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Payroll management systems

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trade-ink-payroll-300x238 Payroll management systems

Payroll systems

This blog looks at online payroll systems and the benefits of using them in your business.

Payroll systems are an easy way to manage your employee pays and PAYE obligations.

Depending on the number of employees an organisation has there is a system to suit.

Xero has its own payroll system available as an extra feature. I recommend Xero’s system to clients with 5 or fewer employees. It does everything you need. It takes care of PAYE, KiwiSaver, ACC and student loan calculations. All the information is available in a report format for easy uploading to IRD.

The monthly subscription is $10 plus an extra $1 per employee. A good cost effective solution for managing a smaller numbers of employees.

Other payroll systems like iPayroll I recommend to clients with 5+ employees. It has added features that Xero doesn’t offer. The good news is iPayroll and most online payroll systems will integrate with Xero.

The key benefit of iPayroll’s system is the banking and IRD payments. It will manage employee wage payments (bank transfers). Handle payments on your behalf to IRD for PAYE and KiwiSaver. Or, you can choose to manage this yourself. I recommend iPayroll for businesses managing a large number of wages in a payrun.

iPayroll is more expensive than Xero. But the time savings benefits should be factored into the cost.

iPayroll Pricing Structure

The pricing below is for iPayroll, utilising their bank management and IRD payments:

  • 5 employees – weekly payrun $13.25
  • 5 employees – fortnightly payrun $21.00
  • 10 employees – weekly payrun $22.00
  • 10 employees – fortnightly payrun $29.75

Businesses should consider using a payroll system. It’s an effective way to streamline payruns, PAYE and KiwiSaver. Taking care of employee tax obligations, leave requests, ACC leave and holiday pay is made easy.

Most systems have employee logins. Allowing employees to check payslips, apply for leave and view their earnings information.

No matter what size the business a payroll systems will save you time.

Advantages of hiring a bookkeeper over an admin employee

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trade-ink-bookkeeping-300x169 Advantages of hiring a bookkeeper over an admin employee  Why hiring a bookkeeper is a good first step over an administration employee.

This blog talks about the pitfalls of employing a part time administration person verses hiring a bookkeeper.
 
There comes a time when small to medium sized businesses need a part-time admin person. It’s a great position to be in, it means your business has grown and you need help.
 
Many business owners immediately opt for the obvious choice and hire a part-time administration person. It seems like the most cost effective and easy solution.
 
You write up a brief job description and post it to TradeMe. Applicants send you their CV’s. You review the dozen or so CV’s and decided on 2 or 3 to interview. After the interview process you choose the best candidate for the role.
 

Sounds simple doesn’t it!. . . .

 
Employers new to recruiting can find the recruitment process very stressful. Pressure choosing the right applicant is hard enough. But what makes it harder is when you don’t actually know what tasks and duties they should be preforming.
This is a very real problem for builders and tradies I have dealings with.
They don’t know what skill set or experience the person should have. Ultimately they end up choosing the wrong candidate for the role.
 

A couple of examples I have come across are;

A paid administration employees requesting my help to solve a simple Xero issue.
I’ve had administration employees come to my Xero seminar and gained a heap of knowledge around how to use Xero, they should have already known about.
 
A tradesmen who employs his sister at $50 per hour cash to run his business. His accountant manages his GST compliance and another person manages his weekly payroll. I know for him the cost of using all 3 of these different services will be more expensive then using one bookkeeper who can preform all of these tasks.
 

These examples scream the wrong person is being paid to preform the role!

 
Business owners need to move away from the idea of employing a admin person is best. Having an administration employee does not necessary mean greater control. Nor does it mean you gain a higher degree of confidentiality around your business. Most bookkeepers and virtual assistants will have professional standards they adhere too. They know maintaining client confidentiality is important. Having their clients trust and confidence plays an important role in the success of their own business.
 
My suggestion would be explore the possibility of using a bookkeeper or a virtual assistant before you decide on recruiting a paid employee.

What role does a bookkeeper play in businesses?

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trade-ink-bookkeeping-300x169 What role does a bookkeeper play in businesses?   What is a bookkeeper?

This blog gives you an overview of what a bookkeeper is and the role they play in businesses.
 
A bookkeeper provides day-to-day administration support to small – medium sized businesses. Their main focus is on keeping your business transactions and records up to date.
 
Now day’s bookkeepers will align themselves with online accountancy software system, like Xero. This allows them to work remotely as a virtual assistant. Some bookkeepers do provide a service working from their clients location.
 

What’s the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant?

Accountants main focus is on preparing end of year financial returns and lodging them with IRD. They provide more in-depth business and financial advice and assist with legal entity structures.
 
Because accountants and bookkeepers play different roles in the success of businesses you can use both.
 

Why you should use a bookkeeper?

When you hire a bookkeeper you are essentially buying back your time!
 
The big killer for most small – medium sized businesses is juggling everday tasks. By outsourcing your administration it allows you to work on generating income. A business makes money from selling their products or services not doing paperwork.
 
Some bookkeepers specialise in specific industries, such as hospitality, retail or trades. Choosing a bookkeeper familiar with your industry will have added advantages. They will have an indepth knowledge of your industry already. They will understand your business needs a lot faster, more than likely they have seen and overcome many of your business challenges with other clients.
 
At Trade Ink we focus on the building and construction industry. This means we not only help our clients with their book work tasks, but we provide extra support. Health & Safety and building compliance is a big part of running a building business. For many of our clients this is another consumer of their time. We have the knowledge and expertise to mange these for them.
https://www.tradeink.co.nz/bookkeeping/
 
That is why choosing a bookkeeper who has knowledge in your specific industry can be very handy. The additional value you can gain will help excel your business.

Why Xero support is a key feature

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trade-ink-xero-logo-300x300 Why Xero support is a key feature

Xero support… Amazing!

 
If you read my previous blog on “Xero accountancy software, what is it?” you would’ve learnt about Xero. I talked about the amazing features and benefits of using Xero in your business. One feature I didn’t mention was how amazing Xero’s support is.
 
As a Xero certified partner I know my way around pretty well. From time-to-time I can’t resolve an issues, even after using all the search function tools available.

Xero search function tools:

The search function tool is very handy, it allows you to ‘Get help for this page’ or from the ‘Help Center’.
 
Get help for this page will automatically bring up all the guide help information for that particular page. Or, the general search will bring up all information relevant to your search.
 
In a general search you might want help with ‘Payroll’, you would type this in. The help results provided are very comprehensive. You can browse the various options available;
1. Use Guide
2. Tutorial Videos
3. Community
 
User Guide – Is a step-by-step instructions. It’s very easy to read and understand with screen shot images shown a lot of the time.
 
Tutorial Videos – Xero has put together a tone of short videos to help and educate you on topics.
 
Community – This is a great place to help other Xero users or to post a particular problem you want solved. The chances are another Xero user has faced a similar issues and can help you fix yours. Or, they have the same issue and looking for a solution.

Help!. . . Xero Support!

If all else fails you can ask Xero support team for help. Like I’ve done this week. I had a curly problem I needed solving and wasn’t too sure how to fix it. It’s taken some out of the box ‘work arounds’ to get it resolved with the help of Xero support.
 
They were quick to respond to my question and provided me with links to the pages for extra help to me. They gave me clear guidance so I knew exactly what steps I needed to take to resolve my issue.
 
It’s so refreshing to receive such excellent support considering Xero is in over 180 countries with a Million subscribers. They are so responsive and helpful this has to be a big key feature and why you should use Xero!

Xero accountancy software, what is it?

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 trade-ink-xero-accountancy-software-1-300x200 Xero accountancy software, what is it?

What is Xero accountancy software?

This blog gives you a simple over-view of what Xero accountancy software is and a little bit about it’s features. Xero is a cloud-based accountancy software created in New Zealand. It’s designed to streamline small to medium sized businesses financial accounts. By using Xero in your business you cut down the need for folders and end-less amounts of paper. With all your business financial information in one place and organised. It can help reduce your yearly accountancy costs.
 

What does in “the cloud mean”?

Information is been stored on a third party server, instead of your own hard drive. Access to this information is via the Web. This allows you to access the information anywhere, from any device.

What are Ad On’s?

Xero goes a step further by partnering with other cleaver technology providers. Known as Ad On’s. There are over 500+ Ad-On’s to choose from. Ad On’s are industry specific, providing you with a solution for your industry pain points. Xero and your chosen Ad On will then integrate with each other. This means “talk to each other”. For example an Ad On you have chosen tracks on the job costs. The information you enter can then transferred to Xero as an invoice. Using technology in your business will increase your productivity and efficiency.

What are the main benefit to using Xero in your business?

Xero is a wise investment because it allows you to work smarter. The cloud-based technology will give you a better overview of your finances. It gives you the ability to collaborate with your team, accountant and bookkeeper with ease. It gives you real time visibility of what is going on in your business.
What features can you expect with Xero?
  • Invoicing made easy – create customised invoices
  • Pay suppliers – schedule bill payments while maintaining cash flow
  • Quoting – prepare and manage quotes
  • Payroll – pay employees and manage compliance
Xero accountancy software is full of time-saving features and easy to use, allowing you to run your business from home, on the go or an office. I love using Xero because it’s truly easy to use.

Read more about the how Xero started – https://www.forbes.com/sites/halgregersen/2014/05/28/how-rod-drury-built-xero-from-a-small-set-of-rocks-in-the-south-pacific-into-a-global-player/#3938d7c533fd

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