7 Factors to Consider When Choosing Payroll Service Providers

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You need to do your research when it comes to looking through payroll service providers and their options. Choosing the wrong provider can mean the difference between smooth operational processes, and your company potentially becoming bankrupt.

If you want to be sure you’re looking at the correct things when searching your payroll service provider options, then you’ll want to keep reading.

1. Determining Your Company’s Needs

Before even looking up various payroll service providers, you’ll need to take the time to figure out what you’re looking for and need.

Take the time to see if you need a full-service provider or one that just has the platform for your admin team to use for example. You’ll also have to determine the level of support in running payroll, dealing with employee queries, and even helping with W2 filing processes on your behalf.

Is this something you want to keep mostly in-house, do you want to pass these troubling shooting issues to a third party? All good questions to ask yourself before hunting for a provider. 

Sometimes, payroll service providers will ask you these questions to match you with the right block of service that they offer. Just make sure you know the answers so that you’re not roped into paying for more than you really need.

2. Budget and Cost of Services

After determining what and why you need a payroll provider, you can start creating a budget for the service. A major factor in going with one service over another can really end up being down to the price point. 

Figuring out what you can and cannot afford will help your company from draining its financial resources quickly. It’s not a good idea to be paying a lot annually for something that you can find cheaper elsewhere.

Ask all the various payroll provider services on your radar for quotes before committing to the first one that you find. It will help you find a service that fits your needs and budget without breaking the bank. There quite a few sites online that can help you to find the cheapest provider and comparing service fees.

3. Company of Choice Credentials and Reviews

When it comes to payroll service providers you’ll want to choose a reputable company that’s backed by good reviews. 

There are providers out there that may not be qualified to do what they do, and/or have some pretty negative experiences by others. A provider that doesn’t work the way you expected can cause a pretty big problem in your company.

You want to be able to rely on who you choose to run your payroll and not run into simple or complex issues that you have to resolve yourself. Credentials are an important thing to look for and ask for. Whereas reviews are a secondary confirmation that the company you choose is the right one.

You can view most reviews online with a simple Google search to get a true feel for your expectations of the company. Companies like the one found on finvisor.com can help you locate the best one for you by going over references and reviews for you.

4. Company of Choice Experience

Another factor in picking the right one out of all the payroll service providers is whether or not they have experience with payroll within your industry.

This would be whether they work with small or large companies as well as the type of business you run. Some providers may specialize in financial sectors and some may be a jack of all trades working with a spectrum of people. 

You can speak to the representative when they are providing you with a quote to see what types of companies they usually work with.

5. Information Security

Security is an important part of payroll since it houses everything from employee’s personal information to their social security numbers. You don’t want this getting into the hands of the wrong people.

Knowing what the company’s security protocols are and how they handle a breach is a big factor in not only picking companies but also the safety of your staff. The payroll service providers should be able to let you know who has access to the information and where it is stored to figure out who is the safe pick for you.

6. Level of Service Autonomy 

The level of autonomy the provider gives you will help you to figure out how much work you’ll need to do each payroll run.

If you are someone who needs the payroll run to be fairly automatic and requires no work on your part, then a full-service option is what you need to look for. Or if you have a payroll team that just needs the software in order to run payroll and house all the employee information for them then a lower level of service autonomy is for you.

Knowing who to look for ahead of time can save you the trouble of listening to quotes or asking the representatives for their opinion. 

7. Available Support

Each provider will have various levels of support offered for their services. 

Some payroll service providers have support only for your admin team while others are accessible to employees for help on their end of the service. This goes back to the time you want to spend on payroll administration tasks. A one-stop-shop can make things a lot easier and require fewer people and time to be hands-on.

The providers should be able to walk you through what they offer to make your decision a lot easier.

Getting to Knowing Payroll Service Providers

Choosing between payroll service providers is not something that you should rush. You’ll need to take the time to really think about whether or not a service is right for you and what you’re looking for. Speak with your financial team to determine where the pain points are in the current process to set the team up for success.

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