6 ways to manage your small business’s payroll

Ask the average small business, and they’d tell you that they think running a payroll is too complicated or time-consuming. Admittedly, there’s a lot to learn if this is your first time, but there’s a number of tricks to making your small business’s payroll easier – such as adopting payroll software.

Payroll doesn’t need to be scary and you don’t need to be an expert to get going. But if you’re wondering about how best to approach it, then here’s 6 things you should look out for when setting up your small business’s payroll.

1. Add the payroll deadlines to your calendar

Avoid any last-minute panics, and the increased risk of mistakes, by working well in advance of your deadline. Add key to dates to your small business calendar and set reminders well before the final deadline to make sure you’re not working up to the last minute.

Key dates to be aware of include PAYE payment due dates and Payroll Year End. We’ve included all of them, and plenty more essential payroll information in our free Payroll fact card, which you can download here.

2. Make sure you get the right information down

Save yourself time and stress later down the line by taking the time to set up your employees correctly, and make sure you’re using the right start dates, addresses, dates of birth, National Insurance numbers and other information.

This will help ensure your employees are on the right tax code, and that you’re paying the right amount of tax and National Insurance for each of them. Don’t forget to make a note of any additional information like Student Loans or Apprenticeship Levy.

3. Stay up to date with payroll legislation

The legislation regarding benefits and tax changes quite frequently, with numbers across to the payroll spectrum being revised every new tax year. If you’re using HMRC-compliant payroll software, then these changes will be taken into account for you.

Regardless of how you approach running your payroll, it’s important that you stay up to date with legislation changes and seek advice if you’re not sure of what applies to your business. The government’s website and the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) are both good payroll resources for businesses.

4. Keep everything simple with payroll software

Payroll software is designed to keep payroll simple by automating processes for you – meaning you’re spending much less time on admin every month. For example, IRIS Payroll Business will automatically calculate tax and National Insurance, generate payslips and offer regular updates to ensure you’re compliant.

We also go one step further by offering a range of payroll stationery to ensure you’re compliant and professional at every step.

5. Make sure you’re financially able to support your payroll

Once you take on employees, you have to make sure you can stay on top of paying wages – otherwise they won’t stay your employees for long! Stay on top of your business’s cash flow by investing in small business accounting software that’ll allow you to send prompt invoices, chase late payments and keep track of your business finances.

This’ll help you maintain a cash surplus that keeps your employees paid even during trickier business times.

6. Consider outsourcing your payroll

If you’d rather stay focused on other critical areas of your business, but don’t want to stretch your budget or resources by hiring someone to manage payroll internally, then consider outsourcing payroll.

Outsourced payroll gives you access to industry experts, who’ll save you the hassle and paperwork involved in payroll.  You can learn more about outsourced payroll here.

Want to get Payroll under your control? We can help. Start a free trial of IRIS Payroll Business to see how much time and energy you’ll save!