When to Outsource Union Payroll

Processing payroll can be difficult and time-consuming for any business. But nothing seems to compare to the challenges of construction and union payroll processing.

Whether it’s tracking hundreds of unions across multiple projects, managing multiple pay rates and departments, properly applying multi-state and local taxes, or keeping up with compliance and reporting, construction companies face completely different day-to-day challenges than any other industry.

So, it’s no surprise that construction companies are turning to outsourcing for their union payroll needs. In fact, the US is one of the biggest outsourcing contractors in the world, with 84.2% of outsourcing deals originating in the US.

Many businesses are turning to third-party payroll service providers to reduce their expenses and tap payroll expertise, as companies that outsource payroll management save 18% more on average than companies that deal with it in-house. In addition, companies that utilize a single vendor to outsource multiple functions and business processes can save up to 32% on expenses.

So, when should a company look to outsource union payroll?

Companies should look to outsourcing union payroll software when they want to gain these benefits:

Save time: Manually gathering payroll data from timesheets across multiple job sites and states can be a time-consuming, tedious, and dreadful process. Re-entering payroll data into other systems can extend that process even further. If the process for properly recording payroll data and integrating into your reporting system keeps getting longer, then it makes sense to start looking to outsource union payroll to a provider who can simplify or automate some of the payroll tasks.

Utilize outside expert: When it comes to the construction industry, it takes a specialized company that understands the construction and union payroll nuances to accurately and efficiently handle payroll services. Since not all payroll service firms can handle the special requirements of construction, paying a firm with limited knowledge and experience in construction to process union payroll can be more costly and labor-intensive. In addition, finding a company that specializes in union payroll processing speeds up time because the company is trained in the software. So, when an update occurs, your employees aren’t spending valuable time learning the new software — instead, the outsourcing provider understands the update so that union payroll is performed as efficiently as possible.

Simplified union payroll process: Between understanding multiple jurisdictions, taxes, and compliance regulations and training employees on a new payroll software, the payroll process in construction is often complicated and can be overwhelming for employees. Utilizing a union payroll service shifts the burden and responsibility to someone else. A union payroll consultant knows the laws and regulations for the various states and complicated construction payroll situations, ultimately simplifying the payroll process for your employees.

Frees up staff: Moving union payroll services from in-house to a third-party provider relieves staff of mundane tasks so that these employees can concentrate on more strategic tasks, core processes and growing your business. From reviewing timesheets, manually entering time from the field to the various software, setting up software or even just calculating pay and taxes, union payroll processing requires full-time focus. By outsourcing union payroll processing, your construction company can free up staff who work on these mundane administrative tasks and refocus them on landing more projects.

Gain Construction-Specific Payroll Reporting: Traditional payroll solutions and providers do not have the capacity or knowledge to generate all the must-have construction reports — certified payroll reports, union reporting, timesheet summary reporting, tax reporting and SUTA and FUTA reporting. But minimizing risks and costly penalties by staying in compliance is a huge part of construction payroll. In order to comply with federal employment laws and manage the various labor unions, construction companies need to select a union payroll solution or provider that automatically tracks and reports the critical employee data required for construction.

How CEM Business Solutions Can Help

For companies where implementing a Union Payroll Software would be a time-consuming task, utilizing third-party outsourcing provider saves time, resources, and money while ensuring accuracy and perfect payroll runs. CEM Business Solutions offers a fast, easy, and accurate union payroll outsourcing service so you can be confident that you are paying your employees on time and within compliance.