Payroll Outsourcing vs In-house Payroll in Thailand

What is outsourcing payroll services in Thailand?

Payroll outsourcing happens when a business hires an external company to help them manage and oversee all payroll functions. This might include employee benefits management, calculating employee salaries, withholding tax deductions, Thailand Statutory deductions and organizing contractor payment timelines and filing payroll taxes.

What are the pros and cons of outsourcing payroll services?

Many companies look to outsource their payroll function due to:

– Limited corporate infrastructure and people.

– The desire to save time and money

– To maintain lean and agile operations and scale flexibly in both small and larger companies in Thailand

 

This Article will help Human Resource Managers and business owners in Thailand weigh the options of outsourcing or handling payroll processing in-house.

 

 

In-House Payroll

In-house payroll involves a lot of responsibility and time from your employees. Businesses that do their payroll in-house often hire accountants, or an HR team to fill the role. Keep in mind that in-house payroll is a time commitment and is subject to error. Bearing that in mind, consider these pros and cons.

 

 

Pros

 

1. More control over payroll process

Some businesses enjoy the fact that they have more control over the payroll process when handling it in-house. Rather than letting an outsource company in Thailand line Smart Search Recruitment control the process, performing payroll needs in-house lets you understand and own the process more closely.

There is also some concern from business owners about granting outside providers access to sensitive data. For instance, you have to give providers access to employee social security numbers, employee salaries, business banking information, and more. While payroll providers will agree to keep this information private, there’s always the chance of a security breach.

 

2. Avoid learning new software and integrations

If you are used to managing payroll and finances in-house, you may be comfortable with your business’s regular software and systems. Most payroll services require you to switch over to their payroll software, which means your team will have to take the time to learn how to use it.

Additionally, you may already have accounting and/or time and attendance tracking software that you prefer using. Most payroll providers offer a rlist of integrations with accounting software and other tools. But if your preferred platform is not on their list, this may cause some frustration among your team.

 

3. Take advantage of employee expertise

You may already have a full-time employee who’s great at payroll and tax calculations. If so, you might ask yourself – “why hire a payroll company when I have an expert in-house?” This is a fair question to ask, and it’s worth considering making the most out of the resources you already have.

However, it’s also important to ensure those in-house Payroll experts aren’t overworked. Are there any other responsibilities they are managing? How feasible is it for them to manage payroll full-time? Always remember the time and effort that goes into producing an accurate payroll system.

To hopefully help outweigh the Pros and Cons of both we have outlined what we believe are the most up to date reasons to keep the payroll process in house or to use an Outsourcing Payroll Provider in Thailand like Smart Search Recruitment

 

Cons

 

1. Time-consuming and complicated

One huge disadvantage to managing payroll in-house is that it is very time-consuming to do it accurately and on time. Payroll teams spend countless hours to accurately calculate payroll per pay period and this can depend on the number of employees and their status (Part Time or Full Time).. This can be overwhelming for small HR teams trying to manage payroll on their own.

Not to mention, payroll and tax calculations are complicated in Thailand. Tax compliance laws in Thailand are one of the top reasons that businesses choose to outsource their payroll. Compliance is only getting more challenging year over year as regulations change.

 

2. Run the risk of errors and penalties

Doing payroll in-house, rather than automating it, makes your business’s payroll subject to human error.

Additionally, did you know that submitting late can cause you to incur penalties and fees as well? If your in-house HR team is already taksed with other responsibilities, you might not want to risk paying more for missing deadlines.

 

3. Saves you less money than you think

Many businesses decide to manage payroll in-house to save money. But it is a misconception that in-house payroll costs less than outsourced payroll overall.

In-house payroll requires costs such as paying salaries or hourly wages to Accountants or HR teams, software costs, and the cost of your employee’s time and effort.

When using outsourced payroll services like Smart Search Recruitment’s Payroll Services, you end up saving tons of money on wages, salaries, software (everything is integrated for you), and indirect labor costs. In fact,  most businesses who outsource payroll spend around 30% less on overhead costs compared to those who do it in-house.

 

 

 

Outsourced Payroll

Outsourcing payroll means you are partnering with a professional payroll service provider in Thailand like Smart Search Recruitment to oversee the payroll process. Most outsourced payroll providers help you automate your payroll process, which saves you the hassle and time of managing it day-in and day-out. Take a look at the top pros and cons to outsourced payroll.

 

 

Pros

 

1. Cost Savings

As we mentioned, a majority of companies today actually save money overall when outsourcing payroll. Studies have found that almost 50% of the businesses they surveyed cited cost savings as a #1 priority when they switched to outsourcing.

When looking into budgeting, it’s important to look at all the costs involved when determining whether in-house or outsourcing payroll is cheaper. A majority of businesses pay between 10-20,000 Thai Baht per month for outsourced payroll. Compare this to paying the salaries of accountants or bookkeepers in-house – you will be paying much less for an outsourced service.

 

2. Time savings

Automated payroll services are known to save businesses tons of time and resources internally. Using a payroll service is like having an additional full-time employee that works around the clock, doesn’t take holidays or time off, and gets everything done accurately and on-time.

If you currently do payroll in-house, it’s important to ask yourself who is currently doing your payroll? Could their time be better spent on other tasks? If yes, outsourcing payroll is the best way to make the most use out of your employees’ time.

 

3. Convenient integrations

Outsourced payroll services offer lots of convenient integrations for businesses, which allow them to manage multiple tasks all in one place. Streamlining related tasks such as payroll, accounting, HR, onboarding, benefits, and more, can save your team tons of time in the long-run.

According to ADP’s recent study, 41% of companies who chose to outsource payroll said that integrations

 

Cons

 

1. Less oversight over payroll process

When using an outsourced payroll service, most of the time payroll processing will be automated. You are allowing the payroll provider to own the majority of the payroll process, which can be convenient and time-conducive for some businesses.

However, the potential downside to this is that you have less of an understanding of what is going on with the payroll process. If you run into confusion or need the provider to clarify something, you will have to contact customer service and wait for a response.

Additionally, you will have to grant them access to business and employee data to accomplish payroll. This may be uncomfortable for some businesses.

 

2. Paying for features you don’t need

Another potential disadvantage to using a payroll service is that there are usually only a handful of pricing plans available for each provider. Most payroll services offer different service options that can contain less or more services depending on the complexity of your company’s employee’s and payroll processes.

 

3. Limited to payroll service’s available integrations

Most payroll providers offer a list of integrations they support under their service. This is great if you are comfortable with these softwares and integrations, as it can help you streamline your workload.

On the other hand, your team may use a different software that is not on the provider’s list of available integrations. In this case, you’d have to make the switch to a new software and face the challenges of a learning curve.

 

Summary

Now that we have outlines the Pros and Cons out in-house version using a Payroll outsourcing company in Thailand, you probably have a better idea of what direction works best for you. Before you make your final decision to bring payroll in-house or outsource it, use these guidelines to help you choose a payroll provider.

 

– Consider the size of your company, as well as factors that might complicate payroll processing.

– Assess your budget for each payroll option and weigh your cost savings.

– Evaluate compliance and security policies to keep your business payroll information and employee data secure.

– Check your payroll provider’s accuracy to avoid issues later on down the road.

– Consider how much time you and your team have to process payroll on your own and the level of support you may need.

 

 

More information

If you have any questions or would like to get in touch with our Payroll Experts in Thailand please contact us at +66 2 714 8088 or [email protected]

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