GLOBAL PAYROLL MAGAZINE
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changes to model outcomes). There’s also the massive benefit of ‘rolling data,’ that is, staff input information into the payroll system as and when it’s available and see the effects the entry has in real-time. Here, levels of automation – also defined in software – can respond according to preset rules. “It’s always calculating,” Judy said. “In traditional, legacy payroll products, you put all your entries in and then you run the batch and that’s your payroll process for the month. Our software is always calculating. So, the moment you put information in, the Payroll’s calculated, so anyone can see it. If you put your Annual Leaves in […] it’s recalculated. You’re not waiting for the end of a pay period for the calculation to be done.” Seeing is believing In most modern software used in data- intensive applications, the concept of a dashboard is nothing new. In the context of Payroll, however, data can be surfaced in many ways – the ADP solution comes with many dozens of pre-built, commonly useful templates built-in, and the ability for an individual “Automation can be as proactive as required too, merely flagging possible anomalies, or correcting them without supervision.”
Digitization and automation in Payroll are about what Payroll practitioners should and could be doing in an organization rather than worrying about data entry, manual calculation and processing, and file and report creation. Plus, of course, the wider Finance function and the rest of the business must be aware of the impact digitization will have. “Payroll practitioners own this process, so while we’re talking about technology here, our technology is wrapped in a service. We deliver the ability to run your payrolls for you at whatever level you, but [we’re here] to bring that conversation about your business and make sure you’re staying current and compliant.” Policies rule To understand Payroll, you must understand the rules and create formulas to do necessary calculations. “The ADP platform is based on policies. You don’t have to name those things. You can say, I need a Leave policy, a Deductions policy, an Allowances policy, and [the software] helps you think about it in language that humans use, rather than in terms of programming. The ability to change and articulate what is needed gets a lot simpler, but it also means [staff] will be able to talk to the rest of the business about how things work. It elevates their capability to do that at the same time.” Having policies defined in software means that companies can adapt the rules over time, according to need (and perhaps even experiment with
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