Choosing the best fit for your clients can be both overwhelming and time consuming.

As your clients’ trusted advisor, they may ask you for assistance when they are looking for an app add-on. The reason for requiring an add-on may vary It could be that the feature your client requires it is not available in Xero e.g. they may require a CRM system or a niche application like property management software.  It could be as a comparison for a particular functionality.

CloudPayroll and iPayroll are listed apps that can be part your ‘ecosystem’ to assist your clients with all their individual needs and requirements.

We all want to assist businesses grow and succeed, especially in the very challenging times that we are experiencing in 2020.  As businesses grow, generally so do the number of employees. This adds increased demand to the payroll requirements and processes of a business.

Payroll is an important part of running any business. In some cases, the business workforce can be the largest cost for the business, so it is imperative when implementing the business’ payroll, including the software chosen, to get it right.

The following criteria should be considered when choosing any add-on app:

1. Is the application a well-established product?
   How long has the software application been providing the service and when did they integrate with Xero?
2. Client testimonials and ratings in the App Marketplace
   Testimonials and ratings from users about the add-ons allow prospective customers to learn firsthand about the user experience of the app. You can gain invaluable knowledge of the app and find out what is working well for their existing users e.g. customer service or whether it is fit for purpose and size.
3. Migrating from existing system
   What is involved in migrating to the new app? Does the add-on offer personal assistance with implementation, which may be preferred by some clients, or is it self-driven via online help articles and webinars?
4. Is the app scalable to meet the clients’ future business needs?
   Add-ons need to easily adapt to your clients’ business changes to allow for growth or reduction over a period. For example, the business may have seasonal employees or may have to reduce employees over current unprecedented times. Consideration should be given to how the app charges as the business scales. As an example, are there levels at which the cost to the business will increase?
5. Customer service
   Consider what level of support is offered. For example, is support offered via email, phone or both. Is there a fee charged for ongoing support and when are the support team available? What happens if you need urgent help outside of work hours?

iPayroll and CloudPayroll offer a premier standalone payroll solution. Their easy-to-use and feature-rich payroll solution has been developed to future-proof your clients’ payroll process. The following list of features includes those that should be considered essential when choosing a payroll solution:

• BackPay Calculator – when pay rates need to be back dated, this calculation can be very time consuming.  With CloudPayroll’s BackPay calculator you add the ‘from’ and ‘to’ dates, what the new pay rate and old pay rate is, and CloudPayroll will calculate the backpay.
• HR document management – record keeping is extremely important. Our secure and convenient system allows businesses to upload, store and access documents at any time. For example, letters of employment, industry certification(s), training records, personal information etc for each employee can be loaded, allowing for easy accessibility.
• Custom HR reports - to assist tracking of probation expiry, driver’s licence expiry, next of kin etc.
• Splitting wages costs – can manage complex wages with multiple cost centres and has the ability to split superannuation against each the of cost centres. Tracking codes reported directly to Xero, so no manual calculations are required.
  

iPayroll was the first payroll add-on at Xero’s inception and the partnership has grown stronger over the years.