Are you looking to expand your accounting practice, but hate hours of manual labor?
Every accountant struggles with staying relevant with clients and keeping up with the ever-changing industry. You work hard for your money, so why should accounting software make your life difficult?
Here’s the secret…
Payroll software has advanced more in recent years than ever before. Leveraging modern payroll technology can save you time, eliminate mistakes, and unlock new revenue opportunities.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- Why Independent Accountants Should Care About Payroll Software
- Benefits of Payroll Automation for Accountants
- Must-have Features When Selecting Software
- What to Look For In Your Perfect Payroll Solution
Why Independent Accountants Should Care About Payroll Software
It might not be obvious at first, but consider the numbers:
According to recent industry data, payroll now makes up 29.45% of the accounting software industry. This massive category is growing faster than any other.
But most important…
When professionals use independent accountant payroll software, they gain a massive advantage. Providing clients with a solution that seamlessly calculates payroll and all related taxes and filings.
Clients hire accountants to manage their books. When a bookkeeper takes on a new client, chances are they need payroll services too. By bundling these services and offering competitive rates, accountants who utilize payroll software win more clients and keep them for life.
Accounting is changing. While small, the industry is on the rise right now. Expect more and more competition for your current clients.
Offering your clients more value for less work is the key to staying on top.
Benefits of Payroll Automation for Accountants
Advanced payroll programs were built with independent accountants in mind. These platforms can do everything from automate payroll taxes to filing payroll reports.
Here are a few major benefits of modern-day payroll services:
Time Is Money
There’s an old saying that goes:
If you do not have time to do something correctly, you should find the time.
With payroll, this quote hits close to home. Manually processing payroll for your clients is a time-consuming process that takes away from more lucrative services.
A study showed that companies using payroll automation are 33% more effective than those who relied on manual processes. For independent accountants managing multiple clients, automated payroll allows you to spend more time with clients and on higher value services.
The less time you have to spend inputting data, the more time you have to grow your business.
Reduce Mistakes
Few things are worse than making a mistake on a client’s payroll. Not only does it cost you valuable time to correct your mistakes, but it also hurts your relationship with the client.
Automation removes any chance of human error when processing payroll. Calculations are done by sophisticated software that “learns” your companies’ unique needs.
Let’s review:
This drastically reduces the number of mistakes that you make when processing payroll. Happy clients will lead to more referrals and helps you stand out from your competition.
Stay Compliant With Ease
Tax filings change all of the time.
Whether it’s at the federal, state, or local level. You need to stay on top of these changes to better serve your clients. Missing a deadline or incorrectly calculating withholdings can be disastrous.
Thankfully, payroll automation tools take the guesswork out of compliance. Automatic tax updates, intelligent form generation, and audit trails make it easy to keep everything in compliance.
Open Up New Sources of Revenue
Did you know that…
Providing payroll services to clients can create new recurring revenue? When you take on a client that requires payroll services, you get consistent monthly payments for your services.
Accountants who offer payroll services can increase the lifetime value of their clients. Having monthly payroll services attached to your company makes it harder for a client to “just pick up and go” with another service.
Must-have Features When Selecting Software
Payroll software was made to make your life easier, but with so many options on the market it can be difficult to pick one.
Here are a few features that every independent accountant should take notice of:
Multi-Client Support
Running payroll for one client is simple. Doing payroll for 10+ clients requires a different type of software.
Payroll programs that are designed with independent accountants in mind understand how you run your business. The ability to manage multiple clients from one dashboard is essential. You should be able to click between clients and have access to consolidated reports for your entire clientele.
Automatic Tax Filings
Going through and filing each tax report manually is a thing of the past.
Any payroll software you look into should automatically calculate and file federal, state, and local taxes on your behalf. Don’t waste your valuable time doing something that can be automated.
Integrations
Your payroll software should not live in a silo.
Efficient payroll software plays nicely with other technologies. This includes accounting software, time-tracking software, and even HR platforms. Taking advantage of these integrations will reduce your administrative workload and improve efficiency.
What to Look For In Your Perfect Payroll Solution
Picking the right payroll solution can be daunting task. Here are a few things to take into consideration when looking for your dream software:
Understand your client base. Not every payroll solution is built for the same size company. As an independent accountant, your clients can range from small-business to larger enterprises. Understand what specific pain points you want the software to address.
Think about your future self. While you may only have 10 clients that need payroll services today. What happens when you double or triple that number? Make sure that the software you select today can scale with your future growth.
Cost is only one factor. Just because a software offers a lower price point, doesn’t mean it’s the right option for you. Factor in how long it will take you to learn the software. If it needs custom integrations. How much will those integrations cost? Also consider any subscription fees.
Take advantage of free trials. Luckily, many software providers offer free trials or demo periods. Make sure to utilize these trials and run your day-to-day tasks through the software.
Before we wrap up this guide, we should cover that majority of payroll software providers offer…
Cloud Vs. On Premise Software
Up until recent years, payroll software was sold as an on-premise software that you downloaded to your computer.
All of that has changed with the introduction of cloud-based solutions. Software that is offered via the cloud is quickly taking over the market share. Here’s why:
Cloud solutions are accessible from any device with an internet connection. Automated updates eliminate compatibility issues and you typically pay less money up front.
Ready to Level Up?
As with any industry tech advances continue to evolve.
Artificial intelligence is being integrated to make these programs “smarter”. Automation is improving to speed up common processes. And as more providers enter the market, the overall price of payroll software continues to go down.
Independent accountants have a unique opportunity to level the playing field by embracing these tech innovations.
Software that was once considered complicated and expensive is now easier to use and more affordable than ever before.
Wrapping Things Up
You’ve reached the end of our payroll software guide for independent accountants.
Before we go, let’s recap some major points why independent accountants should care about payroll software:
- Payroll service can provide your business with recurring revenue
- Automating payroll tasks can save you valuable time
- Catching mistakes before they happen allows you to build stronger relationships with your clients
- Software that offers multiple-client management allows you to scale your business
Now it’s time to take action.
Apply these tips to your current business and you will be well on your way to growing your accounting practice through automation.
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