{"id":8472,"date":"2022-08-08T09:00:43","date_gmt":"2022-08-08T13:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/?p=8472"},"modified":"2026-01-15T11:47:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T16:47:17","slug":"5-reasons-to-consider-cloud-payroll-for-your-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/5-reasons-to-consider-cloud-payroll-for-your-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"5 reasons to consider cloud payroll for your practice"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/category\/accountants\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Accountants<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t5 reasons to consider cloud payroll for your practice\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2022-08-08T09:00:43-04:00\">August 8, 2022<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"5 reasons to consider cloud payroll for your practice\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/5-reasons-to-consider-cloud-payroll-for-your-practice\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/author\/rogerpierce\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2021\/10\/rogerp.png\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"Roger Pierce Author\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Roger Pierce<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Canadian accountants and bookkeepers have turned their focus to cloud-enabled software because they need flexible and agile financial applications that are easy to manage, affordable, and scalable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This demand for cloud-based financial applications continues to grow because of the ability to access data in real time and from any location. Cloud systems also drive higher ROI through time savings and process efficiencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>HR solutions such as payroll have also taken to the cloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Offering HR services such as payroll runs will create an ongoing, additional source of revenue. Cloud-based payroll solutions enable accounting professionals to offer HR management services to clients who don\u2019t have the capacity to perform HR functions in-house (or simply prefer someone else does it).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Putting payroll and accounting systems together in the cloud can really simplify your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Discover 5 reasons you might like to consider adding cloud payroll software in your accounting or bookkeeping practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><br><h2><strong> You can access payroll data remotely in the cloud<\/strong><\/h2><br><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the biggest advantages of cloud-based software is the ability to work remotely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You and your clients will enjoy anytime, anywhere access to payroll data. No longer tied to your office or desktop software, working in the cloud creates so many options to work remotely and use any device you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other perks of working in the cloud include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Best-in-class data encryption and online security features will keep sensitive client and employee information safe and secure. You can manage who has access to your data.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The cloud facilitates better collaboration when your team members (and clients) can instantly access the payroll information they need.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There\u2019s less room for error as data is automatically saved and backed-up to the cloud, which means the latest data is being used to ensure accurate payroll runs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>No software installations are needed because the software is always up-to-date and compliant with the latest legislative changes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"2\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><br><h2><strong> Employees can self-manage their information <\/strong><\/h2><br><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The cloud is very good at reducing your administrative tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, one of the features of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/accountants\/products\/sage-payroll\/\">cloud-based solutions like Sage Payroll<\/a> is the employee self-serve portal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It provides your clients&#8217; employees with a secure app to submit their hours worked, request time off, and modify their personal information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to reducing admin time for you and your team (no more manual timesheets), the employee-self-service portal will:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Support an easier time tracking experience because employees can enter hours worked directly through the portal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enable employees to access their pay details online using a desktop computer, laptop, mobile phone, or tablet \u2014 instead of receiving a physical piece of paper.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Give employees better choices \u2014 by selecting one of the e-Payment methods (digital cheque or direct deposit), employees can choose how they want to be paid and enter their bank details directly in the portal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"3\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><br><h2><strong> It will make your business more environmentally friendly<\/strong><\/h2><br><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Automation features found in cloud-based software applications are designed to reduce manual processes and save your business time, effort, money \u2014 and paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/accountants\/products\/sage-payroll\/\">cloud-based payroll software<\/a> you can issue digital cheques to pay client employees at no extra cost and reduce or even eliminate paper-based paycheques and pay slips \u2014 which is welcome news for the environment, and anyone in your organization who cares about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using the cloud also increases security because digital payment eliminates the possibility of printed employee cheques or information left lying around on desks or trash bins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eliminating paper cheques also saves money and time because you no longer have to purchase custom printed cheques and then write, track, and reconcile them. No more bank fees to process those paper cheques, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond cheques and pay slips, working in the cloud will eliminate many time-consuming paper-based manual activities \u2014 such as physically tracking employee hours worked and then manually inputting time sheet entries into payroll software. By using the cloud portal for time tracking, employees can simply login and enter their hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"4\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><br><h2><strong> Cloud payroll software integrates with accounting software<\/strong><\/h2><br><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps the biggest benefit of working in the cloud is the ease of integration with other applications you already use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Easy integration comes with the territory in the cloud. APIs and web services enable cloud systems to integrate with one another so your practice can use the best applications for each functional area of the business \u2014 for example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/accountants\/products\/sage-payroll\/\">Sage Payroll<\/a> integrates seamlessly with Sage accounting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Harmony between payroll and finance makes sense in so many ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Automatically sync your payroll data directly into your journal to minimize data entry errors and maintain clear view of your client&#8217;s business.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Access a full view of your client\u2019s finances with everything in one place, so you can deliver valuable insight, reporting, and advice<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Leverage the power of an integrated HR solution to better manage payroll and HR workflows in one single place with different HR modules you can add on.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>No more jumping from one software application to another to retrieve or enter payroll data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sage Payroll includes basic Sage HR functionality for free including features like leave management, time tracking, document management, and access to the Sage HR app. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/sage-business-cloud\/hr\/\">Learn more about Sage HR<\/a> and what it can do for your clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"5\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><br><h2><strong><strong>In the cloud, you only pay for what you use<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2><br><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Scaling up the services you need is incredibly easy (and affordable) with cloud-based software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As your practice grows with more clients \u2014 or your clients grow with more employees \u2014 you can simply add to your subscription.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, whether your client has 100 employees or just one, Sage Payroll allows you to scale up or down on demand and pay only for what you and your clients need with monthly per user and employee pricing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the cloud, there\u2019s no expensive upfront software purchase or complicated set-up process. Operating costs can decrease because the cloud-based software provider is responsible for things like IT support, server maintenance, and software updates. All you need is a web browser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, you\u2019ll find adding modules to a software subscription is more flexible and affordable when everything is cloud-based. For example, if you want additional Sage Payroll functionality, such as employee recruitment and expenses management, you can obtain these modules from Sage Payroll and pay only for what you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enjoy some cost savings with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/accountants\/products\/sage-payroll\/\">free Sage Payroll account for your firm<\/a> and a discount for your clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-final-thoughts\"><strong>Final thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As you\u2019ve read, cloud-based software carries many benefits, including enabling clients to better manage and connect with their remote workforce \u2014 while enabling employees to self-manage their information using a self-serve online portal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps most importantly, cloud-based payroll solutions such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/accountants\/products\/sage-payroll\/\">Sage Payroll<\/a> enables accountants and bookkeepers to centralize all payroll and HR data for all their clients in a single unified platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With so many benefits, it\u2019s easy to see how cloud-based software can provide your practice with the tools to successfully compete in this connected, digital world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"#gate-e5443569-e24b-41d3-80c3-138b3da08b60\">Download your free e-book: <strong>10 questions accounting professionals ask about cloud-based payroll<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice Newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"cta-content__title\">Get a roundup of our best business advice in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-8949a954-88b2-43bb-8b8a-77c53eb34350\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Canadian accountants and bookkeepers have turned their focus to cloud-enabled software because they need flexible and agile financial applications that are easy to manage, affordable, and scalable. This demand for cloud-based financial applications continues to grow because of the ability to access data in real time and from any location. Cloud systems also drive higher [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1310,"featured_media":8211,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[146,14,22,124,16,9,21,25],"tags":[165,170,171,173,184,195,199],"business_type":[6],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[],"imagine_tag":[61],"coauthors":[324],"class_list":["post-8472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accountants","category-compliance","category-employing-people","category-free-guides-templates","category-growth-customers","category-long-term-planning","category-paying-people","category-technology-innovation","tag-bookkeeping","tag-change-management","tag-cloud-technology","tag-compliance","tag-electronic-payments","tag-making-financial-decisions","tag-payroll","business_type-accountants"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-ca","author_name":"Roger Pierce","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1011227656.jpg","imagine_tags":{"61":"Payroll software"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice Canada English","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1310"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/8211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8472"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=8472"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=8472"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=8472"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=8472"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=8472"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=8472"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=8472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}