Tag Archive: outsourcing

Trying Not To Get Above Your Business

Trying Not To Get Above Your Business

Young men after they get through their business training, or apprenticeship, instead of pursuing their avocation and rising in their business, will often lie about doing nothing. They say; “I have learned my business, but I am not going to be a hireling; what is the object of learning my trade or profession, unless I establish myself?'”

“Have you capital to start with?”

“No, but I am going to have it.”

“How are you going to get it?”

“I will tell you confidentially; I have a wealthy old aunt, and she will die pretty soon; but if she does not, I expect to find some rich old man who will lend me a few thousands to give me a start. If I only get the money to start with I will do well.”

There is no greater mistake than when a young man believes he will succeed with borrowed money. Why? Because every man’s experience coincides with that of Mr. Astor, who said, “it was more difficult for him to accumulate his first thousand dollars, than all the succeeding millions that made up his colossal fortune.” Money is good for nothing unless you know the value of it by experience. Give a boy twenty thousand dollars and put him in business, and the chances are that he will lose every dollar of it before he is a year older. Like buying a ticket in the lottery; and drawing a prize, it is “easy come, easy go.”

He does not know the value of it; nothing is worth anything, unless it costs effort. Without self-denial and economy; patience and perseverance, and commencing with capital which you have not earned, you are not sure to succeed in accumulating. Young men, instead of “waiting for dead men’s shoes,” should be up and doing, for there is no class of persons who are so unaccommodating in regard to dying as these rich old people, and it is fortunate for the expectant heirs that it is so.

Nine out of ten of the rich men of our country to-day, started out in life as poor boys, with determined wills, industry, perseverance, economy and good habits. They went on gradually, made their own money and saved it; and this is the best way to acquire a fortune. Stephen Girard started life as a poor cabin boy, and died worth nine million dollars. A.T.

Stewart was a poor Irish boy; and he paid taxes on a million and a half dollars of income, per year. John Jacob Astor was a poor farmer boy, and died worth twenty millions. Cornelius Vanderbilt began life rowing a boat from Staten Island to New York; he presented our government with a steamship worth a million of dollars, and died worth fifty million.
“There is no royal road to learning,” says the proverb, and I may say it is equally true, “there is no royal road to wealth.” But I think there is a royal road to both. The road to learning is a royal one; the road that enables the student to expand his intellect and add every day to his stock of knowledge, until, in the pleasant process of intellectual growth, he is able to solve the most profound problems, to count the stars, to analyze every atom of the globe, and to measure the firmament this is a regal highway, and it is the only road worth traveling.

So in regard to wealth. Go on in confidence, study the rules, and above all things, study human nature; for “the proper study of mankind is man,” and you will find that while expanding the intellect and the muscles, your enlarged experience will enable you every day to accumulate more and more principal, which will increase itself by interest and otherwise, until you arrive at a state of independence. You will find, as a general thing, that the poor boys get rich and the rich boys get poor. For instance, a rich man at his decease, leaves a large estate to his family. His eldest sons, who have helped him earn his
fortune, know by experience the value of money; and they take their inheritance and add to it. The separate portions of the young children are placed at interest, and the little fellows are patted on the head, and told a dozen times a day, “you are rich; you will never have to work, you can always have whatever you wish, for you were born with a golden spoon in your mouth.”

The young heir soon finds out what that means; he has the finest dresses and playthings; he is crammed with sugar candies and almost “killed with kindness,” and he passes from school to school, petted and flattered. He becomes arrogant and self-conceited, abuses his teachers, and carries everything with a high hand. He knows nothing of the real value of money, having never earned any; but he knows all about the “golden spoon” business.
At college, he invites his poor fellow-students to his room, where he “wines and dines” them. He is cajoled and caressed, and called a glorious good follow, because he is so lavish of his money. He gives his game suppers, drives his fast horses, invites his chums to fetes and parties, determined to
have lots of “good times.” He spends the night in frolics and debauchery, and leads off his companions with the familiar song, “we won’t go home till morning.” He gets them to join him in pulling down signs, taking gates from their hinges and throwing them into back yards and horse-ponds. If the police arrest them, he knocks them down, is taken to the lockup, and joyfully foots the bills.

“Ah! my boys,” he cries, “what is the use of being rich, if you can’t enjoy yourself?”

He might more truly say, “if you can’t make a fool of yourself;” but he is “fast,” hates slow things, and doesn’t “see it.” Young men loaded down with other people’s money are almost sure to lose all they inherit, and they acquire all sorts of bad habits which, in the majority of cases, ruin them in health, purse and character. In this country, one generation follows another, and the poor of to-day are rich in the next generation, or the third. Their experience leads them on, and they become rich, and they leave vast riches to their young children. These children, having been reared in luxury, are inexperienced and get poor; and after long experience another generation comes on and gathers up riches again in turn. And thus “history repeats itself,” and happy is he who by listening to the experience of others avoids the rocks and shoals on which so many have been wrecked.

“In England, the business makes the man.” If a man in that country is a mechanic or working-man, he is not recognized as a gentleman. On the occasion of my first appearance before Queen Victoria, the Duke of Wellington asked me what sphere in life General Tom Thumb’s parents were in.

“His father is a carpenter,” I replied.

“Oh! I had heard he was a gentleman,” was the response of His Grace.

In this Republican country, the man makes the business. No matter whether he is a blacksmith, a shoemaker, a farmer, banker or lawyer, so long as his business is legitimate, he may be a gentleman. So any “legitimate” business is a double blessing it helps the man engaged in it, and also helps others. The Farmer supports his own family, but he also benefits the merchant or mechanic who needs the products of his farm. The tailor not only makes a living by his trade, but he also benefits the farmer, the clergyman and others who cannot make their own clothing. But all these classes often may be gentlemen.

The great ambition should be to excel all others engaged in the same occupation.

The college-student who was about graduating, said to an old lawyer:

“I have not yet decided which profession I will follow. Is your profession full?”

“The basement is much crowded, but there is plenty of room up-stairs,” was the witty and truthful reply.

No profession, trade, or calling, is overcrowded in the upper story. Wherever you find the most honest and intelligent merchant or banker, or the best lawyer, the best doctor, the best clergyman, the best shoemaker, carpenter, or anything else, that man is most sought for, and has always enough to do. As a nation, Americans are too superficial– they are striving to get rich quickly, and do not generally do their business as substantially and thoroughly as they should, but whoever excels all others in his own line, if his habits are good and his integrity undoubted, cannot fail to secure abundant patronage, and the wealth that naturally follows. Let your motto then always be “Excelsior,” for by living up to it there is no such word as fail.

 

Why You Should Outsource Your Online Task

Why You Should Outsource Your Online Task
If you’ve been online for a while, either as an internet user searching for information or an online business owner, you might have seen the ups and downs of netpreneurs.

You may also, for some extends, get frustrated by the result of your online activities. Especially if you are an online business owner. You just don’t see any substantial growth of your online business.

What went wrong? You might think. You’ve bought all the manuals. You’ve followed all the how tos. You’ve set up all the necessary softwares.

You start to think about being cheated by those so called ‘experts’. You become afraid of failure in pursuing online business success. You start to think to just quit.

But, don’t quit!

What you might’ve missed was proper strategy you should’ve built to make your online business grow. What you’ve done was just tactics. You checked emails. You searched for resale rights products, you hunted for affiliate programs, you submitted you website urls, you wrote articles, you submitted articles, etc. All those activities consumed your time. You never have the time to rethink your strategy at the first place.

Your strategy is your guided approach and principle toward your goals and vision. If you have not got vision, you’re doomed!

When you’ve set your vision and goals, it’s easier to develop you online strategy and outsource most of you online tasks.

Here are 5 reasons why you should outsource your online tasks:

1. When you set you vision and goals, it is then easier to value your time. By outsourcing you reduce the amount of time you might have wasted.

2. You need to speed up your process to see result. By outsourcing you eliminate the hassle of doing-it-all by yourself that may drag you off.

3. You need to increase your productivity. You only have 24 hours a day. No more. The most productive activities need the most of your time. You’re investing your time by outsourcing the most repetitive time consuming tasks.

4. Sometimes you just need an expert to do your tasks. You don’t have time to learn all the techie things. You just waste your time learning HTML or PHP just to make your site ups and running. Scripting, creating logo, submitting articles are tasks that should be outsourced.

5. Outsourcing clears up your thinking and makes you more concentrate on developing your online business strategy.

The next thing you should consider is where to outsource your tasks. You have to be careful in choosing your outsource partners.

Invoice Factoring & How It Works

Invoice Factoring & How It Works

Invoice Factoring & How It WorksInvoice Factoring & How It Works. Factoring, also known as accounts receivable factoring, is a business term used to describe a method in which companies sell their outstanding receivable invoices in order to gain immediate cash for their business. When a company sells a product or service, an invoice is created stating the amount due and the number of days in which the invoice must be paid. This invoice instantly becomes a part of accounts receivable, which is money that is owed to a business. After the invoice is generated, it must be sent to the customer and the business must wait for the specified amount of time before that invoice is paid. Often times, for reasons of misfortune or lack of attention, a debt may go unpaid and extend past the due date. This presents a problem for the business, which is awaiting payment, in that it interferes with the cash flow when a debt is not collected. This is especially true of new, or struggling, businesses.

The process of factoring works when an institution purchases the invoice for an amount that is somewhat less than the face value of the debt. This amount can be anywhere between 70-90%. The factoring company then proceeds to collect the full amount due for the invoice, which is then delivered to the original business less a factoring fee.

If a business offers credit terms as part of their sales, factoring is one way of eliminating cash flow problems. Many businesses who use factoring receive their money, from the sale of their invoices, within 24 to 48 hours. This unique approach also offers a company with the ability to extend competitive credit terms to their best customers and not have to worry about waiting for the credit payments. By offering attractive credit terms, more customers will be drawn to a business. Most businesses compete in pricing, but a company is much more appealing if they offer financing options direct to their buyers. Many consumers do not have the funds to pay for items upfront, especially if a business markets more expensive sales, but a customer may be able to agree on delayed payments. Therefore, a business offering such a deal would sell more inventory than a company who requires total payment upfront.

It’s important to realize that factoring is not a loan or a debt. In addition, unlike bank loans, collateral is not required. It’s simply the sale of invoices, on which people owe money, to another business for a slightly smaller percentage than the total due. The original business gets immediate cash and, for a fee, the factoring company collects the face value of the debt.

Many businesses, who extend credit, opt for factoring in order to avoid the hassle of trying to collect money. In addition, it costs more to have a billing department who is responsible for creating invoices every month. By factoring, a business eliminates their need for a billing department and saves money on the hassle of attempting to collect debts. Invoice Factoring & How It Works

The cash generated from factoring will allow a business to purchase new equipment, pay existing debts, increase marketing efforts, improve planning, process new credit approvals, improve customer relations and save money on accounting procedures.

A Critical Tip To Make An Outsourcing Project Successful by Tim Jacquet

A Critical Tip To Make An Outsourcing Project Successful by Tim Jacquet.

Understanding what you want to accomplish is critical to a successful outsourcing venture.  Although there are many who claim to offer offshoring procurement services, the fact remains that only the business contemplating outsourcing can determine the what, who and when of any offshore service project.

To this end, a business needs to understand the WHAT of any outsourcing project.  The what of course, is what will be outsourced.  It’s not enough to simply state we’re gong to outsource IT technology services, or Human Resources, or any other facet of the business.  To determine the WHAT means an intimate understanding of how your business is currently handling that work.

So the first order of business when considering outsourcing is:

Define the current Process.  This should be done with an understanding of requirements.  Requirements should be clearly defined in such a way as to eliminate ambiguity and offer a measurement method.  Fast service is NOT a metric.  Answering and resolving a specific type of customer inquiry within x number of minutes IS a requirement.

The exercise of defining the current process allows you to understand the details of what actually needs done.  This information will be needed when/if transferring that process over to your new outsource partner.

Now would also be a good time to do a cost benefit analysis on the proposed process.  This allows the business to have a solid estimate of the current operating costs of the process under consideration for outsourcing.  When doing this analysis, be certain to honestly consider all the costs involved.

I was involved with a major technology company who insisted that any cost that couldn’t readily be quantified, be marginalized or simply ignored.  They based the decision to outsource their internal help desk for thousands of people based on a simple statement; “Support call costs will go from 25 dollars to 6 dollars.”  Problem was that they didn’t cover all the costs.  Although they required calls to be answered within a certain period of time, they didn’t set a resolution time.  When support was in house, an engineer could call for support and get a resolution in hours.  After the transfer however, that same call took a minimum of 3 days and sometimes over a week for resolution.  The cost in lost productivity to the company because the engineer didn’t have access to his files and email were never considered in the simple statement above.  If the total costs were considered, the savings would have been much less significant.

So the key tip is to know your process and costs prior to considering offshoring any project.  By being armed with solid information, it’s then possible to select the right outsource partner and make a good decision for the business.

 

A Critical Tip To Make An Outsourcing Project Successful by Tim Jacquet

A Critical Tip To Make An Outsourcing Project Successful by Tim Jacquet

Understanding what you want to accomplish is critical to a successful outsourcing venture.  Although there are many who claim to offer offshoring procurement services, the fact remains that only the business contemplating outsourcing can determine the what, who and when of any offshore service project.

To this end, a business needs to understand the WHAT of any outsourcing project.  The what of course, is what will be outsourced.  It’s not enough to simply state we’re gong to outsource IT technology services, or Human Resources, or any other facet of the business.  To determine the WHAT means an intimate understanding of how your business is currently handling that work.

So the first order of business when considering outsourcing is:

Define the current Process.  This should be done with an understanding of requirements.  Requirements should be clearly defined in such a way as to eliminate ambiguity and offer a measurement method.  Fast service is NOT a metric.  Answering and resolving a specific type of customer inquiry within x number of minutes IS a requirement.

The exercise of defining the current process allows you to understand the details of what actually needs done.  This information will be needed when/if transferring that process over to your new outsource partner.

Now would also be a good time to do a cost benefit analysis on the proposed process.  This allows the business to have a solid estimate of the current operating costs of the process under consideration for outsourcing.  When doing this analysis, be certain to honestly consider all the costs involved.

I was involved with a major technology company who insisted that any cost that couldn’t readily be quantified, be marginalized or simply ignored.  They based the decision to outsource their internal help desk for thousands of people based on a simple statement; “Support call costs will go from 25 dollars to 6 dollars.”  Problem was that they didn’t cover all the costs.  Although they required calls to be answered within a certain period of time, they didn’t set a resolution time.  When support was in house, an engineer could call for support and get a resolution in hours.  After the transfer however, that same call took a minimum of 3 days and sometimes over a week for resolution.  The cost in lost productivity to the company because the engineer didn’t have access to his files and email were never considered in the simple statement above.  If the total costs were considered, the savings would have been much less significant.

So the key tip is to know your process and costs prior to considering offshoring any project.  By being armed with solid information, it’s then possible to select the right outsource partner and make a good decision for the business. A Critical Tip To Make An Outsourcing Project Successful by Tim Jacquet

 

 

When is the Right Time to Bring Small Business Financial Experts on Staff?

When is the Right Time to Bring Small Business Financial Experts on Staff?Small Business – When is the Right Time to Bring Small Business Financial Experts on Staff? by Susan Caminiti.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of nearly all entrepreneurs is the passion they bring to their businesses. But whether you’re a skilled butcher, a terrific baker, or the best candlestick maker in town, there are functions of your company that you’ll need help with. And there’s no aspect of running a small business where this is more apparent than your finances for your small business.

“Money is so personal and that makes many entrepreneurs more skittish about handing over control,” observes Mark Koziel, CPA and vice president of the American Institute for Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the world’s largest association representing the accounting profession. “A small business owner who wouldn’t think twice about reaching out for IT help is often the one who thinks that they, or maybe a bookkeeper, can handle all their finances.”

To figure out the kind of financial expertise your business needs—and when it’s time to hire a controller or even a chief financial officer—experts say it’s essential to answer a few basic questions:

What kind of growth do you envision for your small business? Will it remain a fairly small venture or will the business eventually expand to the point where it requires hiring dozens of employees?
Does the business finance receivables and inventory? Will it need funding for additional locations, offices, and equipment?

Are you looking to attract venture capital or any other type of private equity?

“When I work with small business owners I ask them to honest with me about how big they really want their companies to be,” says Barbara Steinmetz, president of Steinmetz Financial Planning in San Mateo, California. “Not every business owner wants to run a huge company with hundreds of employees.”

In that case, she says, a good bookkeeper is often enough. This person, says Steinmetz, can be full-time or part-time and should be able to keep accurate financial records that are detailed enough to enable an outside accounting firm to prepare your company’s taxes. Don’t wait until tax season, however, to discover that certain information might be lacking. Advises Steinmetz: “Keep in touch with your tax professional throughout the year. Ask if they have the documents they need and if they truly have your company’s complete financial picture.”

Despite what many small business owners may believe, there’s not one milestone revenue figure that signifies it’s time to move beyond a bookkeeper and hire a controller. Even if your business is small sales-wise, if it’s growing quickly and adding customers at a rapid clip, you should hire a controller, says Koziel of the AICPA.

Peter Fazio, executive vice president of Sterling Affair Caterers in New York City, first hired a controller two years ago when he was “done making so many mistakes.” In the early days of his company, he says, having a bookkeeper on staff was enough to handle Sterling’s bills and its receivables. But as his company grew—it now caters nearly 500 events annually—and Sterling began working with more and more vendors, Fazio says he knew it was time to bring in someone who could take a more holistic approach to Sterling’s finances.

For instance, when he was interested in looking for alternatives to the company’s outside payroll vendor, his controller was able to investigate different options and negotiate a better price, saving the company about $15,000 this year. Sterling’s controller was also the person who initiated conversations with different banks to get a better rate on the company’s line of credit. “I may have the idea of different things to look into, but I don’t have the time to follow through,” Fazio explains. “[The controller] has enabled me to take this company to the next level because I have her to focus on all the financial issues while I run the company and plan our events.”

One of the biggest obstacles in hiring any financial expert on staff is the trust factor. Fazio admits it was tough at first. “This employee knows every single thing about your business, including what you pay each employee and how much money you make,” he says. However, he is adamant about one thing: “If you try to segregate out information or just give a controller some information and not all of it, the relationship will fail,” Fazio warns. “Sign whatever confidentiality agreement you have to, but make sure your controller has all the facts.”

In addition, if a company is looking to attract venture capital or any other type of private equity, then it’s likely to need a chief financial officer. Ron Johnson, president of WAGIC, a product design, engineering, and manufacturing company based in Los Gatos, California, has had a CFO on board since his firm’s earliest days in the mid-1980s. “We raised outside capital when we were first starting out and those investors wanted to know we had someone who had plenty of experience managing the finance side of the business,” he says.

Johnson does acknowledge that for many small, early-stage businesses, cost is a factor. “At the end of the day, it does come down to what you can afford,” he explains. “However, spending $3,000 or $4,000 a month to have the services of a part-time CFO may be the best money you’ll ever spend because of the level of financial expertise they bring.”

The Power of the Crowd: Is crowdsourcing right for your small business?

asian business woman the power of the crowdsourcing right for your small business?You may think you know the definition of crowdsourcing for your small business , but there are a lot of interpretations to its meaning.

In the words of Northwestern University professor Jeff Howe, who coined the term, crowdsourcing is “the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent (usually an employee) and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call.”

Regardless of how you define it, there is an argument to be made that crowdsourcing is a particularly good match for small businesses. Here’s why:

Venture capital firms are generally supportive of the concept as it allows the companies they fund to lower operating expenses.

It provides access to a pool of experienced and creative talent that might otherwise be inaccessible to a small business.

The concept of user feedback on product design and branding is already an accepted dynamic in the social media-driven world currently embraced by many small businesses and their customers.
Small businesses may have smaller tasks that need to be solved and they will get a broader spectrum of crowd-sourced solutions.

Pull Quote.pngIf you’ve never considered crowdsourcing, there are a multiple of websites dedicated to it and particularly useful to small businesses. Innocentive is a forum where “solvers” compete to devise a solution to a small business’s problem, usually a technical one. Ideaken is a software platform that facilitates collaboration between enterprises and individuals. Whinot is a consulting firm dedicated to providing crowd-sourced technical solutions to small businesses. crowdSPRING is a crowd-sourced marketplace for graphic design and writing services. There are many more crowdsourcing websites including: GeniusRocket, 99 designs, LogoTournament, Minted and Poptent, just to name a few.

If you are considering venturing into crowdsourcing, there are few rules of engagement to consider:

Don’t skimp on information. Describe the project and target audience in detail.
If you have specific pet peeves or favorite colors, spell them out in your project description.
If you’re crowdsourcing creative work, such as a logo design, take steps to ensure the design is original before contracting to use it.
If you’re running a contest, think carefully about the dollar amount of the reward. You’re already saving significantly so let the reward fit the effort.
Don’t forget that, in addition to the financial incentive, many participants in crowdsourcing are motivated by constructive feedback and publicity.

You can start with a non-strategic project, such as how to configure your phone system. Or, you can get input from the “crowd” on something as significant as your company name. Whether you’ve thought about crowdsourcing for a while or are considering it now for the first time, there are very few barriers to jumping into the mix

Payroll Best Practices: What Fits Your Small Business Best?

By Cindy Waxer.

Most small businesses understand the value of smart payroll practices. But many fail to anticipate the negative impact of this business-critical activity if poorly executed. While a solid payroll system can keep employees happy and the government satisfied, poor payroll practices can create tax-related nightmares, send labor costs skyrocketing, and prompt an employee exodus.

Fortunately, small businesses need not invest millions in high-end software programs or high-priced consultants to make the most of payroll. Here, experts and entrepreneurs alike chime in on what it takes to put in place world-class payroll practices on a small business budget.

1. The benefits of a do-it-yourself strategy

When it comes to payroll, using pen and paper or a simple Excel spreadsheet is still commonplace. That’s because a manual payroll system is easy to get off the ground and one of the most cost-efficient approaches to issuing checks and tracking payments. What’s more, a DIY-payroll system doesn’t have to bend to the constraints of an off-the-shelf software program. Nor must small business owners spend thousands of dollars customizing a manual payroll system.

Pull-Quote-Tall.pngHowever, there is often an opportunity cost to entrepreneurs who take on the burden of handling their own payroll. After all, hours spent calculating overhead, figuring tax withholding, and issuing payments translate into time not spent on things like refining your business’s current production capability, brainstorming new product ideas, or prospecting for new customers. These intangible losses won’t directly show up on a profit and loss statement, but after a few years of stagnant growth, an entrepreneur might discover that their time is too valuable to be devoted to back-office clerical work like payroll.

2. Deploy a software program that’s right for your business

These days, there’s no shortage of payroll software packages promising to simplify accounting, calculate and remit payroll taxes, print paychecks, ensure government compliance and provide paystubs to employees.

Just ask Barbara Kittrell, owner of Kittrell/Riffkind Art Glass, a Dallas-based art glass studio specializing in custom-stained glass. “When I used to do my taxes, it would take hours because I had no way of tracking it manually,” recalls Kittrell. “It used to take way longer and it all had to be done by hand and then verified. I tended to be a little dyslexic with numbers so I had to do everything over and over just to make sure it was right.”

That is until Kittrell converted to a small business accounting and payroll software solution. Today, Kittrell says payroll activities that used to take an hour-and-a-half now require “just minutes” to complete. Better yet, the system allows her to easily add and subtract new workers as they come and go, making it easy to adjust to seasonal workflows.

CrowdSPRING’s introduction to payroll software wasn’t quite as smooth as that of Kittrell’s but the adventure has since paid off. The Chicago-based online marketplace for buyers and sellers of creative services began with one payroll package that Mike Samson, the company’s co-founder, describes as nothing short of “awful.” Plagued by an unfriendly user interface and poor customer service, he eventually switched to a different software provider and now Samson says crowdSPRING’s 14 employees couldn’t be happier.

“They have access to their accounts, they can print a copy of a check stub, or sign right in and have access to everything,” says Samson. “It saves us money and our employees love it because [with its direct deposit capabilities], nobody wants to have to deposit a paycheck nowadays.”

3. Consider outsourcing

Sometimes running the most seamless payroll processes means not running them at all. At least, not in-house. Many small businesses turn to third-party providers to oversee their payroll practices.

“Because of its complexities and the changing rules and regulations, I’m a fan of outsourcing payroll,” says Tom Gegax, founder of Gegax Advisors and author of The Big Book of Small Business: You Don’t Have To Run Your Business By The Seat Of Your Pants. “A small business doesn’t want to mess around with payroll. Plus, it’s so inexpensive to outsource payroll—for a tiny company, it’s worth it.”

To learn more, check out our earlier article on the decision to outsource payroll.

It’s easy to do the math. Simply calculate the number of hours your employees spend on a weekly basis tending to payroll activities. Then compare these costs to the price of the packages being offered by third-party providers. Don’t forget to factor in additional in-house costs such as printing expenses, distribution fees, creating tax documents, and more. Chances are, you’ll save money by handing over payroll activities to an outsourcing company.

But not all small business owners are ready and willing to sing the praises of outsourcing. As far as Samson is concerned, payroll software offers “phenomenal access to information” while outsourcing arrangements can make business owners feel as if they’ve lost control over their finances and payroll processes, so choose accordingly.

Be true to your company

Doing it yourself, using a payroll software package, or paying for a third-party provider—these are a small business owner’s major choices when it comes to satisfying your employees and providing the best possible payroll practices. But remember: Just as no two companies are alike, no two small businesses are likely to have exactly the same set of processes. So decide what’s right for your specific company and industry.