Why Do You Need to Outsource a Restaurant Payroll Service? – Key Reasons Why

March 31, 2022 / Category: New York Payroll Management , Payroll Management

Owning and operating a restaurant isn’t exactly a piece of cake. You have to juggle multiple tasks on a daily basis, including (but not limited to): ensuring that your restaurant is clean before opening; making sure that your kitchen is well-stocked with the ingredients you’ll need for the day; managing your staff; dealing with vendors and suppliers; interacting with customers; and the list could go on and on! Of course, payroll is another vital part of any successful operation. The good news is, you don’t have to handle payroll on your own. Instead, you can entrust your restaurant payroll service to a reputable outsourcing company, such as Premier Payroll Solutions.

Two female restaurant owners working on a cash register.

Here are 4 key reasons why that may be a good idea:

 

1. Outsourced Restaurant Payroll Service Can Lighten Your Workload.

Does it ever seem like there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish all the work that needs to get done? That’s a common challenge that restaurant owners face. Fortunately, outsourcing your restaurant payroll service can provide you with at least a little bit of relief in the time management department.

How much time goes into doing payroll every pay period? If you’ve ever tried doing it yourself, you already know the answer. If not, think about it for a second:

  • You need to determine which method of payment you’ll use (e.g., checks, direct deposits, paycards, and so forth). If you offer several options, you’ll need to ensure that each employee receives their payment according to their preferred method.
  • You need to verify the accuracy of your payroll. Make sure that no one on your staff gets underpaid or overpaid. 
  • You need to ensure that all federal and state taxes are withheld according to specific regulations. 
  • On occasion, you need to audit your payroll for any mistakes, and then make any necessary adjustments ASAP.

As you can imagine, these and many other payroll-related tasks can eat up a sizable chunk of your day. But with outsourced payroll services from a reputable vendor, you won’t have to worry about handling these time-consuming (but necessary) items ever again.

 

2. A Restaurant Payroll Service Can Scale Up or Down with Your Business.

It’s been said that the only thing that’s constant in this world is change. Restaurant owners can certainly attest to that! Just think of the ups and downs that the restaurant industry faced during the COVID-19 pandemic! Some restaurants had to temporarily close their doors. Others had to hire more staff to meet the sudden demand for curbside pickups and home deliveries. 

The point is, when sudden changes occur in your business, your payroll should be able to seamlessly adapt to those new circumstances. However, if you have an in-house team handling your payroll, it may be difficult to adjust your staffing levels when business slows down. And if you’re trying to handle payroll on your own, you may have trouble keeping up when business picks up and you need to bring more employees on board.

In contrast, working with an outsourced payroll provider can be the perfect solution for fluctuating business needs. Your restaurant payroll service provider can quickly and seamlessly add new employees as needed. It can also scale down when circumstances call for it. What’s not to love, right?

 

3. Outsourced Payroll Can Help Your Restaurant Business Stay Compliant.

A lot of the biggest payroll mistakes that restaurant owners in NY make have to do with compliance (or the lack thereof). For instance, new restaurant owners may fail to withhold and pay the appropriate amount of FICA tax from each worker’s paycheck. Over time, such an oversight could result in heavy penalties and fines. This is in addition to repaying the full amount of the missing tax!

Of course, the FICA tax is just one example of the many ways that a restaurant needs to stay compliant in terms of payroll. Owners must also pay business income tax, and may have to manage health benefits and retirement plans for their employees (depending on the size and nature of their restaurant business). And paying the full amount of tax due, on time, is always an important consideration. 

Here again, using an outsourced restaurant payroll service can greatly benefit your restaurant. You won’t have to worry about paying easily avoidable fees and fines or running into an unexpected compliance issue. Instead, you’ll be able to focus on the core aspects of your business: preparing healthy, sanitary, and delicious meals, and ensuring that your customers are comfortable and satisfied.

 

4. Using a Restaurant Payroll Service Can Keep Costs Down.

At the end of the day, there are really only two options for handling payroll: doing it in-house or outsourcing it. The in-house route may be better in terms of data accessibility. However, it is often more expensive and time-consuming than handing payroll duties off to an external firm. Just consider the cost of keeping a full-time payroll specialist on your staff – not to mention an entire team! And if your business needs to scale up in the future, your staffing costs could increase dramatically.

On the other hand, you can expect the cost of an outsourced restaurant payroll service to remain relatively stable. This is not only good news for your profit margin in general, but can also make a huge difference in terms of cash flow. 

Male restaurant business owner managing his employees' payroll and other benefits - reasons to outsource restaurant payroll service.

Final Thoughts

Are you a restaurant owner in the Big Apple? Then one or more of these reasons for using a restaurant payroll service may apply to you. If so, the next question you may be asking is: “Okay, which payroll service should I use?”

At Premier Payroll Solutions, we have the experience and expertise to keep your payroll error-free, and to ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local requirements. Plus, you can 100% count on us to respond to any question you have promptly. (That’s more than you can say for some of these big processing companies that work with hundreds of clients at once.)

If you’d like to learn more about our payroll services, and how we’ve helped other restaurant owners grow their businesses, contact us today. We’d love to start the conversation with you!