Choosing the Right Payroll Software for Your Restaurant

Restaurant owners have to juggle many different responsibilities at once. You have to take charge of running the business operations, ensure optimal hospitality for your guests, and manage employees. One of the biggest challenges, especially if you are not an accounting professional, is restaurant payroll. To give payroll the attention it requires, many restaurant owners are adopting payroll software for their business. The use of the payroll software not only increases the efficacy but can also make the entire payroll process as hassle-free as possible for the owners.

Benefits of Payroll Software

1. Accurate Labor-Planning

Payroll software plays an important part in tracking labor. It is essential to have a clearly defined employee role and pay before a new employee is hired. Labor planning gets more efficiency if a clear onboarding plan for new employees is maintained. It not only helps you to integrate them smoothly, but also helps in setting up the right tax bracket, properly plan employee schedules, and collecting the right paperwork. Using payroll software for setting up new employee profiles with all their information eliminates the need to manually refer to the data while planning employee payroll and schedule.

2. Automated Calculation of Wages

With the introduction of payroll software, you can say goodbye to Excel sheets and calculators as it helps to calculate wages automatically. It is a pain to calculate shift premiums like overtime, split shifts, and statutory holiday pay, especially when the employees are paid different wages. Also, if your payroll runs in multiple states or provinces, the eligibility and calculation rules can vary. This is where payroll software comes into play and solves these major challenges. It also minimizes the chances of human errors in calculations.

3. Efficient Timekeeping

Payroll goes hand-in-hand with timekeeping. Payroll software automatically funnels manager approved hours to your payroll provider. Hence, integrating payroll software with time tracking system saves you time and money and helps to streamline your payroll process. You save on payroll expenses when you minimize the steps and time taken to process the work hours. 

Choosing Payroll Software

For finding the right solution to all your needs, there are a number of things that you should keep in mind while choosing payroll software for your restaurant.

1. Number of Employees

It is important to keep track of how many employees you need to process the payroll for as many payroll solutions are divided and priced by the employee number. Make sure to include starters and leavers because even if someone leaves, their details will still remain in the payroll software for year-end reporting. 

2. Number of Users and Companies

Get a clear idea of the number of companies/clients that your business has to process the payroll for, as it is important to check if the software you want to purchase includes the license for the required number. Similarly, if you plan to install the software on a server to allow multiple users to access it remotely or from a local server, make sure that your software and license allows the same. 

3. Legislation Compliance

Make sure the software package you use is legally compliant.

4. Mobility Requirement

A cloud payroll software will cater to your needs if you have a requirement to process payroll from multiple locations or if you would like to have access on the move from mobile devices. Providing you access from anywhere; cloud packages also have an option where you can pay on a monthly basis. 

5. Is a Trial Available?

Trying out a payroll software before you go ahead and buy it gives you a chance to evaluate the software against your requirements. Many providers give an option of a trial period before you can commit to buying a software. This gives you the satisfaction that what you are investing on, will work for you.

6. Have you Used Payroll Software Before?

If you have used any payroll software previously on training courses or employment, and you found it helpful, it is advised to go ahead with a familiar software as it will allow you to hit the ground running. If you were not satisfied with your previous software, evaluate the reasons why and make sure your next choice does not reflect the same.

7. Integration Issues

If you want your payroll software to be integrated with biometric systems or need to import information from other software, check in advance that your payroll software package allows the same. Be informed on which integrations and import features are available.

Integrating Payroll Software 

Before you begin your payroll software implementation in your business, here are some things to keep in mind. 

1. Manage Previous Payroll Records

Entering previous payroll details into your new software is important not only for the continuity, but also for the accurate calculation of taxes and deductions. 

2. Collect Data from Different Systems

It may seem time-consuming, but it is essential to collect the data from the existing systems that were used to house the employee details. All the data, like Leave & Attendance, Taxation, etc., should be collated so that it can be integrated with the new payroll software.

3. Clear Tax and Compliance Issues

Ideal payroll software should be able to calculate taxes automatically and accurately so that it is easy to stay in compliance with all the legal requirements and regulations.

4. Set up a Maker-Checker System

The principle of the maker-checker system is that for processing the payroll, two individuals will be involved; One who makes the payroll and the other who approves it. Defining this system in your payroll process ensures that proper checks and control are applied, and there is no scope of error. 

Many businesses have integrated payroll software in their payroll processing task because of the  advantages that it provides. The restaurant business is no different as the use of payroll software has eased the accounting of many owners. Just choose your payroll software wisely, considering your business requirements, and you are good to go.