Payroll management

have2flushtwice

Hi
I want to know how small business manage their payroll.
Some have staff working in the office, and perhaps an admin can manage the sage QuickPay programme in that situation.

However I know some business who sub contract out the wages to a third party for up to 10 percent of the employees salary.
One of these businesses - due to the skill required for the job, can barely use a PC.
If I create an example. There's a store Mason with three employees working for him and none have adequate PC skills.
So what are the Mason's options - does he use an accountant to manage the payroll and prsi USC etc, or what can he do? I'm trying to figure out how this works.

duffysfarm

preparing payroll correctly is very important. there are two main reasons why;
1) mess up with the payroll and you will annoy staff. if they get underpaid in a pay period there will be no other quicker way to annoy them and can lead to staff leaving and a bad atmosphere
2) you are legally obliged to prepare payroll correctly. revenue have changed the payroll system in 2019 and it is now what i like to refer to as "live"

now i know by your post that you were not thinking of not doing payroll correctly, i was only giving you the two reasons above to show you how important payroll is. if you do not have some one in the office who can do the payroll then you should get a quote from an accountant or book keeper for preparing the payroll. 10% of the wages as a fee for this seems a but high also

two reasons why an accountant may be good value is 1) they know what they are doing 2) if you buy a payroll package it may cost anything from €200 to €500 year whereas the accountant may have a bureau package and to add on a new client will not cost anything

Chevy RV

Hello Have2fluchtwice,

It is probably cheapest to use the accountant to do the payroll but some firms aren't that interested for various different reasons.

The other option is probably a bookkeeper or payroll bureau who would already be doing many other payrolls.

The type of charge indicated seems vastly out of line with norms -"up to 10 percent of the employees salary."

PM me for any further information on Payroll or I can even give you a quote for it.


Regards,


Chevy RV

CIARAN_BOYLE

€5-€10 a payslip is a lot more normal than 10% of the salary.

If it's the same (and it may be in a small bar or restaurant with a lot of part time staff) you can think about paying people less regularly (monthly as opposed to weekly payrolls).

have2flushtwice

10 percent is what one business is paying, I know the owner and I know the company who is processing the payroll as well.

I worked it out, if I was the payroll processing company how many heads would I need to make a living, I took salaries from 15 to 30 euro per hour, and ranged the charge from 3 to 10 percent, with a 20k overheads allowed for. It doesn't take much to run payroll, with the proper system(tgate) 34 employees processed for bi weekly payment in under 4 hours where I am presently(it may take less and I'd say it does due to the rotaload system built into the programme, but I don't want her under pressure doing wages), its one of the roles I oversee.

5 euro a payslip is a 1percent margin, that's 240 heads at 500 euro a week gross.

We used to outsource to our accountant who charged a flat fee of €500 plus VAT (3 employees, wageroll of around 150k). Since we’ve grown and with PAYE modernization we’ve brought it in house - software was around €250 for the year with unlimited phone support and our finance person takes care of it now.

mogilvie

There’s no definitive answer. It all depends on the competency, and the perceived risk/benefit to the employer.

They could :
1) Outsource their payroll to a third party.
a. Their accountant
b. A book keeper
c. A payroll bureau
2) Hire a part time admin/book keeper with the requisite skills. Perhaps job share the person with another company?
3) Train or upskill. IPASS and others run training around the country.

Outsourcing will be the most expensive long term. But comes with peace of mind that you’re in compliance with Revenue and your employees expectations.

If you’re more inclined to handle in house, then there multiple software solutions that can assist. Look for one that uses the Direct Method of interacting with Revenue, so that all the forms and reporting get handled directly via the software.

There are also steps that you can take to minimise the complexity and time requirements of the pay roll process.
1) Contract staff on GROSS wages/salaries. Not net pay.
2) Lengthen the payroll cycle. Pay monthly if, try to avoid weekly if you can. PAYE Modernisation requires you to report every payslip on or before payment to the employee
3) Avoid providing perks or subsidies that might attract Benefit In Kind.
4) Organise a direct debit mandate with Revenue for PAYE deductions.
5) Use a system that integrates your payroll with accounts reconciliation to avoid double entry time loss and errors.
6) Create payment files for paying staff via online banking. This reduces errors and is generally a lot faster. Definitely use SEPA/Bankline for more than 10 staff.

Regards,
Mark Ogilvie
Parolla

CIARAN_BOYLE

have2flushtwice wrote: »

10 percent is what one business is paying, I know the owner and I know the company who is processing the payroll as well.

I worked it out, if I was the payroll processing company how many heads would I need to make a living, I took salaries from 15 to 30 euro per hour, and ranged the charge from 3 to 10 percent, with a 20k overheads allowed for. It doesn't take much to run payroll, with the proper system(tgate) 34 employees processed for bi weekly payment in under 4 hours where I am presently(it may take less and I'd say it does due to the rotaload system built into the programme, but I don't want her under pressure doing wages), its one of the roles I oversee.

5 euro a payslip is a 1percent margin, that's 240 heads at 500 euro a week gross.

In my experience you are building way to much time into the payroll run. I used to do a weekly payroll run varying 30-40 people a week in 90 minutes back when I was a junior trainee accountant.


In my current firm the secretaries do payroll in their free time between typing letters and answering phones. I'm not sure off the top of my head how many payroll jobs they do though but I'd estimate that they do circa 1000 payslips a month.

Mrs OBumble

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

In my experience you are building way to much time into the payroll run. I used to do a weekly payroll run varying 30-40 people a week in 90 minutes back when I was a junior trainee accountant.


In my current firm the secretaries do payroll in their free time between typing letters and answering phones. I'm not sure off the top of my head how many payroll jobs they do though but I'd estimate that they do circa 1000 payslips a month.

It can vary widely depending on the complexity, though. 40 people getting paid the same amount each week or even with variable hours but the same hourly rate for all hours in a low staff-turnover environment is a lot less difficult than a mix of people on different contracts, variable hours, some with paid overtime some not, a few on paid sick leave, a few maternity leave and high staff turnover.

There's no one right answer, it all depends on the complexity of the business, and how often the pay changes

goat2

What software do people recommend to use for pay roll and general running of small 2 man business,
How does a person go about setting it up

Green Mile

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