Payroll companies

downshifter

Can anyone recommend an efficient payroll company (1 employee) or do you mostly do this all in-house?

Thanks

Savvy_Sue

FWIW, for one person I'd probably go the DIY route, but then I've done payroll in the past, manually, for quite a few more than that, and with each of them doing different hours each week!

You need to be methodical, and you need to keep on top of it, but it's not that hard or that time-consuming for one person. given that you'll have to organise the payment anyway, I wouldn't have thought it would be that much extra work once you're set up.

HMRC has a new employer helpline, and they always used to be just that, helpful!

downshifter

Thanks Sue, helpful as ever. I've always shied away from the diy option, but as the payroll company I used previously has now upped their charges (plus VAT which obviously isn't their fault) I will revisit that option. I could just do without having to do yet another thing, however hopefully it isn't too onerous.

Thanks again.

Premier_2

Paying yourself each month and HMRC (which you can probably do once every 3 months) is not too difficult.

What takes a little more time is the returns due at the end of the tax year (e.g. to produce your P60, etc) Again not too difficult, just a little more time consuming.

I would suggest getting the existing company to finish off this tax year including such documentation allowing you to get to grips with the easy part of monthly/quarterly payments, before having the added burden of the annual submissions until just over a year's time

FatAndy

I've worked for several accountants that provide payroll services and to be honest it's a bit of a scam. A payroll with one employee should take less than five minutes to knock off if you've got a payroll package and completing the annual return will probably take less than quarter of an hour.

I'd recommend doing it yourself if possible. The HMRC website has PAYE and NIC calculators that you can use to do the calculations and you can use a spreadsheet to keep your records. The annual return may take a bit of time as you won't get as much practice in doing them but it's all pretty straight forward.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs/paye.htm
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs/nice.htm

greyteam1959

Have a word with your accountant if you have one.
They usually offer a payroll service.
I thinks it is money well spent letting my accountants do my payroll.
Let them keep up with all the legislation !!

Premier_2

FatAndy wrote: »

I've worked for several accountants that provide payroll services and to be honest it's a bit of a scam. A payroll with one employee should take less than five minutes to knock off if you've got a payroll package and completing the annual return will probably take less than quarter of an hour.

I'd recommend doing it yourself if possible. The HMRC website has PAYE and NIC calculators that you can use to do the calculations and you can use a spreadsheet to keep your records. The annual return may take a bit of time as you won't get as much practice in doing them but it's all pretty straight forward.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs/paye.htm
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs/nice.htm

Or if you want to keep things really basic, and not involve software packages, or even a computer (although a calculater may help unless you are good at mental arithmetic) then you can use the old fashioned paper based system.
Books of tables are available from the employer stationery service as is form P11 (the form to keep the calculated details on)

You need:

• Tables A
• Taxable Pay Tables Manual Method (typically Tables B-D, but check)
• National Insurance Contributions Tables (typically tables A and J,(CA38) but check)
• Form P11
• (and perhaps Form P32, to record what you paid HMRC, but not really necessary for single employee)

property.advert

Have a pay about with http://www.payroo.com/ and see if you are comfortable with it. I think it is the best free one I've come across to date.

However, if you are using an accountant for your accounts, then I would investigate whether they offer such a service. I would expect they do and if not, perhaps you want to think about an accounting and bookkeeping service which does offer you this service.

It isn't difficult as some have said but you do need to be methodical and remember to do certain things at certain times. That and the fact that you are better depolyed concentrating on your business than accounting matters means it may well be better outsourced. Auto payments are now routine with online banking.

paulwf

FatAndy wrote: »

I've worked for several accountants that provide payroll services and to be honest it's a bit of a scam. A payroll with one employee should take less than five minutes to knock off if you've got a payroll package and completing the annual return will probably take less than quarter of an hour.

I think sometimes accountants shot themselves in the foot...I'm all for outsourcing tasks so I can concentrate on my core business so my accountant came round to quote for book keeping services. It takes me about 4 hours a month for what I required and I hate doing it so a pro could probably do it in half the time. They wanted £200 ex VAT a month, needless to say they didn't get the job.

property.advert

paulwf wrote: »

I think sometimes accountants shot themselves in the foot...I'm all for outsourcing tasks so I can concentrate on my core business so my accountant came round to quote for book keeping services. It takes me about 4 hours a month for what I required and I hate doing it so a pro could probably do it in half the time. They wanted £200 ex VAT a month, needless to say they didn't get the job.

A dozen years or so ago and largely before the internet was mainstream, I used a payroll company who charged me about £10 per employee per month. Now you have free online stuff.

I run that http://www.payroo.com/ one for two employees in a few minutes a month, perhaps half an hour. I'd expect an accountant, who does have a duty of care, to charge out at the most junior rate and as an incidental to the main accountancy he does for the company but as you experienced, they seem to think money grows on trees.

Savvy_Sue

Many of you are confirming what I feel about payroll for one person: it's not worth outsourcing it.

If their wage is the same every week / month, it's a very simple job.

If anything changes, you have to tell your payroll service what the changes are: SSP / payrise / change of hours etc etc etc. And you have to do this well in advance, so you may want to make sure that you have a bit in your contract about recovering overpayments.

But whether it's you doing it, or them doing it, you have to spend time notifying the change, when you could just as well be plugging the figures into the HMRC calculators and doing it yourself.