To find the best payroll software for your organization, it helps to ask the right questions. As you conduct your payroll vendor evaluation, download our checklist to ensure all your needs are met.
12 Essential Questions
1. How do you help ensure payroll accuracy in real time?
When it comes to payroll, timeliness and accuracy are a must. The ideal software should automate the process, self-start each pay period and detect common payroll errors in real time. Since employees know what their pay should be better than anyone, the software should guide them to fix those errors before submission.
2. How do you measure efficiencies gained by using your automated software?
Payroll is a company’s biggest expense. When errors occur, spending time correcting them adds to your payroll costs. In fact, you could be draining your bottom line without realizing it. Look for software that not only utilizes a proactive, employee-first approach to verify accuracy but also measures the efficiencies you gain by automating all the HR tasks feeding into payroll. It should also show you where more usage opportunities exist for maximized, provable ROI.
3. How do employees verify their own data?
Employees know their data better than anyone, and the right software should give them ownership over it. Employee data management through self-service tech is key to ensuring payroll data accuracy.
4. Is the system fully automated or partially manual?
Some automation is better than none, but tech that still requires manual labor is wasting your time and cutting into your bottom line. To truly reap the benefits of automation, seek software that’s built on a single database rather than through acquisitions or third-party integrations.
5. How do you handle state and federal tax changes?
Staying on top of new tax laws can be challenging for any business. And failure to comply can come with a hefty price tag. The right payroll vendor will be able to tackle your tax burden, including instant software updates, timely filings and automated reports.
6. How does your system support multistate payroll compliance?
When you have a workforce spread across multiple states, it’s important to stay on top of each state’s laws and regulations to avoid audits and costly penalties. Payroll software that not only automatically stays updated on tax codes, but also calculates and withholds the correct taxes helps make compliance easier.
7. Do you provide flexible pay options for employees?
Your employees work hard. And while they’re waiting to get paid, they have bills that can’t wait. A payroll vendor that offers a variety of flexible payroll options — including pay cards and daily pay — can boost your people’s financial wellness to better meet life’s challenges.
8. Is payroll part of a single database or multiple databases?
How efficiently and accurately a payroll vendor does its job depends on how many databases its software is built upon. The more databases it relies on, the more problems — and manual work — you’re likely to encounter. You get more automation and transparency into the process with a single database vs. multiple databases.
9. What reporting is available to finance teams?
Payroll software without robust reporting capabilities can leave you with endless manual work. Ask prospective payroll vendors what types of payroll reports their software can generate. Their list should include reports for taxes, wages, expenses, labor allocation and more.
10. What does the implementation process look like?
While the software implementation process can vary depending on your needs, a good payroll vendor will clearly lay out expectations and timelines and provide you with a single point of contact for step-by-step guidance.
11. What is your mobile experience like for employees?
Many vendors provide some form of mobile experience, but it is limited in functionality and ease of use. Those that offer a more responsive mobile design with the ability for employees to access, review, troubleshoot and fix their own checks bring greater efficiency and accuracy to the payroll process.
12. What differentiates your payroll from other platforms?
When comparing payroll services, sometimes it’s better to be direct with your questions. Instead of just sitting through its pitch, ask the provider how it differs from its competition, simplifies processes, reduces decision-making, helps maintain business continuity and more. This will help you get closer to the answers you truly seek and the right payroll vendor for you.
How to compare vendors using these questions
Download our checklist and keep it handy as you go through the payroll provider evaluation process and see how quickly your options narrow down.
Download the interactive worksheet
Use this interactive worksheet to evaluate and compare providers. Plus, do you know the 11 must-haves every payroll software should offer? They’re included as well. Download today.