Two services ensure you never miss payroll
When it comes to being an entrepreneur, overcoming f ears, challenges and obstacles comes with the territory. But ask any business owner who’s built a team what scares them the most and they’ll tell you it’s the fear of not hitting payroll.
Along with growing the business, looking after their people is a top priority for most business owners so they know the damage that missing payroll can have on that trust and relationships — not to mention the financial security of their employees, who need that paycheque to keep their own “operations” going.
For most business owners, meeting payroll comes down to two key issues. The first is having the actual cash or cash flow on hand to confidently hit every pay cycle. The other is time, as tracking, managing and completing payroll can be very time consuming.
Fortunately, there are a growing number of services to offer the relief that a business owner needs to eliminate the worry or fear of missing payroll.
Steven Uster, an entrepreneur himself and the chief executive officer and cofounder of Fund Through, a Canadian fintech company that helps small businesses meet their cash flow needs, has heard the fear and concern about missing payroll countless times.
“Mention the fear of missing payroll to any entrepreneur and you immediately see their heads nod up and down in agreement and then they tell you the stories of how many times they almost missed payroll,” Uster says.
Cash- flow management is one of the most important functions in any business, but even more so when you’ve got employees who are counting on you to keep the business and their paycheques coming, Uster says. “The best way to avoid it is to do some forward planning, anticipate when you may face a cash crunch and set up the right mechanisms to deal with it.”
For an increasing number of small businesses, that backup is an invoice funding service like Fund Through, which allows a business owner to instantly access cash that’s tied up in ac- counts receivable whenever a cash flow gap arises.
“In most cases, businesses are put at risk of missing payroll because of a delayed payment,” says Uster. “The money is there to cover payroll but won’t arrive until after the payroll date. With Fund Through, if there’s a payment that is due but not in time to hit payroll, you can simply click a button and get the funds from that invoice in 24 hours. Payroll is hit and risk is avoided. Fund Through can help in any cash crunch situation, but it’s extremely popular as a kind of never-missing-payroll insurance plan.”
Shelley Ng, vice-president of product management at Ceridian, adds that managing small business payroll can be a lot of work and it can take valuable time and energy away from where business owners really should be spending their time.
Payroll services specifically designed for small business owners can take care of and automate all of those fine details and also provide a cadence and discipline that ensures you always have the funds ready to go when payroll hits.
“With a payroll provider or software, small businesses only need to do the minimum work required to pay their employees, which is getting time entered and submitting payroll,” says Ng. “Then the software or their provider does the rest, such as tax calculations, payments through direct deposit through financial institutions, employee pay statements, cheque printing and distribution, government tax filings, etc.”
Using a payroll service like Ceridian also helps to establish the discipline of knowing that you have to have the money for payroll in your account up to five days before the salaries and wages are due.
And with many of the payroll services offering mobile apps, small business owners can submit their payroll anywhere and anytime.
“Many small business owners are frequently on the road in order to do their job or juggling family life, such as being at their kid’s soccer games,” Ng says. “Mobile apps with the right payroll software or service provider mean they can still be away from their desk and be sure to submit their payroll on time.”
Whether it’s the convenience and peace of mind that an invoice funding service like Fund Through can offer, or the automation that payroll software like Ceridian can offer, the number of services focused on helping business owners meet and manage payroll is growing.
And that means business owners can worry less about payroll and spend more time on growing or operating their business.
THE BEST WAY TO AVOID PAYROLL I SSUES I S TO DO SOME FORWARD PLANNING, ANTICIPATE WHEN YOU MAY FACE A CASH CRUNCH AND SET UP THE RIGHT MECHANISMS TO DEAL WITH IT