4 Essential Steps to Professional Payroll Management

Payroll management is often thought of in an over-simplified manner, as if it were just the documentation of salary expenses. However, in truth, payroll management consists of many intricate parts and processes that must be performed in a masterful way if a company seeks to fulfil payroll deliverables efficiently, satisfactorily, and in a timely manner. 

Your employees are your most valuable assets, and improper payroll management can cause not only much frustration, but extremely costly mistakes and oversights both internally within the company and externally in the form of litigation or penalisation from government taxing agencies and the likes.

Here are 4 essential steps to professional payroll management that all businesses should follow, regardless of whether they engage payroll outsourcing companies for outsourced payroll solutions or handle their payroll management in-house: 

1. Understanding Inherent Payroll Management Responsibilities 

All employers in Singapore have a set of inherent payroll management responsibilities they should fulfil for both their employees and as a duty to the government. This includes:

• Accurately calculating taxes – all businesses operating in Singapore are required to calculate their share of local taxes and any other applicable federal or state taxes of the geographical locations they operate in. Employers should also consider CPF contributions when calculating, withholding, and disbursing employee income based on contractual obligations and other existent regulations outlining payroll requirements.
• Keeping payroll records – all businesses operating in Singapore have to keep accurate, up-to-date records of employees’ worked hours, wages, tax expenditures, and other receipts of funds used to pay for other company expenses or personal tax. 
• Providing payroll payment summaries – all businesses operating in Singapore must provide payslips or any other form of payroll payment summary to their employees, along with any required information such as annual breakdowns of earnings and taxes that workers may need to file personal tax returns or make personal tax payments. 

2. Choosing the Right Payroll System

Businesses looking to execute professional payroll management also have to choose the right payroll system for their nuanced needs. A brief rundown on the available options is as such:

• In-house, by hand – pros include affordability as much of the investment into payroll management will come in the form of time rather than money; cons include time-consuming and error-prone nature inherent to this method.
• In-house, via software – pros include ability to create paychecks instantly and click-to-pay and click-to-file options for taxes and the likes; cons include some software learning required, and the need to manually pay and file taxes and other payroll deliverables on time 
• Outsource, via accountant – pros include professional insight and expert handling; cons include cost and lack of control
• Outsource, via service providers – pros include start-to-end payroll management services and access to expert knowledge, sophisticated software, and cost- and time-savings; cons include lack of control and possible paycheck delays

Read more about choosing between in-house payroll management and payroll outsourcing in Singapore.

3. Ensuring Your Employees are Correctly Paid

Be it through checque, direct deposit, cash, paycards, or mobile wallets, employers must ensure that workers are correctly paid in a timely manner. By ensuring employees are correctly paid throughproper payroll management, you are essentially showing appreciation for their contribution to the workplace. This increases employee morale and makes them feel valued, enhancing employee loyalty and productivity in the long run. 

4. Paying Payroll Taxes and Filing Tax Forms

Lastly, businesses must also ensure that they properly report the earnings and withholdings of each employee, along with other tax requirements in Singapore. All tax forms must be filed in a timely manner, and the figures indicated in said forms must be accurate and up-to-date to avoid unnecessary legal costs that can arise from not doing so.  

Refine and Redefine Payroll Management Processes

While following the four steps mentioned will set your business up for professional payroll management, you’ll still have to continuously refine and redefine payroll management processes to streamline your business operations, reduce costs wherever possible, and optimise profits. Find out how to improve payroll processes for your business such that payroll management brings meaningful value rather than costly detriments to your company. 

Optimised Payroll Management with Liberte

Liberte is an award-winning HR payroll service provider that offers outsourced payroll solutions and services in Singapore. 

Get in touch with us to improve your business’ payroll management today.