4 Tips on How to Profit from Payroll Services

So, you’ve decided to start offering payroll services at your firm, eh? Good choice. But if you really want to profit from offering payroll services to clients, you need to take advantage of a few tips. Luckily, we have a few strategies you can try out to make your firm as profitable as possible.

Profiting from payroll services

Offering payroll services to clients is a win-win. You get to earn more profits for your firm, and your clients don’t have to stress about handling payroll themselves. Not to mention, you can expand your client base (and what accountant doesn’t want that?).  

To ensure your firm is profiting from payroll services and setting the right prices for clients, keep the four tips below in mind.

1. Use a payroll system designed for accountants

Payroll software has changed the game for accountants around the world. Gone are the days where you have to manually calculate payroll for clients. Now, you have a plethora of options to choose from to streamline your payroll offerings, including ones made specifically with accountants in mind.

When investing in a payroll system, you need to look at a variety of things, like cost, ease-of-use, and features. And, you need to see whether or not the software can meet your firm’s needs, like running payroll for multiple clients.

Whether it’s your first time scoping out software or you’re looking to switch providers, take a look to see if the company offers a special software or partner program for accountants. In some cases, the provider may even have special pricing tiers just for firms and clients. And, they may even cut you some extra deals, like free accounting software for your firm.

Do your research to find out which providers have options for accountants. Then, compare your choices to see which provider would be the best fit for your firm’s and clients’ needs.

2. Automate as much as possible

If you really want to go the extra mile and save your firm additional time and money, consider investing in a full service payroll method.

Full service payroll can help automate certain tasks, like tax payments and filings. That way, you can focus more on your clients and less on running payroll. Generally, full service payroll will take care of:

• Federal, state, and local payroll tax deposits and filings
• Year-end tax filings (e.g., Form W-2)

Although this option may wind up costing you a little more than a basic option, it can be well worth it to help speed up time-consuming tasks. Plus, it can help you juggle multiple clients’ payroll at once, making you more profitable in the end.

Of course, if you don’t go the full service payroll route, you can still save with a basic payroll option that streamlines tasks and calculates payroll for you and your clients.

3. Think through your pricing structure

Your pricing can make or break whether or not you’re profitable with your payroll services. Before you start charging customers for payroll, do some research and ask yourself a few questions to determine your pricing.

When it comes to pricing your payroll services, you may ask yourself questions like:

• Do your clients just need the calculations or do they also want tax deposits and filings?
• How many employees does the client have?
• What is the client’s pay frequency or frequencies?
• Does the client have employees in multiple states?
• Will the client need direct deposit?
• What is the client’s current payroll situation? How long will it take you to set them up?

Asking yourself these kinds of questions (and more) can help you figure out what payroll pricing structure is best for your firm. You may decide to create a pricing model for your clients. Or, you could determine pricing on a client-by-client basis.

If you use software to manage your clients’ payroll, you also can charge clients a premium for your work and time that costs more than the software price.

4. Know how to market your payroll services

Marketing and profits go hand in hand. If you want to make profits from your payroll services, you have to use some marketing strategies to get the word out about it.

Here are just a few ways you can market your payroll services to clients:

• Add payroll services to your list of options on your firm’s website
• Take out an advertisement
• Use social media to promote your offerings
• Email your current clients to let them know
• Reach out to contacts who were looking to hire you for payroll services in the past

The more you market your offerings, the better. And once you begin spreading the news about your payroll services, you will (hopefully) start seeing a boost in profits—and maybe even client count. 

Want more information about offering payroll services?

Maybe you’re on the fence about offering payroll services to clients. Or, maybe you’re just not quite sure where to start. Find out everything you need to know about offering payroll services by checking out “An Accountant’s Guide to Offering Payroll Services to Clients.” This free resource breaks down the perks of offering payroll services, what to look for in a payroll provider partner, and more. Plus, get access to a handy checklist to help you get started.