Small Business Fact: Only 10% of small businesses stay open in the first 5 years.

If you’re one of the brave few, we admire and salute you.

It’s exciting that so many entrepreneurs have taken destiny into their own hands and decided to go into business for themselves. On the one hand, this can be thrilling and empowering but there’s also the administrative part of running the business. Small business owners usually try to handle HR and payroll themselves, or neglect to do the research and partner with the wrong person.  We’ve identified the challenges and some solutions.

 

Challenge 1: The stress of wearing multiple hats

You play a lot of roles as a small business owner: decision maker, HR manager, innovator, or advertising head—this is on top of keeping the doors open and the lights on. We think the most important role of all is empowering others around you to do what they do best and setting them up for success. If you’re trying to do it all yourself, we encourage you to delegate and outsource your administrative functions. Here are the top three reasons why you should outsource:

1) Someone’s already performing these tasks more efficiently.

2) Delegating shows that you’re serious about every aspect of your business.

3) Letting others handle administrative duties frees up time to do what you do best.

 

Challenge 2: Payroll – the highest expense for a small business owner

Experts say that handling garnishments and unemployment is a top concern for small business owners. These situations can make running payroll complicated and add stress. Here are some of the other challenges small business owners face when dealing with payroll:

  • Overcoming accounting demands
  • Budgeting for payroll expenses
  • Handling payroll deductions
  • Keeping track of payroll taxes and making sure they are done correctly

 

When outsourcing payroll to a trusted partner, here are the top services you should look for:  

  • Cloud-based payroll processing
  • Management of payroll tax payments
  • A dedicated support team
  • An online employee self-service portal

 

Related: An affordable enterprise level payroll solution for small business owners

Challenge 3: HR and Government Compliance

Since laws are constantly being updated, it’s next to impossible for most businesses to keep up with the changes. Most small business owners aren’t proactive about HR and that can be a problem since the risk of non-compliance has never been higher. The “crossed fingers” approach isn’t enough. Even a simple allegation can cost a company tens of thousands of dollars simply to prove they did nothing wrong.

Here are some other HR and compliance challenges: 

  • No qualified guidance
  • Employee handbooks are not up to date
  • Keeping up with regulations on health and retirement benefits
  • Handling employee terminations with the right conduct to protect themselves from unemployment claims
  • Paperwork during the employee onboarding process is not completed or stored correctly

 

Outsourcing to a small business partner can help you:

  • Navigate the complexities of compliance laws
  • Stay updated on new regulations and what they might mean for your business
  • Build a well-organized, legally compliant HR program

 


Why should you partner with Aliat?

Our mission is to take care of the administrative responsibilities that small businesses like yours must tackle, so you can focus on your most important, profitable tasks. For more information, please Request a Consultation.