Every business needs a skilled and committed workforce. The days when the workforce was given a brown envelope each Friday with cash and a payslip have well and truly gone. Today, most companies pay their staff directly into personal bank accounts.
They may get a payslip handed to them and then an annual document to retain for future reference. Processing a payroll is a non productive activity for a small business, no matter that it is a crucial one. There is a strong case that it is a function that can be given out to a third party so that the business can concentrate its time on its core business activities.
Statutory Obligations
Every company has statutory obligations to meet and that most certainly includes its obligation to provide Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) with regular returns of salaries paid to its workforce together with the tax and national insurance remittance due. At the year end, the employee, the company and HMRC should all have figures that tally on the year’s transactions.
Things are ever changing. Tax codes and tax rates can be changed by legislation as can other aspects of taxation. It is the company’s responsibility to know when such changes come into force and apply them accurately. While there is no way for a company to avoid the ultimate responsibility for the returns, there are accountants in Central London such as GSM Accountants that offer a range of services which includes payroll processing. It is something that must be accurate and secure.
Relative Costs
In all likelihood, it is at a cost that will be much less than a company hiring a dedicated wages clerk. Even if a wages clerk has other functions within a business, there is an argument that there is an advantage in having a third party processing a payroll. If it specialises in such things it will always be up to date.
There is also a case to be made that a relatively junior member in the hierarchy should not really know what the boss and senior executives earn. To a third party they are only names, and to accountants in Central London that have earned a reputation for professional service and discretion there would never be any question of confidential information being leaked.
Financial Services
Large accountancy firms offer a number of business services. These services range from auditing and annual company returns to tax and investment advice, and financial planning services such as payroll, book keeping and management accounts. On the surface, payroll processing may seem merely a software program that can be done at the press of a button, but that is not the case.
Staff must be paid on time and informed of their salary being deposited in their bank. Personnel joining and leaving must be processed correctly. Given the service is relatively cheap; it also makes economic sense to outsource such a function.
[“source-businessmerch”]
