5 Questions to Consider Before Beginning a Payroll Implementation

Planning a payroll implementation? Here are some items to consider!

Who should be involved?

After you have decided to change payroll providers and have chosen a partner that best fits your needs, the next step is to decide who needs to be involved. Consider these questions to help make those decisions:

·         Who will be importing and preparing your payroll?

·         Will supervisors or managers need to be involved in the process at all?

·         How many people do you want to have trained on the new system?

Once you've answered these questions, you'll know who will need to be included in each stage of the process. 

How long will the implementation take?

Depending on the size of your company an implementation can take anywhere from 2-8 weeks, from the first kick-off call to when your payroll goes live with the first check date. Be sure to work with your payroll partner to give yourself enough time to get everything set up and running smoothly. You will want to create a realistic timeline that both parties are committed to.

What Information needs to be gathered beforehand?

If you have been processing payroll you've probably noticed that there is much more to payroll than just tracking each employee’s hours! Make a list of everything that is needed to process your company’s payroll. A few examples are garnishments and levy information as well as scheduled earning and deduction information.   

Will there need to be any new hardware installed?

Many times if you are changing your payroll provider you may also upgrade your time keeping system. If so, make a check list and timeline of what needs to be done and how long it should take to complete those tasks.

Who will be trained and how much training is needed?

Decide who will need to be trained on your new process for payroll and if supervisors or managers will need training on any new devices that will be implemented. Consider how your process will change, who will be involved, and what those roles will be. Then allocate time needed to train them. Also, make sure that the payroll provider you select is willing to dedicate time to the training as you need it! 

The Author: Amber Borland, FPC

Implementation Specialist - Payroll

abgncs.com/payroll

aborland@abg-mn.com

Disclaimer: This blog is of an informative nature and should not be taken as advice. Please work with the appropriate parties for those services.