In many ways, starting a payroll business is not that different than starting other kinds of small businesses. You’ll need service brochures and/or proposal packets, price setting, client contracts, office space, insurance, company name, and marketing campaign(s). If you plan on hiring employees from the start, you’ll need an EIN and employment contract. Here’s a checklist of to-do items for new payroll companies.
How to Set Your Payroll Business Apart from the Competition
The payroll business is also like other industries in that there are unique factors at work in the marketplace that can make your business more or less competitive. Most new and smaller payroll service companies look for a niche that can give them an edge over the big-name payroll providers:
- A few choose to specialize in specific services. Some business owners choose to maintain direct control over certain aspects of their payroll and finances, while using third-party services for other payroll needs. This might include billing, federal and state tax withholding, calculating wages, direct deposit and/or check writing, payroll additions and deductions, as well as other bookkeeping services.
- A payroll business can also focus its marketing on a specific industry. Maybe the bulk of your payroll experience comes from working with one or two companies in a similar field. Some of the industries with unique payroll considerations and bookkeeping rules include agriculture, healthcare, insurance, finance, digital technologies, hospitality, manufacturing, construction, and retail.
- Another big way that sole proprietors and small payroll companies create an edge over the big-name firms is by cutting down on their operating expenses. One increasingly popular way to achieve this is to work out of a home office, rather than lease office space.
Powerful, Cost-Effective Payroll Software
Too often, accounting professionals make the mistake of going too far in one direction when choosing their payroll software system. Free software from QuickBooks doesn’t deliver the kind of efficiencies of scale needed for modern payroll service providers. On the other hand, you can just as easily overpay for overhyped systems that offer only marginal payroll processing benefits.
Online resources, like ProfitableVenture, quote the “cost of acquiring payroll service software” at $5,000. This might be true of, say, the 50 largest payroll companies that account for about 70% of the $81 billion industry. There’s not much justification in making this type of investment for a new and independent payroll business. For just a little over $200, you can get our standalone payroll system, which already includes support for up to 1,999 payers and up to 9,999 payees per payer. You can also get a comprehensive payroll and form filing software suite from AMS, but it all starts with our platform software.
Discover the AMS Payroll Advantage
Of course, to truly understand the value created by our payroll software solutions, you need to know about the full range of features. Start with AMS Payroll and then learn about what the rest of our modular software products can do. One of the best ways to do this is to download our free demo. You can also talk to our Sales and Information team at (800) 536-1099. When you’re ready, you can buy our software directly online.