Choosing the Right Payroll Outsourcing Provider: 7-Point Checklist For CPA Firms

So you own a CPA firm, and after sitting on the fence for a great while between having an in-house payroll department and opting for outsourced payroll services, you have decided to go with the latter. While you should be reassured that you have made the right decision, you must also ensure that you sign up with the best payroll outsourcing provider to take care of your firm’s payroll.

One of the biggest challenges CPAs face today is choosing the right payroll outsourcing provider for their firms. From handling sensitive payroll data of your employees to keeping up with the ever-changing legislation, your CPA firm’s payroll can be managed smoothly if you make the right choice when it comes to selecting the payroll outsourcing service provider.

While we hope you luck out with finding the right payroll provider for your CPA firm, here is a checklist to help make the right decision:

1. ONE THAT CAN MITIGATE PAYROLL OUTSOURCING CHALLENGES:

The best way to shortlist the right payroll outsourcing provider is to understand some typical payroll outsourcing challenges and choose the one that helps you mitigate most of them. Key challenges of payroll outsourcing include data security, confidentiality, cost control, communication barriers, accuracy, and real-time reporting. For example, even though payroll outsourcing should cost you less than hiring an in-house team, hidden charges can make it a worse experience for you. And there are concerns about data privacy and security, and remote communication can also get challenging. The right payroll outsourcing provider will be equipped with the appropriate tools for effective communication, have data security practices, and ensure compliance and confidentiality.

2. ONE THAT ENSURES DATA SECURITY:

Given how sensitive payroll data is, it should be secured on servers. While choosing your payroll provider, you must be sure they possess stringent data security policies, infrastructure, and a secure payroll management system. They should be able to back up your data for worst-case scenarios and contingency planning. The loss of sensitive details that payroll processing teams handle can tear down employees’ trust in your organization and can, in turn, impact their performance too. To ensure that the personal and financial data aren’t accessible to miscreants, it is important to partner with an external payroll processing team with secure platforms and stringent passwords. The right payroll outsourcing provider will have established a data breach policy and will ensure that the team is adequately trained and prepared to comply with the data breach notification rule if data privacy risks are suspected.

3. ONE WITH A GREAT REPUTATION:

Working with a service provider with an excellent reputation is always a good idea. As you come across several potential partners to outsource your firm’s payroll, look for reliable, objective reviews and read feedback left by real users and clients. Find out how experienced they are and if they can give you client references you can speak to, so you get direct and first-hand feedback about the services, their accuracy, and overall effectiveness.

4. ONE WITH A TAX COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT TEAM:

With constantly changing payroll tax compliance rules, it is essential to work with a payroll provider with a dedicated tax compliance department to handle these updates. The right payroll outsourcing provider has a tax compliance team comprising experts who will review your existing data to check for potential payroll tax errors. They will also update payroll tax tables every year, helping you with year-end processing and handling tax filings and payments.

5. ONE THAT ENSURES ACCURACY:

It is very important to ensure that your payroll outsourcing provider has all the skills and expertise to carry out payroll-related tasks in an accurate manner. After all, what’s the point of spending on services that doesn’t ensure accuracy? The payroll process being one of the most critical functions of an organization, there is absolutely no room for error. The right payroll outsourcing provider will maintain a high level of accuracy, as even a tiny mistake can cause significant damage to your accounting firm’s reputation.

6. ONE THAT IS ACCOUNTABLE & CAN BRING DOWN OPERATING COSTS:

As far as payroll processing is concerned, accounting firms sometimes need to make quick changes in the payroll whenever any mistakes are spotted. And in such cases, your outsourcing provider needs to be available at your short request and fix the issue at the earliest. Accountability is a critical criterion when choosing your payroll outsourcing partner. Pricing is an equally crucial factor to consider because, eventually, outsourcing is all about reducing your cost of infrastructure, human capital, supplies, etc. Although you need to pay some price to benefit from payroll outsourcing services, ensure there are no hidden charges involved as it could end up giving you an awful experience. While outsourcing might cost you relatively lower than managing an in-house payroll team, you shouldn’t partner with a provider who doesn’t have an experienced team to manage your firm’s payroll. We recommend that you compare the prices of different payroll service providers before settling for the most affordable one.

7. ONE WITH A CLEAR COMMUNICATION PLAN & REPORTING INTERFACE:

Communication barriers are a key payroll outsourcing challenge, and many global payroll companies are vulnerable to this risk. While evaluating payroll service providers, you should look for ones that offer a clear communication plan alongside a reporting interface to understand the performance metrics and insights about your payroll processing.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Outsourced payroll services can make managing your firm’s payroll easier, quicker, and more cost-effective. But you must choose a compliant payroll provider that ensures data security and, more importantly, provides the core features you had expected. A growing number of CPA firms opt to outsource their payroll to save time, avoid errors, stay in compliance, and handle their payroll process completely. You should sign up for a payroll service provider that ticks all the abovementioned aspects. Partnering with a global payroll solutions provider like QXAS can help minimize risk and free up your valuable time to redirect your resources and focus on other parts of your business.

YOUR SEARCH FOR THE PERFECT PAYROLL OUTSOURCING PARTNER ENDS WITH QXAS

QXAS is the go-to destination for CPA firms in the US looking for a dedicated team of highly experienced accountants who

• Can smoothly manage payroll
• Takes care of local taxes, laws & compliance,
• Guarantees data security
• Has well-equipped with a user-friendly platform &
• Offers a transparent pricing structure.

WHY QXAS?

• Highly experienced (14 + years) in delivering outsourced payroll solutions to clients across industries & geographies
• With specialization in catering to high-volume payroll processing requests, our team of experts has processed over 1,000,000 timesheets annually
• First GDPR compliant payroll outsourcing company in India and an ACCA-approved Gold Employer
• Fully compliant with ISO 27001 for information security and ISO 9001 for quality
• A highly trusted and successful Payroll outsourcing company with highly efficient, resolute, and experienced accountants