Human Resource & Payroll Management Blog

Across every business, executives are hunting for fat to trim during the current economic downturn. For the HR and accounting departments, it seems like the wrong time to suggest software improvements. But some software investments produce very fast return on investment (ROI) through cost cutting and increased productivity. Payroll software has that potential.

Can you dramatically cut your company’s payroll costs without sacrificing jobs or employee satisfaction? You bet.

Bring payroll in-house while outsourcing your tax filing and compliance and watch your savings add up. Some of our clients save tens of thousands of dollars each year with this strategy and improve the accuracy of their payroll, too. Add a payroll card option to your direct deposit capabilities and you can save even more by eliminating paper paychecks.

Payroll processing expenses reduced by 70%

At Dresser & Associates, we implemented a hybrid payroll strategy for a Henley Enterprises, Inc., a 600-employee, multi-location client who wanted tight control over payroll information, but needed help with the complexities of tax filing and W-2 and 1099 printing. Henley Enterprises operates 65 auto care franchises on the east coast and had been spending in excess of $100,000 per year to outsource payroll processing. They were still doing 90% of the work and sometimes the payroll wasn’t even accurate – a real hassle for employees.

We implemented Sage Abra Payroll and reduced Henley Enterprises’ payroll processing costs to just $30,000 per year. It wasn’t long before our client had recovered the cost of the software and could enjoy more than $100,000 per year in savings , even after paying to maintain and support the Abra Payroll system.

In addition to the reduction in costs, Abra Payroll also provides Henley Enterprises with the flexibility to run unlimited trial payrolls, cut paychecks on demand, and process checks and direct deposits. By eliminating redundant, manual data entry, the payroll team saves one full day of labor each week. With complete control over sensitive employee data, they feel better able to produce a reliable payroll every time.

Tax compliance made easy

Next, we made sure that the accounting manager and HR manager at Henley Enterprises wouldn’t need to stress over complex payroll tax filings. To avoid potentially costly mistakes or penalties, we set up Henley Enterprises on Sage Compliance Services. This tax filing and payment service supports all filings, including federal, state, and local payroll taxes; SDI and SUI filing; and provides other services, such as W-2 and 1099 printing, and W-2 electronic filing. Best of all, our clients spend only about $1,000 per month on this service – compared to the $4,000 per week they used to pay for payroll outsourcing!

In total, Henley Enterprises estimates that it saves $15,000 every month with hybrid payroll. The staff there continues to be pleased with their decision to bring payroll in-house with Abra Payroll while outsourcing tax filing and payments with Sage Compliance Services.

Payroll cards save another $1-2 per employee, per pay period

When you move employees from paper paychecks to electronic payment, your company saves a lot. NACHA Electronic Payments Association estimates direct deposit electronic payment to cost approximately $.60 per transaction. Printing and distributing a paper paycheck can cost $1-2 per employee, per payroll, according to the American Payroll Association. Need to reissue a check that has been lost or stolen? That’s another $10-12.

You probably already utilize direct deposit to pay some, or even most, of your employees. But up to 25% of Americans don’t have a bank account and therefore cannot participate in direct deposit. To increase the number of employees on electronic payment, consider adding a payroll card, such as Sage Payroll PayCard.

Sage Payroll PayCard works just like a debit card and carries the Visa® brand, with funds protected by Visa’s Zero-Liability policy. Sage Payroll PayCard is a perfect way for employees without bank accounts to receive their pay automatically, without the hassle and expense of check cashing services. For many companies, paycards significantly lower payroll costs by further reducing or eliminating the need to print paper paychecks. You can calculate potential savings with our Sage Payroll PayCard Savings Calculator.

Free Hybrid Payroll Webinars

Find out how your company can realize big savings with in-house payroll and outsourced tax filling. Join Dresser & Associates for a FREE Webinar that demonstrates how bringing payroll in-house can cut costs and deliver total control over payroll to your organization. Click one of the dates below to register.

March 25, 2009 at 2:00 pm EDT
April 30, 2009 at 2:00 pm EDT

With the support and expertise of Dresser & Associates, Food Management Investors, Inc. (FMI) is proud to announce the success of their recently implemented HRMS system. FMI, which provides the back-office support for 28 restaurants across four states, experienced first hand why choosing the right HRMS system is just as important as choosing the right business partner. With more than 2,000 employees, FMI relied on spreadsheets and paper files to track the details of its employees’ job history, beneficiary, accrual, and benefit information and desperately demanded a full-service human resource management system and business partner that delivers of its promises.

FMI began the search two years ago, for an integrated HRMS, one that would incorporate payroll, human resources, and attendance tracking into a single solution. After looking at several systems, FMI ultimately decided on Sage Abra HRMS because of its easy functionality and ability to integrate with other systems. Now all FMI needed was a knowledgeable, experienced HRMS consultant to implement their new system.

After hiring a local consultant, and finding themselves unhappy with the results, FMI began the search for the right business partner to implement the system. Without having to search very hard, FMI encountered the recurring name of Dresser & Associates as the leading Sage Abra business partner and immediately contacted them. Becky Nelson, HR Supervisor for FMI recalls, “We contacted them and were immediately impressed with their knowledge of the software and of payroll and HR best practices. They had several suggestions of ways in which we could get more out of the payroll system. We hired them to complete the implementation.”

FMI has nothing but praise for the support team at Dresser & Associates. “We get a phone call every month from our consultant.” says Nelson, “They check in to see if we have questions or concerns about the software. It’s a nice touch.”

A truck heads down a road lined with ice-covered trees in North Berwick, Maine, on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008.

In case you didn’t see the amazing pictures or video on national news, New England suffered through a severe ice storm. Everything imaginable was covered with ice that caused trees to snap or sag to the ground, roads to freeze and major power outages for most of the state of Maine. This past week’s ice storm also created some problems for Dresser & Associates’ company headquarters in Scarborough, Maine.

After losing internet access for the duration of Friday, Dresser & Associates was forced to cancel 2 Year End Training sessions. The sessions, which are a how to guide for closing payroll for 2008  and how to prepare for 2009, using Abra Payroll, were canceled quickly after learning internet access would not be restored for the day. Because Dresser & Associates use Go To Meeting technology to teach each session, we had no other choice but to cancel and reschedule both sessions.

With the year end fast approaching, Dresser & Associates understands the need to provide adequate time to our clients to prepare and are more than apologetic to all who signed up. A new training schedule is as follows:

Everyone who signed up for the Abra year end training will receive a copy of each series as well as a step-by-step manual for references. Dresser & Associates will also be recording and posting session 3’s training class online at www.dresserassociates.com.

Sage Abra HRMS Version 8.4, and Sage Abra Suite Version 7.7 are scheduled for release this summer. Both include enhancements, primarily to the Payroll, HR, Attendance, Link, and Workforce Connections modules.

The release incorporates 47 specific enhancements. Check out some of the highlighted enhancements in
our most recent newsletter. Also, sign up for a webcast on the updated versions by visiting our Free Webcasts page.

Make sure and check out the newest addition to our website, the Knowledge Center! After months and months of hard work and collaboration with our web designers our newest resource section has gone live.

In the Knowledge Center you will find anything and everything having to do with HR, Payroll, Recruiting, Taxes, State and Federal information, reports, forms, calculators, performance management, and much more. We have created this site as a tool for our customers and all HR and Payroll professionals, to use as their one stop shop for information. Make sure you bookmark the spot as one of your favorites so you may always check back for needed information.

The site is designed for ease of use and so you can quickly find the information you are looking for. We will constantly be adding new information and resources to this site, and encourage you to provide us feedback and recommend any resources that we may have missed.

Keep an eye out for any articles, websites, or calculators that you would like to see added and if we add them we will reward you with a $5 gift card to Dunkin Donuts as a thanks.

Sage Software recently introduced Sage Payroll PayCards. What are PayCards, you ask? Well, I wasn’t all that familiar with them either, but after further exploration, its looking like they may be the wave of the future. PayCards can be beneficial to both the employer and employee.

Did you know that more than 25% of the U.S. working population does not own a bank account? This means that some employees have to actually pay money to have their checks cashed. Also, they have to make an extra trip to some cash checking place, where the lines are sure to be long and then they leave with their entire paycheck in cash. Only to have to return later to make a bill payment or buy a money order. This is a process that wastes both their time and their money.

With this service virtually all employees are eligible, and no credit check or bank relationship is necessary. PayCards can give employees convenient and immediate access to their pay, without the hassle and expense of cashing checks. Sage Payroll paycards can easily be paid on days off, and can be used to pay monthly or recurring bills, track expenses, view account balances and transactions online, and make online purchases.

Another interesting aspect to note is that it virtually turns the Employer’s payroll process into a paperless one, according to an article in the Boston Globe called “It’s all in the card. For some employees, paper is giving way to plastic on payday,” written by Diane Lewis. Diane also speaks of the money savings that this card can bring to employers who formerly had to cut checks for employees that didn’t have bank accounts stating that “Employers consider the cards a cost-cutting measure because they reduce expenses associated with processing, printing, and delivering paper checks — or replacing one when it is lost or stolen. It costs between $1 and $2 to process a single check and about $9 to replace it, according to the American Payroll Association. By contrast, a single electronic payment through a payroll card program or direct deposit costs 20 cents.”

For employees that do not have bank accounts this service could mean time savings, money savings and increased employee satisfaction. And, employers can also save time and money. Sounds like a win-win. In Sage’s press release they announced this new service and outlined its benefits and features. To learn more read their press release at
http://www.sagesoftware.com/newsroom/news/index.cfm/fuseaction/news.detail/id/949 Also you can visit Sage Online at www.sagesoftware.com.

In the coming weeks Dresser & Associates will sponsor a series of Sage Abra HRMS webinars spotlighting specific modules. Each webinar will be led by one of our senior consultants along with one of our very own Sage Abra customers. Several of our customers have agreed to take part in these sessions in order to give others a real look into how the system works for them and to share their experience within that particular module. Also, coinciding with these webinars I will be posting a series of blogs highlighting the modules as they go.

I highly recommend taking part in this series of webinars. Where else are you going to hear about the product straight from the horse’s mouth (pardon the expression)? If you are already an Sage Abra customer and you want to learn more about your product or how others are using it, if you are an Abra customer seeking other modules that may benefit you and your company or if you are not an Abra customer yet, but would like to gain some insight on the product and get some questions answered by Dresser and other users, these webinars are for you.

We will also have a webinar that will focus on Halogen’s Performance and Talent Management Software. This session will be taught by Jim Carty of Halogen Software and one of our joint customers, will be sharing his experiences within his use of both Abra and Halogen’s software together.

You can check out our website for more information on the webinars and to see a schedule of events. Register right away to reserve your spot!

The cost savings associated with HRMS can have an affect on many different areas of your business. Not only does an HRMS create savings of both time and money, but the savings can actually be defined and measured. Many users of HR Software are realizing a return on their investment, and quickly. Henley Enterprises, Inc. is just one customer that is singing praises about their dramatic savings with in-house HR and Payroll. After reading their customer success story that was released today, I would suggest anyone looking to purchase an HRMS read this story.

In The Bottom Line on HR Technology: Improving Results and Lowering Costs with a Human Resource Management System by Sage Software, a well-planned HRMS can drive costs out of your business by automating core HR, benefits, and payroll processes for increased efficiency and productivity. It can help contain and reduce the spiraling costs of employee benefits as well as increase retention by providing a high level of service to employees while controlling the costs.

A good HRMS can also help with decisions regarding your workforce and accurate, timely reporting and analysis. As well as reduce the cost of compliance and risks associated with increasingly complex and burdensome regulations. Improve processes for recruiting, developing, and retaining people with the required skills and aptitudes to meet current and future organizational needs. Reduce routine administration and paperwork, and enable you to focus more on workforce and business strategy.

Henley Enterprises decided to go with Sage Abra HRMS last January and they are already realizing big savings and added benefits. Read their customer success story as well as the Sage white paper to see how an HRMS could benefit your bottomline.

According to Bill Zint of Sage Software, author of the article, “Payroll Your Way: In-House Payroll with Outsource Tax Filing”, (May 2007 issue of APA’s Paytech), about half of all the small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) out there, outsource their payroll. Most of these companies outsource simply to avoid having to keep track of the ever-changing tax filing that is required. Growing trends are showing that companies are moving toward blending in-house products and outsourced services to create the best payroll solution.

“SMBs are finding it convenient to keep payroll in-house, but outsource their payroll tax compliance,” said Mark Dresser, President of Dresser & Associates. “They can offload some of the most difficult tasks associated with the payroll function, while keeping the maximum amount of control and flexibility associated with using in-house software.” This new trend of keeping payroll in-house and using an outsourced service to take care of tax compliance makes business more easily run and productive, and it saves money.

Henley Enterprises, Inc. is a prime example of how this growing trend can help SMBs. Henley is one of the nation’s largest providers of automotive and fluid maintenance services. They own 60 Valvoline Instant Oil Change franchises, and 5 Aamco Transmission franchises spanning New Hampshire to Florida. With 600 employees across 65 locations, the company requires a powerful and flexible payroll solution.

According to Bo Bowditch, Sage Abra HRMS and Dresser & Associates are driving efficiency higher and payroll costs lower for Henley Enterprises. In January of ‘07 Henley started talking with Dresser & Associates about buying an HRMS only. When their payroll service provider inadvertently postdated a batch of checks, preventing employees from cashing those checks on payday, they decided it was time to take control of their payroll. Even though Henley was bringing payroll in house, they were not ready to take on the burdensome task of tax compliance, especially as a company having employees in multiple states. That’s when Dresser & Associates introduced Henley to Sage Compliance Services. “Dresser & Associates showed us what we could save by bringing payroll in house-and that the savings could more than pay for the HR solution,” said Bo Bowditch HR manager at Henley. Read the full story

Sage Compliance Services is an outsourced tax reporting and filing service that completely automates complex and time consuming tasks. It also integrates seamlessly with their new Sage Abra Payroll system. Henley has said that the savings they have seen so far are significant. “We pay just $1,000 a month for Sage Compliance Services,” says Kathy Pittsley, accounting manager at Henley. “We were paying $4,000 per week for outsourced payroll.” Henley has estimated that bringing their payroll in house and outsourcing to tax services is saving them $15,000 each month.

Read Bill Zint’s Full article on the Dresser website or you can check it out in the May edition of Paytech, the official publication of The American Payroll Association.