In the US, payroll is a pretty straightforward process – paying employees accurately, withholding the right amount of taxes, benefits, and social security each month – the process is the same regardless of what state each employee lives in. When it comes to paying international employees, payroll teams encounter complexities that not only vary by country but can put the organization at risk for compliance penalties. How can your team take the complexity out of the global payroll process?
Managing Different Systems and Providers in Each Country
One of the biggest challenges with global payroll is managing local vendors in each country. Whether it’s an accounting firm or a local payroll company, each one uses different systems and processes to manage payroll in each country. Using manual processes like spreadsheets or email to manage data, lack of aggregated reporting, and compliance issues often arise from not having real-time access to your payroll costs across countries and currencies. As companies expand into new countries, the complexity grows.
In-Country Payroll Requirements
Every country in the world has unique payroll and tax requirements. Ensuring compliance with local payroll, tax and statutory benefits can be difficult without an aggregated global payroll system that provides automatic updates for each country. Having direct access to in-country experts can help guide your organization as regulations change. Maintaining compliance with in-country requirements mitigates risk for the organization and helps avoid costly penalties. If you are using different processes in each country, it can be difficult to track when changes are taking place and if your organization is adhering to new guidelines.
Reporting and Data Security
Lack of reporting and data security is a huge challenge for companies with operations across multiple countries. If you’re using manual processes or can’t view payroll reports each month for each country, there is no way to track costs, identify errors, or fix mistakes. It can take months to figure out there is a problem, and any delay can lead to compliance concerns. Aggregated payroll reporting across countries and currencies is a game-changer.
With so many moving parts, changing your payroll process across multiple countries can seem daunting. How do you begin to unravel all the processes and systems needed to pay global employees? Start with an audit of your current operations – what is working, what is broken, and what is lacking – that will give your team a road map to begin improving your process. Using one system for global payroll will reduce manual processes, ensure compliance, and provide your team with aggregated data and reporting.
Blue Marble has changed the way companies manage global operations with one platform to manage payroll in real-time, customized reporting across 100+ countries and currencies, and a unique hybrid service model with a dedicated US-based service team and direct access to in-country experts. We take the complications out of global payroll so you can focus on expanding your business. Click here to learn more about global payroll