There are a number of good reasons why you should consider a "green payroll" process. And outsourcing your payroll is often a great option for doing that.

In fact, outsourcing payroll services can be more cost-effective for small-to-medium sized businesses than paying for dedicated human resources and payroll clerks. 

This is because outsourcing to a quality payroll services firm can save you staff time, payroll expense, and actually serve as the better payroll solution for your business.  In addition, you may find that you benefit form other related services like insurance solutions, retirement planning, and HR functions offered by your payroll service provider.

And, best of all, your online payroll service can offer you a green payroll solution.

A Green Payroll With an Online Payroll Provider

A green, or paperless, payroll process offers a number of advantages aside from environmental. However, more businesses are striving to become more environmentally responsible and are working to reduce their carbon footprint and excess waste. And transitioning to an online payroll solution can be a "green" choice.

This is because it greatly reduces paper usage, which helps conserve our natural resources for future generations, while reducing the glut of paper waste products in the global waste stream.

Because most payroll service providers offer online payroll processing solutions you can be assured that your outsourced payroll will be an essentially "green" process. This approach is referred to by several terms including green payroll, paperless payroll and e-payroll. 

Seven Benefits of a Green Payroll for Your Business

Following are some of the ways an online payroll solution helps you and your company become a good stewards of the planet:

1. Direct Deposit

With the convenience of direct deposit, employees no longer need to leave the office during work hours to deposit their checks, reducing driving time, as well. Also, since employees don’t have to drive to their bank to deposit their check, it reduces carbon emissions.  

Today most people have checking accounts linked to ATM cards, so having direct deposit enables them to have almost immediate direct access to their funds, instead of having to wait several days until the funds are cleared. For those without bank accounts your payroll solution provider can offer options such as a pay card that is similar to a "gift card." This card has their salary loaded onto it from which they can then make purchases with.

2. Retirement Account Reporting

An employee-friendly benefit of a green payroll process is the ability to offer 401k and other retirement investment accounts with online access. These allow employees to monitor their accounts, make investment elections, and have access to account information online. No more waiting for quarterly paper statements in the mail.

3. Health Insurance Information

Similar to retirement accounts, your payroll solution provider can set up employee health insurance coverage access online, eliminating the need to send out statements, claims, and other notices through the mail.  This service allows your employees to review the status of medical claims online and minimizes the amount of postage, paper and time required to maintain this information.

4. Tax Reporting

Payroll service firms can file all the IRS forms that are required, correctly and on time.  Online payroll processing programs will send out reminders of when filings and paperwork are due, reducing penalties and keeping business owners compliant.

5. Scalable Solutions

Your company may be relatively small today, but odds are it won't stay that way. Consequently, you need systems and processes that can scale along with the size of your business. And it is obvious that, as you grow and add staff, your payroll needs will grow accordingly. An online payroll solution can be not only scalable, but offer additional tools, reporting and options that you may not need now - but will someday.

6. Multi-User Systems

If your office only has one copier-printer, you are probably familiar with the problem of having to wait for someone else to finish making copies, or printing hard copies, so you can use the machine. This can happen with any number of in-house processes, as well. But one of the benefits of an online payroll solution is it's ability to accommodate multiple users. 

A system like Accuchex's Time2Pay, for example, enables multiple user access and simultaneous entry. This means being able to seamlessly share the workload among staff, pay groups, departments and locations, which ensures that your payroll data is accurately and efficiently maintained.

7. Reduced Paper 

It might be fair to say that most businesses don't actively consider their overall use of paper unless they are looking to cut costs on supplies, or are particularly conscious of paper waste issues. Yet, the savings in paper supplies in the form of paychecks, pay stubs, envelopes, and other payroll-related items can be significant once these are minimized or eliminated. 

 According to one source,

"According to the EPA, a paperless office saves roughly $80 per employee (annually) in costs related to paper, ink, toner, storage space, and postage. If you have an organization with 400 employees, this could total more than $32,000 per year."

In addition, there is the space savings from eliminating paper supplies. Over time, you can accumulate large numbers of files in boxes and the typically end up overtaking valuable office space. A paperless process will allow you to free up storage closets, rented storage units, or your offices.

Tips for Choosing an Online Payroll Solution for your Company:

• Only pay for the services you need:  Don’t choose a payroll solution that only provides bundled services.  Make sure that they also provide “a la carte” services so that you are not forced to pay for services you don’t need.
• Choose a “one-stop shop”:  If you do need a variety of services, it’s much easier to choose one vendor or provider than dealing with a different one for each service needed.  Having a "one-stop shop" means that one call can provide answers to all your payroll and benefits questions.
• Dedicated support team:  Having a dedicated person handling your account will give you peace of mind.  You will have a reliable resource to go to for answers and problems who will know the nuances of your business.

"Go Green" With Your Payroll Process 

Investing in the best available cloud-based solution for your payroll process is a great option, while an alternative is outsourcing. And, with a full-service provider like Accuchex, you have additional options for outsourcing as well.

In fact, you can let Accuchex help you manage your HR needs, payroll processes, and compliance demands. Learn more with our free download: Payroll Outsourcing Guide to help you make an informed decision or call Accuchex Payroll Management Services at 877-422-2824.

Choosing the right payroll solution provider for an online payroll service will save you time and money. It will also benefit your employees and reduce your impact on the environment.

And that is truly a "green" payroll solution.