Global payroll software can lead to cost savings

Multi-country global payroll processing, delivery and management at multinational companies around the world is often recognised as complex and challenging. While this is certainly true, a narrative that isn't really followed much is the potential for technology advancements and global payroll software to make genuine and lasting cost savings for both the global payroll department and the wider business.

It is an interesting concept particularly when you consider how international payroll is often the largest expense that any organisation has to face. Any advancements in technology that could help streamline and enhance the payroll operations and management process while also reducing costs is certain to be of interest to leadership figures at organisations everywhere.

In this article, we are going to look at a couple of the cost savings associated with the implementation of global payroll software in the form of a global payroll solution like a digital platform. We talk a lot about process improvements and the huge benefits that the digitisation and standardisation of payroll can bring-now it is time to focus on some of the hard line expenditure that can be positively impacted by the introduction of purpose-built payroll technology.

Automation-The ultimate global payroll time and cost saver

The vast majority of global payroll professionals agree that the introduction of AI-powered automation technology can be a massive game changer when it comes to day-to-day payroll processing. Payroll is still manual at a lot of organizations today and this means a lot of payroll data entry into excel spreadsheets and transferring sensitive payroll data via e-mail. Needless to say, this results in a lot of duplicate entry across payroll systems, time consuming and frustrating work as well as huge potential for payroll error. Running payroll this way is not a cost-effective global payroll process.

Automating the end to end process, from pre-payroll data inputs right through to last mile reporting, cuts huge amounts of time out of the process. A direct result of this, is a significantly reduced requirement to hire additional staff as a company grows and scales into new territories.

If an industry average of $35 per hour for a payroll professional is applied- one Payslip client confirmed that our automation technology saved them 7.5 days a month across 17 payroll countries. 7.5 x 35$ x 7 hour days x 17 countries = $31,237.50 savings per month and $374,850 a year when multiplied by 12 months.

When you deploy AI automation technology to do the heavy lifting, you removed the need to hire additional staff or independent contractors to cover busy workloads due to company expansion. You also free up the current staff to focus their considerable talents on higher priority work such as data analysis and reporting.

A great example of cost saving automation on the Payslip platform is our automation of the Flexiform process- a common headache among payroll professionals around the world. Payslip’s innovative automation technology can map & format payroll data in the desired format for any country allowing inputs to be transferred automatically from Payslip to ADP -so you can automate and import all your employee pre payroll data and remove the need for manual data transfers into Flexiforms.

Payroll professionals spending much less time on manual Flexiforms results in major cost savings: Annual time savings of 2,880 hours weighed against an average cost per hour of work can realize a cost saving of USD $43, 200 per year.

Global payroll software can automate many of the manual processes involved in payroll administration, such as data entry and the calculation of taxes and deductions. This can reduce the time and resources required for payroll processing and significantly cut administrative costs.

Manual payroll processes are often prone to errors, which can result in overpayments, underpayments, and penalties. Global payroll software can help ensure accurate payroll calculations and tax compliance, reducing the risk of errors and associated costs.

Save on payroll processing outsourcing costs

A big decision for global organizations is always around whether or not to outsource their global payroll services and management process. There are pros and cons to it but there has also been a shift in the narrative in recent years towards focusing on greater visibility and control and owning their own process. This has led people down the road of looking for payroll software solutions with a focus on avoiding a rip and replace project while at the same time working with existing processes within the payroll team and global payroll system.

Outsourcing payroll to an aggregator services model can prove costly in the long run and often comes with both hidden costs and long-term contracts. The general perception right now is that payroll is local and there will always be a need to select and manage your own range of local country payroll providers. So, instead of outsourcing everything to a third party, companies are choosing to invest in global payroll software so that they retain control over the payroll process-essentially, keeping their preferred local in-country vendors and better leveraging their existing processes.

This approach can result in significant cost savings -you avoid the fees associated with third-party outsource providers, you avoid a rip and replace costly project, and you save money by being able to produce your own reports instead of paying somebody else to deliver them for you.

Avoid non-compliance fines

Global payroll software increases accuracy levels and reduces risks by removing the likelihood of human error in payroll data calculation. Anything that improves accuracy and reduces risk by default also improves compliance. So, companies get to avoid non-compliance issues, one of which is significant financial penalties. Compliance penalties often fall into the category called the cost of inaction-meaning you suffer financial losses because you failed to take cost management action.

Compliance, tax laws and labor laws differ from country to country: so payroll costs, payroll tax and payroll compliance issues can be a real challenge for international teams and HR teams trying to pay international employees in new countries. And most governments, financial institutions and tax authorities take a dim view of non-compliance, and they really don't hesitate to issue significant fines and financial penalties to anybody they consider as having a casual approach to workforce management or human capital compliance. There is also the reputational damage to consider so non-compliance is really something you want to avoid.

Cloud-based global payroll software with a focus on data security which enables you to map out key compliance dates across multiple different countries in an easily accessible format can be a major advantage and help your payroll and compliance teams keep on top of the various different compliance and regulatory obligations they have across countries. Global payroll software can help organizations comply with local tax laws, labor regulations, and reporting requirements, reducing the risk of penalties and fine. This can amount to significant cost savings.

Pinpoint areas for cost optimization

It is an unfortunate reality of modern-day business that sometimes global organisations will enter periods of downsizing activity. You cannot identify where costs can be cut or optimized without access to the data that tells you the full story of what is happening across all of your payroll countries. Global payroll software that provides digital tools for detailed, comprehensive and consolidated multi-country reporting can add real value to an organization, especially to leadership teams who are looking to get a handle on costs and see where there are areas for improvement.

Multi-country payroll reporting can enable you to identify and compare labor costs across countries, regions and continents. It can consolidate costs across countries and give you the broad macro view while also enabling you to drill down into the micro level details of various different pay and compensation elements such as bonuses, tax and pension contributions. These are essential pay related data points which can give an organization genuine and actionable business insight into some of the key costs they are facing.

Payroll reporting can also give insight to both the cost and performance levels of local country payroll vendors – these KPIs can advise on who is performing well and who is maybe not living up to expectations in terms of what you are paying them. Cost savings may be realized by switching provider.  Costs related decisions, such as those made during an economic downturn, will rely on real-time up-to-the-minute reporting that is detailed, accurate and insightful - only global payroll software available on a purpose-built digital platform can provide the level of reporting and analytics needed for decision-making around cost optimization initiatives.

This article originally appeared on payslip.com