Top 8 Payroll Software Features

Payroll is a crucial part of business operations, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time. It involves careful attention to details like wages, taxes, and regulations. In the past, payroll was done manually, but technology has now made it easier and more efficient, helping businesses manage payroll with accuracy and speed. Automated systems ensure compliance with employment laws and reduce the risk of errors, making payroll processing smoother for companies of all sizes.

In this blog post, we will delve into payroll software, exploring its benefits, key features, and how these payroll software features can streamline your business processes. We will also discuss the distinction between payroll and payrolling and when outsourcing payroll might be the right decision. Finally, we will introduce Global Squirrels as a potential partner for your payrolling needs.

What is payroll?

Payroll refers to the total compensation a business must pay its employees for a specific period, typically managed by the accounting or human resources departments. Most payroll software features revolve around various tasks, including tracking hours worked, calculating wages, withholding taxes, and issuing payments. The payroll process can be complex, involving multiple components and compliance with legal regulations.

Many businesses choose to outsource payroll functions to specialized firms or utilize software solutions to streamline the process. This can help ensure accuracy, compliance with regulations, and timely payment to employees.

What are some benefits and uses of payroll software

The eight payroll software features, which we have discussed in this blog below, are essential for businesses of all sizes, streamlining the payroll process and ensuring accuracy in employee compensation.

Before exploring those payroll software features, let us look at some benefits and uses of payroll software.

1. Time efficiency

Payroll software automates calculations for salaries, taxes, and deductions, significantly reducing the time spent on payroll processing. This allows HR personnel to focus on other strategic tasks within the organization.

2. Error reduction

By minimizing manual data entry, payroll software decreases the likelihood of errors in employee payments, which can lead to improved employee morale and satisfaction.

3. Enhanced compliance

Payroll systems help organizations stay compliant with labor laws and tax regulations by automatically updating changes in legislation and generating necessary tax forms.

4. Data security

Payroll software typically includes robust security measures to protect sensitive employee information, ensuring that data is encrypted and accessible only to authorized personnel.

5. Employee self-service

Many payroll systems provide self-service portals where employees can access their pay stubs tax forms, and update personal information, enhancing transparency and reducing HR workload.

Some uses include:

• Salary calculation: Automates the calculation of wages based on hours worked, overtime, bonuses, and deductions.
• Tax management: Handles tax calculations and filings automatically, ensuring compliance with local tax laws.
• Time tracking: Integrates with time management systems to accurately record employee attendance and hours worked.
• Benefits administration: Manages various employee benefits such as health insurance, retirement contributions, and paid time off.
• Reporting: Generates comprehensive reports for financial analysis and auditing purposes.

Every payroll software must have these eight features

Features of payroll software that you must consider include a range of features that enhance efficiency, compliance, and user experience.

Core features

• Automated payroll processing: This payroll software feature automates calculations for employee wages, deductions, and taxes, minimizing manual errors and saving time.
• Compliance management: Ensures adherence to federal, state, local, and international tax laws by automatically calculating withholdings and generating necessary tax forms.
• Time and attendance tracking: Integrates with attendance systems to accurately compute hours worked and manage leave requests.

Advanced payroll software features

• Mobile accessibility: Offers mobile applications for employers and employees to manage payroll-related tasks on the go.
• Analytics and reporting: Provide detailed analytics and customizable reports to help businesses track payroll expenses and make informed decisions.
• Integration capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with other HR systems such as benefits management and employee management to streamline operations and eliminate duplicate data entry.

Value offerings

• Data security: One of the most important payroll software features that implement robust security measures to protect sensitive employee information from unauthorized access.
• User management: Facilitates secure access controls for different user roles within the organization, enhancing data integrity and security.

What is the difference between payroll and payrolling?

The terms payroll and payrolling are often confused, but they refer to distinct concepts in the realm of employee compensation and management.

Payroll

Payroll refers to the process of managing employee payments within an organization.

• Definition: Payroll refers to the process of compensating employees for their work, including calculating wages, managing tax deductions, handling benefits, and ensuring compliance with labor laws.
• Scope: Payroll typically includes tasks such as managing salaries, bonuses, taxes, and employee benefits, maintaining records, and ensuring timely payments.

Payrolling

Payrolling, on the other hand, involves outsourcing some or all of the employer’s responsibilities to a third-party payroll company.

• Definition: Payrolling is often used to describe a third-party service where an external company manages the payroll functions for another business, particularly for temporary or contract workers. It is a form of outsourcing payroll duties to a specialized provider.
• Scope: Payrolling services handle all aspects of payroll, from wage calculation to compliance, for workers who are technically employed by the payrolling company but work for the client organization.

Payroll outsourcing: when to consider

1. Cost efficiency

Outsourcing payroll can often be less expensive than maintaining an in-house payroll department. This is especially true if your business is in high-cost areas, where hiring and training payroll staff can be a significant investment. Additionally, outsourcing can reduce costs associated with payroll software, compliance monitoring, and administrative overhead.

2. Time savings

Managing payroll internally can be time-consuming, diverting resources from core business activities. Outsourcing allows you to free up valuable time for your HR and finance teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than administrative tasks.

3. Compliance management

Payroll regulations are complex and frequently changing. Outsourcing to specialized providers ensures that your business remains compliant with tax laws and employment regulations, reducing the risk of costly penalties due to errors or non-compliance.

4. Scalability

As your business grows or fluctuates in size, its payroll needs can change dramatically. Outsourced payroll services offer the flexibility to scale operations up or down without the need for significant investments in new software or additional staff.

Choosing Global Squirrels as your payroll outsourcing partner

Global Squirrels is a staffing and payrolling platform that helps you hire top talent and manage their payroll without the worry of compliance with local and international labor laws.

Managing international payroll can quickly become a complicated and time-consuming task for businesses. With varying labor laws and tax regulations across countries, processing salaries, handling benefits, and ensuring compliance can feel overwhelming. Global Squirrels offers a SaaS platform that has payroll software features designed specially to simplify these challenges, making payroll management seamless and fully compliant.

Whether your employees are across borders or continents, our platform ensures on-time payments in local currencies without delays. Accuracy is our priority—our fast and robust system ensures payroll processing is error-free.

Beyond payroll, our platform offers tools to help you manage employee timesheets, track leaves and holidays, and consolidate expenses—all from one integrated solution. From salary calculations to taxes and statutory deductions, our payroll software features ensure complete compliance with local regulations, so you never have to worry about penalties or legal complexities.

What sets us apart? Our platform is built to manage multi-country payroll effortlessly, offering transparent and cost-effective solutions with no hidden fees. Our platform stay aligned with local tax laws and employment regulations, giving you peace of mind as you scale internationally.

Are you ready to ease your payroll management? Request a demo to receive the best payroll features!