Canada is just a stone’s throw away from us but if you do business on both sides of the border, you know how complicated the differing payroll regulations between the two countries is. In fact, managing the payroll for small companies between the two countries is so complicated that it prevents business owners from taking promising business opportunities that would effectively double their payroll management workload.
One solution some business owners find effective is to outsource their payroll for small companies to a provider who understands all of the Canadian requirements. Using outsourced payroll services is significantly cheaper than beefing up your payroll team of in-house employees, and saves you the hassle and expense of unintentionally falling out of compliance and being subject to hefty fines.
If you are looking into outsourced payroll for small companies, there are a few important factors that you should consider before entrusting your payroll services in the hands of a third-party. Before signing on with an outsourced payroll for small companies, make sure you take the following factors into account:
- Legal compliance.
The labour laws in Canada are starkly different than those of the United States. It is easy to unintentionally get out of compliance, only because you aren’t aware of the intricacies of the foreign regulations. The great service that an outsource payroll service can provide for you is to be your service matter expert on all thing related to Canadian payroll. Before choosing a payroll provider, look into their methods of keeping their clients in compliance with health and safety laws, employment laws, and payroll laws. If too much of the burden lies on the business owner to stay in legal compliance, you should keep looking. A good payroll provider will take the wheel on your behalf. - Reputation.
Regardless of what the payroll provider says about themselves, nothing is more reassuring that your business is in the right hands than choosing a provider who has a reputation for quality service. Ask around to other businesses in your situation (being split between two federal governments) and find a payroll provider who gets great reviews.
We’ll add this tip for free: ask government regulators for reviews. Not only do they work with a wide range of payroll providers and have a great perspective of whose good and who isn’t, but also payroll providers who do great work staying in compliance get on the regulators “good side.” Working with a payroll provider who already has the stamp of approval from the government regulators to begin with will make your job easier. - Human resources
Every payroll provider offers a different range of services. Not all do, but finding a provider who also offers Human Resources services is a good idea to make sure your entire organization remains in compliance under Canadian law. The rules and regulations that govern Canadian HR is complicated and constantly changing, it’s hard to keep up with by yourself. Using a provider who takes all of the HR and payroll tasks off your plate for you is a good idea. Not to mention, bundling services might save you some money. - Insurance
Another service that you should keep an eye out for is insurance management. Your employees north of the border will need health insurance (based in Canada) and it is an entirely different bag than American health insurance. In fact, the entire health insurance infrastructure in Canada is completely different than ours. Managing health insurance can be done on your own, but if you find an outsourced solution who will take care of it for you, in addition to your HR management and payroll services, it might be an amazing opportunity to save yourself a huge mountain of work and hassle.
The United States and Canada have many similarities in our culture and way of life. It might be simple to expand your business to our Canadian brothers, but managing employees in Canada creates it’s own set of work. If you aren’t prepared to become an expert in Canadian labour and payroll laws, you could do yourself a significant favour by enlisting an outsourced service to manage it for you. If you do outsource your Canadian employee management, make sure you follow these guidelines for finding the best one.