Are you one of the innumerable employers and accountants who are haunted by the pay-day? And it is not because you don't have money to give salaries, but because of endless calculations and timeless efforts that come with it? Now, you can heave a sigh of relief because it is possible to automate your payroll process too. With technology gaining foothold in businesses, you can come across many companies offering payroll software like sage payroll software. No matter how big or small your business is, payroll software has become a must for speedy and accurate salary calculations.

Payroll software is a program developed to standardize, handle and process payroll calculations of employees in a company. It calculates an employee's salary taking into consideration bonuses, deductions, leaves, credits and ensures that the employee is paid accurately as well as on time. It streamlines payroll process, relieves accountant from need to track records and also cumbersome calculations involved in payroll. Many companies outsource their entire payroll procedure but purchasing payroll software is, comparatively, time saving and economic option. One can find payroll software for different business standards, company types and size, so finding software that perfectly takes care of one's business needs is possible.

Advantages of payroll software include -

• Customizable salary parameters - Payroll software allows you to customize deductions, tax categories and other parameters to generate salaries on basis of months or hours.
• Record Keeping - It automates the process of record keeping, so adding, finding or tracking records is not cumbersome.
• Automated Tax Calculations - Payroll software only needs revised tax rates and slabs, it calculates local as well as other taxes accordingly.
• Secure and Accurate - Outsourcing payroll calculation poses risk of data loss, revealing personal information to strangers as well as threats of computer hacking. An in-house payroll software ensures security of data and accuracy of calculations.
• Time Saving - Payroll software speeds up the process of salary calculation and does not require much human intervention.
• Report Generation - Using payroll software, you can also generate monthly, quarterly or yearly reports to review your financial status.
• Collection of Personal Details - Payroll software will also create a database of your employees' personal details like emergency contact numbers, address, family details etc. So, you don't need to manually create or update any record.

Payroll has always been a tough task, no matter the type and kind of business. Though cost of payroll software seems high initially, its returns in the form of convenience and ease outweigh the costs. Shopping around and researching available options will help in striking a beneficial deal that suits your needs and budget.

Although you can't infer it by looking at mere figures and data, the year 2011 was a period of extremes. It appears that stock markets have settled at the same point, where they have started. But that is truly deceiving. Stocks have shown strong waving phase and despite the beginning and ending points are very close, indices baffled even most proficient and vigilant investors over the year. What made markets last year so much unpredictable and demanding is the simple financial theory, do A if B happens, but the rule didn't always work out.

Dominating the world of cameras for around 130 years, George Eastman's company, Kodak has finally put an end to the 'Kodak Moment'. Teetering on the brink of collapse for some time, Eastman Kodak filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday morning. With debts that stand at around $6.8bn and assets, as per filing, around $5.1bn, Kodak faced no other option than file for bankruptcy. The fall of this icon of photography industry is in line with the disappearance of dinosaurs. The way dinosaurs became extinct due to their inability to adapt to the changing environment, similarly the reason for collapse of Kodak is its inability to adapt to the digital revolution.

In November 2011, Australia, along with the whole world, saw a historic law being passed - the Carbon Tax! Hailed by some and criticized by many, the Carbon Tax, which was debated and discussed for almost over a decade, finally saw the light of day. Outside the European Union, Australia is only the second developed nation that has enacted carbon pricing. So what exactly is this carbon tax and how is it going to impact the Australian economy and environment?