17 Mar Free Payroll Software
Free is one of those funny words. They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch, and yet people offer them all the time. “Come out for a free lunch and learn about…” is a popular way of getting people gathered in a place to peddle a product. However, as my pessimistic friend would point out, not only does it cost resources to get to the lunch location, but you also have to spend time as well, listening about this ‘amazing new products’. That is why, even though the food itself costs nothing, the lunch has other costs that many would dismiss. So that $5 soup and sandwich given at no charge actually cost you $2.00 in fuel, and roughly $24.00 for a couple hours of your time.
The Cost of a Free Paycheque
So when you’re looking for free payroll software, it’s important to understand what free actually means. As definite as the word ‘Free’ may seem, it’s actually quite subjective. As an employee, one could consider that their paycheques are created for free. In actuality, it can cost quite a bit to prepare that little piece of paper. When you consider a typical payroll prepare, there are dollars and cents from many sources going into that paycheque. There are utility charges for electricity for the lights to see and computer to run the payroll software, charges for the internet, rent for the space it’s being written in, ink to print or write the cheque, the paper for the pay slip, cost of the blank cheques from the bank, and even the coffee in the cup of the person doing the payroll are all going into the cost of that pay cheque, and we haven’t even talked about the biggest cost yet.
How much is your free time worth?
In the song, “Tonight, Tonight,” by the Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan wrote, “Time is never time at all.” If you’re a business owner, you can relate to that sentiment, and yet have you ever stopped to consider what your time is worth? Let’s take a typical small business owner for example, and let’s give them a raise to just above minimum wage. At $12.00 an hour, how long does it take to keep one employee scheduled for work, calculate overtime, statutory holiday pay, vacation pay, and payroll deductions? Plus factor in the time it takes to write the cheque, pay the payroll deductions, issue a T4 at year end and an ROE if they leave? With all that considered, you’re probably clocking in at about an hour and a half, or $18.00 (plus all the cents mentioned for utilities in the previous paragraph).
So is Free Payroll Software Really Free?
Another saying is, “You get what you pay for,” and free is the lowest possible price. So what are you getting for free? Outsourced software laden with advertising and pop-ups? Only the most basic payroll calculations? That means that you still have to do the legwork on the calculations, and in exchange for a more modern looking pay slip, the cost of time and resources will still work out to about the same cost. Same utilities, same time wasted and same coffee getting drunk while figuring out all those calculations.
Low Cost Payroll is really the Best Free Payroll Software
How does that make sense? With Payroll Connected, payroll for an employee can be started and finished in a few minutes. There’s no need for payroll calculations, vacation pay tracking, payroll deduction figuring, or even pay cheque writing, and most importantly no headaches. By the time the payroll’s done, it’ll cost $0.30 for your time, $0.03 cents for utilities, and $0.0003 for that sip of coffee to get started (not counting the second sip when you’re done). At just $15.00 per payroll up to 5 employees, this low cost payroll software actually costs over $3.00 less that the free payroll software.
This isn’t just about payroll software, is it?
Low Cost Payroll Software is cheaper than Free Payroll Software? Believe it. Consider this: If a contractor bought shovels instead of an excavator because the shovels were cheaper, they’d go broke paying for the extra employees to use them. Business is about working smarter. Always evaluate the tools currently being used against the tools available and when considering costs, always consider the most expensive cost, being the cost of time. Your time especially, because you are worth more than $12.00 an hour. Figure out how much time it takes using the tools you have, and balance that against the time that can be saved, because that is a business’s greatest cost. By evaluating and getting the right tools, you might even have just enough time to afford something free. Try Payroll Connected free for 30 days and see the different that not-free can make.