Payroll Outsourcing Services for Small Businesses

What About Payroll Software?

Payroll software can be hugely beneficial for larger businesses. However, for small businesses and start-ups, we would always recommend opting for payroll outsourcing services over software. This is because the costs associated with recruiting, training and managing the staff using the software is an overhead which is often disproportionate to the number of people actually on the payroll.

It’s likely that at this moment in time, your small business can’t afford to recruit experienced payroll employees. This means you may be considering an underqualified or current employee, who has little to no knowledge. This can lead to longer timeframes for payroll processing plus a higher likelihood of mistakes, which in turn can lead to staff being paid incorrectly or late!

Benefits of Small Business Payroll Outsourcing

It’s a common misconception that payroll outsourcing is expensive. With IRIS FMP’s managed payroll services for small businesses, payroll has never been easier or more cost-efficient. Choosing an outsourced payroll service enables business owners to relax in the knowledge that payroll is being processed accurately, on time and in line with current legislation.

Avoiding all of the pitfalls such as incorrect payments to staff, late payments and the resulting fines from HMRC, a fully outsourced service provides complete peace of mind that this important business function is taken care of, and that your company is legislation-compliant.

How much does it cost to outsource payroll in the UK?

SMEs quite sensibly try to minimise unnecessary overheads, by doing as much work in-house as possible to help keep down costs. In fact, moving to payroll outsourcing can save companies money and time. Outsourced payroll eliminates the extra expense of running a department, whilst managing any time-consuming admin.

Outsourced payroll protects from the ever-present risk of incurring a costly HMRC penalty. Although there is an initial setup cost, this is relative to the size and complexity of the payroll – so getting it established while the company is still small can be valuable. Once set up, there is a fixed per payslip charge which means payroll costs are predictable. If there is a need to keep payroll outsourcing costs to a minimum, a payroll bureau option is cheaper than fully managed payroll.

Won’t we lose control?

Many small businesses worry that they will lose control over their payroll if they outsource. But with IRIS FMP you retain all the visibility and control you want. You will be provided with regular reports as standard, and you can request additional reports at any time.

What if I don’t have the time to organise it?

Many start-ups and small businesses are so overwhelmed by running the business daily that they don’t feel they have the time to think about making strategic changes to the payroll system. At IRIS FMP we have an established procedure for bringing on new clients, which is designed to minimise the time you need to personally invest – and, therefore, saving you even more time in the future.

Will it reduce errors?

Having your payroll managed by the experts can make for smoother, if easy going, payroll. Outsourced payroll is designed to lighten the administrative burden on your already busy team, making payroll solutions feel invisible – especially as your dedicated payroll manager will correct any teething issues as they arise.

What happens with the administrative task of payroll if I outsource?

After initial setup, it no longer becomes a routine worry for your business. Outsourcing with an expert can save you the hassle of regular admin, especially as we generate and submit reports that examine your business-specific data.

What happens with my data?

Outsourcing your payroll will entail giving employee payroll information to your payroll provider, i.e. rates of pay, bank account details, etc. This can raise questions about confidentiality and data protection.

But how safe is your employee data right now? If it’s sitting on a computer in your company’s office, it’s only as secure as your office. Not only that, but the people authorised to see that data are also company employees, who will very likely know your other employees personally. In fact, your employee data can be even more secure when kept by an impartial third party with stringent server security in place.

Can you respond quickly if something needs sorting out?

Many business owners like to have someone in the office who is on hand to deal with problems as they arise. But depending on a single person can mean you actually have less control over sorting out problems quickly. For example, people going on holiday or having days off sick. They also have lunch breaks or need to go home suddenly in an emergency.

By outsourcing, you avoid this dependence. At IRIS FMP we have a large team of professionals to call on to help deal with any problems, and you will be assigned a dedicated Payroll Manager who you can call at any time. This means there will always be someone to talk to, who will start working on resolving your issue straight away.

Won’t changing what we are doing disrupt our business?

At IRIS FMP we try to make your small business’s transition to payroll outsourcing as painless as possible. We carry out a complete requirements capture and then build your system. When it’s ready, we carry out extensive testing alongside your existing system to ensure it’s running correctly, before switching you over to the new system.

Once the new system is running, any teething problems or future issues will be dealt with by your dedicated manager. So, while there may be some initial disruption, you will ensure much less ongoing disruption due to payroll problems in the future. Outsourced payroll typically helps better your focus on running your start-up or small business.