The COVID-19 pandemic has turned global business operations into a digital-first ecosystem. Since most of the companies in Australia have employees working remotely, it is important to have a payroll system in place that can seamlessly take care of the remote workforce. Afterall, the pandemic doesn’t change the importance of paying all your employees the right pay at the right time no matter where they are working from. The need is equally important for all companies whether they are SMEs or large enterprises or multi-national companies operating across APAC and other regions. The first and foremost thing for the ideal payroll system is that it should be flexible, scalable and easy to use.
Australia being a crucial market for the global payroll outsourcing and software providers, there is almost every major name available in the local markets. However, there are certain things that you need to keep in mind as you go on to determine which is the best payroll system for remote working. First of all, it has to be a cloud payroll system as it will offer the seamless experience of easy logins from anywhere, anytime. Thus, your HR will be able to gain real-time control of the employee visibility and engagement. Let’s take a look at the key features of a good cloud-based payroll system for the Australian businesses before moving further:
- Online payslips
- Automated tax calculations
- STP compliant
- Create rules based on modern awards or Enterprise Bargaining Agreements (EBA)
- Integrated, cloud
- Scalable
- Local tech/support team
- ATO certified
- Superannuation processing
- Parallel testing
- Transfer of current payroll and staff data
- Regularly updated in line with local regulations
Among the key benefits of a cloud-based payroll system is that it will offer seamless global payroll management options with complete accuracy and speed. A market leading payroll system provider can offer you a platform that processes payroll in multiple currencies and allow creation of organization specific rules. You should be able to define your business logic for earnings, deductions, bonus, arrears, leave and attendance, etc.
No matter how good your HR and payroll teams are, the nature of payroll processes is monotonous, repetitive and time consuming. If the payroll system you deploy is not equipped with cutting edge automation and AI etc then it will further create challenges for them. Thus, you need to opt for a solution that is fast, easy-to-use and frees up your HR team’s time to focus on more critical tasks such as employee engagement and skill development, etc.
Since you are going to upgrade to a new payroll system, it is important that it is compatible with your existing payroll, ERP and attendance management systems. There must be easy data transfer integration with the time and attendance management system. Further, it will also come equipped with special modules for Core HR functions and Expenses management.
Last, but not the least, if you are looking forward to saving costs and getting freedom from the risks and responsibilities of payroll management then you can also opt for payroll outsourcing to a leading payroll processing firm. Either way, you will have the best system in place for your payroll management in the era of remote working!
