Equip your payroll clients with the tools they need to help themselves
What is the number one priority of your business? A 2021 survey asked 1,920 business owners to share their number one priority over the next 5 years. Some may assume the main priority for most businesses would be to improve or develop the goods or services they offer. In fact, customer service and improving the customer experience was named as the top priority by the majority.
When it comes to building and maintaining a good reputation for your practice, customer service is key. Providing excellent customer service can be the easiest way to make your practice stand out from the crowd. According to research, after a positive customer experience, 69% of consumers would recommend the company to others.
When a client needs assistance or wants to request information about the payroll from you, it remains important to them that they can speak to a ‘real human’ if they need to. However, according to a customer service survey, 67% said they preferred self-service over speaking to a company representative. So, how can you imply these tactics to your bureau? Equip your clients with the tools they need to solve problems and take care of tasks themselves rather than them having to contact you
How can you help your clients help themselves?
BrightPay Connect is a cloud add-on to BrightPay’s payroll software. When you use BrightPay Connect, you invite clients to their own self-service employer dashboard. From the dashboard, they have access to the tools they need to perform a number of tasks. They will be able to do the following without the need to contact you by phone or email:
View amounts due to HMRC
From the employer dashboard, clients can view HMRC payments for the tax year and amounts due to HMRC. The client can also view P30 reports showing the full breakdown of how the amounts are calculated.
View and download payroll reports
Your clients will have anytime access to a range of payroll reports. BrightPay has automatically created some common payroll reports including daily pay report, holiday pay report, statutory pay report and a pension report, within the payroll software. You can also create customised reports which can be shared with your clients through the employer dashboard.
View employee payslips
Once you have finalised the payslips for that pay period, your clients will receive a notification on their employer dashboard to let them know that the latest payslips are now available to be viewed or downloaded. From the dashboard, the employer can view or download all current and past payslips of each of their employees.
Make changes to the payroll for that period
When you use BrightPay Connect you have the ability to request payroll information from one or multiple clients, through your own online dashboard. Once the request has been sent, your clients will receive a notification on their dashboard. Clients can choose to make any additions or deductions to their employees’ pay, add a new starter for that period or leave any other instructions that they may have for you in the comment box. They can also upload timesheets or other spreadsheets to inform you of their employee’s hours worked for that week. This saves both you and your clients from wasting time trawling through emails.
Once you have reviewed the information entered by the client, any changes made will automatically flow down to your BrightPay Payroll software. This automation cuts down on errors that are more likely to happen when payroll details are entered manually while the onus will be on your client to ensure everything is correct.
Other benefits of BrightPay Connect for your clients
When using BrightPay Connect, your clients can offer employees access to their own self-service app, where they can access their payslips and employee documents, update the information the employer has on file for them and request annual leave. Allowing employees to access payslips and other documents through a cloud portal also improves security and helps GDPR compliance.
BrightPay Connect also includes an employee calendar from which your clients can keep record of all employees’ past and scheduled leave, including annual leave, unpaid leave, absence, sick leave and parenting leave.
How does a self-service portal improve the customer experience?
By using a self-service portal your clients will benefit from:
- A quicker service. Surveys have named a fast response time as the most important attribute of the customer experience.
- Less stress. Having to send emails back and forth when wanting to request certain information can become stressful for the client, especially if it is time sensitive.
- Access on the go. Your client no longer must wait until business hours to get the information they want. They can access the data they need, anytime, anywhere, 24/7. Even on the go, from their mobile.
Improving the overall customer experience will mean you will have happier customers, who will then spread the word about your practice. You will also benefit from having a decreased workload and will have more time to spend on other areas of your business. Visit our client hub page which is a great resource to inform your clients on the benefits of BrightPay Connect.
Book a BrightPay Connect demo today to learn more about how the client self-service feature can improve the customer service experience and build your reputation.