Point, click and pay employees over the Net

The Internet is now being used to deliver many services to business, such as banking and supply management systems, and now payroll can be added to a growing list of applications being offered online. This should be of particular interest to small- and medium-sized businesses where payroll responsibilities often fall to an overworked human resources department.

B2B IS BOOMING ON THE WEB

Web-based business-to-business transactions are growing exponentially, according to Toronto-based IT research analysts IDC Canada. Business-to-business transactions accounted for more than 80 per cent of all e-commerce in Canada last year. Part of this growth is a segment called “net-native applications.” These differ from traditional computer applications in that they exist exclusively on the Web. It is no longer necessary to buy expensive software, install it and then be forced to buy upgrades every few years to enjoy the newest enhancements.

In the realm of payroll, it is now as simple as logging on to a Web site to find the latest application via a Web browser. Payroll companies are able to perform upgrades and service without interruption or inconvenience to the customer.

WHY DO IT ON THE WEB?

Small businesses are on the Web in record numbers. A survey conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses on Internet use among small- and medium-sized businesses found 69 per cent of the firms surveyed actively use the Internet for business. Of firms with between 20 and 99 employees, more than 80 per cent had Internet access; in firms with more than 100 employees, the number was almost 100 per cent.

With this in mind, it makes sense that the same Internet-based payroll software for smaller companies will also be developed for larger enterprises. Internet-based payroll offers the benefits of an easy-to-use and powerful computer application at a fraction of the cost, while having access to real-time customer care and technical support if needed. The same experience is not far away for companies with larger payrolls.

For small business owners on the go today, a benefit that cannot be overlooked is the convenience of managing payroll whenever and wherever they want. Web-based services offer the freedom of conducting business outside of what most people would consider normal business hours.

The owner of a small construction company may conduct most of his business from his pickup truck. Not wanting to go back into the office after a long day, he can log on at home to pay his employees with a simple point and a click. The Internet allows flexibility for people, who often find they work beyond normal nine to five hours. For these people there is peace of mind that with an Internet-based payroll system there will not be any disruption to the payroll cycle.

SECURITY AND PRIVACY

Financial transactions on the Web have been common for the past several years. Many Canadians are now online paying bills and transferring funds on a daily basis wherever they are in the world as long as they have access to the Internet. This is made possible by the security measures that banks and other financial institutions have in place to ensure that clients’ information is safe.

Managing payroll on the Web follows many of the same procedures as banks do to ensure security:
•customers must use a browser that supports 128-bit encryption;
•passwords must consist of a combination of mixed-case letters and numbers and must never be shared or written down;
•passwords are encrypted, as they are stored;
•all data is transferred using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL3) protocol that encrypts information before it leaves the computer, ensuring that it cannot be deciphered even in the unlikely event that the information is intercepted; and
•the site is constantly monitored for possible security breaches.

Security is something that must be taken very seriously, especially for something as important to a company as its payroll.

Internet-based payroll offers the additional security of having payroll information stored off-site away from any office computer. If the computer is stolen or damaged, all the payroll information is safely in the hands of the payroll company because no information is stored on a local hard-drive.

THE FUTURE FOR PAYROLL

Advances in payroll technology can be expected, as can improvements in the area of employee self-service (ESS). There is no reason why ESS should not be conducted over the Internet, freeing up time spent on routine payroll tasks such as address changes and employee inquiries about such matters as vacation accruals and benefits deductions. Employees can get answers to their own questions, update their own contact information or administer their own flexible benefits. The security safeguards touched upon earlier will ensure that internal information is kept away from prying eyes, while employees can access their personal data 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week.

The advent of Net-native applications is just one step in the evolution of payroll services for the future. Managing payroll on the Web allows flexibility, ease of use, and the security that someone else is taking care of the technical side of the process.

Dave MacKay is vice-president of Powerpay, Ceridian Canada’s new 100 per cent Internet-based payroll solution. He can be reached at (613) 228-0222. For more information, visit www.ceridian.ca or www.powerpay.ca.

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