Payroll Becoming Increasingly Difficult - Study

Payroll Becoming Increasingly Difficult - Study

Business owners are finding payroll management an increasingly difficult and time-consuming task, especially since the introduction of the Holidays Act, according to a new study.

The survey of 528 hospitality businesses from around the country has just been released by MYOB, New Zealand's leading provider of business accounting solutions, and the Hospitality Association of New Zealand.

According to the study, almost three quarters of respondents are taking longer to do their payroll since the Act came into force, and nearly 30% have had to increase resources to manage their weekly payroll requirements.

On average, businesses surveyed employed over 19 staff, with more than half of those working part-time.

MYOB Business Division manager Paul Jennings says compliance, particularly with changes in legislation, is one of the key concerns of New Zealand businesses.

"This survey of the hospitality industry is a good illustration of the increasing burden businesses face when dealing with accounting and reporting issues."

"In particular, as this study shows, changes like this are most often felt directly by the individual business owner."

According to the survey, more than 50% of business owners personally prepared their business' payrolls and almost 40% of the businesses surveyed still prepared their payrolls manually.

"We believe that finding ways of decreasing the burdens faced by business owners in the current environment is vital," says Paul Jennings.

"One of the keys to this is providing ways for businesses to manage their compliance requirements more effectively and efficiently, such as using software like MYOB Payroll, which is regularly updated to take into account the latest legislative changes."

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