How to find the best global payroll providers for your business

Introduction

Outsourcing payroll is one of the top hiring trends for various reasons. 45% of small businesses outsource payroll functions. Payroll can be time-consuming, and you may make errors that can prove costly. If payroll management for a local workforce is that tricky, imagine what processing payroll for hundreds across the globe looks like.

That's where a global payroll provider comes in. They make sure your international staff receives their payments on time, help you comply with employment laws, and cover payroll costs.

Read further to learn what global payroll services are, how they can benefit you, and how to choose the best fit for your business.

What are global payroll services?

Global payroll is when a company manages the payroll functions of all its employees worldwide on one centralized system. A global payroll service helps a business manage payroll functions for its international team. They simplify payroll management so employers can easily pay employees, report payroll activities, and analyze payroll history for a global workforce on their dashboards.

Benefits of global payroll services

When you work with a global payroll service, you may enjoy these benefits:

Simplicity and speed

Paying employees from different countries is challenging. The various labor structures across regions mean you may process payroll separately from the minimum wage to international money transfer rates. Without a global payroll provider's intervention, this would be a long and tiring procedure.

These payroll experts make international payroll simple. You can access every employee's payroll history with a centralized payroll dashboard. When you finish processing payroll, you can send payments at once to all international workers.

Outside-in perspective

Sometimes, you need an outsider to review your work to find loopholes. A global payroll provider can help you find loopholes. They bring their experience and vast skills into the mix with your HR team. They can help you detect loopholes in how you operate and develop solutions.

Reduced pressure on internal HR staff

Managing a team of individuals from various backgrounds can take time and effort. When processing payroll, your in-house team's stress levels increase as you hire more employees abroad.

According to a survey, nearly 50% of employees in the United States state that a large workload causes the most work-related stress. By outsourcing your payroll duties to a global payroll platform, you reduce the pressure and workload on your HR staff.

Learning opportunity for in-house staff

While you enjoy reduced operating costs and global payroll compliance, your HR team also benefits from working with a team of international payroll experts. Sometimes, the in-house team would collaborate with the outsourcing payroll experts.

During this collaboration, they communicate, and the payroll experts share their vast knowledge with your internal team. This knowledge exchange improves their skills and makes them better equipped to manage more complex payroll responsibilities in the future.

Simplified payroll reporting

At the end of each payroll cycle, you remit taxes and other mandatory deductions to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or its variant in other countries. Besides the tax remittance, you must also report payroll activities to the IRS. Payroll reporting for a global workforce would be in utter chaos without automated payroll systems from a payroll partner.

With a global payroll partner by your side, you can collect payroll reports and analytics on a centralized system. They can also help you transcribe these data sets to the language you understand. Simplifying payroll reporting makes it easier to analyze payroll and develop business plans.

Checklist for choosing a global payroll provider

There's a growing list of payroll providers you can work with. While working with a great payroll provider is blissful, partnering with the wrong one can be a disaster. Understandably, making such an important decision can be tricky, which is why you should examine this checklist:

How they can meet your payroll needs

Before looking outside for solutions, look inward to know where you have problems. Determine what areas you need to improve and discuss them with your prospective payroll partner.

What are your biggest concerns: compliance, covering costs, or reducing risks? What heights do you want your business to reach soon? Ask the payroll partner how they would attempt to solve these problems.

Experience working in your industry

There are certain variations in labor codes. Some governments mandate minimum wage for civil servants while private companies decide what to pay staff. The wage structure is different across disciplines. Any payroll partner willing to work with you must consider these factors.

It would be best if you had experienced partners to work with you. A partner with experience working with similar companies in your industry is in a better position to help your business. Although some greenhorns may have adequate skills, you want your business to be something other than anyone's test subject.

A global payroll specialist

Some payroll providers don't specialize in international payroll processing, so they outsource your payroll duties. This exposes your company data to more outsiders than necessary.

Due to their lack of skill in payroll, they may need help to provide you with quick solutions or answers to urgent queries. It makes them unreliable and leaves you more open to intellectual property theft.

In-depth knowledge of your hiring location

Besides being a global payroll guru, you want a team with adequate knowledge of your hiring location. It's essential to know the labor laws of each country before setting up there. However, a global payroll company can ensure you don't go through the stress of cramming multiple pages of labor codes.

Besides understanding the employment laws, you also need to know each country's global payroll's best practices. The official languages are also crucial as employees conduct business and communicate. These are reasons why your ideal global payroll provider must be knowledgeable in the affairs of these countries.

Choose global PEO providers with a legal entity in every region, like Skuad. We operate in more than 160 countries, from Africa to Europe, providing world-class payroll solutions to small and medium-scale businesses.  

Unlimited support

Managing payroll for an international team can be challenging and risky. Since employers have variations in legal requirements worldwide, you may need to learn how to navigate labor laws overseas. Your ignorance may cause you to violate tax or employment laws, which could land you in serious trouble.

While you embark on this journey, you want a partner who will always have your back. A global payroll provider that can guide you to ensure compliance, provide you with up-to-date information, and troubleshoot payment issues is what you need. Ensure that the global payroll partner you choose has a track record of providing unlimited support to their clients.

Transparency

Managing payroll for foreign employees is tricky, especially when you need help understanding their labor laws or languages. Thus, you would rely on the information your payroll partner provides. That's why you need them to be as transparent as possible.

While you still discuss terms, ask your potential payroll partner how they work with clients. Work out the frequency and channels of open communication between you two. Make sure their platform allows you to monitor payroll activities so that nothing gets past you.

Compliance priority

You would enjoy a partnership with a payroll service that shares a similar vision and priorities with you. Try to decipher the payroll service's priorities. Ensure that compliance ranks high on their priority list. Complying with labor and tax laws can save you a lot of trouble. They should know all about the country's changes or amendments to taxes and payroll protocols.

Reputation

The public, competitors, and stakeholders may judge you based on your partnerships. About 92% of customers would avoid a business with negative reviews. Thus, do your homework before choosing a payroll partner by checking online reviews.

While some reviews are from actual clients, some companies pay random people to give positive reviews. In addition to surfing the net, you should ask contemporaries who may have worked with them for objective assessments.

Skuad offers you global payroll solutions with full compliance

While some payroll providers only offer global payroll solutions, the best employer of record provides various services. Although your primary aim is to get expert remote payroll services, there's no harm in wanting more. Although rare, there's cause to factor in the dangers of working with a one-dimensional partner.

If their only area of specialization becomes outdated, it affects their ability to provide quality services. It may eventually render them useless and unfit to help you reach your organizational goals.

Thus, if you are looking for the best global PEO to partner with, choose Skuad. Not only can Skuad help you cover hiring costs, but you also enjoy first-class payroll solutions for your international workforce. Contact Skuad to learn how to use our superior global payroll services.