Choosing the best Payroll System for your SME

Vivian A.D
BeaVista
Published in
4 min readAug 2, 2021

Whether you run a small business with just one employee or a large company running into hundreds of employees, one crucial detail you can’t avoid is payroll. Payroll is inarguably one of the most integral parts of any business and ranks high amongst the list of things one must get right if a business is to function properly.

If your business or company has managed quite well without one, at some point, either due to growth or expansion of your workforce, you may need to switch to using payroll software or employing the services of a payroll provider. Using payroll software or outsourcing your business’ payroll paperwork to a payroll service provider can save you or your HR/ payroll team a lot of organizational headaches, relieve you of the stress of handling paperwork, save you valuable time and provide you with effective results. In addition to processing payroll, payroll software or service providers can help you calculate and file payroll taxes, generate payroll tax statements as well as run other payroll processes.

With hundreds of payroll software and numerous payroll service providers, it can be quite a hassle to decide on which software to go for or what service provider to work with. This is where we make your selection process easier and hassle-free with these 5 essential tips that you should definitely be on the lookout for when choosing a Payroll software or payroll service provider.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

#1: Ease of Use

When choosing the right payroll software for your business or company, it is very vital to go with software that is easy to navigate, convenient to use, and provides a flexible interface. Why? Well, this allows you to conveniently run your payroll processes without any difficulty. Similarly, when choosing a payroll service provider, ensure that their services are easy to understand and are not complex or complicated.

#2: Features

This next tip should definitely sit right in your purse and should guide you when choosing the right payroll service or software. Rate the software based on three core features; general, employee, and Automated features. General features of the right payroll software should include an active reporting framework that allows you to run several detailed payroll reports, robust analytics that shows all overall payment history. The software should guarantee you access to detailed reports, a flexible salary structure and should be electronic payment ready. Automated Features should primarily include an automatically generated payroll, as well as other computerized features. Finally, employee features should consist of an employee self-service detail easily accessible to employees and it is a bonus if the software provides email payslips on payroll generation.

Photo by Visual Stories || Micheile on Unsplash

#3: Budget-friendly

There are countless payroll software and service providers for you to choose from but this next tip helps you narrow down your list further! Every software offers varying pricing options but when choosing one to work with, it is best to choose a software that suits your business or company’s pocket, yet still providing you with all the necessary and vital features a software should have. Our software professionals highly recommend that you select the software or service provider with a package that falls well within your budget and at the same time, matches your requirements operation-wise.

#4: Integrations

Does your business have programs that you already use? Does your company have a functional database or active HR operations? If yes, then it is best to choose a software or service provider that allows you to integrate and sync your already existing programs into the software with ease. A payroll service provider should also be able to provide you with ease of integration.

#5: Security

Protection of Employee or payroll data is very crucial when choosing payroll software or service provider. If there is any breach of your payroll security, it creates a major problem as your employees’ personal and confidential data will be at risk of exposure to unauthorized parties. For this reason, security is one very essential tip to consider when choosing the right software for your business or company. It is important to choose software that is highly secure, safe, and guarantees data protection. Also, software that offers automated backups of all data, as well as enforced accountability and audit-trailing features, make good choices.

Perhaps, you’re clueless as to which payroll option to go for? Choose PrimePayroll. Irrespective of your business/ company’s niche, payroll processes are of utmost priority and can be highly beneficial to your company if done the right way. Our software is an enterprise cloud service for Payroll and Human Resource Management that offers easy, flexible and accessible payroll software that helps you run your payroll operations conveniently.

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Vivian A.D
BeaVista

Vivian A.D is a content writer and content strategist who helps software companies build their online presence with engaging valuable content.