Payroll FAQs test

Yes, with pension auto enrolment. We have dedicated payroll staff who work as a team of 13 and cover for each other as required. What’s special is our one-to-one service so you really get to know each other for a smooth running of your payroll

Iris (STAR) Payroll Professional on our high security servers. Iris is run by all the top 4 accountants and more than 50% of the top 100 accountants in the UK. If you currently run your payroll on another system we are happy to convert this to Iris. We can also run on Sage if required

Yes, it has to be both payroll and auto enrolment together

You will always be working with the same person every payroll run, apart from holidays when we organise a relief service. We're always working to our ISO 9001 Quality Management System accreditation

We’ve been running payroll for 30 years and we currently have 15 staff dedicated to this service.

We benefit from an enhanced electronic payslip system which saves you time & costs and improves communication.

Please ask us to quote on your payroll numbers

We handle from 1 to 1,000 employees. We are very happy with the smallest payrolls.

Yes, without being asked we provide full contact details for 100 current clients so you can really check independently before you decide.

Above all, peace of mind by removing worry and problems, sometimes a reduced cost and usually greater reliability and accuracy.

As an outsourced provider is very focussed, experienced and trained on payroll and has strength in numbers they are likely to be better all round than in-house staff. After all it's a very specialist subject.

Outsourcing means that you are more likely to avoid errors and late payments with all the staff upset that can bring. Incorrect payroll can result in fines and penalties from HMRC, with all the associated management time that these can involve.

Outsourcing gives your business access to essential skills and knowledge that you may not otherwise have.

Using a trusted, reliable and professional provider will give you and your staff the reassurance and confidence that your payroll responsibilities are being properly and efficiently discharged. Then you can concentrate on running your business.

When the overall benefits are significant. These could include reduced cost, removing staff worries, avoiding errors and fines and releasing staff time for more profitable work.

The cost of in-house staff tends to be overlooked and underestimated. Be realistic - include cover, holiday pay and sickness. Inadequately trained staff can lead to expensive mistakes and compliance penalties. This is especially a risk with new or part time staff which can leave you vulnerable.

If the payroll is in any way a significant worry or a major distraction, then it’s almost certainly worth outsourcing to get rid of the issue.

All providers will list the same tasks and say how good their service is, which can make it difficult to separate them. The easy way to check their claims is by following up at least three references. Phone for the most informative feedback. If references are not readily forthcoming, ask yourself why.

Choose a well-established service using a well settled down methodology. The bureau should have sufficient spare capacity, be up to date with technology, provide online payslips and be fully capable of handling all aspects of your pension auto-enrolment.

You can use a checklist to evaluate options which should include: how long have they been established, how strong financially are they, whether they can cope with your pension auto enrolment responsibilities, cost, notice period, speed of response to queries, are online payslips provided?

Almost certainly yes. There is a surprising amount of time required in all aspects of running a payroll. There is also an extra cost when it’s delayed or wrong, possibly even resulting in fines or penalties

Don’t forget the cost of the software and ongoing support. Handling the pension auto enrolment (administration, letters, opting in and out, queries) will be another in-house cost.

Quality and reliability may not be good. You could be tied in for a lengthy contract – three months is enough. Watch out for poor communications causing frustration.

The security might be inadequate, exposing you to risk – so it is always a good idea to check it.

You might be shifted around various staff, so look for a dedicated person service.

Often not. Check the references to prove that the bureau really does have experience and does a good job.

This needs checking. The security arrangements of a good provider are likely to be a lot better than in-house arrangements, both in terms of backups and in confidentiality. Less than that should be avoided, even at lower cost.

It very much depends on the numbers of employees, the frequency of paying (weekly, two weekly, monthly) and the level of assistance required with pension auto enrolment. The easiest way to find out is to ask for a quote. Fees vary enormously. Beware if the fee quoted is lower than average as, like most things in life, you get what you pay for and you may be risking unreliability or worse. A bureau that quotes too low a fee may not be able to deal with any unique aspects of your payroll.

No, as long as it's well established and sound.

No. It doesn’t matter if you are using Sage, Moneysoft, QuickBooks, BrightPay, Xero or any other software.

No news is generally good news. But fines imposed by HMRC for late RTI submissions or the pension regulator are bad news.

Employees are a good guide. If one has a problem, there will probably be nine others that have but don’t realise it. All timescales should be met – the actual pay run, submitting RTI to HMRC, on time paying of HMRC and your pension provider.

Probably but this needs checking. This can save a lot of effort as the payment is included with the payroll.

It should be straightforward. Any good provider will guide you through this and take charge - then just follow their instructions. It’s a matter of transferring the employees’ current payroll data to the new system, understanding and settling an ongoing system and a timetable for processing information each pay period. Then of course they should also communicate well.

As a rule, allow at least two weeks, ideally a month before the first pay run. In that time the provider will establish all the ins and outs of your payroll and will agree a timetable. This will cover the method of advising changes ongoing, such as new employees or pay rates.

Yes, subject to your contract. It’s the same process but in reverse.

It’s whatever you agree. Terms vary enormously. It’s often one year but can be as much as three. It should not need to be more than three months – otherwise you should object.

It really doesn’t matter. If you need to move, then the sooner the better, even if you have to pay a notice period.

Not as long as the provider is all signed up to this, ask them.

Nothing formal is necessary or common. The proof of the pudding is in users’ experiences so check plenty of references, thoroughly.

You settle a timetable with your provider, then you both know. Generally at least 2 – 3 days before running the payroll.

If it’s clearly 100% their mistake, then in principle the provider is liable. The most likely risk is overpaying. It would be unusual if the employer had not first signed off the pay run and thus taken responsibility, but it can happen. The other key risk is late filing with HMRC which causes an automatic fine.

This is an integral part of running the payroll as the pension is deducted from the pay. There are three levels of service provided. Full – when the provider calculates the pension and accounts to the pension company. Medium - when the provider calculates the pension but does not account to the pension company. Light – when the provider simply inputs the pension calculated by the employer or pension company. The most popular pension provider is NEST and generally the payroll provider will include a Full service for this choice

Nowadays this really has to be online. No paper - it’s much more secure, nil cost, a lot quicker and much preferred by employees.

Some do, many don't. If you wish, this can be directly from your bank account or you pay in advance through the provider’s bank.

Often this is not provided but it’s very beneficial to have a dedicated person and well worth insisting upon. Then the payroll officer builds up a really good understanding of your particular business. This allows them to recognise when something isn’t right and to take action promptly. Someone not familiar with the payroll might not spot this. It also makes running the payroll much easier and quicker each payroll run because it’s so familiar.

Initially the standing data from the current payroll system, then ongoing information each pay run. The standing data (up to 60 fields of data plus year to date pay and tax deducted) is normally supplied in computer files and the payroll provider will guide you through the process, otherwise it’s done manually. The ongoing information can be provided in a number of ways: email, Excel or data portal - this is usually the best method as it requires a discipline with the quality of the information which doesn’t exist otherwise.

Yes, this is essential. The most important word in payroll is communication so nothing must get in the way.

Sometimes there is a setup fee, sometimes not, so check the proposal.

No.

There is no particular reason for this. It may seem simpler to have one firm do everything, which is fine, if they are as good as a separate provider and are not expensive. Funnily enough most accountants would prefer not to handle your payroll – it’s usually a loss maker and a bit of a bother for them but they feel they need to say yes.

It would be confidential anyway but there is no harm in having one.

You need to ensure that you will be able to obtain the latest payroll data from their system – to be transferred to a new provider. Going bust should not prevent that but it’s possible there will be a problem. If the worst happens you would resort to using your last payroll reports and set up manually from there. To avoid a complication, check the credit reference of the provider before you contract with them and keep an eye on it.

It’s very likely that your payroll being outsourced will be much more secure than you could achieve in-house. But it’s also possible that it could be less secure. So check the security systems and credentials of your intended provider.

In the 1940s during the Second World War, Sir Paul Chambers came up with an innovation that changed the economy. Before then, most people paid income tax in arrears, calculating what they owed and paying a lump sum. The system was clunky and fostered resentment every time tax came to be collected. Chambers’s idea was that pay should be deducted directly from most salaries before it reached the employee’s wallet. The system was called pay as you earn or P.A.Y.E.

Yes. There is no reason why not and plenty of reasons why it should be suitable and a good idea. It’s suitable for a payroll of one person upwards to any number. In fact it’s arguably more suitable for the smaller payrolls as there is generally less payroll and auto enrolment knowledge and expertise.

That should not be a problem for a professional firm. If the employer can understand it then the payroll provider can too. It’s usually the other way round – the employer is under the mistaken belief that everything is alright.

Funnily enough it’s a really low risk, even in modern times of scams etc. It depends, however, on the particular nature of what has happened. There is a possibility of the pay being inflated or paid to a bogus employee. That should be controlled by management checking and signing off the payroll at each run. Outsourced payroll staff will be supervised, whereas an in-house solution is all too often a single point of failure.

A secure online way of employees accessing their payslips 24/7. They should be easily viewable on a smartphone. A dashboard is provided for employers. It also includes the year end P60 form, all together in one place. It’s updated at the payroll run so there is no postal delay or cost and no effort in the distribution. Having access to electronic payslips allows employees to access their information whenever they want, removing unnecessary queries.

A method of submitting payroll data such as standing information for a new employee and ongoing pay data such as the number of hours worked. It avoids messy emails. It has the advantage of less errors and omissions because it has in-built data disciplines, just like online ordering systems.

Most providers will offer this service but not all. Clearly by running 52 times a year the cost is a lot more. It’s worth trying hard to change to monthly or 4 weekly. Not only will this save cost but it’s far less stressful than every single week.

Does it affect us?All employers must have a suitable pension auto enrolment scheme in place, running as part of their payroll.

You have to choose a qualified scheme from a pension provider.

We do everything else – check the setup to make any necessary payroll changes, keep all employees informed and handle any employees wanting to opt-out of the scheme. Then we check the status of all employees at every payroll run, ongoing, as the law requires.

Yes, that’s our role. We make it straightforward.

We charge according to numbers on the payroll and the split of responsibility between us. Please contact us for a quote.

We make it really easy for you, so you can forget all the hype.

Yes, because the two are bound together.