Managed Payroll Services - FAQs

Increasing numbers of companies of all sizes are turning away from in-house payroll management to externally managed payroll services. Bond Payroll Services provide managed payroll services for UK corporations, SME’s and non-profit organisations. Here we answer the most frequently asked questions about managed payroll services.

Managed Payroll Services Frequently Asked Questions

What is a managed payroll service?

A managed payroll service is a payroll service which is outsourced to a third party company, instead of being carried out in-house.

A fully managed payroll service includes every aspect of setting up and administering a client’s payroll function. The only action the client needs to do is to feed in employee data weekly or monthly as required – the payroll provider does everything else. It completely frees up your staff to concentrate on more important activities such as running and growing the business.

What does a managed payroll service include?

Bond Payroll Services provides a managed service which includes the following key features:

Requirements capture – We work with you to define your requirements and understand what your business needs from a payroll service.
System set up – We build a system for your business using Payrite software which is HMRC compliant and is kept continually up to date with all relevant legislation changes.
System test – We run the new system in parallel with your existing system to ensure it is correct. Then we switch over to the new system, ensuring correct takeover of data to the new system.
Data entry – We take receipt of data from you by email, fax or phone regarding hours worked, bonuses and other details which affect wage calculation. We carry out data entry into the system.
Dedicated Payroll Manager – You have a named professional who is familiar with your company and your account, who you can speak to at any time.
Calculations - We perform all calculations necessary to produce a final wage slip including: tax and National Insurance, PAYE, GAYE, pensions, SMP, OMP, SAP, SSP, SPP and OSP. The calculations are validated and audited.
Payslips – We produce a security sealed payslip for each employee / pensioner.
Payments – We arrange BACS payments of wages and pensions direct into employee bank accounts.
Additional documents - We produce necessary documents for individual personnel and HMRC as required including P45’s, P46’s, P35’s, P11’s, P11d’s, P14’s, and P60’s.
Reports – We provide regular reports (e.g. weekly, monthly) as required. We also provide bespoke accounting reports if these are needed. Instant reporting is also available.
General Ledger interface – This allows you to interface with your existing accounting software, currently compatible with 90 different finance packages.
End of Year – We calculate and compile all end of year figures and submit them to the HMRC on your behalf.
HMRC compliant – We use fully HMRC accredited software.

What are the benefits of using Bond Payroll Services' managed payroll service?

The benefits of using our managed payroll service fall into four main categories:

Cost Savings – No need to employ dedicated staff to administer your payroll and no need to pay ongoing software licensing costs for payroll software.
Time Savings – Your personnel are freed up to work on the core business activities instead of running or overseeing an in-house payroll function.
Security and Compliance – You never have to worry about staying up to date with changes in taxation or payroll legislation, this is taken care of automatically.
Visibility and Control – You retain complete visibility and control via reports and access to your dedicated payroll manager.

For more detail about these benefits read our article: Managed Payroll Services – Benefits.

Is a managed payroll service suitable for all businesses?

Yes. It is suitable for all sizes of business, including small, medium and large businesses, as well as charities and other non-profit organisations.

Large companies with an existing in-house payroll function are likely to see the biggest immediate cost benefits, as they will no longer need to employ dedicated payroll staff or pay for payroll software licensing costs. Click here for more information on our corporate payroll services (links to corporate)

Small companies such as start-ups, often begin by doing all business functions including payroll, themselves. However this requires time and some expertise, which is a big drain on resources if there are only a few people working in the business. Often this function grows organically as the company becomes medium-sized. Moving to a managed payroll service frees up key personnel to grow the business. It also gives small and medium businesses the benefit of a fixed cost for their payroll which is easy to budget for. Click here for more information on our payroll services for SMEs (links to SME page)

Non-profit organisations, such as charities, often depend on volunteers to run the organisation. It is therefore more difficult to expect them to have the background or necessary expertise to run a payroll, which can often be more complex than for a company. Using Bond Payroll Services means that clients are automatically up to date with all necessary tax and pay legislation and are fully HMRC compliant. Click here for more information on our payroll services for charities / non-profit organisations (links to page 1)

Recruitment companies have very specific payroll needs, involving large numbers of people requiring to be paid for varying lengths of time and working for a third party companies. Most recruitment companies are fairly small, so trying to keep track of this type of complexity makes using a managed payroll service essential. Click here for more information on our payroll services for recruitment companies

How much does the Bond Payroll Services managed payroll service cost?

There is an initial set up fee which depends on the complexity of the payroll required.

After that, there is a fixed charge per payslip. All other costs are included in the payslip fee.

What is the process of moving over to Bond Payroll Services' Managed Payroll Service?

Whether you currently have an in-house function or are using a third party supplier, our first step is always to assess your requirements and understand what your organisation really needs from a payroll service. We take into account all the different elements that go to make up an employee’s pay (e.g. basic wage, overtime, bonuses, commissions, GAYE or other schemes, payment of expenses and so on).

If you are already using a third party supplier we take special care to ensure that any issues that existed with the previous supplier are addressed and corrected as part of the requirements capture process.

We then build a system based on these requirements using Payrite, a feature-rich software suite, which is populated with base data. The new system is run in parallel with your existing system to test it is correct and to iron out any anomalies.

Once you are happy that the new system is producing correct figures we switch over to the new system. If you are currently using an external payroll provider, an agreed changeover point will need to be agreed and we will provide communication and support to help manage this process.

How is data supplied to Bond Payroll Services?

Data is usually supplied via email or fax, or by phone if necessary.
Data entry is carried out by ourselves.
This means that you can continue to collect and collate pay data using whatever method you currently use, resulting in minimal disruption to existing company practices.

Do Bond offer any kind of guarantee?

As part of the initial set up phase, we draw up a service level agreement detailing the processes, activities and deliverables that have been agreed, including timescales, deadlines and other key performance indicators. This ensures the introduction of the new payroll system is properly project managed and allows all interested parties to track and monitor progress.

The service level agreement also states the levels of accuracy and timeliness you can expect from us, and what happens if these levels are not met. This agreement effectively forms your guarantee of service.

Managed Payroll Services – contact us now for more information and a review of your payroll.