Your payroll onboarding process

We will start with a welcome call to understand your payroll requirements further and provide you with a bespoke payroll quotation through our tailored payroll proposal.  

This sets the service expectations out clearly and removes any uncertainty or ambiguity early on for our clients. 

After the acceptance of our proposal, we will proceed to complete the necessary onboarding data checks and exchanges which covers the following stages:

• Anti Money Laundering check.
• Issuing the payroll services letter of engagement.
• Providing guidance and data sheets for the collection of employee data.
• Understand your Auto Enrolment Pension scheme set up.
• Checking if there are any benefits in kind to be payrolled.

Should this be an entirely new payroll set up we will apply for your PAYE scheme directly with HMRC in order to register you as a UK employer.

(Please note this stage of the process can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks).

Once your references are received, we will then send an authorisation request through our agent services account to HMRC in order to be able to act as your agent. You will then receive a letter in the post with a unique code which can be provided to us to sync with HMRC.

Should you PAYE scheme already be established then we will just send the authorisation letter request to take over the administration from your previous payroll provider.

Once the PAYE scheme is set up or migrated across, we shall then proceed to set up your payroll on our internal payroll system with IRIS:

This set up with including the following stages:

• Importing all employee data.
• Configuring individual pay frequencies (weekly/monthly).
• Setting up tax codes, student loans, and any static data.
• Setting up pension settings and individual EE% and ER%.
• Importing any absence year to date data.
• Importing any payment/deduction year to date or carried forward data.

Once the payroll has been prepared, we shall then proceed to run a parallel run.

(Please note if this is your first pay run period with HMRC after registration then a parallel run is not required).

We shall carry out the following:

• Run a “shadow payroll run” alongside your current payroll system.
• Compare the data results for accuracy and balance to your current system.
• Feedback any data issues.
• Repeat the process until you as a client are satisfied that the data has been migrated and balanced correctly.

This check is a very important and necessary step in order to iron out any data issues in advance of the payroll migration and to ensure you as a client feel confident that your payroll is correctly set up in line with HMRC legislation.

After the successful running of any parallel runs, we shall then proceed to process your first live payroll run.

The process is as follows:

• Employee variable data changes is shared through our secure online portal.
• We shall import and enter any variable or new static changes.
• We shall calculate gross pay, tax, NI, pensions, student loans, Benefits in kind to generate net pay.
• We shall assess the workforce for auto enrolment and enrol any eligible jobholders and begin deducting pension contributions.
• Process any pension opt outs/opt ins or refunds.
• Upload checking reports back through our secure online portal for you as the client to review and ensure all requests have been processed.
• Re-run the payroll until you as the client are happy everything has been captured and processed correctly.
• We shall then proceed to finalise your payroll.
• To finalise we shall submit your RTI (FPS) and (EPS) to HM Revenue & Customs.
• This finalises the months payroll and informs HMRC of any PAYE due.
• We shall then upload employee payslips and send to you your final reports.

Once the payroll has been finalised, we shall proceed to set up your banking payments to pay employee net salaries and any PAYE due to HMRC.

• Payments can either be set up through our BACS bureau if you have a registered Service User Number with BACS or through our online banking platform with Caxton.
• Net salary payments will be set to pay employees on your nominated pay day.
• HMRC PAYE payments will be set to credit HMRC on the 22nd of the following month.
• We can also make any payments to necessary third parties like the DWP or Child Maintenance services etc.

Once the payroll has been finalised, we shall then proceed to upload your auto enrolment contribution file with your pension provider.

• We shall export the necessary pension file from our payroll software.
• Login to your company pension platform.
• Upload and process the pension contribution file.
• Balance contributions to the payroll for the total EE and ER amounts.
• Set the direct debit collection from your company bank account on your nominated payment date.
• To note pension contributions must be paid over on or before the 22nd of the following month.
• Complete any declarations or re-declarations of compliance with the Pensions Regulator when due on your behalf.

Once your first live month has been processed and completed, we will then set up a permanent fixed processing schedule based on your business requirements.

This will set out a clear routine that covers the following:

• Agreed cut-off dates for any payroll changes.
• Agreed payroll processing dates.
• Agreed reporting timelines.
• Agreed payment dates.

This consistency removes any uncertainty.

You shall then discuss with your payroll manager any ongoing support that is required and check ins / reviews by agreeing the following:

• Your preferred contact methods (email, phone).
• Agreed up service response times.
• Agreed dates for regular check-ins.

This is extremely important for our clients to know that help is always available as and when required.