Following on from our Employment Tax Week, it’s important to highlight the impact of payroll processing within the employer solutions spectrum. Payroll undoubtedly plays such an important role in a business. It can, however, represent a significant financial outlay and it needs to be managed carefully.Ensuring complianceThere are complex rules and regulations imposed by HMRC and The Pensions Regulator to ensure compliance. A full understanding of these is critical to ensure no penalties and related employee issues. Also, getting the required tax correct is essential, and ever-evolving tax legislation has increased the complexities of remunerating employees, requiring more specialist knowledge and advice more often.Maintaining the growth focusWith businesses across the UK focusing their attention on navigating the challenging economic climate and realigning their growth journey, it’s important that senior leadership attention isn’t diverted away from this. An efficient, accurate and compliant payroll function can allow senior staff the time to focus on strategy without worrying about the running of this complex area. This is where an external payroll processor could be a worthwhile consideration.Now is the time to assessHistorically, the start of the tax year from 6 April is when businesses typically change their payroll set up. We would therefore suggest that any required payroll function assessments begin now to ensure they’re in place in readiness for the tax year commencing. Having the payroll transition complete from 6 April would allow a suitable basis to be embedded for the full year ahead.The benefits of outsourcing at a glanceIn simple terms, choosing to outsource payroll can lead to the following benefits:
- A reduction in payroll related costs
- Time saving
- Compliance peace of mind
- Elimination of a single point of failure
- Access to trained and qualified staff
- Safe and secure storage of data
- Direct access to related employer solutions
These benefits are explored in greater detail here. We have also included links to further payroll guidance pieces below.