Whether you are just starting up or the owner of an established business, there’s a lot to consider about handling payroll and payments. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, and the world of payment technology and services is constantly evolving.

When a business owner comes to me for advice, I start by asking a few questions to help me determine the business’s needs. For example, I would want to know:

• What size is your business? A business with a couple of employees may be able to get by using Interac e-Transfer®* to accept payments. Any bigger than that and a payment solution provider may be worth the money.
• Who will be looking after your payroll and payment processing? How much experience will they have in this area?
• Do you anticipate any changes coming up?
• How do you want to accept and debit payments?
• Do you want to focus more time on building the business and delegate payroll and payments to an expert? This may be a good option for seasonal as well as newer businesses.

The answers to these questions help me determine what to recommend. Payment solutions should enhance the customer’s experience, easily integrate into business processes and be able to handle contactless transactions if needed.

There are also some important payroll regulatory and reporting requirements to consider. If you’d rather focus on growing your business, you may want a service to help you handle things like federal and provincial income taxes, CPP and EI. Some providers can even create helpful reports to help you analyze employment activity and anticipate business needs.

Keep in mind that as your business grows, your payment needs get more complex. You have more employees to pay, suppliers to settle and invoices to collect. Whether you deliver or receive payments electronically or through traditional methods like cheques, you’ll want a payment solution that will streamline your processes. There are some great simple web-based applications that will help you easily direct deposit your employees’ payroll or set up recurring automatic payments.

If you have any questions about the best solutions for you, start by talking over your situation with an expert.

*INTERAC is a registered trademark of Interac Inc. used under license.