Being a startup owner is an exciting and tiring time as you work to build your company. While there are obviously many areas to look into, managing and planning for a payroll system is one of the most important aspects of running a business successfully. If you have a very small number of employees, even a basic payroll system will be essential. Setting up a payroll will help you save money and build capital for your business and give you a clear system to pay your employees and ensure they are paid on time. To get started, here are 10 things you should consider.

• In house or outsource

You need to decide on the best option for your startup. Do you go with hiring payroll service providers, or do you sort it out inhouse using the required software?

• Employee information

Gathering the necessary employee information accurately is imperative to starting a payroll.

• Payroll schedule

Creating a payroll schedule is important as this is where you decide on how you will pay your employees, weekly, bi-weekly, a schedule that can vary according to employee eligibility, such as independent contractors.

• Payroll software

Payroll software can be used to manage, organize and automate the payment process, the cost of which varies but can be used by startups, small businesses and large corporations.

• Payroll legislation

Find out your responsibilities as an employer and the laws surrounding paying employees 

• Calculate deductions

Another important aspect of payroll is to determine your deductions in the form of mandatory taxes 

• Payroll run

Once you have the above in order, run your payroll. It is essential to ensue that all necessary tax payments and documentation are in order.

• Active records

It is imperative that all your records are kept up to date and in order, including the records of any employees no longer with the company.

• Bring payroll together

Even as a startup it is important to have all the information on a single platform which helps with automation. Further, the payroll data helps you plan for the future.

• Bottom line

Even if the payroll setting up process seems daunting it helps keep everything in order and help with future expansions. Either enlisting professional help or purchasing a payroll software will make the process smoother and provide long term benefits.