Five Common Mistakes Employers are Making with Payroll
You would think it would be straightforward to get your employees paid accurately and on-time, but payroll can actually be one of the areas where businesses fall down the most. Capturing accurate time and attendance data and then managing the process to get this information through to payroll can be labour-intensive and prone to error if handled manually. Effective management of payroll is crucial to a business’s success and long-term viability however, so we’ve outlined some of the most common payroll mistakes employers are making and how you can fix them.
1. Poor timesheet tracking
Despite living in a digital age, over 25% of businesses are still using paper or a spreadsheet to track employee work hours. Paper-based systems require a significant amount of administrative time and allow room for human error. They are also open to time theft, with employees easily able to fudge their shift start and end times or break times. An automated time and attendance system simplifies and streamlines your timesheet and payroll process, providing quick, easy and accurate employee timesheet information.
2. Incorrectly calculating awards and entitlements
When you have various staff working different shifts and on different awards, it’s easy to make mistakes with pay if you’re processing this manually. Failing to comply with wage regulations can come down to inaccurate time reporting, lack of workforce data or miscalculation of employees. Our Aussie Time Sheets time and attendance systems eliminate these problems and automatically calculates overtime, annual leave, sick leave and public holidays, so you can always be sure your employees are being paid the correct award rate and you are complying with local labour laws.
3. Human error during payroll
Businesses typically have a 1-8% clerical error rate when processing timesheets and payroll manually, which can be thousands and thousands of dollars every year. With time and attendance software, the risk of clerical errors is virtually eliminated due to automatic calculations. This saves significant money not only in incorrect pay, but also in the time and money necessary to fix these mistakes. Other mistakes that could be made with manual timesheets are time cards being lost, employees forgetting to clock out for unpaid breaks, employees entering incorrect hours on their timesheets, mobile employees missing clock in and out or employees failing to track overtime.
4. Falling behind on legislation
Laws around payroll and wage regulations are constantly changing, and it’s important to always stay on top of labour laws. An easy way to ensure compliance is to create a calendar that reminds you to check for updates to all relevant laws regularly.
5. Inaccurate record keeping
Scattered timesheet systems, paper trails and poorly formed excel spreadsheets can lead to major reporting mistakes when it comes to tax time. While upkeeping payroll records can take time, it is crucial, as failure to do so could result in costly penalties should your business be audited. Become familiar with the documents that local legislation requires and make sure you keep proper record of them.
All of these payroll mistakes can be easily avoided however, simply by implementing some smart systems and software into your business. Our time and attendance management systems not only easily and accurately track employee work hours, but also integrate directly with all of the leading payroll platforms. These two systems together can help you overcome these common payroll problems and save your business time and money. Contact the friendly Aussie Time Sheets team today to find out more about the right time and attendance solution for your business.
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Also in Time & Attendance
Time Theft: The Definitive guide to what, why and how to reduce it.
