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PEA14: Payroll champion nominees

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3rd Oct 2014
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The Payroll Champion category of the Practice Excellence Awards attracted top talent from a diverse mix of entrants ranging from payroll service specialists to chartered accountants.

With payroll at the heart of change in the profession - RTI and auto enrolment being seismic examples in recent times - those involved should rightfully be recognised.

For the inaugural payroll award Paul Rains, a company director of Transact HR and judge in this category, said the top performing payroll professionals demonstrated not only technical finesse, but went the extra mile and engaged on a personal level.

“In addition to keeping abreast with changing legislation and technology, the top entrants were very client focussed and engaged and involved the whole team,” Rains said.

The following shortlisted candidates demonstrated these qualities and all three judges - including Alex Tucker of PracticeWEB and AccountingWEB.co.uk deputy editor Robert Lovell - unanimously agreed on the top three.

Elaine Shaw, George Hay

Elaine Shaw, manager of the payroll bureau team at chartered accountants George Hay, adds a personal touch to payroll services within her firm.

New clients are often somewhat scared of payroll duties, but the team at George Hay guide them through the process holding their hands, making the experience more personal.

The team has embraced technology, transitioning from Sage to Payrite and using ReportWriter to transform the way they operate, and recently purchased an interface allowing them to assist clients with auto enrolment.

When it came to evidence of their success, the firm took the brave decision to let the clients do the talking for them.

“They are an invaluable and seamless extension of the HR team, responding to information requests in a swift and friendly manner,” one satisfied client said.

Planning ahead is central to the payroll bureau’s success. When it came to auto enrolment the firm was quick to find out the staging dates for all their clients.

“By having systems in place well in advance, we are ensuring that our obligations are carried out as efficiently and professionally as possible, which is exactly what our clients expect,” they explained.

Other top payroll management tips included being able to motivate the team and taking the time to get to know your clients. Customer service is clearly a high priority for this firm.

The Fish Partnership Payroll Team

The Fish Partnership’s payroll team pride themselves on being very hands on, providing a proficient and personalised service.

The team admitted that for many people payroll was an emotive issue, and therefore “confidentiality and timeliness of processing to meet the expectations of the employers and their employees are key to satisfying the clients,” it added.

Successful innovations include the installation of an auto enrolment suite that fully integrates with their current system, providing a one-stop-shop that can meet the AE needs of the client.

In addition to providing tailor-made reports and even hand delivered payslips, the team has evidenced an impressive growth story in recent times.

Its client base has grown by 15% in the past four years. Off the back of innovations around the cloud, RTI and auto enrolment, the Fish Partnership’s payroll team has generated a steady increase in fees of 27% over that time.

When it came to its top tips for effective payroll management, the team recommended using professional learning and publications to keep on top of new legislation; embracing technology to help you manage the payroll; and providing opportunities to the team and let them feel invested in the direction of the department.

Loraine Reid, Think Map Corporation

Loraine Reid, ‎payroll manager at Think Map Corporation, has been very involved with HMRC in unravelling the intricacies of RTI and as such has ensured all her payroll clients understand their responsibilities under RTI.

Reid continues to have high level contact with the Revenue and software houses. In addition to improvements to HMRC website guidance and RTI operation software, she regularly reports technical issues to payroll software providers.

An impressive claim, in terms of impact assessment, is that not one of her 500 payroll clients has received a valid PAYE filing penalty.

HMRC has also changed several of their procedures and computer interfaces thanks to Reid’s efforts.

When it came to advice, the client was always at the centre of their offering: “Think from the client’s point of view. How can we make it easier for them?”

In addition to regular communication with clients, Reid set up a monitoring system for each client to flag up any potential problems before there is a compliance failure.

These are clearly very useful innovations from the client’s perspective.

Find out who will win by attending the Practice Excellence Conference in London on 6 November. Get your tickets here.

SAPThe 2014 Practice Excellence Awards are sponsored by SAP: “We know exactly how important accountants are to helping businesses grow and we want to do all we can to support that. That’s our business too and we’re focussed on developing technology innovations that not only help businesses run like never before, but also improve the lives of people everywhere.”

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