Ancillary Services Education at the PASA D.R.I.V.E. Conference

Written by: David Taub, PTM Regional Manager - California

Although I’ve been in the payroll industry for nearly four years, I haven't had the opportunity to attend a national organization conference as unique as PASA's D.R.I.V.E. Conference. Payroll Tax Management, Inc. (PTM) is very involved in the payroll conference circuit and with the Payroll Ancillary Service Association (PASA).

PASA is a new organization that focuses on educating service bureaus on best practices for implementing and up selling ancillary services to their end user clients in an effort to improve their overall service offering, increase client retention, and ultimately to better compete with the larger national payroll companies. The ancillary services represented at the PASA D.R.I.V.E. Conference included payroll software, time and attendance, HR, payroll tax processing, tax applications, retirement/401(k) services, recruiting, insurance and ACH processing. The D.R.I.V.E. Conference was PASA's second conference and while relatively small it still drew quite a few thought leaders within the payroll service industry allowing attendees and vendors, such as myself, to enjoy intimate discussions about best practices for selling and implementing ancillary services within a payroll service organization.

The D.R.I.V.E. Conference was well organized and included an insightful keynote speaker, Tom Batchelder, who spoke about ways to avoid "Barking Up... a Dead Horse" and ultimately wasting time and effort in the payroll sales world. We also had the opportunity to participate in a “speed learning” seminar in which attendees visited each ancillary service provider for a crash course in selling and/or implementing their particular ancillary product into the payroll sales process, including tips to increase revenues for service bureau owners and commissions for the sales representatives. The conference also included an Ancillary Services Panel Discussion which covered best practices within various organizations for implementing ancillary services, incentivizing the sales/operational staff to up sell new and existing clients, and ways to improve the "stickiness" of a client by expanding the ancillary services that they are using. The Q&A session within the panel really got the attendees involved and a lot of great ideas were shared.

My first PASA experience was a huge success; I was able to meet a lot of outstanding colleagues who will be valuable resources within the industry. I felt that the information provided to the attendees was relevant and well received. I am looking forward to attending my next conference with PTM early next year.

5 Simple Tips for a Breezy Implementation

Written by: Windy Jones, PTM Client Liaison

Considering new payroll tax filing services? Here are some simple suggestions that will improve your transition;

1. Don’t be afraid to ask. If you have any questions or concerns with the terms of your contract or pricing, resolve them during the sales process. Companies want to provide you with a service they can perform and don’t want you feeling deceived. If you have any questions, ask away and make an educated decision before signing. Also, there may be additional ancillary services available that would benefit your company, but if you don't ask you may not know they are available. Once in the implementation process, again, do not be afraid to ask. Procrastinating because you don’t understand a document or procedure does not resolve your confusion. Ask your questions and keep moving forward. 
2. Allow yourself ample time. None of us have “free time” in our workday, any time we have is scheduled and blocked off for a specific activity. Just as you would set aside 1 hour for a conference call, set aside time to work on your implementation items and training well before you need to start processing. By preparing early, you will save yourself stress and worry down the road.
3. Take the time to get your data right. Quite often a new payroll tax provider will ask for an apple but will be given an orange. True, they are both fruit, but one does not satisfy the other. For example, when asked to provide a sample payroll tax file, people will take the time to gather and compile payroll tax forms and reports. Although these do contain some of the data, they are not the same as what is contained in a payroll tax file. By simply asking your IT department to assist you with the proper file, you can save yourself time and company resources.
4. Train your staff. When implementing new payroll tax software, make sure all staff are on the same page. If possible, have all staff that will be using the system on the training at the same time. You will get the perspective of everyone involved and all questions answered at once.
5. When in doubt, ask before acting. A new system may have subtle differences from in-house tax processing or the payroll tax systems you are familiar with. If you are not sure, it is better to ask than have a messy backtrack and clean up. Save yourself time and headaches by getting it right the first time.

Following these five simple tips may seem like common sense, but are all too often needed. They will not take you extra time, but will rather save you a lot of time in the long run.