Benefits of good quality payroll software

News Article - 22 May 2012
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Ministry of Justice officials have been overpaid by close to £1.6m in the past three years. The mistake was revealed following implementation of a new payroll system, and has been criticised by pressure groups. One civil servant received an extra £18,500, nearly doubling their basic salary of £22,500.

Whilst it raises questions over government competence, this incident is far from unique. There have been a string of payroll errors in recent years across all industries. In 2005 multinational bank Barclays failed to pay up to 60,000 staff on time when an incorrect date was submitted to the payroll system. Two years later, a string of errors at the Joint Personnel Administration - which handles payroll for the armed forces including the Special Boat Service (SBS) - left thousands of soldiers with limited or no pay for several months. Many tapped into emergency funds to pay bills.

The costs of payroll errors are not to be underestimated. Negative publicity is particularly damaging, and companies always strive to avoid disgruntled staff. Yet research by ADP Employer Services and YouGov suggests 59% of UK employees have been affected by payroll errors. Mistakes happen, but with so much at stake, why is payroll so hard to get right?

There are three main reasons. The first is business needs being let down by off-the-shelf solutions. If you own a large company, you need software that can deal with the diverse needs of your employees, such as bonuses, tax rates and maternity leave. Most importantly, your software must be scalable. For instance, when you decide to offer season ticket loans they should integrate seamlessly into the monthly deduction process. Access' own payroll software is modular and designed for scalability - extra features can be added, so you never outgrow its potential.

The second is poorly implemented solutions. Without professional implementation and staff training, the advanced features of payroll software - many of which are designed to combat mishaps - can go unnoticed.  For example, companies using payroll software from Access can establish exception reports which flag up payment anomalies outside the month-by-month 'norm', greatly reducing the capacity for human error. This feature would have instantly flagged up the £18,500 overpaid to the Ministry of Justice employee.

The third is inadequate staff knowledge. Access understands the importance of staff training. After all, we're business consultants as well as software developers, and understand that software is only as good as the people who operate it. Not only do we ensure your payroll software successfully integrates with your business, but we also supply comprehensive training so your staff are comfortable with its operation. User Acceptance Tests are one of our methods, but we can also support your in-house trainer if this is required. Only when you're happy do we allow the system to go fully live.

You can then spend less time worrying about payroll and more time on business development. That way you avoid the kind of publicity experienced by the Ministry of Justice.

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