Payroll is one of the key considerations that all hospitality businesses need to put a great amount of focus on handling correctly. Staff morale is an essential aspect of any business, and there are few quicker ways to demoralise and upset a workforce than to not pay them regularly and reliably.

Outsourcing payroll, as with anything that’s outsourced, is not so much a cost as it is an investment. Outsourcing payroll has many benefits to offer hospitality businesses that are savvy enough to reach out to the specialists, that you’ll find at Virgate Accounts.

Here’s a brief insight into just some of the benefits outsourced payroll provides.

Time savings

There are few more precious resources for any hospitality business than time. Payroll, particularly for larger businesses with a higher volume of employees, is a time-consuming task. There’s no way around it. Managing the payments of a large number of people, many of whom who may be working differing numbers of hours at different rates of pay, can consume hours of valuable time every week.

For retail & hospitality businesses, staff scheduling software such as Deputy (click here to try it for free) are game changers and saves time across all levels of the business.

Outsourcing to a professional payroll specialist and using dedicated systems means more time is freed up to serve customers and build the business. This allows the business to grow that much quicker and improves the labour ratio.

Money savings

It might at first seem counter-intuitive to expect to save money by spending it investing in outsourced payroll. But internal payroll, especially for larger hospitality businesses, necessitates dedicated staff to oversee it. The outlay for those wages could either be saved outright or invested elsewhere in the business. Also consider the specialist software, training, and resources that internal payroll departments necessitate.

When payroll is outsourced, all of the associated costs with the logistics of payroll are also outsourced. Those savings easily outweigh the initial investment in a very short space of time. Virgate clients get the Deputy system (Premium Plan) free as part of the service (normally £2.20 per employee per month).

Compliance

Payroll can be a tangled web of constantly evolving legislation and regulations that need to be followed. The inexperienced can quickly find themselves overwhelmed by ensuring their payroll system is consistently up to code. It isn’t as simple as just ensuring payment is made into employee bank accounts every week. As such, it’s easy to see why maintaining proper payroll procedures can be so time-consuming.

When payroll is outsourced, businesses get the peace of mind that comes with complete legislative compliance, avoiding the bad brand perception and costs that might come with being found to be failing certain policies.

Efficiency and experience

Outsourcing payroll allows a hospitality business the benefit of some outside perspective from experienced professionals. This means the payroll process can be streamlined as much as possible, ensuring that employees are paid with the minimum of disruption.

Pay out tips and TRONC to your staff? This can all be included in the employee payslips hassle-free. There can also be certain benefits, grants, or other relief that the business might qualify for what they otherwise wouldn’t have known about.

An inefficient and ineffective payroll system guarantees problems for both the business and its employees. Outsourcing ensures access to a pre-prepared proverbial well-oiled machine.

Flexibility

Professional payroll specialists understand that no two hospitality businesses operate in the same way. As such, no two payroll systems can be the same. When outsourcing, a business gets access to a payroll plan that has been specifically tailored for them and the way they operate. That kind of specialisation can cost a lot of time and money if it’s attempted internally.

Outsourcing payroll guarantees that the entire payroll system is implemented with the business and its employees in mind. In-depth consultation will produce a service totally fit for purpose.

Security

Handling anything to do with money opens up a can of worms when it comes to security. Anything from fraud to identity theft, to outright stealing, can all be extremely costly. Professional payroll staff understand the signs to look for that indicate something is wrong. Catching it as early as possible minimises the damage it can do to the business, and it can only happen with dedicated payroll management.

Security breaches can be costly, both in terms of money and a resulting lack of confidence from both employees and customers. Mitigate it by outsourcing to payroll professionals.

Virgate Accounts provide full payroll and pensions management as part of their service to retail & hospitality businesses across the UK. Virgate clients also get the Deputy Premium Plan for FREE!