Most businesses view the services they offer in the same way they would an all-you-can-eat buffet: it’s deeply gratifying to have yourself a full plate, but add too much and you’re only going to upset the balance.

Having an already stacked workload may be one of the reasons many chartered accountants don’t consider offering a payroll service to clients, but by letting it fall to the wayside, they’re missing out on a revenue stream that’s a lot simpler to set up and run than they may actually realise.

“We hear it a lot from our accounting partners that they feel payroll services are mistakenly overlooked in the industry,” says Fiona Passaris from KeyPay, a cloud-based workforce management and payroll platform.

“The partners we’ve recently spoken to have said it’s been a huge benefit for them to be able to offer payroll as a service, because it’s meant they could dive deeper into the relationships with their clients.

"It’s been a huge benefit for them to be able to offer payroll as a service, because it’s meant they could dive deeper into the relationships with their clients."

“It’s increased their communications and added a level of stickiness that meant clients have stayed with them longer. It’s also offered new revenue streams as they were able to bring on new clients in sectors that they previously weren’t able to support.”

Taking the risk out of payroll

A platform such as KeyPay, with its built-in compliance, takes the risk out of offering payroll. It also removes any time-gobbling tedium by automating payroll calculations and streamlining workflows. Managing extras such as rosters, timesheets and employee leave and reporting in a single system makes the job a breeze – and a potentially lucrative one at that.

“KeyPay allows accountants and bookkeepers to apply their expertise when looking at the data in the pay run but leaves the system to perform the complex calculations that are so often being run manually in Excel,” explains Sydney-based KeyPay sales manager Georgie Gilbert.

Added benefits

There are, of course, more benefits from offering payroll services than simply generating more income for your business. Providing payroll services automatically creates a wider reach of clients. And by taking care of a job they don’t want to tackle themselves, you provide clients with a substantial value-add that enriches client engagement and positions your firm as a ‘one-stop shop’ for their needs.

“Besides the additional revenue stream, it cultivates stronger relationships, broadens the scope of services that accountants can offer their clients, and positions them as a trusted adviser throughout the entire client lifecycle,” says Passaris.

A simple way to generate a revenue stream that not only keeps your clients happy, but strengthens your working relationship with them? Sounds like something you would definitely like to have on your plate.

Find out more: