One of the most important things you do as a business owner or manager is making sure your employees and contractors get paid correctly and on time. If things get messed up, you’ll have unhappy workers on your hands.
Payroll can be tedious, frustrating, and prone to errors that can be costly. And when you get it wrong, errors can begin to multiply and compound upon each other. They can cause too much (or too little) tax to be taken out of a paycheck, or the wrong pay rates for overtime or incentive pay. In the best case, they can require more work to fix the error, and in the worst case, you might face penalties from the IRS or legal issues.
Wouldn’t it be great if there were things you can do to streamline the payroll process? Here are a few ways you can do just that.
Make It Easy to Record Hours
Stop using timesheets, cards, or recording hours manually. Instead, you can simplify your entire payroll process by using a mobile app that makes it easy for your workers to manage their hours.
Team members can log in on their mobile phones and record their hours on the go wherever they are. Since the data is in the cloud, you always have real-time updated information. When it’s time to process payroll, you don’t have to collect time cards or hunt down time cards.
The FieldPulse app, for example, lets team members track their work in two ways — by hours or by the job. Workers can call up the day on the calendar and simply click a button to clock in or clock out. They can also go to any job record and clock in or out for a specific job assignment. Workers can also leave notes.
Supervisors can go to the Team timesheet page within the FieldPulse app to view all current active clock-ins, timesheet entries, review active jobs and notes or clock in and out on behalf of team members.
When a team member clocks in or out using the mobile app, the app records a geotag. This lets you confirm the location of their clock in. On the Reporting page, you can make any necessary adjustments and export the data easily to prep for payroll.
Track Commissions
Tracking non-hourly pay, such as commissions for sales, can be tricky — especially if you change policies or commission rates from time to time like most contractors. Commission plans can sometimes get complex with multiple levels or differing rates for projects.
The easiest way to handle commissions is by letting your mobile app automate the system for you.
FieldPulse allows you to track and automatically calculate commissions on estimates and invoices using a percentage of gross sales or by gross profit. You can set default rates, change your commission structure at any time or edit commissions for one-time adjustments.
Standardize and Enforce Policies
Contractors and field service companies have a lot of moving parts. Team members are constantly on the move from one location to another and can go extended periods without spending time at the office. Most of the time, they’re working with little supervision in the field.
It’s essential you standardize your policies for clocking in and out, and how team members will interact with your management app. It helps to provide some training upfront and regular reminders of your policies especially if team members forget to use the system properly.
Stay Aware of Payroll Laws and Remain Compliant
Every employer needs to stay current on payroll laws and ensure compliance. Make sure you have a firm understanding of the laws as they apply to your business. Even if you’re a small shop, you should have regular reviews with your accountant.
Use One App to Organize Your Business
If team members have to use multiple apps or record timesheets manually, they’re less likely to do so. When you can combine your timesheet functions into an all-in-one management app, compliance will improve. Everything becomes linked as well so you can track hours, jobs, estimates, invoices and payments all in one.
The FieldPulse app also provides an easy way to schedule and dispatch crews, manage jobs in progress, and even attach notes, files and photos. Detailed and customizable customer records are integrated in the platform to make it easy to manage customers even on the go. You can also create estimates, quotes and invoices and take payments from your laptop or mobile device.
If you’re using QuickBooks, FieldPulse can automatically sync your invoices, payments and customers with Quickbooks integration.
When everything comes together in one app, it not only streamlines your payroll, but also streamlines your entire workflow.
Streamline Your Payroll Process (and Your Business)
FieldPulse can help save you time, money, and headaches by helping you schedule jobs, create invoices, track hours, and streamline the payroll process. Schedule a free demo today to see how FieldPulse can help you run your business more efficiently.
