For help on getting started with the system please see our getting started guide.
Click on the headings to open/close each section. Click on the questions to reveal the answers, or search using the box below.
| What do you provide? |
We provide an online system that calculates the deductions from each wage payment, giving you a printable payslip at the click of a button.
Our system also calculates the tax, NIC and student loan payments that should be made to HM Revenue and Customs, and lets you send electronic returns to HMRC. We provide expert help by telephone and email, should you have any difficulty with the system, or in case you simply want to check that you have entered the information correctly. |
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| How long does it take? |
Depending on the number of employees, it can take as little as 5 minutes to calculate your first payroll. This can be done at any time of the day or night because the service is 100% automated.
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| How "free" is the free trial? |
You can start the free trial immediately with no obligation. You do not need to provide credit card or other billing details and are under no obligation to continue at the end of the trial. We do ask that you supply a valid email address and you will need the tax and payment details for your employees.
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| Is the trial version the full version? |
The trial version is fully functional (apart from year end submission) for 1 month, if you wish to continue using the service after that period simply arrange payment and the service will continue.
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| Why should I use an online payroll service? |
Payroll software typically needs to be updated twice or more each year. With our online payroll system you never have to worry about these updates, or whether your computer is new enough to support the upgrades. You can use the site from different computers at different locations and there are no installation or set up costs. Our system is continuously backed up to a secondary site at a separate UK location, meaning you never have to worry about safety of your data.
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| What does Secure Login mean? |
Secure Login uses 128 bit encryption and a digital certificate to protect the data between your computer and ours. This makes it far harder for a determined third party to read the information in transit.
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| Can you provide some assurances about online security for personal details logged on your server? |
Details about our network can be found by clicking on the 'About Us' option (you may need to log out first).
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| Where are your servers located ? |
All customer information is kept securely on computer systems located within UK datacentres, in compliance with the Data Protection Act.
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| How much does it cost after the trial ends? |
If you have up to 5 employees, the cost is £5.75 per month.
For larger employers, there is an additional charge of £1 per extra employee per month. (All prices are excluding VAT) |
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| How come you are so cheap? |
Our service is fully automated, reducing the need for costly human intervention. If you have any questions about using the system, you can call or email our friendly support team for help.
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| I need weekly payslips - will this increase the cost? |
Our monthly fee is the same whether the employees are paid weekly, fortnightly, four weekly or monthly
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| How do I pay you? |
We accept VISA DEBIT, ELECTRON, MAESTRO, MASTERCARD, VISA as well as cheques and bank transfers. Payment can be monthly, quarterly or annually. Please make your payment using the My Account section of our website. Unfortunately we cannot accept payment over the phone.
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| Why does your credit card page have the Sage logo on it? |
Our service is not connected with Sage and does not use Sage software. We are an independent, family owned company.
We have been using a payment processing company called ProtX for several years. Sage then bought ProtX and changed their name to Sage Pay. When you pay us by credit card, the name "Sage Pay" now appears alongside our own name on the payment page. |
| How are the charges worked out if I have more than 5 employees? |
To ensure we can count the extra employees correctly, we charge for them a month in arrears. So if you have 7 employees, you would pay the normal £5.75 monthly fee in the first month and then a month later you would see a charge of £2 for the extra employees you had in the first month.
An employee who has left is not counted once their leaving date has passed. |
| If I add more than 5 employees to the system, do I continue paying for them all, even if some of them leave my employment? |
No.
The fees for additional employees are based on the number of staff that were employed during a one month period. If you had 10 employees during the first period but only 9 during the second period, the fees would reduce accordingly. If one employee leaves and another joins the following day, typically both would be counted as having been employed during that period. |
| Can you send me invoices ? |
All of the billing and invoicing is done directly by the system. When you log in, you can read and print your invoice by going to the 'My Account' section.
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| Do your charges include VAT? |
No.
VAT will be added at the standard rate. If you are a VAT registered business, you should be able to reclaim this in the normal way. |
| What software do I need to install, or minimum requirements? |
The service is accessed via a web browser, so you do not need to install any special software on your computer.
We recommend that you have a minimum of a Pentium 200mhz or equivalent running any of the following browsers:
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| Can I use an Apple Mac or Linux computer to access the site? |
Yes - as long as that computer is connected to the Internet and running one of the supported browsers.
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| How do I view the documents you link to on the HMRC website ? |
The HMRC supply their documents in PDF format. These can be read using Adobe Reader.
Click here to download Adobe Reader |
| Why don't you support the other versions of Firefox? |
We only officially support a browser once we have checked every feature of every page in that version of that browser. This is to ensure that our customers do not encounter unexpected problems when they use the site.
Mozilla release a version of Firefox every six weeks and they stop supporting most versions six weeks later. This short lifetime makes it impractical to apply our high standards of testing. Every seventh version of Firefox is designated an Extended Support Release (ESR) and is supported by Mozilla for about 12 months. We support these versions of Firefox. Although we don't officially support the non-ESR versions of Firefox, we know of no reason why they shouldn't work and are happy for you to use them. If you do come across a browser-specific problem on our site, we will recommend you switch to using a supported browser. |
| Do you have HMRC accreditation / recognition? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Our software was accredited by HM Revenue and Customs as meeting the HMRC Payroll Standard and the relevant sections of the HMRC Quality Standard. It incorporates an online filing capability by Internet. HMRC's accreditation was replaced by a new scheme called PAYE recognition and the old accreditation scheme was withdrawn on 6th April 2012. Our software has now been recognised under the new PAYE recognition scheme.
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| Which specific tax features do you support? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Do you support the Construction Industry Scheme? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Whilst the system is not able to calculate CIS payments or deductions you can enter the figures on our HMRC Tax Payments page by clicking on add special item. Choose either 'CIS deduction suffered' or 'CIS deduction from subcontractors', type in the amount and then click 'Add'. The system will take this into account when calculating your tax payments.
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| How do I use a salary sacrifice scheme, such as childcare vouchers? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
These schemes work by reducing the employee's salary and giving vouchers or another benefit instead. Since the tax and NI is worked out on the reduced salary, there is less tax and NI to pay.
There are two ways you can enter this in the system: 1) Reduce the gross salary by the amount of the vouchers. or 2) When running the pay run, enter the figure as a negative amount in the other pay box. Both of these methods will result in the correct calculation of net pay, but will appear slightly differently on the payslip. With either of these methods, you can also add an explanation to the payslip by entering it in the "Pay Advice" box during the pay run. |
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| What do I do when the tax rates and limits change? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Absolutely nothing. We will reconfigure the system with the new rates and limits.
We will inform you if there are any changes that require your attention. |
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| What do your finished payslips look like? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
To see an example of our payslips, why not sign up for a free trial? You can have one printed in minutes.
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| Which method do you use for tax and NIC calculation? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
There are two HMRC approved methods of calculating PAYE income tax: The manual method and the computerised method. The amount of tax due can differ by up to 2p between the two methods. We use the computerised method.
There are two HMRC approved methods of calculating National Insurance Contributions: The table method and the exact percentage method. We use the exact percentage method. The majority of computerised payroll systems use the same methods as us and therefore should produce identical figures for tax and National Insurance Contributions. |
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| How do I pay HM Revenue and Customs ? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Our system will work out how much you need to pay. Details on how to make payments can be found in the HMRC payslip booklet or from their website http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/payinghmrc/paye.htm
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| How do I deduct an NIC Holiday? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On 22 June 2010, the government announced a regional employer national insurance contributions holiday for new businesses.
If you are eligible for the scheme, you can deduct all or part of your employer's National Insurance liability from your payment to HMRC each month. Once you have followed the government's rules to work out how much employer's NI you can deduct, simply go to our HMRC Tax Payments page, click "Add a special item" and choose the option for "NIC holiday claimed". Once you click "Add", the system will automatically deduct the NIC holiday from your next payment to HMRC. At the end of the year, your P35 will show that you have underpaid HMRC, and you will need to send in a separate 'Holiday return' to explain the difference. You can read more about the NIC holiday scheme on this web page: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/paye/intro/nics-holiday/index.htm |
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| Can I pay my employees through your site ? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No.
Our system will work out how much to pay, you must take care of the payments yourself. |
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| How do I enter Sick Days? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
If you are operating Statutory Sick Pay and your employee is sick, choose the employee from the OPTIONS menu on the left and then click on the Statutory Pay tab. You can enter any periods of sickness using the Sick Periods table at the bottom of the page.
When you are finished, you can pay your employees using the Pay Employees option. The system will automatically prompt you for any extra information needed to work out Sick Pay. Click for our Statutory Sick Pay Guide. |
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| How do I enter details of previous sick periods? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
If you have just started entering Sick Periods via The Payroll Site, there may be some earlier period of sickness that the system doesn't know about - i.e. it does not appear on the Statutory Pay page.
Sick periods are linked if they are separated by 8 weeks or less. Linking sick periods affects the calculation of Statutory Sick Pay. The first time you enter a sick period for an employee, you should consider whether it is linked to an earlier sick period. If it is, you should enter the earlier period as well. Then, when you are paying your employees, the system will prompt you for some extra information needed to correctly calculate SSP. Click for our Statutory Sick Pay Guide. |
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| What is a Qualifying Day for Statutory Sick Pay? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
An Employee's Qualifying Days are normally defined to be the days of the week that he or she usually works for you. Bank Holidays do not affect the pattern of Qualifying Days.
It is possible to choose an alternative set of Qualifying Days, by agreement with your workforce. More information about Qualifying Days can be found in HM Revenue and Customs Help Book E14 "Employer Helpbook for Statutory Sick Pay": www.hmrc.gov.uk/helpsheets/e14.pdf Click for our Statutory Sick Pay Guide. |
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| Can I email payslips to my employees? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yes - You can use our ePayslip feature. It will email payslips to your employees as password-protected PDF attachments. Although our system sends the emails on your behalf, they will appear to come from your email address, so your employees know who sent them.
To send an ePayslip, you must first set an email address and password on the employee's Personal Details tab: - Click on the employee's name in the options list - Use the Edit Details/Save Changes buttons to set the email address and password Next, use the Pay Employees option to calculate a payrun and confirm it. Finally, click onto the Post-Payrun Options tab and choose the option to email the payslip. If you have email addresses for more than one employee, you can send them all ePayslips at the same time using the "Send Payslips as Bulk Emails" button. |
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| How can I transfer my pay run figures to my accounting system? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
To save you from retyping figures into your accounting system, you can transfer your pay run data to QuickBooks Online, Business Accountz*, KashFlow, Xero or Sage 50. Each of these systems is covered by a separate question in our FAQ list.
You can also export your figures to a CSV file which is compatible with Excel and some accounting systems. To access this feature, calculate and confirm your pay run as normal and then click the Export button. * Business Accountz includes a menu option to download figures directly from The Payroll Site |
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| How do I export my pay run figures to KashFlow? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
KashFlow is an online accounting system provided by KashFlow Software Ltd. If you have an account with KashFlow, you can send your payroll figures directly to their system, to save you from retyping them.
The easiest way to send your pay run figures to KashFlow is using the KashFlow API. First, you will need to set up your KashFlow account. Within KashFlow, you must enable the API from within "Settings". If you wish to restrict access for better security, you can set up your KashFlow account to only accept API requests from our IP addresses, which are currently 46.245.248.20 and 31.210.31.161 Next, use The Payroll Site to calculate your pay run as normal. When you are finished, click Confirm payments and then click on the Export button. Within the Accounts System Configuration tab, select the option for "KashFlow API" and fill in the username, password and nominal codes that you are using within KashFlow. Once these details have been set, the system will remember them for next time. Click the Accounting Transaction tab and the system will show you details of the accounting transaction. Click the "Send to KashFlow" button to send the transaction directly to your KashFlow account, where it will appear as a journal entry. Note: If you prefer not to use the KashFlow API, you can transfer the transaction to KashFlow by using the CSV option instead. |
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| How do I export my pay run figures to Xero? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Xero is an online accounting system provided by Xero Ltd, based in New Zealand. If you have an account with Xero, you can transfer your payroll figures directly to their system, to save you from retyping them.
The easiest way to send your pay run figures to Xero is using the Xero API. Use The Payroll Site to calculate your pay run as normal. When you are finished, click Confirm payments and then click on the Export button. Click on the Accounts System Configuration tab, click Edit Details and select the option for "Xero API". Then fill in the nominal codes that you are using within Xero. Once you have clicked Save Changes, the system will remember them for next time. Next, click on the API Authorisation tab and follow the on-screen instructions. You will be redirected to the Xero site, where you may need to log in, and will need to click the Authorise button. Once authorisation is complete, you can return to the Accounting Transaction tab and click "Send to Xero". The transaction will be sent directly to your Xero account, where it will appear as a Manual Journal. You can view and edit it using the Adviser menu within Xero. Note: If you prefer not to use the Xero API, you can transfer the transaction to Xero by using one of the CSV options instead. These work by downloading a file to your computer, which you can then transfer to Xero using one of the Xero's Upload buttons - either on the Manual Journals page or on the Accounts Payable page. |
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| How do I export my pay run figures to Sage? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Sage 50 products include a CSV import feature, which can be used to transfer your payroll figures. The Sage Instant products do not have import features, so Sage Instant users will need to retype their payroll figures.
When you have finished calculating your pay run, click Confirm payments and then click on the Export button. Within the Accounts System Configuration tab, select the option for "Sage 50 CSV" if you are using Sage 50 Accounts 2010 onwards, or select "Old Sage 50" if you are using an older version. Next, fill in the nominal codes that you are using within Sage. Once these details have been set, the system will remember them for next time. Click the Accounting Transaction tab and the system will show you details of the accounting transaction. Click the "Download CSV" button to download the CSV file onto your computer. It is advisable to take a backup before importing into Sage. These are instructions for importing the CSV file into Sage 50 Accounts 2011 (other versions may vary): 1) From the File menu in Sage, select Import 2) Click Next 3) Choose "Audit Trail Transactions" and click Next 4) Click "Comma-separated (*.csv)" and ensure "First row contains headings" is ticked. 5) Click "Browse", find the CSV file you downloaded earlier and click "Open" 6) Click Next and then Next again, then Finish |
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| How do I transfer my pay run figures to Business Accountz? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Business Accountz is a software package published by Accountz.com Limited. The latest version of Business Accountz incorporates a feature for downloading your payroll figures direct from The Payroll Site.
To use this feature, open Business Accountz, click on the File menu and choose the Payroll option. Detailed help about using that feature can then be viewed by clicking on the "? " symbol in the bottom corner of that page. If the Payroll option does not appear, you may need to upgrade to the latest version - click on the Help menu and choose "Check for Upgrade". |
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| How do I export my pay run figures to QuickBooks Online? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
QuickBooks Online is an online accounting system from Intuit. If you have a QuickBooks Online account, you can transfer your payroll figures directly, to save you from retyping them.
If you access QuickBooks Online via a login with Barclays, MyBusinessWorks or Smarta, we can not connect to these systems so you will need to transfer your figures manually. The first time you export figures to QuickBooks, you will need to set up the link. Use The Payroll Site to calculate and confirm your pay run as normal, then click on the Export button. Click onto the Accounts System Configuration tab and use the Edit Details to select the options you need. You will need to choose "QuickBooks Online" and fill in the names of the accounts you are using within QuickBooks Online. Once you have clicked Save Changes, the system will remember them for next time. Next, click on the API Authorisation tab and follow the on-screen instructions. You will be redirected to the QuickBooks Online website to complete the authorisation. Once authorisation is complete, you can return to the Accounting Transaction tab and click "Send to QuickBooks Online". The transaction will be sent directly to your QuickBooks Online account, where it will appear as a Journal Entry. You can view it using the Banking tab within QuickBooks Online. |
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| What is a Nominal Account? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
When you enter figures into an accounting system, they are allocated to different "accounts" so they can be analysed. Accounts which don't relate to specific customers or suppliers are usually called Nominal Accounts.
Each Nominal Account has a unique number, called a Nominal Code. Different accounting systems use different terminology: - KashFlow uses the word "Type" to describe Nominal Accounts, and each type has its own Code - In QuickBooks Online, the unique number is disabled by default, so you will not see them unless you change the settings If you transfer your figures from The Payroll Site to your accounting system using the Export feature, you will need to decide which Nominal Account to use for each figure. Nominal Accounts can be set on the Accounts System Configuration page and on the Employee's Tax Details page. For most accounting systems, you should set the appropriate Nominal Code on that page, but if you use QuickBooks Online, you can type the Account Name instead. |
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| If I use your service, do I still need my accountant? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
We do not provide bookkeeping, tax advice or the preparation of VAT returns, company accounts or self assessment tax returns. If you require any of these services then you will need to use a suitably experienced person, such as an accountant.
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| What is an ECON/SCON and where can I find details? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ECON stands for Employer's Contracting-Out Number. SCON stands for Scheme Contracted-out Number. They are optional 9 character reference numbers. You will have an ECON if the employer has an occupational pension scheme that is contracted out of the State Second Pension. Depending on the type of contracted-out pension, you may also have an SCON for each member of the scheme.
When the employer started the Contracted-out pension scheme they would have received a copy of the Contracted out certificate from HM Revenue and Customs. The ECON and SCON are shown on the top of this certificate. Most employers do not have an ECON or an SCON and should leave these boxes blank. |
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| What do I do when an employee leaves? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
When an employee leaves, you should:
1) Enter a leaving date on the employee's Tax Details tab, then 2) Use Pay Employees to calculate their final wages, setting Period End to their leaving date 3) Once the final pay run is confirmed, click Starters/Leavers to produce a P45 |
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| An ex-employee has just rejoined the company. How should I enter them on the payroll site? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
If an ex-employee rejoins the company then you should treat them as a brand new employee. It does not matter if the gap is 2 weeks or 2 years simply enter their details as you would with any new starter. If they rejoined within the same tax year, they should appear twice on the list of employees.
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| Can I sign up for more than one account? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You can sign up for more than one account by using a different email address. If you are an accountant or payroll bureau please contact us about an agent account. It could make administration easier if you manage the payroll of more than one employer.
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| How do I print an old payslip? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Choose the employee from the OPTIONS on the left and then click on the Working Sheet tab. This will show you all of the payments you have made to this employee in the current tax year. Find the payment you are interested in and click on the rightmost figure on that line (you may need to use the scroll bar). The payslip should then appear, with an option to print.
You can print a payslip from a different tax year by first selecting the tax year and then following the same steps as above. |
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| Can I add overtime and holiday pay on the payslip? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yes - the gross pay details page has a place to enter overtime and "other pay". If you are using the "other pay" option, it is advisable to put a brief explanation in the "Pay Advice" box.
Note: If a weekly-paid employee is given their holiday pay before they take their leave, don't put the holiday pay in the "other pay" box. Instead, click the "Add" option on the right of the gross pay details page and then choose "Holiday pay in advance". This will work out the tax and NI using HMRC's special rules for this situation. |
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| Can I put expenses on the payslips? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yes. On the Gross Pay Details page, click the Add option on the right and then choose 'Payment free of tax/NI'. This will add an extra amount to the payslip without affecting the tax, NI or other deductions.
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| Can the payslip data be transfered into Excel to make my end of year accounts easier to complete? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yes, simply cut and paste the relevant pages into an Excel worksheet.
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| Can I calculate wages for more than 5 employees? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yes you can but an extra fee may apply. See our Pricing page for details.
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| What paper do I need to print my payslips on ? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You can print payslips onto plain A4 paper using an ordinary printer, such as an inkjet or laser printer.
You can also
A security mailer is an A4 page with a clear window and an adhesive strip around the edge. After printing the payslip, the mailer is folded in half to create a secure envelope with the address showing through the window. For security mailer stationery that has been tested with our site, you can order blank payslips EUF-U from the Evrite website. When printing onto security mailers, please switch off the Page Scaling option within Adobe, otherwise the address will not align with the window in the mailer. |
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| Do I need to send the 'working sheet' page or P11 to HM Revenue & Customs? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
HMRC do not require you to send them this form, they only ask you to keep a form P11 or an equivalent, for your records. The Working Sheet page of our system is an equivalent, so you do not need to fill out a separate form P11.
Form P11 should not be confused with form P11D, which is used for totally different purpose. |
| Can I use the system with Real Time Information (RTI)? |
Real Time Information is the biggest change to PAYE since 1944 and will require employers to send a return to HMRC every time they pay their employees. Nearly all employers will have to send RTI returns from 6th April 2013. Please see our RTI guide for more information.
If you have enrolled in the pilot you can send them earlier. For further details, see our RTI Pilot Guide. |
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| When should I send an Employer Payment Summary (EPS)? |
There are different types of Employer Payment Summary, but the most common is to tell HMRC about amounts you are reclaiming. If you have any statutory pay, NIC holiday or CIS deductions and are reducing your payment to HMRC as a result, you should send an Employer Payment Summary to HMRC. If you do not send it by the 19th of the month, HMRC will not know how much is due and may contact you about an underpayment. If you are not paying a reduced amount to HMRC, you do not need to send this type of EPS.
You can send an Employer Payment Summary by clicking 'HMRC Payments / EPS' and then clicking on the 'EPS Submission' tab. If you have made no payments to your employees for a full tax month (ending on 5th of each calendar month) then you need to send a different type of Employer Payment Summary. A nil EPS should be sent within 14 days after the end of the tax month (i.e. between the 6th and 19th inclusive). You must also send a final RTI submission at the end of each tax year by the 19th April. Please see our RTI guide for more information. |
| Do you deal with year end P60, P14 and P35 returns? |
Yes.
You can check and print the information that makes up forms P14 and P35, before it is submitted electronically to HMRC. P60 Certificates of Pay can now be delivered to employees electronically using our HMRC-approved eP60. Alternatively, our system can print a P60 onto plain paper, or onto blank forms that you can get from HM Revenue and Customs. We have gained recognition from HM Revenue and Customs for the filing of P14 and P35 returns via the Internet. |
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| What do I need to do at the end of the tax year? |
Our system makes it easy to move on to the new year, submit your year end return electronically and prepare forms P60 for your employees.
Click the following link for a step by step guide: End of Year Guide |
| If I don't use the HMRC Tax Payment page, what do I need to do at year end? |
If you don't use our HMRC Tax Payments page, you should keep your own records of payments made to HM Revenue & Customs. At year end, the system will not be able to calculate the amount of tax and NICs that have been paid over to HMRC, so you must enter this figure yourself. To do this, you should finish the tax year, confirm the employees' P14 pages and then enter the figure on the P35 Totals page.
More information on these steps can be found in our End of Year Guide. |
| I am getting error 1046 when I send data to HMRC. What could be wrong? |
This means 'Authentication Failure. The supplied user credentials failed validation for the requested service'. The possible reasons for this error are:-
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| Why do I get error 7816 when I send my year end to HMRC? |
Most employers joined RTI in 2013/14, but some employers were enrolled in the RTI pilot, which covered the 2012/13 tax year.
If you were enrolled in the RTI pilot and tried to send a 2012/13 year end return, you would have received this message: "ERROR 3001 The submission of this document has failed due to departmental specific business logic in the Body tag. ERROR 7816 This End Of Year return cannot be accepted as the employer has been invited to join RTI and the return is within or after the tax year they were invited." If you call the HMRC Employer's helpline on 08457 143 143, they can remove you from the pilot so you can resend your year end return and then begin sending RTI returns in 2013/14. |
| I have lost my password so I am unable to access my account? |
Simply click on the 'Lost password ? ' link below the 'Secure Login' button on the main page. You will be asked to supply your email address, and instructions will be sent to you by email.
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| I no longer wish to use the system. How do I cancel/suspend? |
Log in and select the Preferences option. Scroll down to the 'Account Status' section and select from the drop down menu to either Cancel the account, make it Dormant or Pause it. We would appreciate it if you would take the time to tell us why you are leaving, either by email or using the form provided.
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| How do I enter details onto the system when the box is greyed out ? |
On many pages you cannot enter details until you have clicked the 'Edit details' button towards the bottom of the screen.
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| Why won't the system allow me to enter a date beyond the 5th April? |
Your account may still be set to the old tax year. To move it to the new tax year, select the "Finish tax year" option.
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| Why are the period start and end dates incorrect ? |
There are a number of ways this can happen, including forgetting to enter a start date for an employee, or missing out pay runs. If this is the first out of sync payment you should return to the 'Gross Pay Details' page and check the period start and end dates.
The period start/end dates affect Statutory Sick Pay, Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Pay, but they do not affect tax or national insurance. If there is no statutory pay, you can normally correct the problem by simply changing the Period End date on the Gross Pay Details page. If the employee does have statutory pay please contact us and we will advise on how to correct the situation. |
| Why is the employee's NI figure zero? |
There are four possible reasons for this:
1) The NIC table letter is set to C or X 2) The employee pay in that period does not exceed the Primary Threshold. 3) If the employee is a company director, the NI is calculated over a longer period - typically a year. This often leads to zero NI in the first few periods of the year and then higher NI figures later in the year. Full details are given in the HMRC Help Book CA44 (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/nitables/ca44.pdf) 4) If the employee has a contracted out pension and is paid slightly more than the Primary Threshold. The Primary Threshold for 2012/2013 is - £146 per week or - £634 per month or - £7,605 per year The Primary Threshold for 2013/2014 is - £149 per week or - £646 per month or - £7,755 per year |
| Why do I have two payslips with the same week/month number? |
The week or month number is determined from the pay date.
If you pay your employees on the same day of each week, the week number will be different every week. If, for example, you pay them on Saturday one week and Friday the next week, these may have the same week number. With monthly paid employees, each tax month starts on the 6th. If, for example, you pay someone on the 6th April and then on the 5th May, these payslips will both be in month 1. The week/month number can affect tax but not national insurance. If you have two payslips with the same month number, you will normally find that the second payslip has a higher than usual tax deduction. |
| What should I do when the HMRC Tax Payments page shows I have 0.00 to pay? |
If there is nothing to pay, you must still notify HMRC. You can make a nil return on their website (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/payinghmrc/paye-nil.htm) or you can post them a payslip from your HMRC payslip booklet. Once you have done this, you should click "Save as Today" on our HMRC Tax Payments page.
If our HMRC Tax Payments screen shows you have 0.00 to pay, this can mean that nothing is owed, or it can mean that HMRC owe money to you. In the latter case, you can request the money by contacting HMRC. Alternatively, you can ignore it and the amount will be carried forward, reducing the amount you have to pay next month. |
| Why is the net pay negative? |
There are a few ways that deductions can be set too high and lead to a negative figure in the net pay box, but the most common is a change in the employee's tax code.
This situation usually occurs when entering a new employee's tax details from a P45, or when a tax code change has been sent by HMRC. In either case, the first thing to do is to check that you entered the details correctly - In particular, check - the form is for the correct tax year - whether the tax code should be used on a Week 1/Month 1 basis For further guidance, call the HMRC employer helpline on 0845 714 3143. |
| I have confirmed a pay run that was wrong - can I edit or delete it? |
If you haven't yet paid the tax and NIC for that period to HM Revenue and Customs, then you can delete the payments for an employee like this:
1) Click on the name of the employee on the left hand side of the screen 2) Click on the "Working Sheet" tab at the top 3) Click on the "Delete Last Payment" button at the bottom of the page If you have already paid the tax and NI to HM Revenue and Customs, then altering the pay run may lead to an incorrect amount of tax being paid. As a result of this the 'Delete Last Payment' button will not work as you will need to delete the tax payment first. Once deleted you can re-enter the pay run as normal remembering to untick the "Include in payrun" box for any employees you wish to exclude. |
| Can I delete a Tax Payment? |
Yes.
A tax payment is saved by entering a "Date Paid" and clicking "Save". This indicates that you have paid the tax and NIC to HM Revenue and Customs. If there is no "Date Paid", then the tax payment has not been saved and therefore need not be deleted. The most recently saved tax payment can be deleted at any time by clicking the "delete" link. |
| How do I stop the the web address appearing on all my print-outs? |
If you print a page from our website, your web browser may automatically print the web address on the edge of the page.
If you use Internet Explorer or Firefox, you can override this option using the Page Setup option (on the File menu). If you use Safari, once you have chosen the print option, select 'Safari' from the options and untick the box labelled 'Print webpage information in headers and footers'. |
| Why am I not receiving any emails from you? |
Firstly, check that the email address you log in with is actually your correct address. If you are not sure, please double check as important emails are sent to your email address.
If we have the correct address, the problem is most likely caused by a junk mail filter. Junk emails, or spam, are a common problem on the Internet and there is no foolproof way of determining which emails are of genuine interest and which are spam. If your email program has a bulk email folder, please look there for our email. Otherwise, please check your filter settings. If you would like us to resend your account validation email, please choose the option on our Preferences page. |
| The HMRC helpline told me to use a tax code of NI but your system won't accept it? |
NI is not a tax code. If you have been advised to use the code NI for student employees, then you should use NT instead. At the end of the tax year you should change the Tax Code box on the P14 to be blank.
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| How do I contact HM Revenue & Customs ? |
Details of your tax office can be found on most HMRC correspondence.
The following numbers may also be helpful. HM Revenue & Customs New Employer Helpline: 0845-607-0143 HM Revenue & Customs Employer Helpline: 0845-714-3143 HM Revenue & Customs Online Services Helpdesk: 0845-605-5999 HM Revenue & Customs Orderline: 0845-764-6646 |
| Why is statutory pay not added to the payslip? |
Statutory Sick Pay, SMP, SAP and SPP are all calculated by the system and will appear on the deductions summary when they apply.
They will normally also be added to the payslip, but this can be disabled using a setting on the employee's Statutory Pay tab - you may wish to do this if you pay the employees their full salary during leave. To add sick pay to the payslip, set "Add Statutory Sick Pay to Wages? " to Yes. To add SMP, SAP or SPP to the payslip, set "Add to Wages? " to Yes. |