When processing payroll, it is evident that the labor required for a salaried person is significantly lower than for an hourly employee; there is no change in the payroll data from period to period for a salaried person, whereas the number of hours worked must be recomputed for an hourly employee every time the payroll is processed. Therefore, it is reasonable to shift as many employees as possible over to salaried positions from hourly ones in order to reduce the labor of calculating payroll.

Implementing this best practice can be a significant problem, though. First, it is not under the control of the accounting department, since it is up to the managers of other departments to switch people over to salaried positions, so the controller must persuade others to make the concept a reality. Second, this best practice is generally opposed by unions, which prefer to give their members the option to earn overtime pay. Finally, there may be government regulations that prohibit converting employees to salaried positions, with the main determining criterion being that a salaried person must be able to act with minimal supervision. This situation will vary by state, depending on local laws.