Jun 2022
15
Safeguarding your business for the future is crucial. This could mean protecting your business against threats like cyber-attacks or implementing changes that ensure your business can grow successfully. Streamlining your current business processes can allow you to work more efficiently, while also preparing you for business expansion or any unforeseen events the future might bring.
To improve your business, it is essential to keep up with the latest technology. Examples of this could be backing up your data to the cloud, going paperless, or using an employee self-service app to take care of HR tasks.
Payroll software, Thesaurus Payroll Manager, offers a cloud-extension product called Thesaurus Connect that is a one-stop shop for all your business's payroll and HR needs. Thesaurus Connect offers a number of features that can help you to streamline your business processes, and safeguard for the future.
Cyberthreats are extremely common, in 2021, it was reported by the Irish Examiner that 90% of Irish businesses had seen a rise in cyber-attacks in the previous twelve months. Therefore, backing up your data to somewhere other than your computer’s hard drive is vital for keeping you and your employees’ data safe. Using cloud storage to back up your data is not only convenient for the user as it doesn’t require the use of external hard drives, but it also helps ensure that your data is safe from hackers or cyber-attacks.
Thesaurus Connect, when used alongside Thesaurus Payroll Manager, can help protect your company against ransomware attacks by storing all your payroll data in the cloud. Thesaurus Connect automatically backs up your payroll data to the cloud every 15 minutes, and once again when closing down the employer file, making sure your data is safe. You can restore a backup on your PC or you can simply download a backup onto a new computer, making it easy to access, anywhere, any time. This means that should the worst happen, for example, if your computer is stolen or damaged, you will always be able to retrieve your payroll data.
When you connect your payroll software to Thesaurus Connect, you can invite your employees to access the employee self-service app. This can be downloaded on any smartphone or tablet device, or it can be accessed through an internet browser. Through the app, your employees will be able to access and download all their new and historic payslips, meaning you won’t need to distribute them or send them past payslips when they are requested. This will give you more time for other important tasks, rather than wasting time trawling through files. As well as this, if your employee’s personal details change (e.g., they move house or change mobile number), they can change these details themselves through the employee self-service app.
Documents which you want employees to read can also be uploaded to Thesaurus Connect’s online dashboard. You can then choose which employees will have access to these documents, and employees will be able to view them through the employee portal. As a lot of employees now work remotely or work a hybrid working model, sharing documents through Thesaurus Connect can be a simple way of ensuring that important documents are read, such as contracts of employment or a staff handbook.
As an employer, it can be difficult to juggle many tasks at once. One task which is essential, but can become difficult to manage, is dealing with annual leave requests from employees. Thesaurus Connect allows your employees to request annual leave through the employee app. You can then approve or deny the request from Thesaurus Connect’s online dashboard. This allows you to deal with annual leave requests in a way that is transparent and fair. Through the online dashboard, you can also view a companywide leave calendar, which allows you to easily track which employees are on leave, and the type of leave they are on. Other team members can be delegated the task of dealing with annual leave requests for selected employees, taking another job off your plate.
Ultimately, Thesaurus Payroll Manager’s cloud extension, Thesaurus Connect, will help you optimise your time, safeguarding future growth and development.
Why not book a free 20 minute demonstration of Thesaurus Connect to see the benefits for yourself.
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Feb 2022
8
Do you backup your data regularly? 17% of businesses keep no data backups whatsoever and store information only on their computer's hard drive. The purpose of a backup is to create a copy of your data which can be recovered in the event that the original is disrupted. Backups protect against hardware failure, virus attacks, natural disasters, and human error.
A recent Hiscox report, which surveyed 355 companies in Ireland, showed that 41% of Irish businesses suffered at least one cyber-attack in 2020. The report also revealed that 6.5% of Irish firms paid a ransom following a ransomware attack.
It is essential that you backup your payroll data to protect your business and your employees. Your business can save time and money if any of the above events occur, and you have a copy of your data elsewhere. Discover three ways you can backup your data below.
Investing in cloud storage such as Google Drive or Dropbox allows you to keep your data safe in the cloud. You will need to remember to manually backup your data regularly. With cloud storage, an advantage is that your data has multiple backups within your storage provider’s data centres. This means that if something catastrophic happened to your backup, it is already backed up somewhere else.
A less popular option is backing up your data using a physical storage device or USB key. Your data transfer speeds are typically faster as you don’t require an internet connection. This method can come with its own risks and cost per GB can also be expensive.
If you process payroll in-house, Thesaurus Payroll Manager’s add-on product, Thesaurus Connect, enables users to safely and securely backup their payroll data to the cloud. A chronological history of backups will be maintained which can be restored to your PC at any time. Click here to book a free 15-minute online demo of Thesaurus Connect.
To discover more about Thesaurus Payroll Manager and Thesaurus Connect and how it can improve your payroll services and save you time, schedule a free online demo with a member of our team today. Thesaurus Payroll Manager also offers a 60-day free trial of its payroll software, an ideal way to test out the software to see if it’s the right fit for your business. The free trial version has full functionality with no limitations on any of the features. Thesaurus Connect is not included in the free trial.
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Jul 2021
26
COVID-19 has accelerated the move to paperless systems for businesses all over the world. In retail we saw outlets curtailing the use of cash due to fear of spreading the virus; causing payment habits to evolve faster than ever. With more of us working remotely, the office has also seen rapid innovation and it has become crucial that businesses digitalise their paper forms. While some of us may have found the move to digital difficult at first, many of us are now used to it and can easily visualise a future where paper is no longer needed in the workplace. The pros of a paperless workplace far outweigh the cons and it has the ability to revolutionise the way we work.
The move to paperless is nothing new in the world of payroll processing. Going back to a time where payroll was done manually and without the help of software is unimaginable to most payroll processers. However, if you are still using paper anywhere in your workflow, it’s time to make the change.
Thesaurus Connect is a cloud add-on to our payroll software that can help you to digitalise payroll and HR processes, allowing you to cut down on your use of paper and even stop using it altogether. So how can Thesaurus Connect help you achieve this?
Thesaurus Connect digitalises the following tasks:
Surveys have found that the average amount spent by businesses on printing is over €800 per employee. With 30% of print jobs not even being picked up from the printer and 50% of print jobs ending up in the bin within 24 hours, businesses are essentially throwing money away. A document such as a staff handbook can be as long as 100 pages. Say you have 40 employees, that adds up to 4000 pages and a lot of money being spent on paper and ink. Sharing the staff handbook through a cloud portal cuts out this cost altogether.
With Thesaurus Connect, staff have the ability to access important documents through the employee self-service app on their phone. This means they no longer have to store physical documents that can often be lost or get thrown away. It also means that if you would like to update or change any of the information in the document, it is easy to do so. Once the document has been updated, employees will receive a push notification to let them know the newly updated document is ready to be viewed.
Sharing a document online with a few clicks of a mouse is far more convenient than having to print off, sort through and physically distribute reams of paper. It also doesn’t matter where an employee is; in the office, working from home, or even travelling abroad, everyone will have access to the document at the same time.
Paper-based processes are notoriously slow and are more prone to error which can end up taking you hours to correct. One way you can save time with Thesaurus Connect is by digitalising your annual leave management processes. Instead of having employees submit paper forms, the employee can request leave wherever or whenever suits them; be it from their desk or even in their own time through the Thesaurus Connect mobile or tablet app.
Once a request for leave has been made, the relevant manager will receive a notification on their own Thesaurus Connect dashboard. From the dashboard, employers can either approve or deny the leave request. Through your dashboard, you can view a real-time, company-wide calendar where you can see which employees are on leave, when they are on leave and the type of leave, saving you hours of time when dealing with annual leave requests.
Another great benefit of using Thesaurus Connect's online document sharing feature instead of paper is that it allows for accountability. From the employer dashboard, users have the ability to track who has read the documents which have been shared with them and who hasn’t. When it comes to managing annual leave through Thesaurus Connect, you can assign users to manage requests from specific employees. You also will have a record of who has requested leave, when, and who has dealt with the request.
Employee documents, especially payslips, are highly confidential documents which contain sensitive personal information. It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that the employees' information is kept safe and secure. If you are still sharing paper payslips with employees, you are leaving them at high risk of a data breach. In the Thesaurus Connect mobile app, employees will receive an email and a push notification when their latest payslip becomes available to be viewed or downloaded. From the app, employees can also view and download all historic payslips. Thesaurus Connect uses a design structure that maximises security. Each user will have their own login details and unique password. Thesaurus Connect utilises the Microsoft Azure platform, keeping the employee’s personal information secure.
Technology is always evolving and by not moving from manual paper processes to digital ones, you are at risk of being left behind by the competition. Companies are having to continuously innovate to keep up with customers' expectations and payroll is no different. The digital transformation has changed employees’ expectations. To attract and retain top talent, employers need to replace old manual processes with digital solutions. In a recent employee survey, 91% of employees said they want digital solutions and 88% think that technology is a vital part of the employee experience.
Lastly, the biggest advantage of going paperless is that you are helping to save the environment. By curtailing the use of paper in the workplace not only are you saving trees, but you are also helping to reduce pollution, save water and cut down on the use of fossil fuels which are used to make ink. Turning a single tree into 17 reams of paper releases around 110 lbs of C02 into the atmosphere. It has become the responsibility of businesses to cut down on carbon emissions and going paperless is the first step you can take.
It is becoming increasingly important for businesses to make more environmentally friendly choices. Thesaurus Software recently conducted a survey of our UK customers and over 70% of respondents said that they would like to make more environmentally friendly decisions for their business. From the same survey, 43% said that it was either extremely important or very important for them to choose suppliers who make a conscious effort to reduce the impact they have on the environment.
Read about our own sustainability efforts here.
Why not book a free online demo of Thesaurus Connect today and find out more about its benefits and how it can help your business go paperless.
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Mar 2021
30
Are you wondering why you now owe Revenue money as a result of The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS)?
For the first 6 weeks of the TWSS back in March 2020, during the transitional phase, Revenue refunded a flat rate of €410 per employee per pay period, regardless of the employees' earnings. In a lot of cases this €410 exceeded the subsidy that the employee was entitled to receive, and it was made very clear from the start that there would be a reconciliation to rectify this overpayment.
The scheme was designed to assist employers and employees impacted by COVID-19, and to encourage companies to keep their workers on the payroll. If you didn’t avail of the TWSS then you won’t have a TWSS reconciliation.
On Monday 22nd March 2021, Revenue advised that most employers can now access their TWSS reconciliation balances in Revenue’s Online Service (ROS). The reconciliation balance is based on the actual information provided to Revenue by the employer.
The TWSS reconciliation period opened on 22 March 2021 and employers have until the end of June to review and accept the reconciliation amounts. Revenue are strongly recommending that employers take the time to read & understand the guidance before accepting the reconciliation amounts.
Approximately 40% of the employers that availed of TWSS are balanced. Revenue have said they will not pursue companies that owe a balance of under €500 as they will be considered balanced.
BrightPay hosted a TWSS reconciliation webinar with guest speakers from Revenue on 24th March 2021. During the webinar, we discussed the reconciliation process and had a Questions & Answers session at the end. Watch the webinar on-demand now.
You can also click here to register for our next webinar, which takes place on 21st April 2021
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Mar 2021
16
One year after the introduction of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), the Revenue reconciliation process is finally underway. Revenue have now compared the total subsidy amounts paid to employees, against the subsidy amounts paid to the employer. This has allowed Revenue to determine the amount of TWSS owed back to Revenue from employers.
All employers who availed of the TWSS will receive a Statement of Account in their ROS inbox on Monday 22nd March 2021. Employers will have until the end of June to review the detailed information and accept the reconciliation amounts. Once you have accepted the reconciliation calculation, you will either be paid any additional amount due to you by Revenue or be required to repay any amount that you owe to Revenue.
Join Thesaurus Software for a free webinar on Wednesday 24th March at 10.30 am. In this webinar, we will be joined by a guest speaker from Revenue who will discuss what you need to know about the TWSS reconciliation process. Plus, we will demonstrate how to cross-check reconciliation amounts with the payroll software and how payroll automation can help your business during COVID-19.
*** High demand for this webinar. Book your place now to avoid disappointment. ***
If you are unable to attend the webinar at the specified time, simply register and we will send you the recording afterwards.
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Jan 2021
26
Lockdown hasn't been easy for any of us - you could say it's been a bit of a 'coronacoaster'. COVID-19 has made us realise what’s important to us. Whether that be connecting more with family or re-connecting with old friends through the social platforms we are so grateful to have during this time. As we are currently in lockdown 3.0, let's look back on some of the key lessons learned as a payroll processor over the past year during this time of crisis.
Payroll is one of the core functions of running any business, and so it is something that needs to be completed on time and without errors. When working from home, your staff might not be able to access all the tools and documents that they would normally be able to access, especially if your systems are on-premises solutions and files and documents are physical hard copies.
Due to COVID-19 and having to work remotely from home, it is now a necessity to be able to access your payroll data from home. Your payroll software should easily facilitate remote working with additional user access. Thesaurus Payroll Manager can be installed on up to 10 PCs per licence key, and this means that payroll processing is possible by up to 10 users, or from 10 different locations. This is very handy for if you have a number of employees working from home, all needing access to the payroll software.
We have also introduced new multi-user features that work in conjunction with Thesaurus Connect, our optional cloud add-on, to improve the working from home experience. These new features include ‘version checking’ when opening an employer, and an ‘other users check’ when opening an employer. This new "working from home" integration gives you all the benefits of the cloud while utilising the power and responsiveness of your local device.
The past year has been very frustrating for payroll processors. Not only had you the added workload of processing subsidy claims, but you also had to learn about the various schemes and ensure you kept up to date with the latest guidelines. That’s why it’s so important to use reliable payroll software from a reliable company.
We kept Thesaurus Payroll Manager up to date to cater for the relevant scheme changes, and we tried to automate as much as possible in the payroll software to make your life easier.
In a recent survey, we achieved a 98.7% rating for our overall handling of COVID-19 including customer support, payroll upgrades, COVID-19 webinars and online support. We also won a COVID-19 Hero Award, and this is because of our response to COVID-19 and how we have helped our customers throughout the past few months.
As most businesses are now working remotely for the foreseeable future, it leaves many businesses exposed to data loss. This is why cloud backups are so important.
If you only keep your payroll data on your desktop, you are at risk of losing the information. Have you thought about what would happen if your computer broke down or was hacked? How would you get your payroll data back quickly? Would employees still get paid if the information was lost?
Thesaurus Connect is our optional add-on that works alongside the payroll software. Thesaurus Connect provides a secure and user-friendly way to backup and restore your payroll data on your PC to and from the cloud. It’s simply an added layer of data protection to keep your payroll data safe so you never lose your payroll data again.
Whether you’re an employer processing payroll in-house for your business, or an accountant or bureau processing payroll for a number of clients, automation is key. How much time do you spend managing annual leave, answering employee leave balance enquiries, retrieving lost payslips, and communicating with employees in general? Now is the time to eliminate those admin-heavy tasks!
Self-service online portals are changing the way businesses interact and communicate with their employees, whilst providing the cloud functionality to get things done smarter and faster. Thesaurus Connect includes the ability to manage employee leave, communicate with employees, automate payslip distribution, run payroll reports and much more.
Book a demo of Thesaurus Connect today to discover more features that can help you streamline your payroll and HR processes.
Jan 2021
19
More than ever, accountants are under pressure to diversify their service offering as the profits from doing compliance increasingly diminish. To the profession’s immense credit, firms have embraced new ways of working to not only stay afloat but thrive.
But with more competition, it’s become hard to stand out. Offering payroll services has become an overlooked way to set yourself apart. Perhaps understandably: in the past, payroll processing wasn’t a particularly dynamic, easy or, most importantly, profitable service to offer.
Things have changed, however, with the advent of new software that has made offering payroll services more profitable, simpler and innovative.
Thesaurus Connect is a cloud add-on that seamlessly slots into Thesaurus Payroll Manager on your desktop. The payroll is still processed on the Thesaurus Payroll Manager desktop application, but the payroll information is stored online on a secure cloud server. By introducing the cloud into your payroll services, you can demonstrate value and power up what you offer to clients.
Here are four ways you can introduce a cloud system with payroll access like Thesaurus Connect to clients:
There’s so much complication in our modern economy. Businesses and individuals are assaulted on all sides by different technologies and demands for their attention and time.
But it’s important to remember that the right tech can also radically simplify peoples’ lives too. Thesaurus Connect, with its suite of HR-centred features, will make payroll processing simple and collaborative.
By empowering your clients via the cloud add-on, you’ll lessen the admin burden on yourself, leaving you to focus on getting the details right. For your client (and their employees), Thesaurus Connect will give them control over their leave and payroll data.
Things can – and should – be much simpler. And with Thesaurus Connect, that’s the new reality of payroll processing. Book a demo of Thesaurus Connect today.
Nov 2020
13
We have teamed up with Revenue to bring you a free webinar where we discuss everything you need to know about TWSS reconciliation and the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS).
10.30am | 19th November
The Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) gives employers impacted by COVID-19 a subsidy payable per employee to help keep them in employment. This scheme has replaced the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) from 1 September 2020 and will run until 31 March 2021.
What you’ll learn:
Hear from Payroll Experts
Q&A Panel:
From the Revenue Commissioners:
Even if you can’t make it, register now and we’ll send you a recording.
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Oct 2020
14
The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme – also known as TWSS, was in operation since 26th March, and it ended on 31st August. The subsidy was processed through the payroll as a non-taxable addition, and instead, the subsidy will be taxable and USC-able via an end of year review by Revenue.
Employees will be taxed via a reduction in tax credits and cut off points from 2022. Revenue have confirmed that the liability will be collected over 4 years to avoid hardship. Employees will have the opportunity to pay it in full before then if they wish.
There are two stages to the TWSS Reconciliation process. For stage one, employers are required to report the actual subsidy that they paid to employees on each pay date.
Thesaurus Payroll Manager have made it easy to create these TWSS CSV Reconciliation files within the 'Reports' section on the payroll software. The CSV file can then be uploaded in the Employer Services section on ROS, as per Revenue's requirements. This file must be uploaded to ROS by 31st October. If you do not provide this data about payments to your employees, Revenue will recoup the total temporary wage subsidy paid and related interest charges.
Stage two of the reconciliation process is due to commence later this month, and during this stage, the total subsidy payable amounts will be compared against the subsidy amounts paid to the employer. Revenue will then determine the amount of TWSS, if any, owing back to Revenue from employers.
A Statement of Account will be sent to your ROS inbox. You will either be paid any additional amount due to you by Revenue or be required to repay any amount that you owe to Revenue.
In some cases, an employer may decide, or Revenue may instruct the employer, to repay to Revenue some or all the subsidy refund payment received from Revenue. Employers can repay excess subsidy values to Revenue via a new facility within ROS, this can be done under Payments & Refunds by selecting ’Submit a Payment’ and then TWSS (Employer). Customers should no longer use the Revenue bank account details previously provided for repayments of TWSS.
Only subsidy amounts should be repaid to Revenue through this method - Do not include any repayments in respect of income tax and USC through this RevPay facility. This should be done separately under PAYE EMP to ensure that the payment is correctly reflected on the employers PAYE EMP balance.
To ensure that the TWSS was operated correctly, Revenue are conducting a programme of compliance checks on all employers who availed of the scheme at any stage. Letters are being issued to employers and tax agents. Revenue were previously sending these to certain employers/agents via MyEnquiries. Since the start of October, Revenue have started sending them direct to the main ROS inbox, along with all other correspondence, so there’s a greater chance that they could be missed.
The letter will set out the steps that employers need to take to verify their compliance with the regulations of the TWSS.
Employers will need to confirm:
At this point employers are not expected to provide detailed documentation to prove that they have met the employer eligibility criteria but based on the summary provided, Revenue may look for more detailed information in some cases.
If you receive such a letter, please note that there is a 5-day time limit to respond to the Revenue’s request. It is essential that employers respond promptly as failure to do so will lead to immediate escalation. Therefore, it is important that employers keep an eye on both the ROS inbox and MyEnquiries or the letter.
This Revenue compliance check is not part of an audit or intervention. Instead, it is a request for information to provide assurance that the scheme was operated as intended by employers.
In addition, the compliance check programme will address any issues identified in respect of the operation of PAYE Modernisation by employers over 2019 and 2020. It will also provide an opportunity for employers to address any other outstanding tax issues that they may have.
For the latest payroll updates don’t miss our next free webinar, where we are joined by Revenue.
10.30am | 19th November
Webinar Agenda
If you are unable to attend the webinar at the specified time, simply register and we will send you the recording afterwards.
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Sep 2020
10
2020 has been a transformative year for most businesses. Many employers have had to take a long hard look at how they manage their employees and make significant changes in the wake of COVID-19 in order to adapt to what is quickly becoming the new normal. For a large proportion of these businesses, allowing employees to work remotely is playing a central role in that change. And this throws up some challenges.
Remote working isn’t a new phenomenon. Cloud innovations have made it possible for people to work from home for many years. However, most businesses have been reluctant to embrace this practice up until now. This is because, when employees are spread out, even the most basic tasks such as distributing payslips, applying for annual leave and internal communication can be more difficult.
Today, however, employers are finding themselves in a position where they must allow employees to work remotely and find clever solutions to these challenges. And Thesaurus Connect is one such solution that makes remote working easier for everyone.
You might not think that remote working has any impact on processing payroll, especially if you’re a small business with just one payroll administrator. But there are a number of ways that remote working can indirectly impact payroll. It also has numerous knock-on effects on human resources management which need to be addressed in order for a business to thrive.
Here are some examples of the payroll and HR challenges presented by remote working:
Thesaurus Connect is a cloud portal add-on to our payroll software. While the payroll software gives you everything you need to process your payroll, Connect offers a range of additional features that streamline your human resource management.
The features of Thesaurus Connect include:
If your business is embracing remote working and trying to find ways to facilitate this new practice, then book your free Connect demo today and let our team of experts show you just how much easier remote working can be.