Do you offer the service to all regions in the UK?

Yes, our service is remote and uses online cloud based systems, meaning that our Accountants use us as a remote outsourced service. So there are no geographical restrictions on using our service as long as the payrolls are under UK legislation

What is the availability of the service to clients (working hours)?

We are always available during the usual working week of Accounts Practices (Mon to Fri, 9 to 5). However, we work outside of that working pattern and will be available during weekends and evenings and the nature of our work and the service means that there are periods during the month (ie at month ends) where there is far more activity than at other times of the month. We deal with any payrolls as they land within a very short space of time and aim (wherever practical) to process any payroll upon receipt of information 24/7.

Do you deal with queries on general payroll matters?

Yes, we deal with any queries from clients (or practice staff) relating to payroll matters, such as queries on holiday pay, SSP, SMP, pensions and so on. We are not HR specialists and do not provide a HR service. If we receive queries of a HR nature we will not advise on those put would certainly try and point the client in the right direction and perhaps suggest that the client looks into sourcing formal advice from a HR professional when that is sensible to do so.

Are you able to provide hard copy pay slips and reports?

Yes we can print and post reports to clients if that is the remit. However, that facility comes with additional cost and we certainly highly recommend that clients are presented with non-paper forms of the information which his highly prevalent these days.

Do you require the payroll information to be sent in a specific format?

No. We work in the way that is familiar to the client - we are providing a continuation of your existing payroll service to that client. So if the client usually sends in a spreadsheet, we'll use that spreadsheet. If they usually phone in hours, we'll take their hours over the phone and so on. Everything will work the same in this aspect.

What happens with late changes and payroll reruns?

We will deal with them with little fuss, they are something which happens in the everyday world of payroll. We do not charge for reruns unless a client becomes a repeat offender (ie it happens say 3 times in a 12 month period).

Do you charge the client directly?

No. We bill the practice for our service. The practice will continue to bill it's clients as it sees fit with regards the payroll. Accountants will usually mark up on our costs as we provide the service at an efficiently low price. We will provide the accountant with a full monthly cost breakdown detailing each individual client cost which supports the invoice we present. We bill on a transactional basis, with unit costs (payslips, sc certificates, AE submissions) forming the basis of the calculation.

Do you liaise with employees?

Not usually. We liaise with authorised personnel of the employer not individuals. But of course, we will be helpful and polite if there are any instances where employees contact us directly and we will redirect them to their employer.

Do you communicate with HMRC on behalf of the client?

Yes, on payroll matters we will contact (speak to) HMRC on any requisite matters requiring getting in touch with HMRC. We do so as a team member of the registered agent

Can you register new PAYE schemes?

Yes, via your Agent account we will register new schemes for you on request.

Do you look after P11Ds and Payrolling of benefits?

Yes, we can deal with all aspects of benefits in kind and payrolling or P11Ds upon request. 

How long does it take to switch our payrolls over to you?

We onboard and ready your payrolls by importing data into our systems, usually from your own existing system. Although this can also be done in a manual fashion, it is preferable to import existing (and clean) data. In answer to this question therefore, the time taken is based on how long it takes you to provide us with the information we require, which we detail to you as part of the engagement process. Clearly it is preferable that as soon as month end pay runs are completed, the data is sent to us as soon as is convenient. BUT.....we can, if required work, with you to extract the data from your systems and help fully in the process should you need a helping hand.
Under RTI we have from the previous pay run to the date of usual processing for each client on a payroll by payroll basis. So, for instance a monthly payroll completed on the last day of the month would usually give just under one month of time to be onboarded for the next pay run.

Do we need to outsource our entire payroll portfolio ?

No. You can choose to outsource whatever number of payroll clients that you choose. You can keep some payrolls in-house if you wish to do so.

Should we wait until the end of the Tax Year before we switch over?

No, you don't need to do that, we can facilitate a mid year start just as easily as a new tax year start. There are no repercussions or consequences in doing this.

How do you deal with Agent Authorisation and RTI filing to prevent any issues?

No, there are no issues with the authorisation process because we register as a team member on your HMRC account, which is a simple process conducted by your HMRC admin user.

This means that authorisation is immediate and is also still under your practice which has continued access to the online HMRC accounts in the usual way.

This also means that RTI filings flow in a continuation reducing any filing issues or duplication.

And existing clients do not need to be reauthorised, the authorisation carries on through your practice 

Do you cover AE Pension administration and compliance?

Yes we cover all aspects of Auto Enrolment, including assessments, re-enrolment, salary sacrifice and employee communication requirements. We also file the declaration of compliance as required

How do you gain authorisation to deal with the pensions?

Most providers enable delegation or administration or additional user access meaning that we are simply added to the account with a user profile

Which Pension Provider Schemes can you administer ?

The short answer is any of them.
We currently have integration and uploading functionality with Aegon, AME, Aviva, Beaufort Consulting, Bluesky, Carey Pensions, Corpad, Creative Pension Trust, Ethika, Freindly Pensions, Friends Life, Genlife, Legal and General, Nest, Now, Options, Papdis, Royal London, Salvus, Scottish Widows, Simply, Smart, Standard Life, The Pensions Trust, The People's Pension, TPT Retirement Solutions, True Potential, Trust Pensions, Wessex, Workers Pension Trust, Workplace Pension Trust, Zurich

Do you set up new pension schemes if required?

Yes we can set up new schemes on request.

Do you file Declarations of Compliance with TPR?

Yes we will file your TPR Declarations on your account if requested to do so and will administer from your TPR Dashboard

Do you perform the necessary assessments and issue the required correspondence to employees?
Yes we will cover all aspects of the AE compliance process. 

Do you process subcontractor payments?

Yes we process subcontractor payments and produce the requisite Payment Certifications to be distributed to the subcontractor

Do you file CIS300s?

Yes, as part of the CIS procedures, we produce and file the monthly CIS300s

Do you verify subcontractors?

Yes as part of the CIS processing, we will verify subcontractors when required.

Do you file CIS suffered claims?

Yes we deal with all aspects of CIS suffered

Do you give client support on CIS matters?

If asked to do so, we will assist in any areas on CIS compliance. 

What is the Client Portal?

The client portal is a secure system hosted in the cloud. It is accessed at the front end via a website/webpage when the client logs in.
This login will direct the client to their own specific private and secure directory where they can easily access and view or download reports, forms and payslips "

What is the purpose of Client portals?

Client portals enable a self service methodology for clients. They can access their payroll reports at will whenever they want to see information, not only the current month but going back from the month of our engagement onwards. This means that they enjoy convenience.

Are Client Portals GDPR compliant?

Yes, the client portals are compliant with GDPR regulations

Can the front end Website (login area) be branded and customised?

Yes, the front end can be totally customised for your Practice and can contain whatever information you wish. It can, if you require, be a fully functioning Payroll website used to market and attract clients.

What will the Front End Website url be?

The Front End Website will usually follow a logical name. As an example, if you are ABC Accountants and have your practice website as abcaccountants.co.uk then the Front End website would be something along the lines of abcaccountants-payroll.co.uk

How do staff members of the practice access Payroll Reports for Accounts prep work etc?

Any practice staff member can be given global access to all client payroll folders through the portal via their own login credentials.

In what format are the reports and payslips stored?

The reports and payslips are stored in pdf format. We can, on request, provide report information on Excel if required.

Can employees access their own payslips through the Client Portal?

By default the Client Portals are for access at the employer level by authorised employer personnel. We can, however, create a custom built employee portal at client level which might be suitable for larger clients who have more employees.

Do you email reports and payslips?

Yes. By default all clients are given their own access to their client directory. But if a client wants reports and payslips emailed to them that is no problem. If they want us to email payslips to employees also, we can do that too.

Are emails GDPR compliant?

Yes all reports sent on email are, by default, password protected

Do you post out hard copy payslips when required?

Yes, we can print and post payslips and reports if required. This will attract additional costs.

Can we have a Client Portal system for our practice to use for other areas of our work?

Yes, if you want us to develop a portal for you to be used Practice Wide for delivery of accounts and correspondence, we can implement this for you as a side project. 

What happens if we decide to take our payroll back in-house?

No problem, we will put procedures in place in our engagement paperwork to give you assurance on this

How much notice do we need to give?

The notice period would be 3 months

Can we still access our reports?

Yes. After you exit the service we will still give you access to the payroll reports for all clients for a period of 12 months. You can view or download them as you see fit.

What are our choices?

You can choose to just access your reports or alternatively you can request to have reports converted into Excel or CSV files