Offering employee benefits is an excellent way to attract talented workers and improve retention. But, small and mid-sized employers may hesitate to provide comprehensive employee benefits due to the cost and administrative burden.
Administering employee benefit programs, including tracking compliance requirements, can be challenging. But there are innovative ways to reduce repetitive tasks and automate manual processes.
This article outlines six ways that benefits administration software can help you provide employee benefits that your staff will love without the hassle.
In this blog post, you’ll learn:
- How automating benefits administration boosts efficiency and accuracy for employers.
- Why automation enhances the employee experience, especially for remote or multi-location teams.
- What integration features employers should look for in a benefits administration software solution.
1. Your benefits programs will be more efficient
An automated benefits software solution can increase efficiency for your HR team and staff.
Before, employees had to fill out paper forms when accessing a new benefit. Then, you would transfer the data to spreadsheets for payroll, health insurance, and more. But now, an automatic employee benefits platform can organize this information. That way, you can focus on important business operations instead of tedious tasks.
Benefits software can also offer an automated employee enrollment option. Employees can enroll in benefits and access plan information without having to chat with benefits specialists unless they need help.
These automations enable your benefits to scale without needing to add extra work or employees to your team.
2. Data accuracy and collection will improve
If your employees or your HR team must manually enter information into multiple platforms, there’s a greater chance of human error. This is especially true if you’re a large company with many workers or a smaller business without a dedicated HR department. Errors can lead to delays in employees accessing the benefits, incorrect payroll deductions, and compliance risks.
Some compliance issues you may experience from errors are:
- Steep company tax penalties
- Missed reporting deadlines
- Inaccurate legal documentation
Companies can reduce the risk of costly errors with an automated benefits system. This is because many platforms offer automatic sync options and data storage in one central location for easy access. Many platforms also have built-in data validation.
If you’re worried you may lose your data in case of a software glitch, don’t worry. Most automated benefit platforms have secure cloud storage. So, even if your computers break down, you can restore all your files.
3. You can better follow compliance regulations
You must follow all compliance regulations if you’re offering many employee benefits.
These regulations include:
With the right benefits administration technology, you can ensure you accurately fulfill your compliance requirements.
For example, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has many compliance regulations for health benefits, particularly for businesses with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) subject to the employer mandate. These companies must prove they’re offering health insurance benefits that meet the standards set by the ACA or pay a costly tax penalty.
A good benefits management software tracks compliance, ensuring you’re following mandates and rules. Some companies even guarantee they’ll cover any penalties that you incur if they make an error.
4. It’s more convenient and saves time
Having employee benefits automation tools in place is more convenient than manual processing. While it used to take a lot of administrative paperwork and time, you can now manage the entire process with only a few clicks. Your HR team can easily change benefits, and employees can get updates as soon as possible.
HR administrators and your staff can also log in and view benefits information via a central platform from anywhere in real time.
This is especially important if your company:
- Operates across multiple states and time zones.
- Has remote workers.
- Allows employees to have flexible work schedules.
If your workforce is diverse, having an automated employee benefits program that your staff can access 24/7 is key.
5. It has data integration capabilities
These days, effective benefits administration software comes with advanced integration capabilities.
Cloud-based software allows you to integrate tools and resources such as:
Payroll and benefit integration are especially vital for HR teams. An error in paycheck processing or perks can negatively impact your team’s morale and turnover, and be time-consuming to fix.
Integrating benefits and payroll with an automated system streamlines processes and reduces mistakes. Additionally, you can incorporate the data compilation process with all your benefit carriers. So if you update any information, it’s available for your team to see immediately.
6. You’ll improve your employees’ benefits experience
There’s no denying that benefits software enhances the efficiency of your HR team. But it also boosts employee engagement and your company culture.
Automation tools allow employees to manage and change personal information at the click of a button. They can also update their benefit plan options during your annual open enrollment period.
If you’re still using manual benefit methods, job seekers may feel your business is stuck in the past. Nowadays, there’s no faster way to gain the disapproval of the younger generations of employees than by lagging in advanced technology.
Automating your benefits can help your employees stay engaged with access to critical information at their fingertips. And as a bonus for you, happy employees usually lead to higher productivity and retention rates.
How you can administer employee health benefits with PeopleKeep by Remodel Health
If you’re looking to offer personalized health benefits, PeopleKeep by Remodel Health is the solution for you. With a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA), you can provide employees tax-free reimbursements for their individual health plan premiums and other out-of-pocket medical expenses.
It’s possible to self-administer an HRA. But it’s easier to let our HRA administration software tool help you manage your custom benefits compliantly.
Here’s how we make administering an HRA simple:
- Automated compliance. We automate many compliance tasks, such as preparing plan documents and sending employee notices. Most employers only need ten minutes per month to manage their HRA, reducing their administrative burden.
- Integrated health insurance plan shopping. Suppose you’re offering a qualified small employer HRA (QSEHRA) or individual coverage HRA (ICHRA). In that case, your participating employees can enroll in an individual health plan and ancillary coverage right from their PeopleKeep dashboard.
- Documentation storage. The IRS requires employers with HRAs to keep employee documentation on file for seven years. We offer digital storage solutions for receipts, invoices, and plan details so you can stay compliant.
- Easy reimbursement processing. Our teams review employee claim documentation to ensure it’s compliant. We’ll notify you when they’re ready for reimbursement approval. Then, you can schedule them for payment through your preferred payroll provider.
Our award-winning support team is always here to help you and your staff with your HRA. But if you’re a larger company looking for even more hands-on help, Remodel Health is a great option. Our ICHRA+ administration software provides a premium experience that can meet every employer’s unique needs.
Conclusion
Benefits administration can contain repetitive tasks that take extra time and effort. Luckily, there are software solutions out there that can help you save time and energy. With compliant automation solutions, you’ll be more efficient while your employees reap the rewards of various benefits that work with their lifestyle.
If you want to offer personalized health benefits, PeopleKeep by Remodel Health can help! Our HRAs can play a major role in making your benefits package shine. Book a call with us today, and we’ll help you design the right HRA for you and your staff.
This article was originally published on June 22, 2022. It was last updated on June 20, 2025.
