Considering Doing the Wages Myself...

[bathingape]

Guys - I was contracting for a couple of years up until the start of 2013 and up until then I let my accountant do the majority of paperwork for me. Since 2013 and now I have been in permanent employment however I have just recently started a new contract last week. The time out from contracting has let me read up and give me a better understanding on how to do my own book keeping and tax returns. One thing I'm not too sure on is my monthly wage.

I had a discussion with my accountant a few weeks ago and we agreed to pay myself £10k per year and that he will send me monthly payslips. Is this something that is relatively simple to do on my own and if so - how would I process the payslips? I've had a look around the forum but can't see anything which relates.

I do admit though, the SJD Spreadsheet is brilliant, along with various templates for expenses, and dividends. I'm finding myself a little more in control than I was before - but maybe I'm wanting too much control to start doing my own payroll?

[stek]

If it's going to cost you 2/3hrs a month faffing around, posting on forums, at an average, what £70/hr, £210 a month of your time, isn't it best to leave it to an accountant in his £100/month charge?

Unless you are a £80/day Windows Desktop or Linux guy it's not worth it....

[bathingape]

If it's going to cost you 2/3hrs a month faffing around, posting on forums, at an average, what £70/hr, £210 a month of your time, isn't it best to leave it to an accountant in his £100/month charge?

Unless you are a £80/day Windows Desktop or Linux guy it's not worth it....

Good shout mate - I guess I'm a bit of a control freak and that I strive to have total control over everything related to the company althoughvI guess reading up on how the process works would hopefully fulfill my OCD.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

I do my own. Or rather, my wife does, but still. It takes about 5 minutes each month using FreeAgent. YMMV if you use the HMRC software but it's still straightforward.

[Contreras]

PAYE I do annually to reduce the admin, so that's probably one hour per year faffing with the HMRC software (to be fair I haven't experienced the delights of RTI yet). VAT return is 30 mins per quarter. Company annual return 30 mins per year. BTW, you don't need actual payslips this is just a service provided by some accountants.

Yes it will take longer initially and you need to do your own research. If you're already good at record keeping then there is really nothing much to it. Any decent accountant should still be happy to answer questions. Expect savings in accountancy fees to be minimal, it's about understanding and being in control of YOUR business.

[FarmerPalmer]

It is quite intuitive using the HMRC Basic PAYE Tool:

https://www.gov.uk/basic-paye-tools/...-this-tax-year

You only need to generate and print a payslip if you want one - this tool wont help with this.

A P60 year end or P45 for part year is all you need for self assessment records anyway - which this tool will generate for you.

[bathingape]

I do my own. Or rather, my wife does, but still. It takes about 5 minutes each month using FreeAgent. YMMV if you use the HMRC software but it's still straightforward.

FreeAgent is something I may consider somewhere down the line, maybe if the length of my contracts and daily rate increase

PAYE I do annually to reduce the admin, so that's probably one hour per year faffing with the HMRC software (to be fair I haven't experienced the delights of RTI yet). VAT return is 30 mins per quarter. Company annual return 30 mins per year. BTW, you don't need actual payslips this is just a service provided by some accountants.

Yes it will take longer initially and you need to do your own research. If you're already good at record keeping then there is really nothing much to it. Any decent accountant should still be happy to answer questions. Expect savings in accountancy fees to be minimal, it's about understanding and being in control of YOUR business.

Yep Annual return and VAT returns each quarter I'm fairly comfortable with. The accountant does charge me every quarter for processing wages but it's not much to be honest. Maybe it's better off initially to relinquish payroll processing to him while I get to grips with how the whole process works and hangs together - and more importantly, how it affects me.

It is quite intuitive using the HMRC Basic PAYE Tool:

https://www.gov.uk/basic-paye-tools/...-this-tax-year

You only need to generate and print a payslip if you want one - this tool wont help with this.

A P60 year end or P45 for part year is all you need for self assessment records anyway - which this tool will generate for you.

Thanks - Think I may have overlooked that URL in the bunch of bookmarks I already have saved.

Some great advice guys, cheers.

[Archangel]

I use payroo, it's free and straightforward. I use it for myself monthly and for my weekly paid staff. It does rti, payslips, salary sacrifice, auto enrolment etc etc

[BolshieBastard]

If it's going to cost you 2/3hrs a month faffing around, posting on forums, at an average, what £70/hr, £210 a month of your time, isn't it best to leave it to an accountant in his £100/month charge?

Unless you are a £80/day Windows Desktop or Linux guy it's not worth it....

This. Life's too short. I've recently had a new 6 foot tall fence down one side of the house. I could have done it myself and saved the total cost of £320. Less the materials, less the nail gun Id have to hire for 2 days and not including the time spent taking down the old and disposing of it then put the new up.

**** it I thought. Get someone else to do it. He did a good job and took all the old fence away in just over half a day.

Somethings just arent worth doing yourself especially when someone else can do it better.