An essential feature of the payroll solution is the inclusion of an employee details worksheet in which simple details are entered for each employee such as name and address, income tax code, national insurance number and relevant dates which satisfies the requirements of small businesses operating a paye scheme. The payroll software then uses these details particularly of income tax code and national insurance dates to calculate the income tax and national insurance deductions. Once the employee details have been entered running a paye system couldn’t be easier.
The payroll software pre-enters each employee’s name on the payroll each week or month and simply entering the employee gross pay triggers the payroll to automatically calculate income tax and national insurance contributions including the employers’ national insurance contribution using the standard income tax and national insurance tables which are embedded within the files supplied with the payroll software system.
Having calculated the net pay the payroll software then goes that extra step and automatically completes the time consuming paye deduction sheets, all arranged in the same appearance as the official inland revenue deductions sheet for recording income tax and national insurance deductions. In addition also included in the employee paye section are copies of the employee P60 certificate, P45 if required and the P14 which is a summary of the pay, income tax and national insurance contributions made by each employee. This feature of the payroll software is extremely valuable in saving employers using the small business payroll solution a great deal of time in paye administration.
Many payroll software systems require the purchase of payslip stationery. The DIY Accounting payroll software is different in this respect. First of all the payslips are all generated automatically from the information in the payroll file which shows the weekly or monthly gross and net pay, income tax and national insurance and the gross numbers to date. The Payslips all preset on payslip templates can be printed at any time on normal A4 copy paper being another money saving feature of the paye solution.
Finally having calculated the income tax and national insurance contributions throughout the year the payroll software also produces the Annual Paye Employers return, the P35. An excel copy in the same format as the inland revenue form which can be simply printed out enabling the payroll figures to then be entered and filed online for employers to both avoid late penalties and receive the online tax free bonus available.
It is also worth noting that the payroll software is very easily integrated into the DIY Accounting software simply by saving the payroll files in the same folder as the accounting files providing a complete accounting and payroll solution for users.
Payroll Software Weaknesses
The DIY Accounting payroll system does not deal with income tax K codes. K codes are income tax codes that are allocated to employees by the inland revenue in cases where taxable expenses will exceed the annual income tax allowance and is then not applicable to the vast majority of employers.
The calculation of statutory payments such as statutory sick pay and maternity leave are inserted manually by employers. Considered to be a minor weakness since these figures when applicable can be easily looked up on the employers CD-Rom as required.
The quoted package sizes of 5 employees, 10 employees and 20 employees include all employees during the year including new starters and leavers and it is important then to obtain a package likely to be in excess of the total number of expected employees to avoid changing the payroll solution during the financial year.
Pricing
At 14.99 the small business payroll software for up to 5 employees including starters and leavers is almost a giveaway price with many competitive products priced much higher. The 10 employee payroll version is 19.99 and the 20 employee payroll version just 24.99. Considering the considerable paye administrative work these products save. The packages are not upgraded each year with employers purchasing the new package each financial year.
Conclusion
Exceptionally good value, the payroll system is very quick and easy to use and produces exactly what every employer requires from a small business payroll solution. Accurate income tax and national insurance contribution calculations, significant reduction in paye administration time, regular payslips for each employee, compliance with paye administrative requirements and the satisfaction and valuable tax free bonus prize of producing the payroll on time.
