When you’re starting a business, focus on what you do best. Unless you’re an accountant, that probably doesn’t include the tedious but vital chore of handling payroll. So let others do it.
Why? Because it saves money and time. Instead of improving their working lives and freeing up more time to bear down on building the business, too many startups spend countless hours inputting data, writing checks and reconciling accounts.
Most of Clive Clifford’s clients want to do payroll themselves because they think it saves money. But the Columbus, Ohio-based professional coach tells them to reconsider. “I ask them, ‘Is this something you are able to do quickly and easily?’ In most cases, the answer to that is ‘No,’” he says.
“A lot of small businesses try to do everything themselves instead of bringing in outside people and freeing their time to focus on their core business, what they know how to do and what they do best.”
Check ’em Out
Before jumping into the payroll service pool, get a few quotes. Compare apples with apples – know what functions each provider handles and what you need them to do. Go with the best deal – and re-evaluate often.
Every year, Jennifer Deuel asks the payroll service provider Paychex what it would charge to handle the chore for her company. Deuel and her brother run their family business, Cricket on the Hearth, a fireside products retailer in Rochester, N.Y.
Author: Lynne Meredith Schreiber
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