Linkedin
Facebook
Email
more
In recent years, business owners have been inundated with information on Single Touch Payroll (STP), however, as we close in on 12 months since STP became mandatory, it’s time to look at other aspects of payroll software that can help add value to your business.
In the competitive landscape of tourism and hospitality, being able to cost out 
staffing requirements quickly and accurately is imperative. Despite its importance, for many businesses, rostering is a painstakingly long process and chore that involves a spreadsheet, which whilst reliable, cannot compete with new digital offerings. Instead of manually allocating employees into shifts whilst trying to balance employee availability, costing, and adequate staffing during peak hours, dedicated payroll programs can automatically draft rosters which account for all these factors. With all the heavy lifting done all you need to do is analyse, tweak, and send the roster straight to employees.
In addition to the time-saving benefits of automatic rostering, having an online solution allows for an effortless integration with your point of sale or bookings software. It is through these integrations that the true benefits of computer learning and data analysis become evident.
By continuously analysing sales on an hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly basis, the payroll scheduling software can identify trends and patterns in sales and then automatically account for this when drafting the roster. This allows for a level of cost control that leaves the faithful spreadsheet in the dark ages.
Once a roster has been established, it is, unfortunately, subject to a continual onslaught of changes whether it be due to staff emergencies or a global pandemic! For many businesses, it is these subsequent changes to the roster that are tiresome to administer and lead to costing blowouts. With dedicated mobile 
applications, the roster becomes more flexible and easier to manage as circumstances change.
Directly from the app, staff can request shift swaps, communicate with other team members, and instantly receive shift schedules and reminder notifications. The all-knowing nature of the software makes finding last-minute coverage for sick staff or an unexpected surge in customers simple.
The software can automatically suggest and offer the shift to staff members who have suitable levels of training whilst also monitoring any hours already worked to ensure that unnecessary overtime isn’t incurred and ensuring any maximum hour limits for employees aren’t breached.
Not only can these programs help to manage staffing costs more effectively, but many of them also provide human resources support. It can be both time-consuming and confusing for businesses to correctly interpret and apply the Fair Work awards. Not to mention the fact that the awards are being continuously updated, so ensuring you remain compliant can become a major headache.
As many of these programs can integrate directly with 
Fair Work, they can provide clarity when determining the appropriate award for employees and ongoing updates as the relevant awards change.
In addition to simplifying and keeping businesses up to date with ever-changing Fair Work requirements, many of these apps can also assist in streamlining the onboarding process. With such a transient workforce, there is often a continual stream of new employees that need to be inducted. Traditionally, this would mean numerous forms and checklists, all of which then must be manually entered into the payroll software.
By allowing businesses to customise their own forms delivered via mobile applications, getting new employees set up becomes a breeze with all the sensitive information entered being used to automatically build out a new employee profile ready to process pay runs. In addition to this, the onboarding process can include training and procedural information right through to uniform ordering and setting up working days/limitations for your automatic rostering.
Whilst we might all be suffering from some change fatigue as a 
result of the STP roll out, many of these dedicated payroll solutions can provide valuable time-saving and cost control benefits that can’t be overlooked. There are several different software options available with varying levels of functionality which allow businesses of all sizes to find an option that suits their needs and budget.
Your local RSM office’s digital adviser will be able to help identify and implement the perfect solution for your business and make your rostering nightmares a thing of the past. Get in touch today.
