Searching For a Payroll Processing Service?

What You Need to Know

By Victor Scire On Dec 18, 2020

Getting your payroll done should be an efficient and secure process. And you shouldn’t need to get bogged down dealing with tax filings and payments. Whether your business is big or small, outsourcing payroll processing to the right provider offers many benefits.

Even if you have had a bad experience outsourcing payroll processing, going through a step-by-step selection process will get you to a quality provider. 

You need to find a provider that offers up-to-date technology, a proven track record of great customer service, and a history of honesty and integrity. 

Here’s the thing: whether you want to switch payroll providers or outsource for the first time, you need to do your homework. You can start by exploring these areas: 

Great Customer Service 

It’s all about talking to a provider’s references. You need to ask: 

• Is customer service and support based in the US? 

• Is it always someone different answering the call/email that doesn’t know the customer or the business? 

• Is the customer only known by a number? 

• Does the customer experience long hold times? 

• Does the customer get different answers from different people? 

• Does the customer sometimes wait days to get an answer? 

Up-to-date Technology

• You must be able to submit payroll information online 
• Ask if the service offers a time & attendance system fully integrated with payroll 
• Will your employees have online access to their pay information, as well as W-2s and more? 
• Can you be completely paperless? 
• What measures are taken to ensure security? 
• Is the technology able to 
  adapt quickly to issues like 
  COVID-19? 

Honesty and Integrity 

You can determine if a payroll processing service has the honesty and integrity you need. Here’s what to look for:

Longevity – how long has the company been processing payroll and remitting taxes? Look for a company that has been in business for 10-15 years. 

Reputation – get references and call those customers and ask: 

• Has the company ever been late in remitting tax payments? 
• Has any tax agency ever imposed a penalty for tax payment mistakes made by the service? 
• Does the service encourage and help the customer to verify that the appropriate payments have been made with the various tax agencies?

Insurance – is the payroll provider properly insured? 

• Errors and Omissions Insurance 
• Fidelity Bond (crime protection) 
• Cyber Liability 

You should be able to get payroll done right, quickly and easily so you can focus on what you do best.

About the Author 

Victor Scire is vice president, marketing, at Primepoint HRMS & Payroll. 

To access more business news, visit NJB News Now.

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