What is the future of payroll?

Progress in digital and online technology will each play their part in the future of payroll.

The world has moved on from the manual bookkeeping days of old, and like practically every other aspect of our lives, the age of digital is now firmly set within company payroll. Progress in digital and online technology, as well as changing working habits and evolving relationships between HR and payroll, will each play their part in the future of payroll.

Given the many changes that have happened recently, it is no small stretch of the imagination to see a future where payroll is very simple, easily accessible and highly automated, and capable of easily managing even the most dynamic of workforces.

Increased accessibility

Improved accessibility is not something that we have to wait for -- it is happening already. There are a number of payroll management solutions designed with simplicity and ease of use as the foremost concern. With clever visual design and a full list of convenient features, it becomes very easy to keep track of those common payroll duties and ensure that all obligations are met. It is also very difficult to make mistakes, and the software is able to calculate many things automatically. With many payroll software programs making things so much easier to manage, any computer-literature person can learn how to use them. 

Real-time information

A clear future aspect of payroll is Real Time Information. Under this new program, businesses must now submit tax information every time they pay their employees, instead of filing taxes at the end of the financial year. RTI has already implemented in the UK and businesses are now expected to use it (with a very small number of exceptions). The increased efficiency and simplicity afforded by RTI is a sure sign of the future.

Cloud-based payroll

While many online accounting solutions have become cloud based in recent years, we have yet to see the payroll software market fully embrace the cloud as of yet. There is currently not a huge need for SAAS payroll, except for with the largest companies, but as companies become increasingly mobile and fractious, the ability for in-house payroll software solutions to be accessible from any computer at any time will become increasingly important, and as such we can expect many payroll software services to move into the realm of Software as a Service in the future.

Employee Interaction

In the future, payroll software will allow employees themselves to interact with payroll systems. HR professionals, managers and employees will all be integrated into the same platform, and will act as a “self service” platform where employees can update their personal information, request time off, view payment history and so on. Payroll managers will be able to respond to payroll requests and check updates, as well as perform all of the other tasks associated with payroll.