It's to be counted as a success that one of the biggest landmarks of Lord Carter's programme for filing HMRC documents online passed almost without comment this month.
From 5 April, the online filing of end of year PAYE forms (generally P14s and P35s) became compulsory for almost all organisations. A small number of organisations are exempted from this rule: those using the simplified scheme for domestic employees, those employing home carers, those who object on religious grounds and construction companies that only tick box 28 of the P35 as "CIS deductions suffered". If these circumstances don't apply to you, or you haven't made arrangements to file your returns online, you have less than a month to get organised as returns for 2009-10 must be filed by 19 May 2010.
Organisations with more than 50 employees are also required to file "in-year" forms (P45s and P46s) online, and this requirement will be extended to all firms from next April.
Last minute converts to the online regime are in the minority, as huge numbers of employers took advantage of Lord Carter's cash incentives to go online early. "This time of the year is very busy for us," commented Neil Seekings on behalf of the online MyPAYE system. "We are getting several people who are realising they need to do something. One person who runs payrolls for five charities came to us via a partner. He was leaving another product behind and needed to get this done and be on the new system by close of business last week."
If you happen to be in this boat, or are unfortunate enough to advise clients who may not have been paying attention to their regulatory requirements, this article presents a brief overview of the main action points they need to address. HMRC’s PAYE Online portal provides extensive guidance, and should be the next stop.
The next step is to ensure the payroll system you are using can cope with online filing – check via HMRC's list of systems that have passed its online filing tests. The listing includes details of relevant forms supported and even a section of free applications that are suitable for companies with nine or fewer employees.
It's also a good idea to use the online testing facilities to check that your standing data of employee details don't fall foul of the validation routines well ahead of the final filing date – that will help settle concerns about compatibility with the online mechanism.
A smaller group of software developers have been accredited under HMRC's PAYE standard, which are detailed in a 1.7MB PDF download. Although the list includes some of the companies that supply the small companies who now need to comply with the online regime, most of them cater for more corporate organisations and public sector bodies that seek a bit of extra assurance from their suppliers.
Like most of HMRC's web-based systems, PAYE Online includes a web-based tool to enter data, but this can get cumbersome and time-consuming once there are more than a few employees to deal with. Last minute PAYE software shoppers looking for something more functional are likely to be interested in solutions that are fast and easy to implement. Several online providers catch the eye because you don't have to wait to download a program and there are likely to be fewer configuration issues to communicate data to HMRC. These systems include:
A few of the providers of downloadable and low cost or even free software might also be of interest:
The final option for the last-minute brigade would be to find an accountant or bureau willing to take them on: as some of the software developers are finding, the final deadline is quite a good marketing opportunity for them.
However, whichever approach is adopted, any agent will need to be authorised to act on the employer's behalf and the employer will need to register with PAYE Online. This requires an activation code to be dispatched from HMRC and the department advises, "Give yourself at least a week".
Further PAYE resources on AccountingWEB.co.uk
Coverage and Any Answers queries on PAYE
IT Zone guide to payroll software and services (2007)