National Payroll Week Insights: Enhancing Client Satisfaction Through Accurate Payroll Management

Quick look: The first week of September is National Payroll Week, a time to recognize the dedicated payroll professionals who ensure timely and accurate payments for their companies and employees. Making this happen on a consistent basis is no easy task, but it’s made easier with the help of a PEO partner.

Everyone anticipates payday. Ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time takes careful planning and expertise. This timeliness is a reflection of a well-oiled machine made up of HR and payroll professionals who are responsible for the many moving parts for payroll to be completed properly.

In honor of their hard work, National Payroll Week annually celebrates their dedication and achievements every first week of September. Coinciding with Labor Day, it also serves as a reminder of how the payroll cycle affects more than companies and their employees.

Per the official National Payroll Week website, “Money payroll professionals collect from employees’ paychecks through the payroll withholding system is vital to the funding of important government programs that keep America working smoothly, such as Medicare, the building of federal highways, social security, the U.S. military, and much more.”

Accurately managing payroll is essential to keep employees happily paid, but it’s also important for companies to avoid penalties, and is a significant part of a bigger picture. And, as with other aspects of HR, payroll processes are complex.

Here’s how a professional employer organization (PEO) can keep broker clients on track with employee wage payments and step in to swiftly handle the inevitable challenges which will arise.

Key areas of payroll support from a PEO

While employees are focused on the amount deposited into their bank accounts whenever payday rolls around, payroll professionals know it takes several steps to ensure a smooth transfer.

A PEO like ExtensisHR offers a comprehensive suite of HR, benefit, and payroll services with seamless administration and management for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Here is a summary of the type of services broker clients can expect:

Centralized payroll management: As a PEO partner, ExtensisHR delivers a full-service payroll solution complete with access to a dedicated payroll management team to ensure employees receive timely wage payments.

Federal, state, and local payroll laws: With ongoing changes to payroll laws and regulations, such as updates to minimum wage, allocations for part-time vs. full-time employees, and tax law amendments, a PEO’s insight and expertise is invaluable to help companies maintain compliance and avoid missteps and penalties.

ACA compliance: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) includes several payroll-related requirements, including specific provisions for small businesses with full-time employees. To ensure accurate reporting and calculations for health coverage, a PEO aligns company payroll processes with ACA mandates.

Tax compliance and filing: With many SMBs employing remote workers, tax compliance and filing can become complicated to navigate. Part of a PEO’s extensive payroll services include managing federal, multi-state, and local tax withholdings, filings, and payments, ensuring compliance with tax regulations and state registrations nationwide.

Employee benefit deductions: As with ACA compliance, a PEO takes on the responsibility of administering payroll deductions for personalized health coverage, retirement plans, and other employee benefits, seamlessly integrating them into the payroll system.

Time and attendance tracking: PEOs provide access to affordable systems for tracking employee hours to monitor regular and overtime pay. ExtensisHR’s proprietary HRCloud automates SMBs’ payroll with hours and PTO, allowing for any necessary adjustments to be made quickly and easily.

Direct deposit and electronic payments: Direct deposit and other electronic payment options for payroll are available through PEO management, along with assistance in setting up new employees with their preferred methods so they receive their pay securely and on time.

Year-end reporting: With HRCloud, SMB clients also have access to many standard reports with additional custom payroll reports, including a payroll register, allocation report, and workers’ compensation report, and more, along with the standard W-2, 1099, and other necessary tax form preparation.

Employee self-service portals: ExtensisHR offers SMB clients and their employees 24/7 access to employee benefits, PTO requests, paystubs, and more through the Work Anywhere® app for mobile-friendly convenience and transparency.

The added value of ExtensisHR

Though efficient tools and features create a more seamless payroll experience, it’s the people who make it effective. ExtensisHR sets itself apart from other PEOs and takes service even further with:

Reliable customer support: SMBs are given dedicated access to payroll experts to answer questions as they arise. With a 97% same-day resolution rate, company leaders can feel confident knowing their concerns will be addressed right away.

Customer-centric model: While big-box PEOs follow a one-size-fits-all model, ExtensisHR focuses on providing tailored support to SMBs to align payroll and other HR services with specific company goals.

CPEO credentialing: ExtensisHR remains in the 1% of PEOs with a trifecta of industry credentials, including being named one of the first Certified PEOs by the IRS. CPEOs are positioned among the highest regulatory standards set by the U.S. government and the PEO industry’s financial assurance program.

All-inclusive HR services: As part of a full PEO solution, ExtensisHR offers HR and benefit administration and management, risk and compliance services, recruiting assistance, and more, in addition to its payroll administration. SMB clients can rely on one point of contact to handle all of their HR-related administrative needs.

Entrusting your payroll to a trusted PEO

National Payroll Week is a good reminder of what goes into ensuring employees are rightfully paid. It celebrates managing the intricacies involved with payroll efforts, as well as serves as a platform to educate workers about the details of their paychecks and empower them to better understand their earnings.

To tackle the full scope of payroll responsibilities, and beyond, a PEO partner steps in so SMB leaders can focus on managing and growing their businesses. By working with ExtensisHR, brokers automatically increase their offerings and value by simplifying the complex undertaking of HR, payroll, and benefits management for their clients year-round.

To learn more about the competitive advantage ExtensisHR offers, contact our experts today.