How a Melbourne bookkeeper can help solve your payroll dramas

October 18, 2018

How would you feel if your salary isn’t coming in on time? Not too happy, we’ll bet!

Now imagine what your staff will have to go through if your business payroll system isn’t up to scratch. Chances are you’ll have to resolve a lot of employee complaints in the near future.

Situations like this can be completely avoided if businesses establish effective payroll system. And a small business bookkeeper in Melbourne can help!

Unsure whether you need our assistance? Here are a couple of unmissable signs…

Bookkeeper writing

1) Improper time-keeping system

Improper timekeeping can cause unnecessary workplace drama – especially if payroll is involved.

Employees aren’t the only parties that benefit from proper timekeeping. If you use a per-hour payment system, then it’s also essential since it ensures:

  • That staff aren’t over or underpaid for hours worked
  • Overtime work is properly tracked
  • Payments don’t start piling up (and spiralling out of control)
  • Absences (outside of formal leave) are properly accounted for

Make no mistake, time-tracking benefits both business owners and the employees.

And if you’re doing pay runs by hand, it’s all too easy to record times incorrectly by accident.

2) Your bookkeeping doesn’t follow the rules

Payroll comes with certain rules and requirements you won’t see in other areas of bookkeeping. In particular, you’ll have to worry about:

  • Superannuation
  • PAYG tax
  • Incentives and benefits

Not following these requirements can set you down the path towards a range of hefty penalties and fines, as well as potential legal action.

Just to be clear, we aren’t accusing your business of deliberately glossing over these obligations. But a lot of businesses that do their payroll off the cuff with little more than a spreadsheet and pocket calculator.

If you’re one of them, it’s easy for some details to slip through the cracks.

Fortunately, there are ways to prevent this from happening. – just talk to a small business bookkeeper. In addition to assessing and processing your insurance, PAYG and superannuation obligations, they can also set you up with affordable payroll systems that do all of this automatically.

3) Manual bookkeeping = human error

The occasional mistake or error is unavoidable – not everybody has a head for numbers, after all.

And that’s exactly why you shouldn’t do payroll (or any bookkeeping, for that matter) by hand!

Whether it’s underpaying or overpaying, fixing payroll errors takes time. And as any business owner knows, time is money – even if you catch mistakes in time, you’re still paying for it.

In the vast majority of cases, payroll errors in small businesses are down to human error. Perhaps you hit the wrong key, or simply made a mistake when making your calculations.

The solution? Cut out the human element altogether!

Cloud bookkeeping platforms such as Xero and MYOB Essentials automate your payroll. All you need to do is plug in annual salary or hourly rate, as well as how much of that is superannuation.

The program does the rest, and without mistakes or errors to boot. Talk to Maximum Business Solutions about getting them set up for your business.

Payroll

4) You don’t get pay runs in on time

No employee wants to be paid late. And if this happens regularly, then something’s wrong with your payroll system.

Not to mention, it can have long-term effects like building a poor impression about management and your business itself on sites like Glassdoor!

In many cases, late pay runs are the result of inefficient, manual bookkeeping processes.

Small business owners are some of the busiest people around, edging out doctors in terms of hours worked. As a result, it’s easy for pay runs to come late. This can build up over time, making your problem worse.

By automating payroll, you’ll never have to worry about late pay runs ever again. That means less work and helps you avoid potential headaches in the future.

Avoid ineffective payroll processing with help from a Melbourne bookkeeper

Contact Maximum Business Solutions for efficient payroll solutions

We doubt payroll (or bookkeeping in general) tops your list of hobbies – especially if you’re still doing it all by hand!

Sick of your current bookkeeping arrangement? Why not get in touch with Maximum Business Solutions?

In addition to taking your bookkeeping off your hands, we also specialise in setting small and medium businesses up with more efficient payroll systems.

Stop wasting time on payroll and start maximising it – contact Maximum Business Solutions today on (03) 9589 0128.