Cost-effective tips to paying your workers

Do you want to reduce your costs? Are you finding you are doing things the long way and not too sure how to create better efficiencies with the administration part of your business?

Here are a few tips to help you with these goals, when using MYOB AccountRight for payroll.

1. Structure your payroll

Ensure that you setup all your payroll categories correctly. If you follow a specific award structure you will need to check that all payroll entitlements are in line with the award. For each wage category you have setup ensure all the exemptions are correct from superannuation and annual leave accruals. Check that you annual leave accruals are set up correctly. Look on the payslip to double check that the correct leave is accruing. Also make sure that SGC super is set up with the correct calculation and that it is not calculating when an employee is paid overtime or annual leave on termination, for example.

Save time and paper by entering an email address in the employee card files. This will allow you to email the payslips directly to the employees.

2. Pay employees electronically and automatically

Another cost saving tip is paying your employees electronically directly into their bank account by uploading an electronic. ABA file, from your software. Check with your financial institution first to see if your bank software supports this feature, most major banks do. Also, ask your bank for a bank code and Direct Entry ID number as this is sometimes required. Once you have these details enter them to the Bank Account you have setup in your Accounts List in MYOB under the Banking Tab.

3. Set up payroll

Set up the bank account details under the Employee Card File, click on the Payment Details tab and select the Electronic payment method then enter the employee’s bank account Information. You can also enter various bank accounts if an employee requests to split their pay into numerous bank accounts. Once you have processed your payroll you can prepare an Electronic Payment – MYOB will create the ABA file for you to upload to your banking software. This will save time in data entry as it reduces the double handling and ensures accuracy.

4. Save time with Pay Super

MYOB AccountRight also has a time saving feature called Pay Super. MYOB Pay Super is an ATO approved superannuation clearing house that is super stream compliant. Under the payroll menu select Pay Super to set up this feature. It is easy to set up and takes about 2 minutes. MYOB will deposit 0.01 cent into your bank account within 48 hours with a reference number. Use this reference number to complete the registration.

Next you set up your employee’s super funds under the employee card file. MYOB has provided you a list of superannuation providers to choose from with the correct spin numbers. All you need to do is enter the employee’s superannuation member number. MYOB will automatically calculate the superannuation entitlements per employee with each pay you process. When superannuation falls due all you need to do is select the dates for the period and tick the transactions. The next step is simply to authorise the payments. MYOB sends email reminders out to prompt you that your superannuation is due.

This function can save businesses hours of processing by reducing the time it used to take to send individual payments off to the various superannuation providers. The Pay Super Function is very easy to use and we always recommend it to clients who are not part of a clearing house yet. The good news is that it comes free with your MYOB subscription so there is no added cost for this feature.

5. Optimise payroll processes and record timesheets

Saving costs doesn’t stop there. Another cost effective way to run your payroll is the use of MYOB’s timesheet feature. You can set up your employees to login into the MYOB AccountRight file and record their weekly timesheets. You can disable them from any other financial information by using the user roles. It is a good idea to set up a user role called Timesheet Employees and only allow them access to enter timesheets. All you need to do is review and approve. Pays can be produced by using the timesheet entries.

6. Bill by time with Time Billing

If your business sells services another time saving feature is MYOB’s Time Billing. Invoice your customers using the information the employee recorded in their timesheet. You can also set up hourly rates under the customer card’s selling tab and generate time billing invoices based on these rates. The time billing feature reduces hours of manual data entry plus it takes out the double handling.

7. Payment summaries for ATO submissions

MYOB also has a wizard for preparation of year end payment summaries and for creation of the empdupe file which contains all the information required to submit to the ATO for the payment summaries…no more need to fill out a multitude of forms at year end.

8. Automate your bank reconciliations with bank feeds

Last but not least, you can cannot look past live bank feeds in MYOB AccountRight. You can automatically find the payroll withdrawals and all you need to do is approve the transactions and it will assist in making your bank reconciliations so much faster. If you have not set up the bank feeds function we would highly recommend you do this.

If you’d like to learn how to make your business more successful, visit myob.com.au/businesstips.

The information provided here is of a general nature for Australians and should not be your only source of information. Please consult an experienced and registered tax agent as each small business’s circumstance will vary.