Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Is Affecting Small Businesses

One of several greatest tests in history for populations and economies has been the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected the entire globe. Severely hindered by the negative impacts of the pandemic, the new way of supply and demand would contribute to radical shifts in the business practice for thousands of businesses worldwide.

The data shown by the International Trade Centre's 2020 SME Competitiveness Outlook points us how SMEs are affected by these events tremendously. According to the research, two-thirds of small and medium companies stated that their economic activities had been significantly influenced by the situation 40% higher than the larger companies. Businesses in the service industry, particularly the ones supplying food and accommodation are the firms most affected by COVID-19. The future of 48% of American individuals working in smaller companies is tightly linked to the resistance of the small-scale business economy to the pandemic's big financial damage.

To adapt to this environment, certain changes and transformations became a necessity. For example, brick-and-mortar businesses had to adjust their selling strategy to employ digital means. Or, if a company has an office that costs you a high amount of expense with rent, bills, etc., shifting to a virtual office or coworking space renting may seem more feasible.

Besides these solid infrastructure changes, more cost relies on employee expenses, the system, and the operation. While many companies had to choose the path of cutting employee numbers and trying to find alternative worker-employer relationships, such as outsourcing, hiring freelancers or agencies, permanent staffing raises several questions. Hence, the payroll management process turns into a burden on employers rather than a responsibility. That is way especially small and medium businesses should look into payroll services in the market with the features that can best serve them to cut their budget but as well as not compromising the legal framework of paying employees.

Re-imagining the workforce management

Examine alternative interim staff reduction strategies (for example, by implementing unpaid vacations). This situation will end, but unethical actions or conduct of corporate executives would have a negative long-term effect on the business.

Staff reduction in administrative roles and HR which are not core business units and do not directly affect the sales volume can be a common thought. Many small businesses consider routing to a complete digitalization of HR solutions and payroll management. By choosing the best payroll service for your needs, you can cut off the budget for administrative affairs, payroll company fees, or freelance accountant payments by launching an efficient payroll software that includes built-in HR services.

Consideration for Payroll Management

Cutting spending is not only about cutting staff. Pandemic payroll management might just have reinforced concerns that the cost of the payroll system is too heavy, or that there are too many vulnerabilities in your existing system of the payroll team. A rapid change to a fast and easy-to-use payroll software among the best payroll services provided by tech-companies in this field can solve your problems.

The benefits of using payroll software are not just about calculating paychecks. A cloud-based payroll program is a smart system that can be used as easily as possible to control employees, manage them, measure salaries and benefits, and make more efficient shift plans.

The best payroll services in this ever-growing digital transformation era are the ones that can provide payroll and HR management platforms customized according to your needs.

If a company has irregular workers such as consultants, freelancers, temps to be included in the payroll list, then the best payroll service should include flexible payroll limits.

If a company operates on tight schedules and shifts and this planning creates a hassle for HR personnel, then, the best payroll service will be the one incorporating the shift plans and self-service schedule planning options for employees and admins. In this way, real-time payroll calculation becomes possible with one click.

The criteria can be a lengthy list. Whether the payroll software is compatible with your existing accounting software, will it directly pay to your employees' bank account or will it automatically update the labor law and government tax updates to the system?

Cashless payment is becoming prevalent

While consumers are preferring no-touch payment methods due to the risk of contamination, the same goes for the companies. So that, dedicated personnel running around to collect invoices, pay slips and checks is not just old-school but also too risky to have.

Therefore, before going to easy and not that smart route of cutting employees, focus on what you can do to minimize your costs within your operations.