Automating payroll to manage complexity and minimise compliance risks

Payroll is arguably one of the most sensitive areas of a business. Ensuring all employees are paid on time, correctly, and according to their entitlements while maintaining confidentiality is essential. It can also be extremely challenging, especially as the payroll landscapes in both Australia and New Zealand can be complex with significant compliance obligations.

Managing payroll manually creates a large administrative burden, introduces the potential for human error, and can cost a company time and money. The answer is to implement an automated, streamlined payroll system that removes administrative burden and ensures managers can only see the people and data they're approved to see, maintaining confidentiality.

Handling staff wages is a critical role. Employees expect to be paid on time and correctly, and organisations that make mistakes could see themselves accused of wage theft. An automated payroll system can drive accuracy and efficiency, minimise compliance risk, quickly adapt to regulatory change, and ensure the perfect payslip is delivered to employees every single time.

UKG has identified the key benefits of implementing an automated payroll system:

Greater control of information
Automated payroll processes keep business leaders in control of the process without manually updating information each pay cycle. All the necessary steps in the payroll process can be defined to cater for the organisation's unique requirements and workflow. Reporting is also available on-demand, and any errors or issues can be flagged via digital alerts to ensure accurate information.

Easily accessible data and insights
In the era of remote work, having easily accessible insights on demand is critical. For automated payroll solutions, this means that all data is available through intuitive and configurable reports. These reports highlight the metrics that matter most, can be easily retrieved, and are presented in formats that suit all levels of technical ability.

Minimised compliance risk
Having an automated payroll solution in place mitigates the risks of compliance violations by offering an efficient, transparent tool for processing payroll. Automated systems can handle complex regulations around single touch payroll (STP), national employment standards, payroll tax, and superannuation with ease, helping businesses to avoid errors and the potential for fines, penalties, and reputational damage.

A single source of truth
By adopting an automated payroll solution that uses cloud-native software, organisations can eliminate data silos often caused by legacy solutions and embrace a single source of truth. This provides a consolidated access point for all reporting needs and reduces errors caused by multiple updates from alternative networks. These easy-to-navigate systems empower employees to take control of self-service options and reduce administrative burden across the board.

An efficient and effective outcome
By automating the manual workload associated with payroll processes, organisations can also control labour costs. Additionally, by eliminating errors, they can also reduce over and underpayments to employees and the risk of overpaying their taxation obligations.

Streamlined processes
Factoring in holiday pay, public holidays, long service leave entitlements, hourly and penalty rates, and other requirements creates significant complexity for organisations. Removing time-consuming processes lets businesses manage by exception. Partnering with a vendor that is ahead of the curve and remains up-to-date with awards and their interpretation can dramatically reduce the risk of mistakes and ensure organisations can focus on innovation and strategy.

Eliminating cumbersome manual tasks from payroll's responsibilities can free up their capacity to provide greater value in the workplace. When it comes to necessary yet time-consuming tasks like payroll, automated solutions ensure that outcomes are delivered on time, with a high level of accuracy and in a way that increases organisations' overall efficiency.