Outsourcing of payroll

Outsourcing of payroll

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We currently use moneysoft to prepare payroll in our accountants practice for around 80 clients.

We are thinking of outsourcing this and would welcome some recommendations for payroll bureaus, along with how it works in practical terms and how the transition worked and the reaction from clients. It would be useful to know the typical costs. Payroll is holding us back in terms of our other work. Ideally we like to keep moneysoft.   

We would be interested to know other accountants thoughts and happy to be PM about this including payroll bureaus.

Thanks

Replies (18)

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By petersaxton
05th Mar 2016 03:59

Why?

Why is payroll holding you back?

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By tom123
05th Mar 2016 06:52

But you are already the bureau

For me, there would be too many layers. I am an 'employer' - and we do our own payroll.

I would not want my 'outsourcer' to outsource. That would be really fiddly.

Your work would probably get even more messy - unless you are just planning on putting the client directly in touch with your bureau on a non disclosure basis.

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By Euan MacLennan
06th Mar 2016 12:40

I don't understand

refs8 wrote:

We currently use moneysoft to prepare payroll in our accountants practice for around 80 clients.

We are thinking of outsourcing this ...  Ideally we like to keep moneysoft.

Why would you like to keep Moneysoft if you have outsourced your payroll service?

Apart from that, I agree with Peter.  In what way is payroll holding you back?  It is simply a question of having sufficient staff to provide the services you offer.  Moneysoft is probably the least time-consuming payroll software, but if your existing staff do not have enough time to provide the payroll service in addition to (presumably) accountancy and tax service, and you wish to prioritise the latter, either recruit more staff or outsource the payroll service.

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By In a Daze
06th Mar 2016 13:12

payroll

We do the payroll for our clients although we must get around 3 phone calls a week from accountants who wish to outsource payroll it is not as uncommon as you think.

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By refs8
08th Mar 2016 12:01

Thanks everyone, I think we have decided to leave well alone at present. Thanks for those that have PM also.

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By pauljohnston
09th Mar 2016 12:10

@refs8

Having made the decision now is the time to make sure it is profiable.

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By tomgill
09th Mar 2016 12:32

Its a valid question and one im contemplating for "active" payrolls rather than one man company ones which are straightforward. With the introduction of AE etc its just getting more difficult to manage on a weekly basis. I am a sole practioner with no staff at present.......

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Replying to Rgab1947:
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By refs8
09th Mar 2016 12:34

Thanks

This was exactly our thought....!

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By tomgill
09th Mar 2016 12:41

tail wagging the dog
It feels like the tail waging the dog refs8. Least profitable part of the business yet the part that causes most stress !

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By julianguy
09th Mar 2016 13:26

Think about it differently

This debate seems to be a bit one directional!

I would have thought we should be thinking about our payroll function as another department in another office.  Whether that office is upstairs or in another physical location is irrelevant.  There will be many firms that are multi branch but all the payroll is done in one of those branches.  If you buy into that part of the argument then outsourcing the outsourcing argument is equally irrelevant.  There are payroll bureaus that will happily white label their operation as 'you', they are set up to manage volume, and they wont compete with you for your accountancy work.

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By Pavilionaire
10th Mar 2016 12:33

Auto-enrolment a game-changer

The big problem for me as owner of a small practice in a rural location is finding staff that can not only handle the technicalities of payroll, CIS and auto-enrolment but also get motivated to do it.

Gone are the days when you could manage with a bookkeeper who could do a bit of payroll.  The technological and technical changes mean that both are now specialist positions and in the unlikely event you find a person that can do both they invariably prefer one task over the other.

 

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By refs8
10th Mar 2016 12:55

Hope I haven't started a debate........!

Hope I haven't started a debate !

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By Chris Ash
10th Mar 2016 13:15

Staying inhouse

Hi

I wouldn't want to outsource anything as I like to keep control of how and when things are done.

Having said that I only have 2 weekly payrolls to do and won't accept any more. I'd rather teach client how to do it using Moneysoft or any other package.

Monthly payrolls are easy enough to do 95% are director only and just found Moneysoft where I can run a full year in about 10 minutes :) Apart from RTI filing which I don't think can be automated.

I have outsourced AE though as I don't have time for all the checking each time I run payroll.

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Replying to lostandfound:
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By tomgill
10th Mar 2016 13:23

i am in much the same boat Chris... can i ask how you outsourced AE yet keep control?

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Replying to tom123:
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By Chris Ash
10th Mar 2016 14:35

PM

tomgill wrote:
i am in much the same boat Chris... can i ask how you outsourced AE yet keep control?

Hi Tom sent you a PM re this

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Replying to lostandfound:
By petersaxton
10th Mar 2016 13:30

Outsourcing

Chris Ash wrote:

Hi

I wouldn't want to outsource anything as I like to keep control of how and when things are done.

Having said that I only have 2 weekly payrolls to do and won't accept any more. I'd rather teach client how to do it using Moneysoft or any other package.

Monthly payrolls are easy enough to do 95% are director only and just found Moneysoft where I can run a full year in about 10 minutes :) Apart from RTI filing which I don't think can be automated.

I have outsourced AE though as I don't have time for all the checking each time I run payroll.

That's a form of outsourcing - you are outsourcing it back to the client!

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Replying to lionofludesch:
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By Chris Ash
10th Mar 2016 13:35

Outsourcing

petersaxton wrote:

Chris Ash wrote:

Hi

I wouldn't want to outsource anything as I like to keep control of how and when things are done.

Having said that I only have 2 weekly payrolls to do and won't accept any more. I'd rather teach client how to do it using Moneysoft or any other package.

Monthly payrolls are easy enough to do 95% are director only and just found Moneysoft where I can run a full year in about 10 minutes :) Apart from RTI filing which I don't think can be automated.

I have outsourced AE though as I don't have time for all the checking each time I run payroll.

That's a form of outsourcing - you are outsourcing it back to the client!

:) I wonder if I could charge them for it :)

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By Bournemouth Payroll
11th Mar 2016 09:59

I am looking to pair up with an accountant ....

I use Moneysoft and am setting up a 'lifestyle business' doing Payroll. My object is to reach an annual turnover of £18,000 and stop growing there - so a personal service where I do everything myself and know all the customers.

I am including all auto-enrollment as part of a fee structure that is £3 a payslip with a £10 admin fee for monthly payers. I am growing steadily and getting recommendations - business established in June 2014 but full time from last May.

I would like to get to my income ceiling sooner, rather than later, and it seems that my service can be complementary to accountants who don't want to do this work themselves - not 'outsourcing' but a friendly, unthreatening and indeed supportive person to whom you might recommend this type of work?

 

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