Many organisations are still using different tools and systems to manage various HR tasks such as attendance tracking, time off and absence requests, and payroll processing. Unfortunately, using disparate and disconnected systems can result in low data transparency, manual entries, duplicate work, wasted resources, and complicated processes that prevent your HR team from doing their best work. Integrating your HR and payroll software and processes can greatly improve efficiency, compliance, employee experience, and reporting, ultimately saving you precious time that could be better spent elsewhere transforming your people experience.
A single source of truth for all workforce-related data stored in one centralised system ensures that data sets and structures are harmonised across systems and offer a holistic view of all information related to employees. This makes it easier to draw cross-references between payroll and other HR data to develop improvement strategies by making data-driven decisions.
What is payroll and HR integration?
Payroll and HR integration refers to the process of linking your payroll software with the software you utilise to manage HR processes so that accurate data flows between your systems and is consistent in all of your people management tech. This implies syncing payroll and other software to allow data exchange among these systems. Such systems could include attendance and working hours tracking tools, accounting and finance software, or core HR management systems that store all employment-related data and employee information.
What advantages does an HR and payroll software integration offer?
Integrating HR and Payroll solutions can provide businesses with several benefits, including improved compliance and efficiency, and enhanced employee experience and reporting. Here we list five advantages of using integrated HR and payroll software:
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Improved data security
By using an integrated HR and payroll solution, sensitive GDPR and special-listed information such as employees' payroll numbers, tax details and personal contact information can be securely stored in a single system. This reduces the likelihood of data breaches and eliminates the need to gather or duplicate information multiple times, reducing the amount of manual work required for both the employees and the people teams to amend incorrect data.
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Reduced errors and improved accuracy
By using an integrated system for payroll and HR, the accuracy of data can be improved as data only needs to be entered once. When two different databases need to be maintained simultaneously, it requires several individuals, potentially working in different departments, to input data, which raises the likelihood of human error. An integrated HR and payroll solution simplifies data management by eliminating the duplication of manual processes and inspires more trust in the accuracy of data. Fewer errors don’t just benefit the organisation: they also benefit the employees when they receive an accurate wage on time, every time.
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More productive way to run payroll
Integrating your HR and payroll software can simplify tedious administrative tasks through the use of system workflows. A larger portion of payroll procedures can be automated, ultimately saving the time and effort of your HR and Payroll teams, and ensuring payroll is always done on time. For instance, reminder workflows can prompt managers to input payroll adjustments such as overtime and expenses in good time. Changes to salary information are automatically passed through systems, meaning no manual input is required from either team.
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Better reporting
With HR and payroll systems speak to each other, HR and payroll teams can efficiently access one single-source of truth to produce reports, such as the gender pay gap report, without wasting their time. People team can reap the rewards of analytics to gain insights into their organisation.
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Enhanced compliance
Fewer mistakes in payroll reduces the risk of potential fines by ensuring tax payment information is correctly communicated to HMRC. HR and payroll integration also improves compliance with data protection and other HR legislation by automating some aspects of compliance such as tracked consent, managing subject access requests, and providing an audit trail.
What's next?
Our HR and Payroll software offers efficiency and productivity through seamless integration. If you would like your organisation, your HR and payroll team, and your people to benefit from the power that integrated HR and Payroll systems can bring, get in touch about our integrated HR and Payroll solutions; Advanced HR and Advanced Payroll.
