Unhappy with your current payroll provider? Now is a great time to make a switch, but you’re likely wondering how to set yourself and your company up in the best way possible.
The first thing to do is to answer a few questions for yourself:
- What payroll services do you want to have?
- What do you dislike about your current provider?
- What concerns do you have when it comes to making a transition?
STEPS TO TAKE WHEN SWITCHING PAYROLL COMPANIES:
Consider timing.
As mentioned above, the end of the year is a great time to switch payroll providers. This is the time to consider your company’s strategic business goals and budget in order to make a decision on your new payroll provider.
Ultimately, switching at the end of the year helps you ensure that your employees will be paid on time and that nothing will interfere with their paychecks.
Look at the terms of your current contract.
Make sure there aren’t any terms in your current contract about service cancellation fees or other penalties. (This could be a reason to consider making a change.)
However, sometimes it’s worth it to buy out your contract if you’re truly unhappy.
Note: at CertiPay, we don’t use contracts and yet still 97.3% of our clients stay with us long term.
Determine what you need from a new provider.
There are plenty of payroll providers out there who offer a wide range of services. Create a wish list to help you search for a provider to help you meet your needs. Then search for a provider that can fill in the gaps and give you exactly what you’re looking for.
Collect information needed for your new provider.
This will vary between providers, but a general list of items that you’ll need typically includes:
- Your employees’ information: names, addresses, social security numbers, and bank account information (for direct deposit)
- W-4 information
- Your federal, state and any other tax ID numbers
- YTD and QTD totals
- Copies of your tax forms from the previous quarter
- Voided check for your payroll or tax account
Your new provider will let you know what is needed, but it’s a good idea to begin collecting this information now to get a head start.
Notify your employees.
Making a switch to a new payroll provider should not impact your employees much, but it’s still important to let them know. There may be new processes, or they may need to set up a new login depending on how your new provider operates. This is also the time to remind employees to print or save past pay stubs and any other information they may need before the switch takes place.
It’s also always a good idea to have your employees double check their first pay stub very closely to ensure all their information was transferred correctly. This is also the time to remind employees to save past pay stubs and any other information needed.
At CertiPay, we offer payroll solutions that help you focus more on your business and less on payroll, taxes and compliance issues. Our easy-to-use technology allows you to integrate payroll functions and data with human resources management, benefits administration and time and attendance solutions.
We’re here to give you the payroll solution you’ve been looking for. Just reach out to us here and we’ll talk about your unique needs.