Pay and bill software is one of the tools every recruitment business should adopt and utilise. In this article, we will be focusing on its benefits specifically towards companies working with IT specialists. We strongly believe it can help to fill in the supply gap for specialists and we will explain how.
As you must already know, there is a big mismatch between the demand and supply of IT talent. When taking a closer look at the issue last week, we came to the conclusion that there are two major solutions to this crisis and they work in tandem. First, is dipping into a wider pool of specialists by opening your company up for contractors and remote workers. Second, is supplying them with the tools that not only accommodate their working style but make their experience with you overall smoother.
Pay and bill software is one such solution, especially when it’s part of a wider, integrated tech stack. While any recruitment agency would benefit from using such a system, it’s almost a necessity for those supplying IT specialists. Not only it makes the overall dealing with day-to-day tasks easier, but can also contribute to better your business as a whole. Tickled your curiosity yet? Good, because we are happy to elaborate.
What is Pay and Bill?
Pay and bill is a term used to describe streamlining and optimisation of several core processes in recruitment. Namely invoicing, payroll processing, compliance management, onboarding and timesheet entry.
It is a highly cost-effective and easily applied practice that relies on the use of digital solutions such as accounting software, timesheet management system and CRM.
The Core of IT Recruitment Procedures
As described above, pay and bill covers quite a lot of what’s considered vital for most companies. But when speaking of IT recruitment specifically, there are some details to delve into. And they are more about how you work and communicate with your contractors rather than internal processes.
Security and Compliance
Security is at the heart of IT, considering how much sensitive data is involved in the day-to-day duties of an average IT specialist. So, when dealing with IT contractors, recruitment agencies at taking on even more risks than in any other situation. It’s not only the data of the contractors and the agency at stake but also that of the client. Given the financial nature of the pay and bill process, any security breaches can be devastating to both businesses and relationships. A designated pay and bill software today usually comes with encryptions and other layers of security to prevent such disasters from happening.
With the full legislation of IR35, there is a new aspect to consider when it comes to compliance. Simply put, failing on it is about as costly and trust-ruining as security breaches. Not to mention, this could seriously deter the IT contractors from working with you moving forward - a big deal given the shortage of senior workers at the moment. Given pay and bill software is aimed at recruiters, most solutions are now naturally tweaked to be IR35 compliance-aware.
Easy Remote Access
Like any other modern tools, pay and bill software is nowadays accessible across a variety of devices. When speaking of IT specifically, this is more than just a convenient benefit - it is a full deal breaker. As we’ve discussed in our previous blog, the pool of IT specialists is very shallow at the moment. You simply can’t afford to be limited by roadblocks that are easily overcome, such as the physical location of the worker. In other words, you need to be able to accommodate those that cannot be present in the office.
The ability to access the pay and bill module from any device with an internet connection can also smoothen the overall experience IT contractors have with your business. It generally reduces the back-and-forth you may otherwise have, resulting in longer processing times, potential chasing of the other party and confusing email threads. What’s more, it unlocks automation options that also contribute to the better quality of the overall process, such as significantly reducing the chance of human error. But we will expand on this in a separate section.
Packed with Benefits
If the above doesn’t impress you, we have more to throw into the mix. Pay and bill software can pretty much change the pace at which your business is growing and developing. If you utilise it right, of course. Naturally, you can’t use the perks you don’t know you have access to - so we are happy to make you aware of them.
Automate for Performance
As briefly touched upon, pay and bill software isn’t just an overall handy tool to help you speed up pay runs. It’s actually a powerful automation aide that, depending on your process, can fully take over the pay cycle. Similarly to other SaaS solutions, it is also stackable with other tools. That said, with the right set of integrations, your performance may reach heights you haven’t thought of. For example, a powerful combination would be linking pay and bill software with your accounting package, timesheets and a CRM. Integrating these tools would mean effortless data transfers as opposed to tab swapping to export/import documents.
There are additional shortcuts available too. In this specific scenario, for example, pay and bill tool could actually be part of the timesheet software - which is true with Timesheet Portal. It would mean that not only you’d save money from having to invest in one tool less, but the accessibility and process fluidity would too be enhanced. Naturally, this is just one example - there are countless other options, suitable for any business who may seek them.
Scaling with Breeze
In case it’s not evident at this point, adopting a pay-and-bill software, whether it’s a standalone tool or integrated into another solution, is very beneficial to your business. However, we were mostly looking at it from the perspective of speeding up processes and driving productivity. Alas, there is another area it supports - business scaling. Very often companies get stunted in their growth when they physically can’t take on more clients, therefore are unable to scale. The right tools are a solution to that.
By delegating more tasks to software, you naturally free up a lot of time for your workers which means the capacity of tasks they can take on also increases. So, you will be able to take on more clients/projects without having to expand your team, which is a viable solution alas very short-term. What’s more, most solutions are actually created to scale alongside you, therefore helping you to keep growing by adapting to your new requirements. At the end of the day, most SaaS platforms give you all you need for success - it’s all up to how you utilise them.
Choosing the Right Solution
Just like with any type of software, there are multiple options available on the market. And, of course, no business has the same needs as the next. Before you dive into looking for a system for yourself, put together a quick list of the key features you need, as well as the working style of your company. This will be your guiding star.
Pay and Bill Software for IT Recruitment
Recruiting IT specialists is particularly challenging in today’s environment. The gap between the demand and the supply is widening as we speak, meaning companies are under pressure to compete with one another in order to both attract and retain talent. Pay and bill software isn’t just a great way to smoothen the experience for your existing and potential workers. It is also crucial when working with remote specialists.
Now as we’ve mentioned earlier in this article, pay and bill tools aren’t always stand-alone solutions and can sometimes be integrated into other software as a module. Depending on how your business operates, this isn’t always ideal. However, we believe that for IT recruitment specifically, the combination of pay-and-bill with timesheets is close to none. The briefest reasoning would be that it reduces the steps one needs to take to a bare minimum. And there is not a single company that wouldn’t benefit from less admin.
Summary
Pay and bill software can give a winning edge to companies that either utilise IT specialists or recruiters that supply clients with them. First of all, it eases a handful of processes when accommodating remote workers. Secondly, it adds a layer of security to your operations, as well as helps you stay compliant with policies such as IR35.
While mostly covering convenience and safety when it comes to financial operations, the right solution will also help your business improve overall. Pay-and-bill entails automation, which, at the core, is meant to free up your team’s time by shouldering tedious and repetitive tasks. As a result, they are then empowered to focus on performance-driven duties, that also help your business develop, grow and scale. Combining your existing solutions via integrations only amplifies the process. The more steps you cut out, the quicker your journey to success will be. What’s not to love?
You simply can’t miss out on this. Start testing it out.
