8 payroll services that give you more bang for your buck

The calculation of payroll can be complex, and the recording of it can be time-consuming. For these reasons, many small businesses choose to outsource part or all of their payroll requirements to a payroll service provider.

No matter how simple or complex your payroll needs are, there is a payroll service out there that can help reduce your payroll headache and enable you to get more out of your payroll budget.

Here is a list of eight payroll services that could help ease the pain of payroll:

1. In-house payroll training

If you have an individual or a team in-house who manages your payroll, in-house payroll training is a cost-effective way of ensuring your payroll is HMRC compliant.

Another benefit of bringing an individual or company in-house to train your staff is that the payroll training provider can mould the training to suit the needs of your business. For example, if your business has recently gone through the auto-enrolment process, the training could be centred around this.

Plus, as the training is being carried out in a familiar environment, the trainees will feel more relaxed and should find it easier to absorb information.

2. Payroll calculators

Payroll calculators can be helpful for businesses whose payroll budget is small or their needs don’t justify the cost of outsourcing the process to a payroll service provider.

There are numerous free payroll calculators available online, including one available from HMRC.

If you are not confident with online tools, Microsoft offers an Excel payroll calculator for recording employee payroll, but please be aware this does not do the FPS or EPS return for you. It consists of three worksheets, one for inputting employee wages, the second for tax information and the third calculates employee payroll, considering regular hours, bonuses and employee benefits.

3. Assistance with auto-enrolment

Under the Pensions Act, 2008 anyone that employs workers (even if it is only one person) must help their employees save for retirement by automatically enrolling them onto a workplace pension scheme. This is known as auto-enrolment.

It is expected that by the end of 2018, all UK businesses will have completed this process. If you have recently gone through this or if you completed it a while ago and are looking to outsource the on-going management of it, a payroll service provider should be able to help you.

4. Conduct a PAYE health check

If your business is new or has been operating for a while and you have employees, a PAYE health check can help ensure your payroll processes are HMRC compliant.

An experienced individual or company can review your payroll policies and procedures and identify areas that could cause you a problem. Typically, a PAYE health check will involve conducting sample checks of your payroll records, completed PAYE returns and reviewing your starters and leavers forms.

5. Organisation of BACS payments

BACS stands for ‘Bankers Automated Clearing’. It is a service that speeds up the payment from one bank to another.

We are a licensed BACS bureau, which means we can transmit payments via BACS on your behalf. The benefit of outsourcing this to us is that we take on the full responsibility of organising payment of your employees’ salaries.

We will calculate the amount due to each employee and forward this to you in a report. Upon your approval, we send an electronic file with all the details to BACS. On a pre-approved date, payment is transferred to your employees’ account.

6. Completion of year-end forms

Each year by the 6th July, you must inform HMRC of any expenses and benefits provided to directors and employees of the company, up to the end of the previous tax year. This information is supplied to HMRC via form P11D.

Included in this form, is information on accommodation, loans, company cars and gym membership.

If you don’t have the resource internally to do this, a payroll service provider can manage the preparation and submission of P11D forms and calculate Class 1A NIC liability.

7. Online payslips

We’re all aware of the negative impact we are having on the environment. Do your bit to reduce this impact (and possibly save yourself some money) by switching to web payslips.

The benefit for your employees is that they can access these 24/7, 365 days a year, in a secure portal. So, there is less risk of them being misplaced or destroyed.

The benefit for you is that all your employee’s payslips are securely held in one place. So, you can say goodbye to spending time hunting through paper records.

8. Fully managed payroll service

The name gives it away. A fully managed payroll service is where you hand over all aspects of your payroll to be an external payroll service provider.

This type of service is most suited to businesses who have a sizeable workforce or whose payroll is complex.

The biggest benefit is that you spend less time on the payroll process, but this hands-off approach can come with a hefty price tag.

Whatever your requirements, we hope this list helps you find a service that eases the pain of payroll.