Your questions look very sensible. Stuffing individual employee envelopes with payslips (as some clients might require) can take longer than the actual payroll processing. Folding selfseal payslips cost more but save loads of time (and of course the client printing/stuffing is the preferred option unless the client will pay you to do it)
Very often you'd be expected to supply the PAYE software yourself at your expense and run the payroll on your premises. Using their software at their premises does happen, but is much less common.
Another option on the BACS front is that each week you email them an internet banking/BACS file produced by the payroll software, that is ready for them to process themselves. Most decent payroll software can output numerous different formats that satisfy the requirements of most UK banks. Often this option doesn't occur to people, yet it is another enormous timesaver without breaching the client's security or being an onerous requirement for the payroll operator.
-- Edited by Tom McClelland on Thursday 14th of June 2012 02:08:29 PM
Does 12pay offer the different formats? If it does then it will definitely seal the deal for me as I have been meaning to purchase it for a while, but had no need until I found my first payroll client.
ETA: Also would need to consider the stationery costs involved if I have to print the payslips myself. I don't think the Pink A4 paper I currently have in my printer would look particularly professional lol
-- Edited by Sammy76 on Thursday 14th of June 2012 02:11:15 PM
I've been approached by an accountancy firm to price up for a possible payroll job. I normally price up per job (plastic bag of receipt jobs normally priced based on yearly turnover, larger companies priced per hour), however they have asked me to price per employee per week. From other posts I've seen on this forum I gather this is quite a common request but I have no idea how to price - I don't want to over estimate it and price myself out of a job, but I don't want to do myself out of a decent income either. I know its a bit cheeky and I don't expect people to really reply, although if you don't mind it would really help, but I wondered what sort of figures I could price it at. At this moment I am unsure if its manual or computerised, though in this current climate I am assuming computerised. I am also unsure if its on site or whether I would be working at home, therefore needing to cover my own overheads. Would really appreciate some help in this as I don't want to lose what could potentially lead to other jobs through this accountancy firm.
Payroll work can be incredibly profitable for practitioners and bookkeepers.
Employee-weeks isn't necessarily a very good metric of how much work the job will be for you. Think about
How many starters/leavers expected per year? (ie business has high or low staff turnover)
How many variable pay elelements per employee in a normal week? (eg basic hours, overtime hours, bonus, shift allowance, expenses etc)
If there are a lot of variable pay elements can these be filled in by the client on a spreadsheet that meets the import requirements of the payroll software (something that may take the client no extra time at all to do, and save the payroll processor hours of keying every week)
Do they want things like holiday accrual information for staff and variable hours workers?
Who will do the payroll when you're on holiday or sick etc?
I have actually put some of these questions to the client (accountants) along with questions about what payroll software they use, will I be required to set it up initially or is it already in place, will I need to include postage costs or will I simply be emailing the payslips to the client to print off. Will I be required to deal with the BACS payments, set up as an agent to deal with all IR enquires, or will I simply be emailing them a list for the BACS for them to forward to their bank themselves etc.
Thanks so much for your help - I have a couple of figures in my head now that I think I will charge, based on alot of research - its just dependent on the replies I get to my queries.
