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Why your business needs online payslips

The start of a new tax year provides an opportune time to review your payroll processes and identify areas that efficiencies can be made. One area of improvement is online payslips if you haven’t already implemented these.

The past few years has seen enormous digitisation to payroll processes, and payroll software has evolved making it simple to run your payroll, complete the year end and keep on top of all payroll and HR requirements efficiently and effectively.

An area which has seen vast growth is online payslips and payroll self-service systems.

What are online payslips?

Put simply, online payslips are an online version of a traditional paper payslip, they are also known as electronic payslips, digital payslips or e-payslips.

In addition to viewing payslips, a complete payroll self service system allows employees to view tax codes, National Insurance details, past payslips, holiday entitlement and personal information.

Benefits of online payslips

• Cost savings – according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP), 83% of businesses surveyed said they have saved money by moving to online payslips because of reduced paper, printing, and distribution costs. Respondents claimed to have saved between £1,200 and £6,000 per year.
• Environmental benefits – less paper usage and an all-round greener option.
• Security enhancements – employee details are kept secure in line with data protection and payslips can only be accessed by each employee using personal verification details. Most payroll software uses HMRC accredited encryption for first class security.
• Time savings – less manual effort required to print and distribute payslips and there becomes no danger of bottlenecks forming if a member of the payroll team is absent. 
• Employee flexibility – employees can view payslips 24/7 from anywhere.
• Historical access – all historical payslips are kept in one place if they need to be referred to at any point.

What do employees think of online payslips?

There can be some cultural difficulties to overcome when moving to online payslips as some employees are so familiar with receiving a traditional paper payslip either weekly or monthly, that it can seem an alien concept for some initially. However, employees soon see the benefits such as being able to view their payslip almost instantaneously online after a payroll run has been approved, and being able to view their payslip any time, anywhere whether that be on holiday, or from the comfort of their armchair. The ability for employees to view payslips on any device adds another level of flexibility too.

Implementing online payslips

The first, and vital task, in moving to online payslips is making sure all your employee details are up-to-date, particularly email addresses. Incorrect or missing email addresses could hinder implementation before you have even started.

Next, you must make sure you properly communicate the change to your employees and provide instructions on how to access their online payslips, and how to change their default password.

Final thoughts…

Online payslips offer businesses a chance to reduce costs, empower employees and improve efficiency in payroll departments. There are many benefits to online payslips including enhanced security, environmental gains and greater flexibility, among others.

The start of the new tax year is a great time to review your payroll processes and identify where you can drive your payroll forward and online payslips are the perfect place to start.

For more information about our popular Payroll Self Service solution, please contact us today.

Posted On: April 12, 2023