Large or small, every company or organisation is made better when efficiency is built into their operations. Since 1973, MC Systems, the technology company in the MCS Group, the non-financial arm of The Jamaica National Group, has been consistently improving the design and function of payroll solutions, to make the job of payroll processing up-to-date and efficient.
In 2002, MC Systems raised the bar by providing the country’s first cloud-based payroll solution, BizPay Central. That award-winning platform was initially designed as an “easy-to-use” payroll solution for small to medium sized companies and organisations. In 2018, BizPay Central was redeveloped using the latest technology stacks and BizPay Enterprise was also made available as a cloud payroll solution for medium to large sized entities.
“To some business leaders, the “cloud” can appear to be a risky undertaking. The professional who prefers their systems on-premise would be very concerned about having company information outside the confines of their office. Cyber-attacks and dependence on internet service are among the justifications not to implement a cloud-based payroll solution, “ Chad Gordon, commercial manager, Payroll Solutions, MC Systems, pointed out.
However, Gordon noted that the “pros” far outweigh the “cons.” In fact, he said that, “The concerns mentioned were part of the impetus to ensure that cloud solutions are safe for businesses. The level of security available in the cloud is generally far superior to the typical company’s IT infrastructure security.”
He also maintained that Cloud Providers have IT security experts on hand, to evaluate vulnerabilities and track and respond to threats and attacks, long before data can be compromised.
The experts at the B2B and software solution network, Finance.com, argue that cloud-based payroll is much more secure, stating: “Unlike cloud-deployed payroll solutions, on-premise tools do not provide users with regular backups, exposing valuable data to the risk of loss. Data loss can result from system crashes and corruption. Losing employee data is one of the messiest problems that any business can encounter.”
Outlining the benefits of payroll in the cloud, Gordon informed that the benefits are numerous. These benefits include:
- Guaranteed compliance with Tax Administration of Jamaica (TAJ) payroll calculations. MC Systems cloud payroll platforms are always up- dated with changes in payroll tax laws
- Uninterrupted payroll system availability, in the event of system failures or disasters, affecting your normal business operations
- Ease of mobility, that is: no virtual private network (VPN) needed to access your payroll system remotely
- No server needed (lower start-up cost)
- No in-house or contracted technical expertise needed, to implement and maintain an up-to-date, secure and highly available on-premise payroll server environment (lower cost of operating)
Gordon pointed out that one of the major concerns for persons considering a cloud payroll solution is whether they will be able to process the payroll if the company’s internet goes down.
“If anyone in your organisation has data on their mobile phone, or if you can access the internet at any other location, then the answer is yes,” he informed.
Being experts in technology solutions and pioneers in cloud-based payroll services, MC Systems’ BizPay platform is definitely the safer, most accurate; and the most reliable cloud payroll solution available in Jamaica.
BizPay General Features include:
- Bank upload files compatible with all local commercial banks
- Out-of-cycle payroll runs
- Unlimited years of history
- Emailing of pay advices
- Mass upload of payroll information from Excel files
- Overriding payments or deductions for multiple pay periods in advance
- Automated calculation of hourly rates & mass rate changes
- Automatically terminate employees based on contract end dates
- User-defined access levels & unlimited user accounts
- Multiple pension schemes
- General Ledger reporting and interface files compatible with popular accounting systems
- Comprehensive statutory, analytical and audit trail reporting
- Multi-currency payments
- Loan administration for interest and non-interest loans
- Employee access to MC Systems’ BizPay Cash payroll loan platform
Gordon advised that when choosing a Cloud Payroll Provider, it is important to ask the following questions:
- What type of redundancy do you have in place (if any) to mitigate the effects of system failures, natural disasters, power outages or internet downtime?
- Where is the data stored?
- Who has access to the system and data?
- Will there be any system downtime during working hours for system maintenance?
- Do you have a documented change management process to install system updates?
“With more than 45 years of service to the Jamaican business sector, MC Systems pioneered this secure, efficient and convenient way to process and store company payroll data. The idea of cloud-based systems has become even more popular with advances in technology. With these advancements, companies and organisations of every size can safely look to the cloud to improve their efficiency,” Gordon said about the product.