Sage 300 ERP: Automating Payroll Processes for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses

Enterprise Resource Planning solutions like Sage 300 ERP (formerly known as Accpac) are touted for their prowess in serving as the accounting backbone and connecting end-to-end business processes. We’re quick to talk about production improvements in the case of manufacturers, inventory logistics for large-scale distributors, and sales automation through Customer Relationship Management (CRM) modules, but we often overlook an ERP’s ability to handle one of the standard components of every business: payroll.

Dilbert_Payroll

Payroll and other human resources related accounting are a key part of any growing business. Sage 300 ERP’s Payroll module has been around for years, and when talking about it with my colleague Bill Der, an industry veteran in all matters related to Sage 300 ERP and Sage 100 ERP, he had an interesting anecdote to offer. As the story goes, the payroll module for Sage 300 ERP was so good that it became the standard payroll module for Sage’s Human Resources Management Solution (Sage HRMS) and the basis for payroll modules used in other ERP solutions.

For those that aren’t familiar with how a Payroll module in an ERP solution works, it’s works something like this: let’s say you have many employees, and you pay them accordingly. The payroll module of Sage 300 ERP will perform all the income-based calculations, such as income tax, CPP, EI, taxable benefits, and any other that may apply.

A paycheck is then cut for your employee, or directly deposited into the employee’s bank account. Whatever the case, once that is done, the payroll module creates a general entry for the transaction and posts it to the general ledger, while all the appropriate calculations related to taxes, benefits, deductions and so on are adjusted as well. The result is a fully automated payroll process where users only have to input basic amounts and the system does the rest.

An ERP with a Comprehensive Payroll Solution

Payroll can become a burden for small and medium sized businesses. Many companies will either do it manually or outsource it as a service, accruing additional costs. When done manually, basic payroll functions like calculations of hours worked, deductions, benefits, vacation, and so on can pile up and leave a lot of room for errors when there isn’t a working system in place. Regardless of how it is done, payroll must be processed accurately and on time, while keeping compliant with government regulations.

An ERP solutions like Sage 300 ERP delivers an efficient and cost-effective payroll processing system for small and mid sized businesses. The payroll module for Sage 300 delivers functionality that allows employees to easily manage accounting requirements and process paychecks & direct deposits on time. It also accommodates different pay frequencies, employees that work in multiple provinces around Canada during the same pay period, and other factors like expense reimbursements

Sage 300 ERP Payroll also delivers auto-populated payroll tax forms making it easier when tax season comes around, both for your business and your employees. Compliance with local and national regulation is an important step for any business that is growing. Sage 300 ERP delivers protection by ensuring that the business’ payroll processes are in accordance to the local tax laws.

What Sage 300 ERP Payroll will do for your business?
  • Automate the payroll process
    • Including calculations of hours worked, deductions, benefits, and vacation according to government calculations. It also includes expense reimbursements, accruals, and advancements, while accommodating overtime payment, electronic fund transfers and direct deposit capabilities.
  • Seamless connectivity to accounting system
    • Including automated entries into Sage 300’s flexible general ledger, posting expenses and liabilities to cost centers, keeping account of wages accrued in independent projects, track time cards, and keeping audit trails all along.
  • Reporting and eFiling
    • Sage 300 ERP has comprehensive reporting capabilities that extend to its payroll module. It also includes automated and auto-populated tax reporting that uses data from Sage 300 Payroll, so that users can file their taxes from within the system.
  • Keeps record of Employee’s payroll history
  • Multicompany and multicurrency for companies working in various places around the world.

We often hear that many ERP solutions can come up short when it comes to payroll or other human resources related activities. When you look into some of the history behind Sage 300 ERP’s Payroll module, and what it can do for small and medium size companies, it is easy to see that it can be helpful and beneficial to rely on an ERP solution to meet payroll related objectives.