Feeling Blue this Monday?

Feeling the Monday Blues?

The festive cheer is over, the weather is cold, you’ve spent all your money and you haven’t been paid yet. Yes, it’s Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year.

For most of us, January in general, and Blue Monday in particular can be a struggle. For those working in payroll this is doubly true. An expanded waistline, empty bank account and general feeling of misery is compounded by a difficult payroll run.

The January payroll is often complicated by; increased rate of absenteeism, complex overtime calculations, holiday entitlements, year-end calculations and, in the case of Irish organisations, the need to adapt to changing PAYE requirements. When we add to this; ever increasing Information privacy requirements and changing legislation the potential for error is high. Whether it’s missing deadlines, miscalculating overtime or failing to comply with legislative changes, the January payroll is particularly prone to errors.

In fact, a recent study revealed that one in three (33%) of payroll managers admit to making employee payment or entitlement errors in every single monthly pay run and 21% do the same every quarter.(HCA, 2019) While a second study discovered that organisations have an average error rate in their payroll of between 1-8%. (American Payroll Association, 2019). This is further compounded by the fact that in 32% of cases, the CEOs and CFOs are not privy to employee payment errors.(HCA, 2019)

The potential cost of these habitual errors should not be underestimated. The risk of penalties, fines and litigation is high but perhaps even more worrying is the potential for reputational damage. A healthy reputation is key to reducing the cost of acquiring new talent and new customers whilst still reassuring current ones and any damage to this can be fatal.

It is also important to consider the time-cost. The job of any business owner or department head is to run their business or department, not to process payroll. Internalising the payroll function takes time away from other revenue generating activities. Just consider:  a third of small businesses are spending more than 80 hours – More than three full weeks – on their payroll and tax administration.

When we add to this the fact that 40% of the respondents also claimed that bookkeeping was the worst part of their jobs, it is clear to see why many of them might be feeling blue.

Fortunately, a solution is at hand. At Paycheck Plus we have an accuracy rate of 99.9%. We routinely help clients deliver payroll in a compliant and timely fashion. We ensure that your employees are paid the correct amount at the right time, while improving compliance and mitigating the risk of fines even in those difficult months.

So if you’re feeling a little blue about your payroll this Monday, why not speak to one of our expert advisors at on +353 (0)41 989 2100.  Alternatively, request a quote here.

Paycheck Plus, Your Irish Payroll Processing Team

Paycheck Plus is a multi award-winning Irish payroll bureau. We serve businesses across Ireland and the UK with comprehensive, ISO and ISAE 3402 accredited, payroll outsourcing services.

To ensure payroll accuracy or for more information simply request a callback or call our Irish payroll company  on +353 (0) 1 905 9400

For UK Payroll Processing please contact our Manchester Payroll Service on +44 (0) 161 464 8720