Today’s tough economy has led to financial institutions raising their requirements for new clients and lowering the interest from poor credit consumers. Banks review checking and savings account applications based on credit, not just banking history. With the rising cost in bank fees, more unbanked and underbanked employees are avoiding banks and living on a cash-only basis. But how does an unbanked employee receive a paycheck?
More employers are turning to the use of payroll debit cards versus the traditional paper paycheck. Payroll debit cards are flexible, convenient, and the most cost-effective payment method in the long run for employers as well as employees.
Direct Deposit without a Bank
Unbanked employees or those who have been denied a checking account can enjoy the benefits of direct deposit while using payroll cards. Since payroll cards act like a reloadable debit card, employees can use their card to make direct purchases or withdrawals from their paycheck-without ever opening a bank account. The payroll debit card is set up through employers, which means employees do not have to worry about being denied due to poor credit.
Saving Time and Money for the Employee
Employees who do not have bank accounts spend countless hours visiting check cashing centers and waiting in line to cash their checks. Not only does this cost money by wasting time, but then the employee pays a check cashing fee anywhere from two to ten percent on the total cashed. If the employee had a bank account, he would have to worry about overdraft fees and fines associated with his bank account. Payroll debit cards, on the other hand, have no overdraft fees, no monthly fees, and no check cashing charges for the employee to worry about-which puts more money in his pocket each pay period.
Saving Time and Money for the Employer
Employers can take advantage of numerous benefits associated with payroll cards as well. One of the biggest advantages is that employers can avoid the hassles of creating and distributing traditional paper checks. Not only does this cost money in materials and resources, but it takes time to process the payroll checks. Companies looking to go green are opting for payroll debit cards versus issuing paychecks as well. Payroll debit cards are acceptable by all employees, regardless of their bank account status.
The biggest benefit of payroll debit cards is that employees have instant access to their money. They no longer have to wait the standard three to five business days for checks to clear, find a branch of a bank their employer banks with, or wait overnight for direct deposits to be processed. Instead, the money is available instantly. Employers consider this an advantage as well when it comes to balancing their ledger. Since paper checks take time to cash and display on the employer’s account, his bank reconciliation can be off for days-if not weeks. With payroll cards, an employer’s bank account is up-to-date and reflects the current funds for the company.
There really are no disadvantages to using a payroll debit card for employers and employees. Everyone saves time and money, and the convenience and flexibility of payroll debit cards can’t be matched by the old way of paying employees.
Large organizations have full time accounting staff to prepare the payroll. Full time professionals employed or the payroll function may be outsourced to a payroll bureau. The payroll task in a small business often falls to the proprietor demanding even more time to familiarize with current payroll legislation and a not insignificant amount of administration time that could be better spent making profits than number crunching. Small business organizations with up to ten employees producing the weekly payroll can easily take an hour or more each week calculating the income tax and national insurance contributions . An hour that could be better spent earning profits or at the very least having an extra hour of free time each week. Free time that small business owner’s value at a premium since the majority of small business owners either work or think about work from dawn to dusk 7 days a week. Payroll software to satisfy the PAYE requirements can be just one part of making that small business more efficient.
Small businesses that fail to operate a sound payroll system can produce a negative effect on the employees. Employees expect to be paid and provided the amount is a competitive rate would only rarely have an effect on staff relations. However operating a payroll system that does not provide each employee with a payslip is like telling your employee he has received a personal letter that was opened for him and discarded as not important. To the employee a payslip is very important. Every employer has a legal responsibility to provide employees with payslips and a P60 End of Year Employees Certificate. A payroll software solution satisfies employee’s essential needs and fulfills the legal requirements. Failure to provide employees with payslips can only reduce the respect hat employee has for his employer. Every employee must receive a payslip that shows the amount of income tax and national insurance deducted from the gross pay. Employers must also calculate the employer’s national insurance contribution. Employers not using a payroll software package such as available from DIY Accounting Payroll Software must design their own payslip to give to employees to satisfy legal requirements.
In the UK producing a weekly or monthly payroll can be a burdensome task to comply with the HMCE requirements. Employers operating a PAYE system without the use of payroll software need to be familiar with evolving requirements of HMCE through their website and the extensive payroll notes contained on the CD-Rom which is sent out annually. To fully appreciate all the technicalities and complete all the correct documents such as the P11 Deductions Working sheet is time consuming. It doesn’t have to be a problem. Payroll Software can automate this knowledge and functions and is available at insignificant cost. DIY Accounting Payroll Software package is available for up to 20 employees at a cost of £15 to £25. That is a payroll software package that could save a small business over an hour a week, for twenty employees more like two hours, for less than 50p per week. All small business owners should at least consider suitable efficient payroll software.
Many payroll software packages are written using databases and can put many small business owners off using them due to both the cost and the fear of the unknown complexity of using such a payroll package. Many payroll software packages written on a database provide an excellent solution but have a tendency to be extremely politically correct and cover all potential rules and regulations and consequently become more complex to operate as they can demand at least a minimum knowledge of the payroll system. There are other PAYE solutions. The DIY Accounting Payroll Software is written on excel spreadsheets requiring no payroll experience and a minimum of entries to produce all the essential calculations of income tax and employees and employers national insurance. In addition excel copies of the time consuming P11 Deductions working sheet, P60 Employees Certificate and the P35 Annual Employers Return are all automated to save the small business valuable administration time. A payroll software solution written on excel can also be used with an open office spreadsheet package but not least all the entries are visible and therefore transparent. Errors and mistakes can be easily corrected simply by changing the numbers on the payroll ensuring the payroll is produced both quickly and accurately. Payroll Software is an effective tool that should receive serious consideration by all small business proprietors.
Payroll Software also has the advantage because it can be simple and fast to use of avoiding late payments to the revenue and the consequent unwanted letters and potential fines this can invoke. By having all the information required for the monthly or quarterly revenue payments late penalties can be avoided and by producing the Annual Employers return on time small business owners can submit their returns online and receive a tax free online filing bonus. The current online foiling bonus being £150 and substantially more than the payroll software might have cost. And it’s Tax Free. As they say in Yorkshire. “If thar you ever gets owt for nowt, Tec it”