Is it time to outsource the payroll?

Your business is a success; in fact, it’s growing, in activity, reputation and revenue. You’re employing someone. You’re employing more people. But just when you should be patting yourself on the back, you’re finding more to worry about.

When you’re a sole trader or contractor, you only have yourself to worry about. Now, not only do you have a growing list of tasks and responsibilities, you also have employer and employee responsibilities too, and let’s face it: pay is top of everyone’s priorities.

The responsibilities and regulations around company payroll is something increasing numbers of worried business owners, even those with in-house accounting and HR departments, are asking ICS Accounting about. Fortunately, along with all your daily accounting headaches, it’s something we can help you with. With years of experience, our payroll experts can offer information, advice, and direction, including the benefits of outsourcing your payroll, leaving you to make the right decision for you.

WHAT IS OUTSOURCED PAYROLL?

Payroll outsourcing is when you contract an external company to manage your payroll. You have the peace of mind of knowing your payroll is being run by dedicated experts in compliance with all requirements and regulations. Operating seamlessly, your employees receive their wages securely and on time, with tax, benefits, pensions and other deductions allocated correctly.

For a fixed fee, payroll outsourcing can even return significant cost saving benefits, as well as saving your time and sanity. You, your finance, admin and HR teams are freed from time-consuming work, queries and risk, leaving you to focus on generating revenue and continuing to grow your core business.

BENEFITS OF PAYROLL OUTSOURCING

Expert Payroll Operation. Payroll providers, like ICS Accounting, know payroll inside out: it’s what they do. Rather than juggle with other business priorities, they focus on the job in hand, giving you peace of mind that your payroll will run on time, every time!
Remaining compliant. Legislation can be complex and staying up to date with the changes can be challenging, especially for multinational organisations. Dedicated payroll teams stay abreast of changes and incorporate as soon as they launch.
Cost Savings. More economic than running a department to deal within your own business, you’ll save on salaries- or the cost of your own time away from core business- and save investing in expensive software, hardware, security and maintenance.
Time saving. Outsourcing your payroll to trained professionals with the right skill set, frees your time to focus on your core business operation and growth.
Access to advice and experience. Payroll is a challenging and complex area for most businesses. Outsourcing this function immediately frees you from this, plus gives you access to a team of payroll experts for any queries concerned with recruiting, remuneration, bonuses and more.

RISKS OF NOT OUTSOURCING PAYROLL

Mitigate business risk. Errors could have negative consequences for your staff, employee relations, reputation, compliance and HMRC relations. Creating a dedicated payroll employee (in house) also risks payroll failure during holiday and sick leave, resignation, or unforeseen circumstances.
Cost of error. Research reveals in 2022 over 80% of UK businesses suffered internal payroll errors which resulted in employees not being paid correctly. Not good for morale, trust or loyalty, payroll correction can cost up to 18 lost business days annually.
Hardware and software. Lack of resource was the largest cause of payroll errors, however outdated or unsuited to purpose technology was also a significant risk factor. Purchasing hardware and software could mean diverting significant resources from the business.
Security. Handling payroll internally, especially for small and medium-sized businesses without a dedicated payroll department, can carry great data security risks. A dedicated payroll provider will have all safety measures in place, including conforming to GDPR, protective firewalls, and encrypted servers to protect all personal and sensitive information.
Financial penalties. Get your payroll wrong, and you could risk regulatory sanction and penalties, or employee action.

WOULD PAYROLL OUTSOURCING BENEFIT ME?

Depending on business size, structure and operations, outsourcing payroll can benefit more, and smaller, businesses, than many people imagine.

Working with ICS Accounting, your business gains not just a dedicated payroll agent, but an entire team of experienced payroll experts with more than 75 years of combined experience. We’ll understand your requirements inside out, ensure every aspect of the payroll process is met, including processing payments accurately and on time. Weekly, monthly or bespoke, we offer flexible payroll frequencies to suit every business.

We ensure all filings are completed before the statutory deadlines and that your business remains compliant with the latest legislation. Our dedicated payroll team will be on hand to help with legislation, pension and other deductions queries you might have, such as PAYE and national insurance contributions.

Taking the legwork out of managing payroll, you won’t have to worry about statutory deadlines and legislation, staff training, security or software. We take care of payroll, while you take care of business.

For no-obligation advice, or to discuss your individual requirements with one of our friendly team simply call 01524 580720, or email info@icsuk.com.