International payroll reporting is a big deal. You’re spinning all the plates, in different cultures and countries, each with different rules and regulations. Keeping on top of it all, let alone doing it well, is a huge task in and of itself. But what if you made a few tweaks here and there and turned your payroll into a slick, optimised reporting machine?
This is our practical how-to guide to get you optimising your global payroll reporting. We’ll help you get the best from your payroll and stay compliant while you’re at it!
Ways to optimise your global payroll reporting
1. Carry out a payroll compliance audit
First things first, you’re going to want to carry out a full payroll compliance audit across all your international locations. If that gives you the jitters, it’s OK! Help is at hand. It’s really important to regularly audit to a) see where you’re at, b) make sure you’re 100% compliant and c) see where you can improve.
When conducting your audit, you’ll want to make sure your systems are solid and you’re complying with every last requirement. Here are a few points to give you an idea of what you should be focusing on:
Labour laws
Each country and jurisdiction has its own set of labour laws. Quite often, they’re subject to change. Are you hitting the mark when it comes to employment contracts, working hours, working conditions, etc? These are just some examples and obviously it’ll differ for where you operate.
Tax regulations
You’ll want to make sure you’re complying with the tax regulations where you operate. Each place will have its own tax code and reporting deadlines (some have several throughout the year) for when you should report by.
Reporting requirements
The variety of reporting requirements is seemingly infinite! Again, each country and jurisdiction will have their own rules around what needs reporting and when. For example, in Spain, workers’ hours have to be reported daily(!). And in France, you have to file at least seven reports with the authorities annually.
2. Streamline your payroll processes
Making your processes slick will quickly pay off for your payroll department. Reducing the complexity and clunkiness of your systems will save you precious time and money. Streamlined processes also equal better efficiency and accuracy. So you’ll reduce the likelihood of errors and simplify your compliance process.
Other benefits include:
- Making sure you comply, no matter where you operate
- Getting a global view of your payroll data with consolidated data
- Freeing up your time and people so they can get to work on other tasks
- Improving employee experience – with all that extra time your team will be able to redirect their focus on making your organisation a wonderful place to work.
3. Payroll software and automation
One of the hands-down, best ways to quickly streamline your payroll is to automate certain processes. For example, automating timekeeping and attendance tracking removes the need for manual methods and slashes the likelihood of errors, as well as saving time!
Another way to streamline is to use payroll software. There are bounteous benefits to payroll software, like having all your records in one place, full compliance in every area, increased efficiency, accuracy, compliance and control.
4. Stay updated on local regulations
It’s incredibly important to stay ahead of the game when it comes to changes in payroll-related regulations and laws in each country you do business in. To not do so means you’ll face the consequences of legal action or huge fines and penalties (that’s not to mention the reputational damage, too).
How to navigate these kind of compliance challenges? You could always create a handy system in your payroll department which monitors legislative changes so you can make sure you’re keeping compliant. Other ways to keep up to date with changes include attending industry events, like conferences or online events like webinars.
5. Use currency management strategies
It can be a little bit frustrating having to deal with multiple currencies. Exchange rates will inevitably affect you as a global player. Rates rising and falling between currencies can wreak havoc on the value of your teams’ salaries and benefits (along with any other expenses). Don’t fret just yet though…
There are currency management tools available to you and using hedging techniques can help here too. Hedging is basically following a strategy to help you avoid the risk of exchange rate fluctuations when doing business in foreign countries.
6. Cultivate cross-border communication and collaboration
It’s hugely important for your global payroll teams and departments to actually talk to each other! Effective communication between your people all over the world fosters a culture of collaboration and knowledge-sharing. It’s your teams helping each other out, building bridges and making business better overall.
7. Monitor and evaluate performance
Let us do the hard yards for you…
The payoff for optimising your global payroll reporting is huge. The big one here is compliance of course, but you’ll also save time, money and be able to put your energies into other areas of HR, like making your team absolutely love working for you.
However, if you don’t fancy taking all that good stuff on (we don’t blame you!), Cintra Global offers a fully-managed international payroll service. We’ll do the hard yards, like taking full care of all reporting requirements. We’ll keep you compliant in every location and region, so you’ll never have to worry about keeping up with the constantly-changing landscape.
Get in touch with us today to see how we can make payroll effortless for your organisation.
