The Gardner Webb Guide to Outsourcing Payroll Services

In an era where efficiency and compliance are king, outsourcing payroll services can make things easier. Many SMEs are big enough to have employees, but not necessarily an accounts department. This can make  handling payroll internally tricky. It can be difficult to keep track of employee information, process pay, and maintain secure payroll practices.

Outsourcing payroll can make things easier. It helps companies get payroll right and follow new laws about pensions and pay schedules. Payroll experts use good software and offer full payroll help. They can advise you on starter and leaver procedures, holiday pay calculations, sick pay, maternity pay, paternity pay calculations – freeing you to focus on your core business operations.

Why You Should Get Someone Else to Do Your Payroll

As companies grow, outsourcing payroll and getting an outside company to handle payroll makes sense for several reasons:

• Staying compliant when the legislation changes

Payroll laws are always changing. Recent changes include new rules about minimum wage, how to calculate holiday pay, changes to national insurance rates and payrolling benefits in kind . If you don’t follow these rules, you open the business up to HMRC tax and minimum wage penalties that ultimately cost you time, stress and money.

•  We stay on top of new technologies

We use top of the range software and tools to make things easy for you, accurate and productive. These include safe cloud systems and automatic payroll steps that cut down on mistakes and make work smoother….  And it also means it’s one less system for you to learn.

We calculate what you need to pay staff, how much you need to pay HMRC in PAYE deductions, do all the filings to HMRC and provide your employees with self service portals where they can access their own P60s and payslips. We even take care of your pension autoenrolment duties. All you need to do is approve the payroll and make the payments. Super easy.

•   Cost-effectiveness

Outsourcing payroll can be a cheaper option compared to the cost of having an in house employee managing your payroll. There’s no need to worry about holiday or sickness cover either in case your employee is absent and you need to pay your staff.

Choosing the Right Accountant to Outsource Payroll

There are a few things you need to think about when choosing who to outsource your payroll to. Some of the things you need to think about include:

• Ask about the accountant’s experience
• Make sure they have the appropriate qualifications
• Check their PI insurance and Data Protection Registration
• Agree the systems and processes to be used for compliance and safe and secure systems
• Ask for clear costs so you don’t get any surprises
• Clear communication and help when you need it is essential

Payroll Integration

It’s really important to have good integration for a hassle-free payroll system. The best payroll service should work for you right now but also grow with you.

A Smooth Transition to Outsourcing Your Payroll

There are three main elements when you start to move your payroll processes elsewhere:

Data Migrations

When you are moving the personal data of your employees, you need to make sure it’s safe and secure and that no data breaches will occur.  It’s a good idea to backup your data for security but this also gives you a record of all pay details to cross reference after you have made the transition.

Employee Communication

Clear and honest communication plays a big role in keeping your employees’ trust when switching to an outside payroll system. Companies should communicate the changes and how they’ll affect workers in an easy-to-understand way.

Performance Monitoring

There’s no harm in keeping an eye on what your payroll provider is doing in the early days – nobody is infallible (and we wouldn’t be offended). This helps you spot any problems early on and get them rectified, improving your payroll processes.

To Outsource or Not to Outsource Your Payroll

Choosing to let someone else handle payroll isn’t just about doing things easier – with the constant changes in legislation it’s a smart move. When you team up with the right payroll partner, you don’t just save money, you start a business relationship that helps your business grow and work together to solve your business challenges.

Would you like our payroll team take the time and hassle away from you? Get in touch to find out more about our outsourced payroll services.