What are they and what are the benefits?
A payroll management system describes the specialist software that can empower companies by streamlining and automatically carrying out the processes involved in payroll such as working out take home pay and taxes – saving time for the employer and reducing the number of errors.
Almost a quarter of workers (24%) say they’re always
or often underpaid, up from one in five (20%) in 20211.
Making sure that employees are paid accurately is among the most crucial tasks for an employer, particularly at times when economic challenges are affecting people across the globe. As research showed in our 2022 People at Work Report, a significant number of employees experience inaccurate pay. So, an effective system that can accurately automate this process is undoubtedly important for employee motivation, engagement, and retention.
The features of a Payroll Management System
Payroll Management System features are those functions that it carries out to process employee payroll.
Let’s look at what this software can do in more detail.
- Working out wages
- Calculating taxes
- Fulfilling record keeping requirements
- Pay statements for employees
Employers need to ensure hours worked by employees are correctly recorded, and this function is built into payroll management software. After gross wages are figured out, deductions need to be calculated. These include taxes, deductions that are voluntary such as life insurance, and deductions that are compulsory, such as child support or student loans. Once deductions are removed, the amount remaining is an employee’s net pay, also known as take home pay.
Business owners are responsible for making sure they take out government taxes and national insurance payments from their employees’ wages, and payroll management systems can automate this process. In the UK, HMRC approved software is important to ensure compliance with the country’s employment and tax legislation and therefore avoid expensive fines. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is the full name for the UK government body that’s in charge of the nation’s taxes and benefits, and their system for collecting national insurance and income tax is known as PAYE – or Pay as you earn.
Every country will have its own legal requirements for keeping payroll records. UK law and HMRC require employers to keep employee payroll records for the three years following the tax year when they were created. While there aren’t any rules in terms of how the records should be kept, it’s non-negotiable that they are correct, legible, and complete. HMRC can check an employer’s payroll records to ensure they are contributing the correct amount of tax. A lack of full records could lead to HMRC estimating what a business must pay and enforcing a penalty.
In the UK, the records that an employer must keep include:
- Employee pay amounts and deductions.
- Their payroll reports for HMRC – as well as monthly PAYE, they cover when new employees begin and if an employee gets promoted or retires.
- Payments made to HMRC – such as tax and national insurance.
- Sickness absences and annual leave.
- Benefits or expenses that are taxable.
- Employee tax codes.
Another important feature of a payroll management system is providing pay statements for employees alongside the payment of their wages. These statements should accurately reflect their net pay, including pay rates, deductions, gross pay and the take home amount.
Choosing payroll management software – what are the benefits?
Deciding to access the support of a payroll management system can give the employer more time to focus on growing their business. It is a major responsibility for employers to maintain accurate payroll processes. And carrying this out independently without support could be a huge challenge that’s very time consuming.
Let’s look at some of the main benefits of choosing payroll management software.
Reliable, precise calculations
An effective payroll management system can help ensure that employee pay is calculated accurately, including compulsory and voluntary deductions.
Self-service for employees
A self-service function in payroll management systems can enable employees to directly view their payroll records and update personal information.
Automatic notifications
This function can notice errors and alert the employer, enabling them to make updates to correct the mistake and ensure payroll is reported accurately.
Fewer errors
Systems with integrated functions such as tracking hours worked by employees and take-home pay calculation can reduce or remove the need for repetitive data inputting, therefore meaning fewer errors in payroll processing and employee pay.
Help with compliance
In addition to automating payroll deductions and reporting to ensure compliance with HMRC requirements, some specialist payroll management companies support clients by keeping them informed about regulatory changes that might affect their business and their payroll reporting obligations.
Accurate record keeping
Payroll management software can create profiles for each employee, storing all their payroll records with the employer and allowing them to be easily compiled, searched, and downloaded.
Case Study: Helping FedEx to deliver smoother payroll
Before ADP helped FedEx with new integrated payroll management software:
- their payroll encompassed 100 teams across the globe
- they used over 68 different tools and applications across Europe
- they had 490,000 international team members
- 60% of employees had no access to a digital attendance system
Running their company in over 220 countries, their fleet comprises of 180,000 delivery vehicles that are instantly recognisable thanks to their well-known branding - as well as 678 aircraft. Every day of the week, they distribute an astounding 15 million packages.
As well as logistical issues, the company was experiencing challenges with the sharing of best practice and ensuring data security.
Two years after ADP partnered with FedEx
“I view With ADP’s Global Payroll I can now check which country’s payroll is on time and if any have missed their cut off dates, so I don’t have to request information from different payroll teams. We now have international ownership and one system to gather information with all data in the same format. And in addition, the standardised systems allow us to apply a set of standardised controls as well.”
- Natascha Moore, International Payroll Manager and Global Process Owner Payroll FedEx
Want to learn more about ADP payroll management systems?
For over 75 years, employers like you have been utilising the benefits of ADP payroll management systems. Saving you time and money, our products are flexible, and our product range is designed to suit company needs, whatever your location and size.