Accounting

Bookkeeping, VAT & payroll

Payroll services

Payroll is the process of paying people correctly and reporting it to HMRC in real time. Since Real Time Information was introduced, every employer must send a Full Payment Submission to HMRC on or before each pay day showing what each employee was paid and what was deducted, and must pay the PAYE tax and National Insurance over by the 22nd of the following month. Alongside HMRC sits the Pensions Regulator, which requires eligible employees to be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension with minimum contributions. Both regimes carry automatic penalties for lateness, and both apply from the first employee, which for many small companies is the director.

from £25/mo · fixed, per month

Next deadlines

  • PAYE and National Insurance for last month paid to HMRC (electronic)
  • Workplace pension contributions paid over to the scheme
  • PAYE and National Insurance for last month paid to HMRC (electronic)
  • Workplace pension contributions paid over to the scheme

Fees

Packages, fixed and published

£25/mo

Director-only payroll (1 person)

£45/mo

Up to 5 employees

£69/mo

Up to 10 employees

£99

Auto-enrolment pension setup (one-off)

Who this is for

Payroll

Employers in the UK with one to around ten people on the payroll: single-director companies paying a salary alongside dividends, trades with a few employees, cafes, salons and shops with hourly staff, professional practices, and anyone taking on their first employee who needs PAYE registration and auto-enrolment set up correctly from day one.

What is included

Inside the fixed fee

  • Payroll processed every pay period with electronic payslips to each employee
  • Full Payment Submission to HMRC on or before every pay day, and the Employer Payment Summary when needed
  • PAYE, National Insurance and student loan deductions calculated, with a monthly payment note for HMRC
  • Workplace pension assessment, enrolment and contribution files each pay period
  • Starters, leavers, P45s, statutory sick, maternity and paternity pay handled as they arise
  • Year-end: P60s to employees, final submissions, and P11Ds where benefits are provided

In detail

How payroll works

We run payroll as a fixed monthly service priced by headcount: £25 a month for a single director, £45 for up to five employees, £69 for up to ten, with a one-off £99 for setting up a workplace pension scheme and the declaration of compliance. Pay frequency does not change the price. Each pay period you confirm hours, salaries or changes; we calculate gross to net including tax codes, National Insurance, student loan deductions, pension contributions and any statutory payments, issue electronic payslips, submit the FPS to HMRC, send the pension contribution file to the scheme, and give you a single payment note showing what to pay HMRC, with the reference and the date.

For owner-managed companies the director's salary is a planning decision as much as a payroll one. Taking a salary at or just above the National Insurance thresholds keeps the year qualifying for State Pension while minimising deductions, and the remainder of income can come as dividends taxed at the lower dividend rates. The salary is deductible for Corporation Tax; dividends are not. The optimum figure shifts with each year's thresholds and with the company's profit, which is why the director-only payroll pairs naturally with the tax planning review, and why we flag the question every April rather than leaving last year's figure running.

Employers with staff have additional moving parts. Starters need a P45 or starter checklist and the right tax code from day one; leavers need final pay and a P45. Statutory Sick Pay, maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental pay have qualifying conditions and rates that change each April, and the recoverable element of parental pay has to be claimed back through the Employer Payment Summary. The Employment Allowance, worth up to £10,500 against employer National Insurance in 2026/27, must be claimed and is not available to companies where the director is the only employee. Benefits in kind such as company cars or medical insurance need P11Ds by 6 July and Class 1A National Insurance by 22 July. All of this is inside the monthly fee.

The year-end cycle closes with P60s to everyone employed on 5 April, issued by 31 May, and the final submission for the year. Then the new tax year's thresholds and rates are loaded and the cycle begins again. Taking over an existing payroll mid-year is routine: we need year-to-date figures per employee, the last submissions and the pension details, and the first run under us reconciles to the previous provider so HMRC sees continuity. For a business taking on its first employee, we register the PAYE scheme, set up the pension and explain the employment-law basics such as written terms and right-to-work checks, so the first pay day is uneventful.

Process

From first message to filed

  1. Tell us your situation

    A short message or call about what you do and what needs filing. We ask the questions that determine the right package and nothing more.

  2. Fixed fee in writing

    You receive one price for the work, confirmed by email before anything starts. It does not change if the job takes longer than we expected.

  3. Send records, review the draft

    Records come by WhatsApp or email. We prepare the draft, explain the figures in plain English and answer your questions.

  4. We file, you get the receipts

    Once you approve and the fee is settled, we submit electronically and forward the HMRC or Companies House acknowledgement the same day.

Worth knowing

Rules that come up in this work

Late filing penalties

HMRC's penalties for a late Self Assessment return are automatic: £100 the day after 31 January, £10 a day from three months late up to £900, then the greater of £300 or 5% of the tax at six and twelve months. Interest and separate late-payment penalties apply to the tax itself. Companies House charges £150 to £1,500 for late accounts, doubling for a second consecutive year.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax began in April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000, extends to those over £30,000 in April 2027 and is planned for £20,000 in April 2028. It requires digital records in compatible software and four quarterly updates to HMRC each year, with a final declaration replacing the traditional return. Payment dates are unchanged.

The Self Assessment calendar

Four dates govern Self Assessment: 5 October to register, 31 October for paper returns, 31 January to file online and pay, and 31 July for the second payment on account. Missing the January date triggers an automatic £100 penalty before any tax is even considered, so we treat it as the fixed point around which the rest of the year is planned.

Payments on account

If your Self Assessment bill exceeds £1,000 and less than 80% of your tax was collected at source, HMRC asks for two advance payments towards the following year, each half of the current bill, due 31 January and 31 July. The first year this happens the January payment is effectively one and a half times the bill. We model it in advance and show you how to reduce the payments if income is falling.

Salary versus dividends

The salary-and-dividend split is the central planning decision for an owner-managed company. Salary costs employer National Insurance above £5,000 but is deductible; dividends are not deductible but attract lower personal rates and no National Insurance. The optimum changes each April with the thresholds and depends on the director's other income, so it should be set deliberately every year.

Director's loan accounts

A director's loan account records money moving between a director and the company that is not salary or dividend. If the director owes the company money nine months and one day after the year end, the company pays section 455 tax at 35.75% of the balance, refundable only when the loan is repaid. Loans over £10,000 are also a benefit in kind unless interest is charged at HMRC's official rate.

The VAT registration threshold

VAT registration is compulsory once taxable turnover in any rolling twelve-month period exceeds £90,000, or when you expect to exceed that in the next thirty days alone. The test is rolling, not by tax year, and includes zero-rated sales. Businesses regularly cross it without noticing, and late registration means accounting for VAT on sales where it was never charged to customers.

Questions

Payroll: your questions answered

What does the £25 director-only payroll include?

Monthly payroll for one director: the payslip, the RTI submission to HMRC, the calculation of any PAYE and National Insurance due, year-end P60 and final submission. It is designed for directors taking a salary around the National Insurance thresholds alongside dividends.

How is the fee set for a team?

By headcount: up to 5 employees is £45 a month and up to 10 is £69 a month, whatever the pay frequency. Weekly, fortnightly and monthly payrolls cost the same. Over 10 employees we quote a fixed fee per month based on numbers and complexity before starting.

What is RTI and when do submissions have to go in?

Real Time Information is HMRC's system for reporting pay and deductions as they happen. A Full Payment Submission must reach HMRC on or before each pay day. Late or missing submissions earn monthly penalties from £100 for small employers. We file on the pay date every time you confirm the figures.

When is PAYE paid to HMRC?

By the 22nd of the following month if paying electronically, or the 19th by post. Employers whose average monthly liability is under £1,500 can pay quarterly. We send a payment note each month with the amount, HMRC's account details and your reference ending in the correct period number.

What salary should a director take?

For 2026/27 many directors take a salary at or just above the National Insurance thresholds so that the year counts towards the State Pension while minimising deductions, and take further income as dividends. The right figure depends on the company's profit and your other income, and our tax planning review covers it in detail.

Do I have to offer a workplace pension?

Yes, if you employ anyone aged 22 to State Pension age earning over £10,000 a year. They must be enrolled automatically with minimum contributions of 8% of qualifying earnings, at least 3% from you. Director-only companies with no employment contract are usually exempt. The £99 setup package handles the scheme, the declaration of compliance and the letters.

How are starters and leavers handled?

For a starter we need the P45 or a starter checklist, bank details and contract terms; we set them up and report them to HMRC on the first pay run. For a leaver we process final pay, issue the P45 and report the leaving date. Both are included in the monthly fee.

What about sick pay, maternity and paternity pay?

Statutory Sick Pay, Maternity, Paternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Pay are calculated and paid through the payroll when the qualifying conditions are met, and the recoverable portion of parental pay is reclaimed from HMRC through the Employer Payment Summary. All included.

What is the Employment Allowance?

Eligible employers can reduce their employer National Insurance bill by up to £10,500 a year (2026/27). Single-director companies with no other employees do not qualify. We claim it on your behalf where you are eligible, which for a small team often wipes out the employer NI entirely.

Do you provide payslips and P60s?

Yes. Electronic payslips go to each employee every pay period through a secure portal or by email as you prefer. P60s for everyone employed at 5 April are issued by 31 May. If you provide benefits such as a company car or private medical cover, P11Ds are prepared and filed by 6 July.

I am taking on my first employee. What do I need?

A PAYE employer registration with HMRC (our £49 service, or £99 with the first payroll run set up), a workplace pension scheme, employer's liability insurance, a written statement of employment terms and right-to-work checks. We handle the first two and tell you plainly what to do about the rest.

Can you take over mid-year from another provider or software?

Yes. We need the year-to-date figures for each employee, the last submissions to HMRC and the pension scheme details. The transfer is included in the fee and the first pay run under us reconciles to the previous provider's figures so HMRC sees no gap.

Where

Payroll across the UK

This service has a local page for every one of the 60,946 places we cover. A selection:

England: Central London · East London · East Midlands · East of England · M25 Fringe · North East · North East London · North London · North West · North West London · South East · South East London · South London · South West · South West London · West London · West Midlands · Yorkshire

Scotland: Scotland

Wales: Wales

Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland

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