Businesses are leveraging the concept of outsourcing as their strategy to operate smoothly and save costs. Payroll is an essential part of any business – big and small and reflects their reputation and financial stability. For businesses to focus on their core activities, it is only wise that they outsource payroll management to a payroll service provider for the smooth functioning of their business.

From error-free salary disbursals to hassle-free execution, there are several benefits of outsourcing your payroll.

Benefits of outsourcing your payroll in India:

1. Time-Saving

There are several minute details in payroll that need to be taken care of. From benefit deductions to overtime calculations and from tax deductions to termination payments, there are several other things that you need to follow before disbursing salaries. Besides salary calculation, there are state and central laws that need to be taken care of. Outsourcing payroll saves time, allows your HR to concentrate on core functions that are more significant for your business.

2. Cost Reduction

There is a significant amount of money that goes into payroll management. Small and medium-sized business enterprises may not find it feasible to set aside this budget to maintain a dedicated payroll department. Expenses include – salaries of the trained payroll personnel, one-time and recurring cost of payroll software, the cost involved in its maintenance, training and support and maintenance of the IT and office infrastructure for these people and systems. In addition, there could be penalties that the business may incur for wrong calculation of taxes or deductions, etc. It is only wise that the payroll is outsourced to an expert such as a specialist payroll service provider and save these extra costs.

3. Taxes, Rules and Regulations Adhered to

One of the most crucial parts of payroll management is adhering to the rules and regulations set by the state and central government. Tax deduction is another important part which needs to be accurate. Employment and labour laws are subject to constant changes and it is extremely difficult to keep up with them. Error in following these can cause the business to be penalized or to bear heavy penalties. Outsourcing to a payroll service provider allows being up to date with all taxes and other rules and regulations related to employment.

4. Data Security and confidentiality:

Payroll involves finances and though employees can be trustworthy, it needs extensive monitoring and security protocols implemented for smooth functioning. Tampering with crucial company data, siphoning of funds can cause monetary and reputation loss to the company. Also, sudden system breakdowns or external security threats can hamper your data. Professional payroll service providers use several state-of-the-art technologies that protect your data. They also use high-level backup plans to keep your data secure.

Despite the number of benefits that outsourcing offers to a business, one cannot blindly jump into hiring a payroll service provider. Before you can consider a payroll service provider in India, there are some things to expect from your payroll provider.

Top 5 things that any business should expect from their India payroll service provider:

1. Services and Features Offered

Most payroll service providers will provide services as below:

• Salary calculations and disbursement
• Tax calculations and payments
• Statutory compliances
• Report generation
• One time payments and/or deductions
• Maintain employee masters
• Report and register new joiners and leavers
• Manage paid and sick leaves
• Secure logins to employees to access their payslips and tax data

These are some basic things that are included in payroll management. There may be other services that they are willing to offer.
You must also check with your provider about the software and the technologies that they are using currently. Using age-old software may lack the latest details and changes in the calculation system that may not be included. The software they use should be easily integrated into your current software for easy data transfer and management.

The technology they use must permit them to store a large amount of data. The payroll system should also be made available to you for monitoring purposes.

It would be great if the payroll service provider can appoint a dedicated officer that has knowledge about your business & industry. This officer should be the point of contact for you whenever you need to give or take information regarding payroll.

2. Accountability

A large number of businesses face penalties and fines each year because of errors in the tax computation and disbursements.

Disbursing the payroll figures after calculating and recording doesn’t quite end the job of the payroll service provider. There are additional compliances that must be taken care of every quarter, mid-term, or annually. It is difficult to keep up with city, state and central legislations that are subject to changes frequently.

The payroll service provider you hire should be liable for their work. Although payroll providers work alongside the tax authorities and ensure that the compliances are up to the mark and the taxes are paid in accordance with the government policies, they must accept the accountability of taking care of your payroll completely and be liable for any errors caused due to their negligence.

3. Trustworthy

Any payroll service provider that you hire should be reliable. As your payroll provider, they will have access to your employee data along with other significant details of salaries, bank accounts, etc. The safety of this professional and personal details of employees is of paramount importance.

The payroll service provider must be able to provide you with reliable references of companies they are or have worked with. Payroll providers that have already established themselves in the industry as a renowned third-party payroll service provider by having worked for some/several years are the ones that can be trusted. They must also be able to provide you with references and recommendations or client testimonials so you can trust their work and authenticity.

An important factor that comes under trust is about them having the latest systems. Data handling and data storage should be done with extremely secure systems that have modern backup plans and keep the data secure.

4. Expertise and Additional Services

An experienced payroll service provider will cover a variety of business requirements such as employee attendance and time-keeping, web-based payroll processing, HR services, temporary staffing services, global payroll services, and more.

There are many additional services that payroll providers offer their clients. The right service provider will understand your business needs and then offer a combination of services that will benefit your business.

Providing good customer service is essential and expected from all payroll service providers. There may be several occasions when you may require their support, especially when you have just started working together. It is likely that you want to speak to a knowledgeable person who has in-depth knowledge of the software or the payroll system overall.

Offering a responsive customer service is something that you must expect from your service provider. The best thing a payroll service provider can do for their clients is to provide them with the details of a certain person who would be able to provide your business with any answers.

5. Cost

Even though the amount you pay isn’t the only thing that you should be thinking about when outsourcing to a payroll service provider, cost of hiring the provider is definitely an important criterion to be considered.

It is only wise that the payroll service provider offers you services at competitive prices. It is not necessary that you pick the cheapest, but along with the cost, you must also look for the features and services that they are offering as a package deal.
Working with a payroll service provider definitely saves a fair amount of money for the business. Therefore, you must select your provider wisely to ensure that you are getting services at competitive rates while also saving in the long term.

As a business owner, you must wisely choose the payroll service provider to ensure that their services will help you streamline your business.

Where to Get the Best Payroll Service Provider?

Having served more than 900 clients across Europe, Asia, Australia and North America, TopSource Worldwide is a leader in providing payroll services to businesses across the globe. We have worked with a variety of industries, including manufacturing, pharma, BFSI, engineering, shipping and IT companies. With over 250 experts in the field of IT and payroll, we ensure that we provide timely services to our clients as required by them. With modern infrastructure and highly-advanced security systems, your data is safe with us. To learn more about our services, you can contact us on our details mentioned below.