Frequently Asked Questions

On average, when outsourcing your payroll services to other parties, you can expect to pay:

• £4-£6 per employee per month.
• £2 per new employee per month.
• £1.50-£2 per employee per month for pension auto-enrolment.
• £10-£25 per employee per month for HR integration.
  

The most common payroll services offered include:

• Handling payroll compliance regarding legislation and law.
• Creating and distributing electronic records of your payroll to necessary parties.
• Overseeing new and existing accounts for direct deposits.
• Ensuring that accurate payroll tax and deductions are applied.
• Ensuring employees' pension plans are contributed to.
• Monitoring employee attendance at work and working time.

You can undertake payroll duties yourself. However, you will have to be on your guard, as any mistakes you make can land you with some horrible fines. You will also have to calculate all of your taxes, so you will need to have great trust in your mathematical abilities.

Find out more about our  payroll services for Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

In some instances, the roles of both HR and payroll can seem almost identical. After all, they both must work together to arrange salary increases, bonus payments, etc. Overall, payroll departments are mainly finance and accountancy-based offices with a complex understanding of tax regulations. On the other hand, HR deals with the more human sides of the business, such as recruitment.

In the UK, you will generally need to use the HMRC's "PAYE" system to arrange your payroll. This system manages your payments of Income Tax and National Insurance. However, if none of your employees is paid more than £120 per week, receive expenses or benefits, have no other job or pension, they do not need to be enrolled. You do, however, need to keep payroll records for your employee.

Hiring an accountant can have several benefits for you and your business. First, accountants offer financial stability, accurately allowing you to know where your business stands financially. This accuracy also offers you greater efficiency and smarter marketing. Greater understanding and management of your cash flows can only bring more significant benefits to you and your company.

Find out more about our accountant services for Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

The short answer is yes. While you may think of accountants as just "number crunchers" whose job is to make sure you pay the right amount of tax, in reality, accountants offer you a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the financial side of your business; allowing you to make smarter decisions on ways that your business can improve.

Of course, any small business owner can carry out their own accounting if they have sufficient mathematical know-how. However, as your business grows, you may find that your accounting duties take up time that could be better spent elsewhere. Therefore, it is suggested that companies of a certain size can benefit from hiring or outsourcing their accountancy services elsewhere.

There are currently four main types of accounting services:

• Government accounting
• Management accounting
• Public accounting
• Internal auditing

While an accountant's duties will differ depending on who they are accounting for, there are several typical duties that all accountants are responsible for:

• Ensuring that financial documents are accurate and up to date.
• Ensuring that these documents comply with any relevant laws and regulations.
• Creating and updating crucial financial reports
• Creating tax returns and making sure that all taxes are paid on time.
• Assessing financial operations and making beneficial suggestions or innovations.
• Identifying issues and creating financial strategies to aid the efficiency of the business.
• Providing financial guidance on reducing costs, enhancing revenue, and maximising profits.
• Undertaking financial forecasts and risk analysis.

The greatest benefit of arranging an accounting service for your business is the expertise of a dedicated accountant managing the financial side of your business. Besides this, a dedicated accounting service can provide you with more accurate data about your company's financial health, allowing you to make better and more informed business decisions. An accountant service can also help you stay on top of your obligations, whether tax or payroll.

Bookkeepers stand somewhere between payroll and accountants. It is the bookkeeper's role to accurately record all of the financial transactions of your business, collate data and create reports.

Read more about our  bookkeeping services in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

As a general rule, bookkeepers will have an associate's degree in accounting or business administration. A bookkeeper may also have the necessary working experience or knowledge of bookkeeping duties and systems.

Some aspects of the tax system, such as creating tax returns, that a bookkeeper can do. However, the majority of other tax services are left to Certified Tax Preparers.

While bookkeepers can prepare tax returns, whether they have the necessary qualifications or experience, it is often best to delegate your tax obligations to a fully trained and qualified Certified Tax Preparer (CTP).

A full-service bookkeeper takes on all the duties naturally involved in bookkeeping while also solely responsible for accounting. The full-service bookkeeper will report directly to the business directors and may interact directly with the business auditors.