Auto Enrolment - software, Now, Next, The People's Pension - which?

Auto Enrolment - software, Now, Next, The...

Didn't find your answer?

So 12 months after our first client started auto-enrolment (and I imagine the same for quite a few forum members), what are people finding works best (or least badly!)?

We use Moneysoft's Payroll Manager - how does that compare with other software for operating multiple company payroll and auto enrolment?

What about the three main auto enrolment providers?

We started off thinking we would suggest NOW for simplicity, but that hasn't turned out to be the case at all, we find it really difficult. Specifically because of:

- Difficulty uploading - there always seem to be errors/rejections... which vary from one month to the next - so we get it right one month and then it doesn't work the next.

- Lack of clarity - it's really hard to see where contributions are up to (i.e. to double check that all records have been uploaded accurately).

- DD's - don't always seem to match what we've uploaded (made worse by the point above - unable to check).

- Clunky system - the portal is not very intuitive and feels generally clunky/slow.

- No idea what communications NOW are actually sending to employees and no confirmation that things have/have not been sent.

We have put a couple of clients on Nest and that seems a lot simpler, but more manual input is required.

We haven't used The People's Pension yet.

So the question is to try and find a better, more streamlined way forward.

Also, how easy is it to switch a pension scheme from NOW to Nest? 

Replies (42)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

avatar
By Jo Nokes
04th Apr 2016 15:39

Nest and Moneysoft

I am not as far down the road as you, but I can say that for my client with NEST, you can send the data with one click, as you do for RTI. 

Thanks (1)
Replying to SteveHa:
By coops456
05th Apr 2016 16:05

does this work?

Is anyone successfully using this feature?

I haven't yet managed to upload a file from within Moneysoft. Today I firstly got the following error:

IFC01718    The user provided is not currently connected to the employer

even though I can logon to NEST website with those credentials and view the employer's records.

Previously I had:

IFC01916    You must provide a valid header or trailer record. Please ensure the payment source and frequency are correct, and that the payment due date is in the correct format - it should match an existing contribution schedule on the system. Please check your data and try again.
 

That was easy to fix - nominal pay date was defaulting to tax month end whereas the client pays calendar month end.

Thanks (0)
Replying to coops456:
avatar
By MzEden
02nd Mar 2017 09:35

IFC01718 The user provided is not currently connected to the employer

I've just had this message. Same circumstances as yourself.
Does this mean I'm not registered as a delegate?
Do you remeber how/if you fixed it?

Thanks (0)
Replying to MzEden:
By coops456
03rd Mar 2017 09:56

Yes that seems to be the issue, although I was able to logon to the website and view the employer details there, so I knew I definitely had delegate access.

IIRC the upload worked the next day, so it was probably one NEST system not updating another until an overnight batch process.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Willwo01
04th Apr 2016 16:05

What about Aviva?
Be good to find out thoughts on Aviva's system too if any from the community.

Thanks (0)
Replying to User deleted:
avatar
By Kazmc
05th Apr 2016 10:56

Aviva

Willwo01 wrote:
Be good to find out thoughts on Aviva's system too if any from the community.

Are there not restrictions on who can have a scheme with Aviva based on which payroll software you use?

Thanks (0)
Replying to AlgernonB:
avatar
By dominiclinton
06th Apr 2016 14:28

Aviva

Hi Kazmc,

 

Aviva have no restrictions on who can take out an AE compliant company pension scheme with them.

They will take any employer of any size. They can even set an AE compliant pension scheme prior to an employer staging date (if required), or for employers who have unfortunately missed their staging date (although hopefully this wont be the case).

 

The way Aviva's pension scheme operates is through the upload of .CSV files into an online billing system. Most payroll software have no problem producing these .CSV files and some payroll providers even have the templates set up as standard.

 

Accountants (and other business advisers) can get a quote for a company pension scheme from Aviva on behalf of their clients by using the link below:

 

http://www.aviva.co.uk/business/pensions/advisers/

Thanks (0)
By Democratus
04th Apr 2016 16:14

also covered earlier on AWEB

See here. Though further contributions from AWebbers would be good.

Thanks (0)
Sarah Douglas - HouseTree Business Ltd
By sarah douglas
05th Apr 2016 18:30

We use ICB Pensions solutions with Aviva - LEBC - ICB

I have only posted this because you have asked about AVIVA 

We use as a practice the ICB pensions solutions - managed services for our clients- 

  but you also have the choice of Using LEBC AE Comply and run the software with Aviva 

 

 Members-Area

What is ICB Pension Solutions?

ICB Pension Solutions (ICBPS) handles the entire Auto-enrolment process from providing a qualifying workplace pension scheme to implementing the compliance software.AE COMPLY .   Ongoing it will ensure both the system and the scheme remain fit for purpose to meet the standard requirement set out in legislation.

You will be able to select different aspects of the service proposition to suit your own particular requirements even to the point of subcontracting the process to LEBC through their Managed Service proposition.

In addition ICBPS is supported by dedicated teams of experts from LEBC and Aviva to ensure that the process is as smooth as it is designed to be.

 

 https://www.bookkeepers.org.uk/Resources/Pensions/ICB-Pension-Solutions

i

There is a non members edition  and this is the link it has been changed in recent days 

https://www.bookkeepers.org.uk/Resources/Pensions/ICB-Pension-Solutions/ICBPS-Non-Members

 

Thanks (0)
avatar
By SWG
04th Apr 2016 19:10

Initial Fee
People's pension now charge an up front fee to register with them.
Use Nest and although not perfect works ok.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Kazmc
05th Apr 2016 08:08

Agree...

We have so far staged about 20 client payrolls using IRIS Payroll Professional. I personally think it is an absolute must to understand AE inside out rather than trusting the system, not saying it is a bad system, just that there are quite a few glitches yet to be ironed out.

We have so far used Now, The Peoples Pension and Royal London and have had a demo from Nest in readiness for the next 130+ client payrolls to stage.

We started looking into this over a year ago and in hindsight I probably would have gone down a different route, but its difficult to decide on a total solution without having run and processed AE. We actually moved from SAGE to IRIS as the AE suite looked really good but looking back now I think the better option would have been either Moneysoft or BrightPay payroll system, which would have saved us a fortune, and could have paid for middleware such as Pensionsync or the like. A year ago though a lot of options were not on the table.

My view on pension providers;

Now:Pensions - Awful. Been using them for nearly a year for 2 (used to be 3) clients and nothing but problem after problem. The system is confusing, the csv uploads have to be manually manipulated to enable uploads and once something goes wrong it takes months and months to sort out. We initially had a liaison manager, who was brilliant, but within months that had been withdrawn and we were left high and dry, with the only assistance being the helpdesk which was not good. Just had an email from a client saying they should be renamed Whenever:Pensions!

Royal London - ok, but not built for payroll bureaus. Have to go through phone conference training for each client which is completely led by Royal London who will only train specific things at certain points (over about a four week period) instead of just full system training beginning to end in one go. Nothing seems to make much sense until you actually stage. They also refuse to do communications if they do not do the assessments, which when you are running a payroll bureau is not another process you need.

The Peoples Pension - I have found these to be by far the best so far. Helpdesk is brilliant, system is good and easy to understand and schemes can be set up within a day. There are some things that have gone wrong but TPP have been quick to rectify. We managed to get around 60 clients set up with them before the charges came in and the schemes will just sit there until they stage.

Had someone from Nest come down to give a demonstration and that all looked good, although not hearing great things about them but I envisage a lot of our clients going with them due to the fees of the others.

We are having an AE audit carried out next week so will be interesting to see what the findings of that are.

 

Thanks (6)
avatar
By AmyMankelow
05th Apr 2016 10:35

Offer of help

Sorry to hear about the problems you've been experiencing. We're keen to try and put matters right. Do drop me a line if we can help in any way - [email protected] 

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Kazmc
05th Apr 2016 10:58

@newmoon

I know that TPP have a dedicated team who assist with transferring in from another provider.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Alex_T
05th Apr 2016 12:49

NEST is the option so far

I don’t advise on pension schemes myself as I only handle the admin part of AE but all my clients so far have gone with NEST (5 in total). The only thing with NEST is you need to make sure that the details in the payroll match with the details you set up in NEST. It needs to match exactly! I learnt the hard way. As Jo mentions you can send the data with just one click using the NEST link from within the payroll (works the same way as RTI).

 

Peoples and NOW are charging clients to set up a scheme with them, I think it’s £500. I did see something the other day that Smart Pensions are accepting all employers with no charges for clients? I think the majority of my clients will go with NEST or maybe Smart due to no fees.

 

I looked at Moneysoft & IRIS last year as I was only setting up but I found BrightPay a lot better for auto enrolment so I went with them. IRIS were too expensive and Moneysoft was a bit dated. BrightPay is so easy to use and I’d recommend it.

This discussion came up a while ago. Moneysoft v’s BrightPay - https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/anyanswers/question/moneysoft-v-brightpay

Thanks (5)
By chewmac
05th Apr 2016 13:02

Brightpay & NEST

The Peoples Pension looked like a good choice to me but they've put off the small employers with their fees. I'm now favouring using NEST along with Brightpay. As for NEST I feel grateful that they've pursued automation ahead of the pack (especially considering that they're not for profit). I also realised that good payroll software was needed even to cope with my small employers and I'm very pleased with Brightpay which again - have really put themselves ahead of the pack when it comes to automating AE.

Thanks (4)
avatar
By tracey2412
05th Apr 2016 13:14

People's Pension integrated with Sage 50 payroll

using for about 3 months and so far, so good.

A bit fiddly to set up but got there in the end with TPP & IFA help.

Running 2 schemes on same payroll / PAYE reference (one weekly, one monthly). The Sage integration module quite slow to load but simple enough to use as part of the usual payroll process. The only 'manual' bit at the end is to log into TPP account online & upload the file each time to generate the direct debit. But even then you can upload first in 'training mode' which tells you if any errors, then you repeat 'for real'. DD box pops up & you can change the date if needed.

The TPP / Sage module also easy to postpone new starters, identifies who needs certain letters & generates to email direct from system and / or download a pdf to print / email yourself / keep for your own files. So compliance all included

Thanks (0)
Stephen Quay
By squay
05th Apr 2016 16:34

MoneySoft, NOW & NEST

We have used Moneysoft for two years and pleased to say it was a big improvement on our previous RTI payroll. Shame its not in the cloud though. We staged one client last October with a payroll of just under 50. We discussed with the client and opted for NOW. There was no fee back then but currently NOW charge new sign ups support at £20pm ex vat for over 5 employees where the bureau uses their microsite, £12.50 pm ex vat for 1 to 4 employees. For employers who do not use a bureau its £36 pm ex vat.

NOW's pension is a net pay arrangement so it doesn't benefit low earners as they don't get the tax relief. NEST uses a tax deducted a source arrangement so everyone pays contributions net of tax and NEST claws the tax relief back from the government (remember stakeholder pensions?). NEST is much more beneficial for the lower paid. 

Our next client to stage will be in July and has a mix of lower and medium paid. I have signed up for a NEST account and will give this a try. Our client wont want to pay NOW fees anyway. Moneysoft have published a guide on how to use the new (Feb 2016) NEST web direct service which integrates with their payroll so should be a lot easier.

I agree with the OP that the NOW microsite is clunky. We had our first upload total rejection on 29 Feb and after much analysis I found it was a "payroll period" problem. Changed the payroll period dates on the microsite and it worked. Then had the same problem at the end of March. Same cure. 29 Feb seems to have thrown the payroll periods out of sync a by a day or two.

Recently had a look TPR site and found only seven master trusts had achieved master trust assurance status. Despite receiving regular emails from many more pension companies all claiming to be master trust types I would only consider ones that achieved the assurance status. NOW and NEST have plus five others (sorry, can't remember them all). TPR website list them all and explains what this means.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By bbethj
05th Apr 2016 16:48

I agree with everyones comments regarding NOW. The online system is terrible and the few times I've used the helpline they have been averagely useless. I would definitely steer clients away from them unless they were set on it! 

Iris and NEST work together brilliantly. There are a few niggles about the NEST online area but on the whole they have done it right. 

Thanks (0)
avatar
By jjswjjsw
05th Apr 2016 18:02

TPP and Nest

We use Moneysoft with TPP and Nest, cients also considered Now and Smart Pensions. As well as the employer's cost (£300 via an IFA or bureaux) with TPP or monthly from Nest the employer should also consider the charges to the employee - these vary considerably depending who the scheme is with e..g Now have monthly fees and an annual management fee. 

I have to move one column along from Moneysoft's export to upload to TPP, Nest is simpler but I find the site clunky and time consuming to get around - to register a new scheme resulted in 7 emails in the Nest mailbox vs 1 with TPP. 

One client picked up that the Nest FAQ answers re postponement weren't the same as those on the TPR site!

Another vote that TPP's helpline staff are really helpful and generous with their time and knowledge. 

TPP's fee also includes completion of the declaration of compliance so that saves time versus filling in the previous online form - our time saved helps off set the initial fee. 

Thanks (0)
By buttercup books
05th Apr 2016 22:00

12Pay and AE
Has anyone used 12Pay with AE?

I've been with 12Pay for a number of years now for my bureau and I've never had a reason to move from them.

Thanks (1)
Replying to lesley.barnes:
avatar
By lyn.perry.btinternet.com
06th Apr 2016 16:02

12Pay and AE

I tried using AE with 12Pay but ended up entering the figures manually on NEST.  Support wasn't brilliant so I am now going with another payroll provider.

Thanks (1)
Replying to lesley.barnes:
avatar
By lyn.perry.btinternet.com
18th Apr 2016 08:44

12Pay and AE

I was happy with 12 pay until AE!!  Bought the AE module but not at all happy. Have now gone over to BrightPay. Much easier and the support is great.

Thanks (2)
Replying to tom123:
avatar
By Yonder Dave
18th Apr 2016 09:11

Thanks Lyn

lyn.perry.btinternet.com wrote:

I was happy with 12 pay until AE!!  Bought the AE module but not at all happy. Have now gone over to BrightPay. Much easier and the support is great.

Which pension/s are you using?

Thanks (0)
avatar
By NYB
06th Apr 2016 08:42

Ae v Brightpay

Brightpay is excellent for AE with NEST with an integrated upload portal that gets rid of faffy CSV uploads. I understand that there is to be a kind of "middle man" of auto uploads  which will be used by Brightpay for other pension providers so that files can easily be uploaded. I believe that it is the Pension Providers who kick start whether there is to be an integrated upload and not the payroll software providers.

Brightpay is about to introduce Cloud & an app where employees can access their payslips P60 etc.

Brightpay also handles P11D's and CIS

Thanks (4)
avatar
By 0098087
06th Apr 2016 11:44

Now pensions is shocking. Very very slow. Why apart from nest it can't be sent straight from money soft I don't know. Have to log in for every client. Shambles. Awful. No one wants it, no
One wants to pay for it and we get blamed for it. Sick of govt and cutting red tape. Total garbage. Then we get last montht David Gaulke says no quarterly returns then we hear a different story. I'm sick of it all, really am. Even considered selling up.

Thanks (0)
Morph
By kevinringer
06th Apr 2016 13:29

Nest integrated Moneysoft pilot

Moneysoft is piloting a built-in Nest reporting tool that should work like RTI. Some of our staff are using it. There have been glitches which we're still trying to resolve. When fully functional it should be seamless like Moneysoft's RTI.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By P K
06th Apr 2016 13:34

AE

I have used Moneysoft with TPP. We registered before they introduced the admin fee and as such I have had 2 clients with success & have operated this month after month.

TPP staff are quite helpful, shame about the charges as it put off most of my smaller clients.

Might consider NEST for those not willing to pay this fee.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By newmoon
06th Apr 2016 14:19

Is it possible/easy to switch provider?

How easy is it to switch AE provider (i.e. Now to Nest)?

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Yonder Dave
07th Apr 2016 12:52

Smart & Creative

Has anyone tried Smart Pensions or Creative Auto Enrolment with Moneysoft?

Thanks (0)
avatar
By morgani
07th Apr 2016 13:45

Creative

We have used Creative.  Works ok with Moneysoft but their support is non-existent.  We have been promised for a few months now that more support staff were coming but when you call you just get a we are busy call back later message.

The Feb submission was not done until late March as we could nto get hold of them to sort the errors/issues.

The major downfall is nobody at Creative could confirm the process required and we got conflicting info.  Now we have spoken to someone higher up and got the real case and it seems to be working better.

However they have now also introduced charges.  We have just taken on an Employer using Nest so will see how that goes.  Our options will be Nest or Smart Pensions.

Thanks (1)
avatar
By Yonder Dave
07th Apr 2016 14:28

Thanks morgani

Another to cross of the list!

So I think my choice is between:

Nest - works well with Moneysoft but described as "clunky" by jjswjjsw above.

Smart - no issues reported yet.

Aviva - their website looks well organised for advisers/accountants but I can't see confirmation that there is no charge to employers.

Finally I need to check the DD arrangements to avoid the problems that have been mentioned.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By martin.curtis
14th Apr 2016 15:17

Creative and Moneysoft

We have been using Creative and Moneysoft having gone live with 3 clients a couple of months ago. When it works it is good, simple to understand and with little effort or input.

 However should an error message appear the Help/Support team are nigh on impossible to get hold of and are not well trained.

The charge recently introduced is set at £20.00+vat per employer per month 

Reading through the above comments it seems that perhaps it is better the devil I know.

I know I do not want to have to swallow a load of aggravation trying to get payroll data from Moneysoft into NOW, Nest or TPP just so a client can save a few quid, But short of losing the client I do not see how that is going to resolve itself.

Thanks (1)
avatar
By Alex_T
14th Apr 2016 10:56

Thanks @squay & @jjswjjsw

Thanks @squay & @jjswjjsw. I didn’t know about the microsite for NOW & TPP. I only set up last year so it’ll be good to let clients know about that. Based on comments though, NOW seems like a disaster!! I think my clients will continue to go with NEST and maybe consider Smart.

Thanks (0)
By Wieslaw
14th Apr 2016 12:46

Only used NOW once then changed to NEST

We started using NOW, terrible web portal, very slow, clunky and (IMO) outdated for fast processing of data. Lots of manual work & templates required.

We have nearly 30 clients using NEST and only one using NOW (registered before they started charging £40 a month)

NEST and Moneysoft works reall well, but can't wait for the payment authorisation to be intergrated with moneysoft as still having to open NEST connector specifically to do the job.

Could do with the payment due date being deleted or a field insert per employer within moneysoft and would be good to have something similar to the RTI batch processor for pensions (probably a pipe dream for me) or at least more options in the file manager view screens. Either way since June 2015 we are happy to go with NEST & MONEYSOFT.

NEST webservices seems to be running well with Moneysoft now, although had a few teething problems to start, but suspect error was our data input.

Hope our experience helps others.

Thanks (1)
avatar
By HeavyMetalMike
14th Apr 2016 17:46

I'm only replying to this so that I can find the post in the future when I need to do more research on the subject. (by looking at questions I've answered), because the search facility on A Web is so suckin fhit.

 

ps - spent 67 mins on the phone to NOW this week. Not unimpressed despite the charges to my clients. I can't help thinking that if you pay for something it'll better than if you don't (NEST)

Thanks (0)
avatar
By forgeron
14th Apr 2016 17:37

Smart Pensions

Yes, I'd also like to know if anyone's used Smart Pensions. 

Moneysoft don't seem to have them set up as a standard provider, which is a point against, but their ad stuff sent through the post, and their website, boasts that they are free and better than all the others.

So why does no-one on this forum seem to be using them? !!!

Thanks (0)
By Wieslaw
15th Apr 2016 15:26

We have one...

One of our clients is using SMART, he said their costs came out the best in terms of pension management fees. I have not checked this against NEST, of which 99% of our clients use so far...

We only provide him with a CSV upload file via moneysoft to upload himself.

Cannot offer anymore info, sorry!

Thanks (0)
By Wieslaw
15th Apr 2016 15:27

p.s.

SMART does shows up in the drop down list of pension providers from Moneysoft.

Thanks (1)
avatar
By LLbook-keeping
27th Feb 2017 23:13

I have been using Creative AE Pension Trust for 14 months! A few problems to begin with, but this was a client using SAGE Payroll! I now have 10 clients and am about to enlist 4 more!
They are offering a one off fee of £400, but literally do everything! Well worth the money! They have even set me up a Portal so I only have one user name and password and all my clients can be seen under one roof!
I have one client who had to use NEST and it has been a pain in the proverbial.
Creative have now increased their staff and all seem pretty clued up to me - not a problem getting through now either!

Thanks (0)
By coops456
01st Mar 2017 10:29

It would be good to hear what your experiences have been over the last year.

We've now had 25 clients stage and all but 1 went with NEST. We upload direct from Moneysoft and this works very well. You can also authorise payments from within Moneysoft, but the direct debit is taken immediately - NEST provides no option to diarise a payment in advance.

NEST's portal is increasingly unwieldy as we add more clients. They recently sent out a survey so I made all these points and can only hope for improvements.

On the customer service side, the website provides good support but the helpline isn't great; overseas call centre agents who follow scripts with minimal understanding of the systems.

The other client chose TPP and it takes 2 mins to logon to their site and upload the CSV file. The best thing is that you can set a future payment date, so we don't need to revisit. No issues encountered so can't comment on quality of support.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By MzEden
02nd Mar 2017 09:33

One of our clients uses Bluesky and they are bloody awful! Avoid at all costs.
They are not compatible with any software it seems, def not Moneysoft.
They cost a lot of money to join with monthly fee's as well I believe.
You have to fill in a report manually and send it to them and then they send back a report which doesn't really seem to have anything useful on it but is supposed to tell me who should have pension that month. I already know, unless someone has opted out and not told me, who should be on the scheme as the software automatically does it. You get a seperate email telling you if someone has opted out anyway.
Even though the original form showed who was on and how much they earned that month you then have to send a second form, manually completed, to show what you have deducted for the month.
They have their own rules re postponement which are not the same as TPR which caused chaos when client wanted to postpone new staff for probabtionary 3 month period but Bluesky only do one month and you have to inform them in advance.
Every month it costs the client so much money in processing costs compared to other clients on different schemes.
Avoid, avoid, avoid!

Thanks (0)
By Democratus
06th Mar 2017 15:54

this is merely to stop me getting e.mails from AWEB all of a sudden on this thread

Thanks (0)