it comes to analysing your business’ finances. Whether you’re looking for reports across multiple pay periods, department totals, or amounts you’ve paid to HMRC, it’s important to choose a payroll software that can accommodate this, rather than spending hours creating reports in excel from scratch.
6. Multi-user access
Whether you have multiple people in your business working on payroll, or some payroll processors working remotely, having a payroll software that allows multiple users to work in the payroll software at the same time is a must-have feature for 2022. This aligns with the growing popularity in hybrid working models and assures that no matter where your payroll processors are, they can easily access the payroll software from anywhere, at any time.
Which software do we recommend?
While there are many software providers out there, BrightPay Payroll Software provides all these features we’ve mentioned above and more, such as:
- Integration with leading accounting software, pension scheme providers and direct payment platforms, such as Modulr.
- Free migration support
- Installation on up to 10 different devices
- Excellent customer phone and email support, at no extra charge
BrightPay is one of the UK’s leading providers of payroll software for businesses, with a 5-star rating on Trustpilot and a 99.1% customer satisfaction rate.
Our 60-day free trial offers full functionality and is contract-free, so you can use our software to the fullest, without making any commitments. Interested in learning more about BrightPay? Book a free 15-minute demo online today, to see the software in action.
Get a software that offers more than just payroll…
To automate your business even further, BrightPay’s cloud extension, BrightPay Connect, provides a host of HR and payroll solutions that can revolutionise your business internally, including:
Online hub where you can upload confidential and important HR documents
- Employee app where employees can access a chronological history of their payslips that automatically sync from the payroll software
- Employer dashboard where you can view all of your employees’ payroll information at a glance
- Annual leave management tool where you can easily approve and reject leave requests and view all of your company’s leave in a user-friendly calendar format
Click here to see a one-minute video on BrightPay Connect, or book a free online demo of our cloud-extension today, to take your business to the next level.
