Want to hear a horror story with a happy ending? Are you brave enough to
delve into the reality of the cost of payroll errors? If so, then read on.
First. let’s start with some facts:
- The IRS estimates that one-third of employers make a payroll mistake each year
- The cost of penalties issued to US companies alone topped $7 billion in 2021
- Payroll errors are cited as one of the main sources of employee dissatisfaction
The spooky cost of payroll errors
The really spooky stuff starts when we begin to consider the hidden costs. Overpayment, for example, costs cash and goodwill, while underpayment creates a lack of trust and a perception of incompetence that can be hard to recoup. Frequent underpayment, meanwhile, is likely to lead to resignation – and the loss of months’ worth of training and investment.
As well as financial implications on the business payroll errors can cause a butterfly effect, triggering a series of issues for employees. For employees without emergency savings, an inaccurate or late paycheck can mean a missed mortgage payment, fines, and the loss of credit ratings, starting a personal financial crisis from which many people can’t recover.
Underpayment or delayed payment also causes a lack of trust in the employer which could have consequences on productivity, and in turn, the company’s revenue.
The most expensive payroll mistakes include:
- Paying the wrong tax rates – and late or unpaid payroll taxes that result in penalties
- Incorrect classification of colleagues and contractors – when an employee is being paid more or less than their correct wages due to an error in data entry or communication
- Incorrect details – Processing payroll using the wrong information like location
- Miscalculating or missing overtime – which can come from messy payroll documents and missing timesheets, and can lead to compliance issues and legal ramifications
- Inaccurate, incomplete records – paper processes, miscommunications and disorganized data lead to costly errors
Correcting all these errors is another hidden cost, of course – the time taken to rectify and rework budgets costs money and confidence, and you end up paying for those initial errors twice.
What’s the happy ending to this spooky story?
It’s looking pretty bleak so far – and the reality is that payroll errors have a significant impact on companies and colleaques. The happy ending? Well, there are high-tech solutions from companies like APPLIC8 that can help tackle payroll errors. They offer simple solutions to the chaos of inaccurate payroll management.
APPLIC8’s unique AS1® system helps you to bring all your multinational payroll mechanisms together. Local payroll is aligned, and transactions are transformed into simple, accurate processes. Choosing to use a universal system means universal understanding of how the payroll process works, so both employee and employer are operating in complete transparency and understanding. Choosing APPLIC8 means the chaos is removed.
- Payroll is seen as a universal process
- Payroll becomes part of your HR strategy – all systems and providers operate under one sole best practice
- Payroll is simplified with processes, local payroll and data consolidated into one resource
- Payroll errors no longer cost time, money, and goodwill
Payroll without errors forever
APPLIC8’s AS1® is a secure, non-intrusive way to consolidate local payroll. It operates to improve your existing systems and ensure that data flows from any source to any provider seamlessly and in a timely manner. It offers a unique combination of efficiency and flexibility, unifying data whilst letting you use the skills and services offered by the best providers in your region. It’s an innovative, intuitive and above all accurate way to ensure your most precious resource is rewarded correctly, on time and every time. Now that’s what we call a happy ending!
