The Use of AI to Power Payroll Systems

Technological innovation is changing the nature of businesses in ways we never imagined.

Company productivity and revenue generation is being enhanced through the use of cloud-based services, smart apps, and data analytics. In the HR (human resources) industry, automated solutions help companies manage payroll processes and distribution systems. Artificial intelligence (AI) is one type of technology that is transforming payroll processes.

Companies can now integrate AI within their payroll systems to prevent staff from doing mundane data entry tasks like manually working out salaries and recording work hours. A recent survey by Robert Half Finance and Accounting reported that almost half of all CFOs (chief financial officers) believe that AI will bring the greatest benefits to payroll systems compared to all other business financial and accounting functions.

AI Integrations with Smart Payroll Systems

AI is becoming a familiar part of our everyday lives thanks to technologies like Siri and Alexa. Now, the same technology is being used and adapted to transform traditional payroll systems into more advanced systems. The following are some ways in which AI is being used in payroll systems to transform work.

Enhances HR Staff Capacity

HR staff who would normally be busy with multiple payroll tasks can free up their time thanks to AI integrations into the payroll system. They can spend the extra time honing skills such as development training into data and security programs or assist with finance and other HR matters.

Reduces the Risk of Incorrect Data Entries

Manual data entry carries the risk that it may be done fraudulently or that accidental mistakes could be made. For example, fraudulent time recording can result in incorrect calculations into wages. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners says that almost a third of companies they surveyed encountered employee fraud relating to clocking-in hours that they didn’t work for. AI can avoid this type of fraud because it uses algorithms to track staff’s activity and can flag any unusual activity. AI and machine learning technology can also greatly reduce manual data entry errors, which can have big financial implications.

Improved Financial Forecasting Using Analytics

AI can predict both finances and budgeting and can help identify when a payroll budget has reached or exceeded its capacity. This lets staff act quickly to rectify the situation.

AI can help to collect, sort, and clean data efficiently and accurately, which helps to maintain data integrity and efficient processing as well as to produce more accurate and efficient data reporting and analytics.

The use of online AI analytics dashboards can help transform businesses by clearly presenting data in a more accessible, visual way and then using that data to forecast future business scenarios. The insights and trends that AI can spot through data analytics are useful in decision-making and can also identify areas where cost savings and enhanced performance are possible.

Enhances Customer Service

Payroll staff often get many requests from customers, and machine learning has helped to develop more efficient query handling processes by tracking questions and responses and then producing automated responses to the most commonly asked questions. Many HR departments are now using AI chatbots to engage interactively with customers and their queries which helps to streamline processes and frees up staff capacity for other tasks.