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The HR Zone/IT Zone guide to payroll services and software. By John Stokdyk

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Introduction
Thanks to the provision of £250 yearly incentives for small and medium size businesses that voluntarily switch to filing PAYE year-end returns online, the payroll world has largely gone electronic since 2005. Lord Carter’s incentives worked spectacularly – more than 60% of all companies made the switch in the first year.

Online filing is now mandatory for all firms with more than 50 employees and the smallest companies have until 2010 to make the change. A second wave of electronic filing has been set in train by yet another review from Lord Carter (“Carter 2”) published in March 2006. Starting from April 2008 large and medium-size firms (50+ employees) will also have to file in-year forms (P45 and P46s) online. As with year-end forms, this requirement will become mandatory for all other companies in 2010.

Filing by internet has been a boon for the payroll software industry; new contenders have taken advantage of the situation to stake their own claims alongside the more familiar old names. This IT Zone/HR Zone Expert guide presents an updated view of the payroll scene to help companies identify key issues for their software systems and the right suppliers to cater for their payroll needs.

This exploration of the payroll scene starts with the biggest suppliers first, before moving on down to SME and specialist options. Software development is a dynamic activity, so no listing of this sort can be fully comprehensive. If you are, or know of a software developer that is not featured in this article and should be, please contact the editor.

HMRC resources
The first port of call for anyone considering their online PAYE requirements is the Inland Revenue’s PAYE Online Services page. It explains which forms are covered and includes information on how employers and agents can register to use the services, FAQs and a list of approved electronic form suppliers. When online filing first became mandatory at the end of the 2004/05 tax year, the PAYE Online Services directory listed 39 developers with approved submission forms. That number has doubled over the past two years.

HMRC provides its own online PAYE forms to let companies file end of year returns such as P14s, P35s, P9s and P11Ds. Unless you are a small employer with a limited number of forms to complete, it may be advisable to use third party software or an external bureau that has compatible systems for both end-year and in-year forms. The listed products are tested on the specific forms they can handle, and if you are a 50+ employee organisation, it may be worth paying particular attention to whether your systems can cope with in-year forms (see below).

To complicate the situation, HMRC also operates a separate accreditation scheme under its Payroll Standard. Some of the corporate payroll providers have ignored the standard as unsuitable for the types of specialist services they offer and some developers on the Payroll Standard list do not yet appear on the approved forms list.

Key issue: Readiness for Carter 2 in-year forms
In the same way that he triggered the move to online PAYE filing, Lord Carter’s second wave of proposals to handle in-year forms such as P45s and P46s online will set off another wave of software upgrades between now and 2010. It is already possible to file the in-year forms electronically, but this is currently done by just over a fifth of organisations. The figure rises to 26% among large and mid-size firms, who have to file online from April 2008. The HMRC’s list of approved suppliers and the forms they support reveals that by early Feburary 2007, only 29 UK providers could handle both in-year and year-end forms. If your organisation has more than 50 employees and your supplier is not listed in this section, it might be a good idea to ask about their plans for the 2008 Carter 2 deadline.

  • Able Internet Payroll
  • Action File
  • Access Accounting
  • ADP Europe
  • Altus PAYE Gateway
  • Carval Computing
  • Cascade HR
  • Cintra Payroll Services
  • Creative Business Systems
  • Cyberaid
  • Dosh Software
  • EfileReady.com
  • Ferguson GP Software
  • Intex (now owned by IRIS)
  • Kalamazoo
  • MyPAYE.co.uk
  • Miracle Software
  • Moneysoft
  • Netpaydue.com
  • Northgate Information Systems
  • PayrooCIS
  • Pegasus Software
  • QTAC
  • Quality Management Systems
  • SAA Consultants (Government Gateway specialist – customers install/run their own payroll systems)
  • Sage UK
  • Star Computers
  • Ty-com Business Systems
  • Vizual Business Tools
  • Wealen Computer Services

    Corporate HR & payroll outsourcers
    If you decide to outsource your payroll to a bureau or full managed service, you can take advantage of the expertise of people who do nothing but deal with payroll all day. But you also lose a degree of control – the most cost-effect solutions depend on doing things the outsourcer’s way. Once you start looking for external suppliers, the choices are mind-boggling, ranging from full-service corporate outsourcers such as ADP, Ceridian Centrefile and Northgate, who will handle all your HR needs, to local accountancy firms and payroll bureaux who would be happy to relieve you of the weekly/monthly admin burden. For more on this topic, see the 2005 Outsourcing Debate article.

    The top HR/payroll consultancies listed here can take full responsibility for all of your company’s HR activities and effectively become a co-employer of the workforce. If you want, they will take full legal responsibility for employees – including hiring and firing, training, development and remuneration. Such organisations present themselves as partners for the business, and undertake to deliver all the HR processes needed to achieve your strategic objectives. If you are talking to these consultancies, the scale of operations and their involvement with clients is such that filing PAYE returns is unlikely to be your main topic of conversation.

  • ADP Europe
  • Capita HR & Payroll Services
  • Ceridian Centrefile
  • Hewitt Associates
  • LogicaCMG
  • Northgate HR
  • Patersons
  • Payroll & Business Services

    Enterprise software incorporating payroll
    If you’re already running an ERP suite that handles most of your business and finance operations, it’s likely it will handle your payroll too. The larger ERP families such as mySAP and Oracle and its subsidiaries have moved to Web-based eHR applications. Implementing these systems is not a trivial activity; it should be part of a strategic plan for the organisation rather than a point solution for payroll.

  • Infor
  • Microsoft Dynamics
  • Oracle (also owns PeopleSoft and JD Edwards)
  • mySAP
  • Sage Enterprise Solutions
  • SunSystems (now part of Infor)

    Integrated HR/Payroll software developers
    In case you haven’t noticed, payroll is something of a software catalyst – it is a very volatile discipline that can stimulate companies to look more widely at its business processes. For those companies who look beyond payroll as more than a monthly chore or the poor relation of the finance department, upgrading payroll software to accommodate Lord Carter has proved to be a stepping stone towards integrated HR & payroll. The integrated software suppliers in this bracket systems have prospered in the past couple of years by compiling centralised databases for both HR and payroll fuctions – leading to better reporting and budgeting on headcount and “human capital” costs. Installing integrated HR and payroll systems can involve tens of thousands of pounds and demands significant organisational commitment. It’s not something to consider with a tight deadline, but a standalone payroll module from these companies could provide a first step towards a new, integrated approach.

  • Action File (also outsourcing)
  • ASR
  • Carval Computing
  • Cascade HR
  • Computfast Software
  • Cyberaid
  • Frontier Software (also outsourcing)
  • Grampian Software (CedarOpenAccounts HR subsidiary)
  • ICS Computing
  • Intellect
  • IRIS Business Software
  • KCS (also outsourcing)
  • KV Computer Services (AS/400 – iSeries specialist)
  • MidlandHR (also outsourcing)
  • Mitrefinch
  • Moorepay (also outsourcing)
  • Pyramid HR
  • Safe Computing
  • Select HR
  • Snowdrop
  • TeamSpirit Software (also outsourcing)
  • TIS Software `
  • Topaz
  • Vizual Business Tools
  • Wealden Computer Services

    New wave “payroll as a service” providers
    Web-hosted “self-service” HR and payroll applications are now the norm among corporate users, but if you’re a smaller organisation there are a host of new online providers looking for your business. Karen Paterson, who set up the Patersons online service, argues that outsourcing the entire payroll to an online service means not only that the year-end and in-year returns will be taken care of, but so will any upgrades to the payroll software. MidlandHR’s payroll & legislation adviser John Black notes that the ever-increasing complexity and costs of complying with employment legislation and regulation are making outsourcing even more attractive. “The advent of mandatory in-year electronic filing may give this further impetus as it’s no longer just a year-end issue,” he says. Patersons and companies such as Abel Internet and NetPayDue.com were providing web-based systems before the initial Lord Carter deadline fell in 2005, but several others emerged in online rush that followed. The majority of the new entrants (with the exception of Jersey-based Multiwage.com) specialise at the low end of the market, handing straightforward payroll runs for SMEs. Other such as Altus and SAA Consultants, specialise in providing connections to online services via the Government Gateway, but do not supply the payroll application software.

  • Able Internet Payroll
  • EfileReady.com
  • Liberty Accounts
  • MyPAYE.co.uk
  • Multiwage.com
  • PayrooCIS
  • Netpaydue.com
  • ThePayrollSite.co.uk
  • TRG Advantage

    SME accounting software incorporating payroll
    Many companies employing fewer than 250 people run accounts software that has a companion payroll module. This is the reason why Sage, the leading supplier of accounts software, is also the market leader for payroll. If you are keeping the payroll function in house, your existing accounts supplier is a logical place to start, unless the program cannot handle online returns or lacks particular features you want from your payroll.

  • Access Payroll
  • Datafile
  • Dosh Software
  • IRIS PAYE-Master
  • Intuit (QuickBooks Payroll)
  • Mamut
  • Moneysoft
  • Pegasus Opera II Payroll
  • Sage
  • SDA Logic
  • Systematics Payroll
  • TAS Books Payroll
  • Thesaurus Software – Irish developer

    <a name="SME payroll"SME payroll software developers
    These are the payroll specialists, who might be characterised as the “does what it says on the tin” brigade. Their programs are often popular with payroll managers, as they may include extra features to make their life easier. Payroll specialists can usually offer a lower price because they don’t have to hire programmers for all the other modules that come from suppliers offering payroll along with accounting and HR functions.

  • CalcPay
  • Compact-Software
  • Creative Business Systems
  • Mogan Computer Services
  • Kalamazoo
  • Keytime
  • NMHK
  • Payexcel
  • QTAC
  • Superpay

    Payroll bureaux that also develop and sell software
    Haven’t made your mind up about in-house or outsourced payroll? Then you might consider a company that runs a payroll bureau, but can supply you with your own software later if you want to take it in house.

  • Cintra
  • Corporate Payroll Solutions
  • Intex – the company behind Ernie, now owned by IRIS
  • Payroll Business Solutions
  • Rutherford Webb
  • Timesaver Accounts and Payroll
  • Winghigh

    Payroll outsourcers/bureaux
    If you are determined you want to outsource your payroll, here is a small selection of suppliers. Check your local telephone directories and Web search engines for other potential bureaux such as local accountancy firms. Remember to decide what level of service you want – just someone to check the data and run the calculations, or a full managed payroll service? The Payroll outsourcing debate article explains some of the differences.

  • Business Information Management
  • Bookcheck
  • Carapeople (Northgate subsidiary)
  • DCS Payroll Agency
  • Kinetic
  • NetPayDue.com
  • Payroll Check – also training and useful website
  • Payline
  • T@@d – Payroll
  • Trace Group

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