Payroll management is an important aspect of HR for any company, but it can be frustrating for the people whose job it is. A good payroll system can relieve some of the stress of the process and provide major benefits by automating many of the tasks involved in managing payroll and minimising human error, allowing the company to run smoothly while avoiding potential legal or internal issues. Here are 5 commonly seen difficulties that come up during payroll management.
Salary Calculation
Payslips are not easily standardised and even the same individual can receive a different-looking payslip on different months. HR staff have to account for variables such as unpaid leaves, sick leaves, CPF, and tax deductions when calculating an employee’s salary. They also have to take reservist into account for Singaporean men, as well as other statutory contributions. With so many different factors to consider, calculating the salary of each employee can be a challenge, let alone for a large team of employees.
Tracking of Absence & Time
Employees have various reasons for taking time off from work throughout the year, which makes payroll management more difficult. HR staff would need to track the absences and record them in the payroll, and the tap-in and tap-out system can cause problems such as forgetting to tap out or faulty readers, which make tracking of absences even more difficult. All these factors can result in an inaccurate calculation of salaries.
Issues of Compliance
The government often introduces new policies under the Employment Act, and it is possible that a HR staff might overlook a new update relating to payroll. In addition, small businesses may not keep their payroll systems up to date with new regulations from the Ministry of Manpower. If they do not update their systems, they could run into trouble of non-compliance if they continue using them.
Overwhelming for Admins
Unlike larger companies, smaller businesses often do not have the luxury of hiring staff just for payroll management. In these cases, HR employees can be performing a number of tasks including payroll management, which is time-consuming and involves a lot of paperwork and careful calculations. With all of the work involved, it is inevitable that mistakes will occur in the calculations. A poorly functioning payroll system could lead to employee unhappiness as well as legal issues.
Punctual Payroll Process
Many companies fail to maintain a punctual payroll process, especially smaller businesses with fewer employees and a less efficient payroll system. Because payroll management can take a backseat to other pressing concerns at the end of the month, it can result in a delay in processing payroll if not done promptly. As such, having a punctual payroll process is essential to helping a company avoid last-minute efforts and meeting its payroll obligations on time.
Conclusion
Payroll management is a time-consuming and laborious task, especially for HR staff in small-to-medium sized businesses. A capable payroll system and proper management of the task can make payroll management an easier process to handle.
If you are looking for an automated payroll software in Singapore, Zealys has the solution to assist you with your payroll management needs and help your business improve efficiency while ensuring compliance with statutory regulations. Get in touch with us today at [email protected] to find out more!
