Running a payroll bureau can be more challenging than operating a typical business due to the number of separate financial accounts that a bureau is responsible for managing at any given time. The amount of accountability that lies on the shoulders of a payroll bureau demands that these service providers maintain highly efficient and accurate processes. Whether you’re participating in the management of a new payroll bureau, or an older organisation that’s revamping to remain competitive in today’s fast-changing economy, the following tips can help you bring your payroll bureau to the highest level of proficiency:
1. Use a BACS-Approved Bureau Software
Every payroll bureau will find itself handling thousands of BACS payments for clients on a regular basis. Making BACS payments in bulk is best done within specialised platforms like AccessPay. BACS Bureau payments can be mostly automated or streamlined using software to handle the documentation and transfer initiation processes. Scheduling actions within AccessPay’s BACS bureau software not only reduces the amount of effort required to facilitate payments, it also decreases the prevalence of errors. Ultimately, upgrading to a state-of-the-art bureau-oriented BACS software is the best way to improve productivity and access.
2. Optimise Workflow Strategies
Once you’ve selected an optimal BACS-approved software for facilitating your bureau’s management, you’ll then want to shift focus towards optimising employee-controlled procedures. Adding live chat support to your website can help reduce workload and interruptions caused by phone and email inquiries. Use A/B testing to compare the efficiency of different approaches until you’re able to achieve a consistent boost in speed and productivity.
3. Implement Solutions That Are Easy to Integrate
It’s easy to be afraid of change when there are so many steps involved in making a single adjustment. Training your team to implement software-based bureau solutions will ensure that you’re operating in compliance with RTI, BACS, and all other applicable regulations. Removing the guesswork from your process will eliminate the need for future interruptions due to support requests or clerical/communication-related errors.
4. Give Employees Adequate Practice Time and Training
The best way to ensure your bureau is being managed competently is to allocate a generous amount of time to learning new software through exploration. While tutorials and training courses are still necessary, encouraging additional practice time in the workplace will ensure that all employees are highly capable software users.
5. Marketing the Bureau to Expand Its Client Base
Though the above tips will help you smoothen out your existing workflow, the best way to increase your bottom line is to solicit new clients. Promoting your payroll bureau services across a variety of distribution channels will help you push your newly developed process to the limits and put it to the test in fast-paced, demanding scenarios. Looking the part of an established and authoritative bureau can be especially difficult if your company hasn’t yet gained years of experience in the field. However, if your services and features are useful and the pricing is competitive, you can still grab a sizable share of the market just by striving to be better than other providers.
6. Stay Familiar with the Latest Regulations, Rules, and Technologies
Payroll bureaus need to be aware of the most recent regulations in the industry to ensure they’re operating in compliance with BACS rules and guidelines. Likewise, paying attention to advancements in the payroll software sector is a good way to stay ahead of the adoption curve. The most progressive and innovative companies have the best odds of dominating in future markets, so try to follow trends and developments related to payroll management technology.
7. Create a Proprietary Interface for Clients
Just as you’ll be using a software interface to handle payment related tasks, your clients will also want the same kind of convenient online access. A good payroll bureau site should have a custom backend that users can log into to check their account.
8. Don’t Forget the Importance of Security
Finally, cybersecurity is becoming extremely important for payroll bureaus to focus on considering the risk that data breaches, hacking, and malware can present. Not only is your company’s data at risk, but also the financial information of your employees, banks, and other financial institutions. It only takes one worm to work its way through an entire system and before you know it, there could be major delays in financial transactions throughout the UK and beyond.
Whether you are looking for ways to improve your internal processes or are seeking to better understand the BACS payroll system, the abovementioned tips should help to ensure that payments are made efficiently, securely, and on time. BACS isn’t as tricky as it may seem with the right software in operation, and once you understand BACS, the rest falls into place quite nicely.