<span style="font-weight: 400;">So, it’s time to think about your payroll teams and processes. Specifically, your business needs a solid structure and strategy. Good structures address and prevent problems, whether your company faces </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">payroll issues for multi-state employers</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> or outdated systems. But when it’s time to sit down and map out a strategic foundation, it gets a bit tricky.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">That’s because there’s no surefire way to structure payroll teams and processes. Every business is different, and HR leaders must consider current and future needs. For example, your company may employ workers in one state or country today. But you know you’re planning on expanding into neighboring states or nations soon. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Consequently, you want to know how to put payroll methods and teams in place that can scale with your future operations. Fortunately, there are some tried-and-true ways to think about the payroll process and team structures. Let’s explore them below.</span>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Decide Whether To Handle Payroll Internally</span></h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">The more your <a href="https://www.inbusinessworld.com/effective-digital-marketing-services-for-your-business/">business</a> expands, the more complex your payroll gets. Say you hire employees and operate facilities in several states. Of all the payroll issues for multi-state employers, deducting the correct amount of taxes is the most complicated. That’s because it’s not as cut and dried as you might think.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">For example, you might have a group of employees work in one state and another group that works in a different state. However, not all of the staff members in these groups live in the same state as they work. Depending on state agreements and regulations, payroll deductions for taxes may not look the same for these employees.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Some businesses have enough expertise and HR staff to handle these complexities. Others don’t. The ones with the proper skill sets and staffing levels may prefer to perform payroll in-house. Companies that don’t will probably prefer to outsource payroll processes and functions. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">A critical part of your structure is determining whether to handle all payroll functions internally. This will also dictate how many employees you need on your payroll teams and where they’ll work. Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily have to outsource everything or maintain all processes in-house. You might find a mixed approach works best for your needs. </span>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Think About Centralization vs. Decentralization</span></h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">This is about whether you want to have your payroll teams work from the same location or separate areas. A centralized group may work from a corporate office or headquarters. In contrast, decentralized teams might work from satellite locations or facilities separated by state lines.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">You can structure in-house and outsourced teams either way. For example, a company may operate on a 100% remote work business model. The business may hire a remote payroll team that’s also decentralized. The remote business model drives the decentralization, whether the group consists of direct employees or a vendor’s team. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Your company will want to consider centralization and decentralization in terms of scopes and locations. It will depend on how complicated your operations are today and might be in the future. You might want to structure your payroll teams according to location or business function. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Another way to structure payroll teams is by contractors versus direct employees. You might break this down further if you hire temporary or seasonal staff. Here’s an example of a possible structure.</span>
<ul>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">One dedicated group for freelancers.</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">One payroll team for full-time and part-time permanent staff.</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">One payroll team for seasonal employees.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Of course, you can scale this structure as the number of freelance teams, permanent staff, and seasonal employees increase.</span>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Think Through Payroll Processes</span></h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">In terms of payroll processes, there are a lot of things to think about. </span>
<ul>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Timelines and schedules.</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Budgets for expenses, including software and staff.</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Employee classification laws.</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Onboarding procedures and documents.</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Data verifications and audits.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">This list is not exhaustive, but it does reinforce the need to map out various processes and strategies. For instance, paying employees each week can be convenient for them. However, it requires more work for you and your staff.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">However, this payroll schedule may be best for staff who work on commission. It can work as long as your company has the resources to automate the schedule and process. But you will want to ensure backend commission processes and formulas are accurate.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Another critical process is onboarding. When new hires or freelancers join the team, how will the company collect mandatory documents? Many payroll systems let you accomplish this electronically, making onboarding faster and more convenient. Believe it or not, though, some businesses still use manual onboarding processes.</span>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Create Redundancy</span></h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">In the United States, right-to-work and employment-at-will laws mean staff can leave with or without notice. While these laws also work in reverse, employees who quit without notice can leave employers hanging. This scenario means your payroll teams and departments may have to scramble or take over unfamiliar job functions.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">You can avoid these scenarios by creating redundancy in your payroll team structures. Cross-training employees and having built-in backups ensures payroll will still efficiently run if someone quits. Or, if a critical team member calls in sick or is out for a personal emergency, another employee can step in. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Businesses can create payroll team redundancy using various approaches and <a href="https://www.inbusinessworld.com/tips-on-adapting-marketing-strategies-to-deal-with-the-new-normal/">strategies</a>. The following are some examples.</span>
<ul>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Internal mentoring programs</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vendors that are on standby or retainer</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Promotion track or cross-training programs</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Document and standardize procedures</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Implement a backup system</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">You can also put several of these examples into place. For instance, you might implement a backup system and hire a vendor that handles minor functions and is also on retainer.</span>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Final Thoughts</span></h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Structuring payroll teams and processes can bring things like payroll issues for multi-state employers to light. However, this is a good example of why companies should formalize payroll staff responsibilities and methods. Like with any other core business function, you can’t expect employees to wing it and succeed.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">But you do need to think about how your structures will align with your business operations and requirements. Costs and internal resources will be critical factors. Yet, so will need for redundancy.  </span>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></h2>