When staffing agencies experience fast growth, it can be difficult to step back and evaluate operational efficiencies. Especially when it comes to back office functions, understanding what is working, what needs to be improved and what needs to be changed completely is imperative for future growth and success. Your back office processes are the backbone of your company’s stability and continued operations, even if it is not the most glamorous of tasks. Without a healthy way to maintain your back office, your revenue-generating front office tasks are sure to suffer. In Part 1 of this 2-part series, here are a few signs that it’s time to realign your back office operations to support continued growth.
1. Fully integrated staffing software system(s)
When evaluating efficiency and growing pains, the first place to start is with technology. What tools are you using to do back office activities? How many software systems do you use in total? Many staffing agencies add staffing software piecemeal as they need additional functionality. This works for a limited amount of time before the lack of integrated systems critically impedes front and back office efficiency. For streamlined back office operations, an up-to-date and integrated front and back office system is crucial.
2. Difficulty keeping up with Account Receivables
Very few people enjoy being a bill collector. Making sure your Account Receivables are in good order is a sure sign of staffing agency efficiency. This can often be a time-consuming and thankless process but it’s imperative to the health of your staffing agency’s cash flow. When a staffing agency reaches a certain size and collections becomes too great of a task for one person to handle, it can often be more cost-effective to outsource functions such as Account Receivables rather than hire additional internal staff members.
3. Staying on top of tax code changes
Tax codes. It’s a hot topic when it comes to payroll and they are constantly changing. Making sure that employees are paid correctly is crucial to employee satisfaction with your staffing agency. As staffing agencies grow and expand with new branches and different local tax codes, changing tax codes can be difficult for internal payroll tax specialists to keep up with. If your current payroll tax process is struggling to keep up with growing temporary staff numbers, varying worksites and new home zip codes, then it might be time to explore payroll tax processing services.
4. Falling behind on new hire reporting
New hire reporting is one administrative task that is easy to fall behind on but can have staggering consequences on a large-scale. When a new hire is not reported within the approved timeframe, the penalty may be up to $25 per employee as designated by the state. If you have hundreds of new temporary employees, this cost can quickly become astronomical if you miss the new hire reporting deadlines. By outsourcing other services such as payroll processing, new hire reporting is a service that your provider may offer as well. Finding ways to safeguard against compliance penalties can be crucial for the continued success of your staffing agency.
Next Steps
If any of these signs strongly resonated with you as top issues at your staffing agency, now is the time to think about next steps for your back office operations. At Lone Oak Payroll, we deliver these services to our payroll processing and funding clients to help ease the administrative burden of back office functions. From collections services, payroll tax administration services, new hire reporting and a fully integrated front and back office staffing software solution, Lone Oak Payroll clients have the tools to help keep back office functions running smoothly so staffing owners can focus on how to keep growing the business. For more information on the benefits of outsourcing back office services, contact us today to learn how we can streamline your back office functions.
