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(Or: “How Hard Can It Be?” – Famous Last Words) At some point, every business owner asks this question: “Do I really need payroll software… or can I just do it myself?” And honestly?I get it. You’ve got Excel.You’ve got a calculator.You’re good with numbers.How hard can payroll be? (Deep, knowing payroll sigh.) ✍️ The Short Answer Yes, you can run payroll manually.But the real

When an employee leaves your business, there’s usually a checklist: final pay, P45, handover notes… and hopefully, the return of company equipment. But what happens when that laptop, mobile phone or tablet doesn’t come back? Aside from being frustrating, unreturned equipment can cause real costs to your business. However, dealing with it incorrectly can expose employers to legal claims. This article explains what

IR35 — or the Off-Payroll Working rules — has been part of the UK tax landscape for more than two decades, but 2025 and 2026 bring the biggest shake-ups we’ve seen since the major reforms of 2021. Whether you’re a contractor, accountant, agency, or employer engaging freelancers through personal service companies (PSCs), the next two years will change who carries the

(Or: Why Payroll People Secretly Deserve Bigger Filing Cabinets) If you’ve ever wondered why payroll people always seem to be drowning in spreadsheets, folders, files, and pieces of paper that definitely should be digital by now… it’s because payroll record-keeping is no joke. HMRC loves records.The Pensions Regulator loves records.Employment law REALLY loves records. And when in doubt, the rule is simple:👉 Keep

I am extremely flexible about how information reaches me. Email? Yes.Phone call? Fine.WhatsApp? Sure.Post-it note stuck to my forehead? Bold, but acceptable.Scrap of paper? Absolutely.Back of a fag packet? Iconic. Carrier pigeon? Risky, but I admire the effort. What does not work is assuming I’ll just… sense it.I do not have psychic abilities.I’ve checked. Repeatedly. “Oh, I thought you knew.”Ah yes. That well-known business process. Good

(Or: That Time of Year When Payroll People Become Marathon Champions) Ah, payroll year end — the annual event that turns normal human beings into caffeine-fuelled superheroes with a suspicious emotional attachment to calendars and checklists. Fortunately, handling payroll year end doesn’t need to be a battle. With the right steps (and a sense of humour), you can finish the year strong,

(And Why Payroll People Deserve Medals in April) Ah, P45s and P60s — the Beyoncé and Adele of the payroll document world.Both iconic. Both essential. And somehow, both always needed at exactly the same time as everything else you’re already swamped with. But what exactly are they? When do you issue them? And how do you avoid the classic “Why haven’t I

(Or: Why HMRC Should Really Offer Loyalty Points) RTI — Real Time Information — is HMRC’s way of making sure they know exactly what you’ve paid your employees, the moment you pay them. It’s clever, efficient, and absolutely unforgiving. So what happens if you miss an RTI submission?Do alarms go off?Do HMRC agents descend from the ceiling Mission-Impossible-style?Does your payroll software start

(Or: The “I Didn’t Pay Anyone This Month” – Or “Please Give Me My Money Back” – Form) If the FPS (Full Payment Submission) is payroll’s steady heartbeat, the EPS — the Employer Payment Summary — is the occasional cough, stretch or “payday-off” signal.It’s the form you send to HMRC for anything that doesn’t fit neatly into your normal pay run. Let’s

(Or: The One Report HMRC Wants More Than a Cup of Tea) If payroll had a main character, it would be the FPS — the Full Payment Submission.It’s the report HMRC obsesses over.The golden child.The one you must file correctly unless you enjoy penalty letters and mild panic. Let’s break it down without the jargon, stress, or tears — just good humour and clear

(Or: Why Payroll People Always Look Slightly Stressed) If you’ve ever wondered why payroll professionals always have a faint twitch, a stash of emergency chocolate, and a deeply emotional relationship with their calendar, let me introduce you to the real culprit: HMRC’s payroll deadlines. Yes — the dates that never change, never move, and never care that it’s Christmas, school

(Yes, It Happens — And No, You Don’t Need to Panic) Payroll mistakes happen. A missed overtime shift. A duplicated bonus. The wrong NI category. A pay date that somehow ended up in the wrong tax month. It doesn’t matter how good you are — payroll has a sense of humour, and sometimes it likes chaos. But once you’ve sent