Digital technology integrations play a huge role in multi country global payroll delivery and management at organizations around the world. As more and more global companies consider how best to manage their payroll countries, they are looking closely at their integration approach and what digital solutions exist out there in the market to help them.
They know they will require integrations in some format for global payroll solutions but may not yet have a clear view of how these integrations will form a part of their overall global payroll model. It is of major importance that they do not embark on a strategic global payroll plan without first considering an integration approach-this cannot be left as an afterthought, it must have a central role in any approach to multi country payroll.
The reality is that global payroll is a complex environment. There is no ‘silver bullet’ solution in the form on one payroll engine that can pay all countries- the nuances of local country labor and tax requirements make this impossible. So, integration technology and functionality is needed for a way to manage the connected data in the payroll ecosystem so global companies can develop a workable system for their international payroll.
Those organizations who prioritize integration capabilities and place value on connecting the wider global payroll ecosystem: which includes the human resources department, the finance department, time & attendance software, benefits vendors and the local country payroll providers, will be setting themselves up for payroll process success. In this article, we will look at why integrations are so crucial for international payroll services and discuss the various any point integrations that you can take advantage of on the Payslip global payroll control platform.
Payroll Provider Integrations
Global payroll cannot exist in isolation-for starters, it is essentially local-meaning local country providers in individual countries will always be needed to process payroll and pay people on the ground in those countries. In fact, at Workday Rising it was revealed that the average number of payroll vendors in use is between 3 and 2. As a result, global organizations will always require local country expertise and there will always be a need to source and work with local country payroll providers.
These local vendors will of course have their own systems and technology stacks which are unlikely to be in any way compatible with the global employer who is looking to leverage their services on a local level. System integrations will be required for operational efficiency in the form of bidirectional data flows from the local country provider into the system of the global employer who is ultimately responsible for ensuring that their employees in multiple locations are paid accurately and on time.
The Payslip platform has purpose-built integration technology that is designed to facilitate seamless and efficient data flows between an organization’s payroll system and their network of local country payroll providers. The platform connects the local vendors to the organization and then immediately begins automating the flow of data between them. The data from the various vendors is then consolidated in a single location so the organization can see exactly what is happening across all of its payroll countries and vendor network. Payslip can absorb GTN payroll files directly from a payroll vendor – with automated validations, variance & error reporting, and audit logs.
These out of the box integrations have benefits for both the multinational and the local payroll vendors. Sensitive payroll data is immediately secured and automated on the platform, payroll processing happens a lot faster on both sides with major time-saving efficiencies. You get to access, view and control all your ICPs on a single platform which features automated system alerts for payroll tasks helping both client and the ICP monitor payroll processing activity and respond to urgent tasks.
Payslip has over 200 local country payroll providers already connected to the platform and connecting any new vendors can happen in a matter of days instead of weeks or months. The platform is also vendor agnostic, meaning global companies can bring with them any local vendors they have positive business relationships with. Companies can avoid a rip and replace project and simply keep the vendors who are doing a good job for them, and they can also swap out or change providers whenever they need to. It is the same process for onboarding new providers when an organization needs to scale or grow into a new territory.
HCM Integrations
Not all of the global workforce data needed for payroll processing is held within the payroll department-a significant amount of it might be housed inside a human capital management hcm system. So, it is important that any payroll solution connects seamlessly with any existing HCM software, ensuring any workforce management and payroll related data that is housed inside a human resources management system flows easily in an automated fashion over to the relevant payroll platform or engine.
Payslip offers ready-made integrations with HCM suites like Oracle, SuccessFactors and Workday and we can also configure integrations with alternative HCMs or human resource/workforce planning software. Purpose built integration functionality underpins the platform so that it enables out of the box, any point integrations configurable with all internal and external ecosystems.
Right from the start, we recognized and understood the importance of multi-source integrations, so we built our integration functionality from the ground up and designed it in such a way that it facilitates and streamlines fast and smooth integrations. The Payslip Integrator connects your global payroll to anywhere you have related functional payroll management data flows ( hr functions) and dependencies as outlined in the below diagram.
Payslip’s integrations capabilities can facilitate bespoke integrations with all entities involved in a global employer’s payroll process. Our integrations enable the automated push and pull of standardized data between employer ecosystems and related payroll software. The Payslip integrator enables global employers to manage their entire global payroll operations, data and country vendors from one platform.
Finance Integrations
Payslip can facilitate out of the box data integrations with widely used or bespoke enterprise applications such as financial software packages like NetSuite and SAP. The finance department is another department that relies on payroll data inputs.
Data flows directly from payroll software data sources into financial software can be a real addition to the finance department, especially when it comes to post payroll reporting such as crucial general ledger reports. On Payslip, payroll and finance professionals can access general ledger reports instantly via self-service or the approved GL can be sent direct to client accounting software packages. Other data flows for post payroll benefit, treasury, global mobility and other finance related needs can also be delivered.
Crucially, the platform’s integration functionality works with any existing technology or process in place so there is no requirement for a costly and time consuming ‘rip and replace’ approach. From talking to global clients and industry peers, we find that organizations are keen to avoid a rip and replace, instead they are seeking any point integrations, which can be easily configured with their existing internal and external ecosystems. This allows them to integrate quickly while keeping what is already working well for them.
For more information about our Global Payroll Control Platform contact us today.