Note: For the most up-to-date information on the Coronavirus and its impact on your business, please visit our COVID-19 Business Resource Hub. We are updating this page daily with information on new and pending legislation, training, sample letters and handbook policies, Coronavirus-related articles, and more to support you through this crisis.
Southland Data Processing is taking the situation with coronavirus very seriously. The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, presents our world, country and business community with a unique public health challenge.
Here at SDP, our primary goal is to continue to provide uninterrupted service to our clients. Simultaneously, we aim to do everything in our power to ensure the health and safety of our employees and community. As such, we have been working over the past several weeks to ensure we are able to meet these goals.
Coronavirus Business Updates
Note: You can return to this page at any time for the latest updates from our team. Last updated October 16, 2020.
Services and Communication with Our Office
At this time, we do not anticipate any disruption with our services or communication channels. Due to the internal infrastructure in place as well as the cloud-based nature of our payroll platform, we do not expect any issues with these business functions.
Further, with the latest “Shelter in Place” and “Safer at Home” directives, our services are more important than ever. Pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, food products, and payroll are all vital for our communities to continue enduring this emergency.
Yes, We’re Open!
The importance of our deliveries has given us an exemption from Federal and State directives. Southland Data Processing falls under these essential business categories:
- Healthcare operations (American Red Cross)
- Businesses that provide food, shelter and social services and other necessities of life for the needy
- Businesses providing mailing and shipping services, including post office boxes
- Home-based care for seniors, adults, and children
- Businesses that ship or deliver groceries, food, goods or services directly to residences
- Professional services, such as legal or accounting services, when necessary to assist in compliance with legally-mandated activities.
Southland Data Processing remains completely operational through this crisis and will continue to serve your business throughout the Coronavirus outbreak.
Emails & Phone Calls
Our email system is hosted by Microsoft. Therefore, employees are able to send and receive email communications from any location.
Additionally, SDP utilizes internet-based phone systems and internal communication systems. As such, our team can also access these systems from any location.
In-Person Payroll Pick-Up
For the safety of our employees and clients, we have temporarily suspended in-person meetings. For clients picking up payroll packages, masks are required and pick-up hours are restricted to 8-10 AM and 2-4 PM Monday through Friday. All other requests should be sent in via phone or email.
Payroll Processing
Our platform SDP Connect is hosted at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Because we offer our clients this cloud-based system, employers are able to access their data, process payroll, and pull reports electronically through their portal from any location.
Additionally, all of your employees can access their payroll information and pay stubs through SDP Connect. If you are not currently using Employee Self-Service, we can easily enable this feature for streamlined communication to facilitate remote work during this time.
Wiring Policy for Fund Transfers
Effective Monday, October 19, 2020 our ACH processor has lifted our wire threshold from the $50,000 COVID limit. As a result, clients are no longer required to wire any tax or direct deposit totals if they were impacted by meeting or exceeding any payrolls over this amount. Please note this change is based on processing date and not based on check date, and will apply to all payrolls processed after Monday 10/19.
Payroll Deliveries
Due to local and Federal Government work and travel restrictions, as well as the closing of schools, businesses, and government facilities, we are temporarily suspending all service commitment timelines for those with regular overnight delivery service.
We will do our best to meet service requests, but the current commitment time for business deliveries will be 5:00 pm, and residential deliveries will be 8:00 pm on the scheduled day of delivery.
In addition to the policies in place, our courier service will no longer obtain signatures at residential deliveries for any shipment. Delivery personnel will ring the doorbell, stand back and take VPOD and type name if the door is answered. The shipment will be left if the door is not answered and VPOD will be obtained.
Electronic Services and Access
If you are fully electronic, we do not anticipate any interference with your payroll processing through Southland Data Processing.
However, clients who are not completely paperless should consider that physical printing and distribution services could potentially be disrupted. (For example, potential check production or distribution delays.)
Additionally, we don’t know if there will be disruptions to services (e.g. US Mail, couriers, FedEx, etc.) in this unique time. As a result, we encourage the use of direct deposit whenever possible to mitigate these risks.
Exploring Your Options
If you still issue paper checks for some or all of your employees, it’s important to be aware of alternative payment methods available. In the event of printing or distribution disruptions, you have a few options to consider.
1. Direct Deposit
For any employees not currently receiving Direct Deposit, you can easily set this up in SDP Connect. If you have Employee Self-Service (ESS) enabled, you can even have employees enter this information themselves to minimize your workload.
Update direct deposit in SDP Connect
Top Tip: If Employee Self-Service is not yet enabled, click here to request a quote to add this for your employees!
2. Pay Cards
If Direct Deposit isn’t an option for your employees, there are other options to achieve the same user experience. Pay cards are an excellent option to virtually pay employees to avoid disruption due to potential check delivery delays in light of the Coronavirus.
3. Manual Checks
Lastly, employers who are unable to enroll employees in direct deposit quickly enough can issue manual checks. Employers using SDP Connect can order check stock from Southland Data Processing by clicking below.
Future Updates
We know that the weeks to come will bring unexpected challenges for the business community as a whole due to the Coronavirus. However, we are prepared to respond to these challenges as they arise. Additionally, we will continue to provide ongoing communications as more details unfold.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at (866) 946.2032 or by emailing our support team. And don’t forget to follow us out on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for even more Coronavirus and business updates!