Best Auto Enrollment Provider for clients DIY

Best Auto Enrollment Provider for clients DIY

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Hi

We have a pretty robust AE solution in place and have been doing a few larger clients AE for months now. This solution is integrated with our payroll software so we charge the client an additional fee and set them up with NEST or People's Pension and away we go.

The problem is talking to clients who are financially challenged! Just speaking to a woman who has a cleaning company, 8 employees, does her own weekly payroll in Sage Payroll. Our weekly payroll price is too high for her.

We as a practice decided we would only do AE for people who we do payroll for. (Maybe this is an error?!)

Anyway I have recommended our client talk to sage and enroll with nest and she will be ok?! However it looks like a bit of a nightmare and I'm not confident she is up to it!

So anyone have any other middleware type solutions. I see Peak Performance are selling one, and there is Steve Bee Jargonfree Benefits.

Maybe we should be offering a middleware service? Or at least pointing clients in the direction of one. I imagine a nice system where they log on to a portal, input or upload some figures and it does everything!!

Or am I just too soft and should let the clients go their own way................

Cheers

Rob

Replies (7)

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By Moonbeam
11th Feb 2016 12:45

This is a major problem for this sort of client

I don't believe people like your client will have the option of a good all encompassing system for a good few years yet. First thing is to encourage her to go to monthly payroll.

The sad reality is that the only good service at present is the one provided by you. My own fees for this service look high until you analyse all the messing about you have to do for the money. If we aren't careful to cover ourselves we will be running a charity service.

 

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Replying to lionofludesch:
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By roblpm
11th Feb 2016 13:06

Tried..................

Moonbeam wrote:

I don't believe people like your client will have the option of a good all encompassing system for a good few years yet. First thing is to encourage her to go to monthly payroll.

The sad reality is that the only good service at present is the one provided by you. My own fees for this service look high until you analyse all the messing about you have to do for the money. If we aren't careful to cover ourselves we will be running a charity service.

 

Thanks for commenting. I always recommend people going to monthly payroll. Her answer "they are cleaners, they wont wait a month for their money!"

I think our fee for monthly payroll and AE is excellent value, its the weekly people in low margin businesses who are going to have an issue!

 

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Replying to spel2k:
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By NYB
11th Feb 2016 13:30

Monthly v Weekly

roblpm wrote:

Moonbeam wrote:

I don't believe people like your client will have the option of a good all encompassing system for a good few years yet. First thing is to encourage her to go to monthly payroll.

The sad reality is that the only good service at present is the one provided by you. My own fees for this service look high until you analyse all the messing about you have to do for the money. If we aren't careful to cover ourselves we will be running a charity service.

 

Thanks for commenting. I always recommend people going to monthly payroll. Her answer "they are cleaners, they wont wait a month for their money!"

I think our fee for monthly payroll and AE is excellent value, its the weekly people in low margin businesses who are going to have an
issue!

 

I too have one who refuses to go monthly. Have given all kinds of arguments. If those cleaners of yours were to go to another company who paid monthly would they worry. Of course they wouldn't. I've got my three restaurants to go four weekly by bullying them. Told them I was not prepared to do weekly, and it would cost them an arm and a leg
Told them to get quote from another payroll if they can find one to take on weekly. With AE & the coming and goings of this type of firm the time involved is not practical. Mine have agreed to go 4 weekly from April. I gave a payment schedule to give to staff so they are warned well in advance.

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By NYB
11th Feb 2016 13:00

Totally agree with above. I have three who employ students to teach music etc. They are mainly under 21 But one slightly older earns over the threshold. Their monthly wage bill isn't much over £1200. I have managed to get a " deal" for them. My middle man has cut his fee by a third & I have my bit. It's still expensive for them even though it's quite low but I'm afraid they will just have to pay. They have no choice. They would be totally incapable of doing any payroll themselves. And this kind of employer with starters & leavers means there is a continuation of letters to be sent even though a kid is only 16. And the NEST cont for the one employee if she doesn't opt out. And as you rightly said we are not a charity.

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By Moonbeam
11th Feb 2016 13:26

Cleaning companies etc

I think your client will need to have another think about monthly payroll. She is behind the times. Costs for AE will be much higher than they need to be otherwise, so I suspect she will change her mind!

I've run payrolls for all sizes of cleaning company in the past, and firmly tell all new payroll clients that this is accepted practice these days and I won't run a weekly payroll.

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By PCBACFV
11th Feb 2016 13:58

Self Help Auto-enrolment

If your client wishes to try and do it herself (not recommended) on auto enrolment - she could have a look at the Pensions Playpen www.pensionplaypen.com which free of charge takes you through the stages leading up to the selection of an AE provider.  The process might well encourage her to look at the fundamentals again!

Pensions Playpen then charges (I was given a charge of £499 a few months ago for a similar sized company also with a weekly payroll) to go through the supplier selection process.

However whatever route she goes down she will have to produce contribution reports etc off her payroll system for transmission to the pension provider on a monthly basis.  I don't know Sage Payroll but the payroll system in QuickBooks provides monthly reports from a weekly payroll that can be exported to Excel for transmission to the pension provider, I would be surprised if Sage also did not do this.  There is however quite a administrative workload on the user to ensure everything is actioned and recorded correctly and that the reports are prepared and submitted by the due dates.

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By SteveB@LPAES
15th Feb 2016 16:57

Simple and aimed at smallest businesses

Hi Rob,

Simple solution for your client could be ditch the Sage AE module altogether.

£295 plus VAT one off fee gets a choice of pension provider and guaranteed acceptance (we set up everything). Ongoing assessment is via our on-line employer portal (safe and secure) which will deal with all comms, assessment, pension provider uploads and Dec of Com without the employer getting to involved at all. Also payroll agnostic so no issues dealing with any payrolls we have bumped into.... yet.

We can deal with clients anywhere in the country and will provide screen sharing training on using our systems within this cost. Monthly assessment via the portal costs start at £40pm plus VAT but as I say no need for the module which would have cost a minimum of £15-20 and you have to run it yourself.

Take a look at our website for more details www.lpaes.co.uk and message me if you need full details. 

Happy to add to the 40-50 bureaux we already deal with, by the way, if anyone else is interested in finding out about working together with an AE specialist used to working with payrolls!!

Steve Brice

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