Managing people is one of the biggest challenges small businesses face. The complexity of payroll obligations makes this even more difficult. In fact, last year we surveyed small businesses across Australia and found that 37% were worried about accidentally paying their employees incorrectly.
To ease the burden on employers, we have introduced an online workforce solution: Planday. It’s part of our suite of employee management tools in Australia that help employers and employees connect in real time.
Not sure if Planday is right for you or your clients? Here are four ways to help make employee management easier.
1. Simplify time tracking, scheduling, and communications
For those who use spreadsheets and manual lists, Planday makes the process completely digital, moving all time tracking, recording and communications to the cloud. A staff scheduling tool helps employers simplify complex processes related to time tracking and changes.
There is also an app for employees to enter availability, submit time and leave requests, view rosters and change shifts. It also keeps employees updated and engaged with in-app notifications, news and an engagement widget.
2. Integrate with Xero Payroll
Planday itself is a great tool for small businesses. But when combined with accounting and payroll software, it becomes a powerful solution. Planday integrates with Xero Payroll and provides a real-time snapshot of most labor costs against key operational metrics such as revenue.
If you’re an advisor supporting your clients’ payroll, having all your timesheets in one place means less time searching for timesheets, while giving you a data trail to support your compliance needs.
3. Navigate to the Australian Modern Awards
Navigation over 100 Contemporary awards Australia has an overwhelming number of small business owners and their advisors. Awards reflect minimum pay and conditions that vary by industry and occupation. For small business owners, it’s important that employees get paid correctly, or they could be fined.
Emma Stewart from Cultor said: “The Xero Payroll + Planday integration has simplified our payroll processes. We are confident that our employees are paid fairly and uphold the Retailer General Award.”
At this time, Planday’s award interpretation feature is available to businesses using Retail and Clerks Awards. Planday will continue to issue more awards in the future, such as hospitality and healthcare, to help you pay staff in line with Australia’s modern awards rules.
If your reward is not yet available, depending on your needs, you can still use Planday as a tool for scheduling, time tracking, and employee communication. Set reimbursement rates manually in Planday And when you connect to Xero Payroll, they automatically sync when processing payment runs.
4. Forecast with advanced analytics
You’ll also have access to advanced analytics that provide daily revenue forecasts against most labor costs. For advisors with admin access, these analytics can help guide clients on adjusting staffing levels and managing operations.
Planday will continue to expand its operations in Australia. The Planday Plus package, which allows you to connect to Xero Payroll, is AU$7.25 (ex-GST) per user, per month (minimum of five users). Planday currently reports separately to Xero Payroll.
If you are interested in using Planday for your small business or practice clients, Sign in to Xero to sign up And start using it today.
