Businesses in Singapore similar to yours might decide to take care of their own payroll functions in-house as it appears to be more economical to do so initially.
Often this is the case for smaller companies as they tend to have a minimal workforce and therefore, less complexity in their payroll activities.
They eventually discover the complexity of payroll processes and the costs related to maintaining an internal payroll department.
It is at this point that most companies look to outsource their payroll functions.
Apart from the costs involved with in-house payroll, the effect of getting it wrong can be disastrous for your company.
This article will cover the top 5 reasons why outsourcing your payroll functions can benefit your business in Singapore.
1. Free Up Staff Time
Payroll can be a very laborious task and requires a supreme level of diligence and attention to detail.
It’s not only about processing payslips and keeping track of staff timesheets and it also covers the submission of payroll taxes, accurate record keeping, payslip preparation and etc.
Singapore companies are far better off outsourcing this type of administrative work allowing them to focus on growing their business.
With the resources savings gained through outsourcing, companies can focus on more gainful tasks like customer service and marketing.
If you are managing the payroll functions within your company, outsourcing payroll tasks will allow you to focus on revenue generating tasks and business growth.
If you think about the amount of time you invest in calculating staff work hours along with sick or annual leave, not to mention overtime and other expenses like Taxi claims that are difficult to process, it adds up to quite a bit.
You are far better off outsourcing these tasks to payroll experts and spending your time on developing your products and services and revenue generating tasks like sales and marketing.
2. Guarantee Compliance
Payroll is not just a collection of routine administrative tasks, it also has brand and reputation implications.
In Singapore, to stay compliant avoiding penalties and audits, a lot of time is invested in staying current with government industrial relations legislation.
An example of this was when the Singapore government made it a requirement for companies issue itemized payslips and keep accurate employment records from the 1 April 2016.
This meant that all employers had to make adjustments to their payroll processes from this date.
With changes to Singapore government regulations occurring constantly each year, managing these changes while keeping up to date becomes rather time-consuming and therefore costly.
By using a third party payroll service provider, you can avoid getting caught out by these changes as they make it their business to be up to date with all changes that might come up.
They also provide a guarantee that your payroll tasks will be completed with a very high level of accuracy and compliance.
3. Access to Comprehensive Payroll Services
No matter how experienced your Human Resources team are, they are limited by their own skills.
Outsourced payroll services can offer a wide array of financial services apart from tax and payroll calculation, they can offer contract generation, bookkeeping and access to health benefits.
Singapore payroll service vendor provides accurate, timely and streamlined payroll services which will also keep you away from regulatory and compliance nightmares such as audits and penalties and will allow you to focus on the more strategic elements of running your business.
Before choosing a payroll service provider, take a look at the kind of tasks you want to outsource.
Many businesses realised that it is more cost effective to outsource their payroll functions than to keep payroll in-house in the long run.
4. Ensure Data Security
Payroll processes come with a host of data security concerns as you are often dealing with sensitive information like addresses, salaries, bonus payments, bank account information etc.
Therefore it is no denying that confidentiality is of paramount importance when it comes to payroll activities.
Unless your company is willing to go to the expense of setting up your system and networks to be secure enough to manage this sensitive data, you are opening your company up to risks like embezzlement, identity theft and resentment amongst employees if a data leak was to occur.
Going with the right payroll service provider in Singapore means that your data will be safe due to the many layers of security protocols including regular back-ups and encryption.
5. Boost Staff Morale
Salaries must be paid within 7 days after a salary period in Singapore and even the biggest companies may miss this timeline. Issues with payroll timing can have a huge impact on staff morale.
Delays with payroll can cause some employees to question the overall health of the business.
This may also lead to staff looking elsewhere for opportunities with other companies or at least, a decrease in motivation.
By outsourcing, you and your employees can have peace of mind that they will be paid on time and on a consistent basis.
Should you need assistance or would like to find out more about payroll processing services in Singapore, please send an email to Contact@AccountingSolutionsSingapore.com, and our business advisor will contact you.