Doing the wages for a company

[Bryonyberries]

I’ve been asked if I would like to take over doing the wages for a small company (approx 20 people). I already work there doing some admin but I have never done anything like this before.

I was just wondering how complicated it is and how much time it takes to do this task. I’d like to do it as it will be a new skill to learn.

Would it be a good idea to speak to the person who you are taking it over from?

Do you not need to be certified/trained in payroll to do this? Are they going to put you on a training course or are they totally clueless and think it just involves clicking around on a spreadsheet?

It could be a mine field, if you've had no training. You could do a payroll course via Sage ( if the company uses computerised payroll). Things like pay rates, sick pay, holidays, ni, pension, tax, salary sacrifice, maternity pay aren't simple. Can who ever does it now train you up?/ mentor you?

Oh, this is good timing. I’m taking over payroll for our company. It doesn’t look too complicated, I used to do my own rti paye when I ran my own ltd company, but I was the only employee!
We are using Xero, and there are loads of videos to help. Will you have software that is linked to your pensions?

I’m sure I will be trained, I was just wondering what I might be letting myself in for as I haven’t agreed to do it yet.

I think our company uses xero.

Is it just monthly salaries or is it weekly/fortnightly (variable) wages?
(Fairly static salary payroll is much quicker than variable wages payroll)

Are you also expected to make all the BACS/bank payments?

Payroll has to be run on time (nobody likes to be paid late or wrongly) and there are also fines for being late etc.
What do they do when the person goes on holiday? Are you expected to work around payroll dates, for example.

Is there an accountant that you can run things by, if you need to?

Are you prepared to learn all about the payroll rules, deadlines, how to make corrections etc...

(The software does all the calculations - but obviously only if you give it the correct information)

Are you meticulous and enjoy working with numbers, and have good attention to detail?

Running the payroll once it's set up is fairly straight forward. It's knowing all the rules and regulations for sick leave, maternity leave, adoption leave, redundancy etc etc. Also pensions are ok once set up and running smoothly but if there are any issues can quite quickly turn into a bit of a minefield. I would say if you get a good hand over and training you should be fine. I don't know if you can access it without using their software but Sage University (not a real university) is quite good for info and learning.

I worked in finance and accounting for my entire career (am now retired), and successfully managed to swerve doing the payroll entirely.😂
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If the current person can show you the ropes and your employer is prepared to invest in a training course for you, I don't see why not. Other people are happy doing it, just not for me.

I done payroll for years, depending on the company it can be fairly straightforward or more complex, ie companies where everyone does the 9-5 Monday to Friday and the payroll is pretty consistent other than holidays/sick pay but other companies will have many different staff on different contracts/shifts/pay levels, ie some get paid per job, some get overtime/some do shifts, so each persons pay changes every week! I really enjoyed it though so I would say give it a go!

Only agree if there is a proper handover and training. It can be a minefield. If it's weekly just say no.

If everyone is on a mostly unchanging monthly salary, not too bad. If you have to deal with shifts, over time, on-call, things like that, more challenging.

I do our payroll it’s complicated, people get understandably arsey when it goes wrong and it does because it’s quite often, very fucking complicated and the rules keep changing. My least favourite job!

Most of us salaried, some are variable. It’s monthly pay. Sounds like it’s complicated enough to need a proper hand over and training so it will be something I’m going to make sure of. I know for all employees correct pay at the right time is essential. This is why I’m asking the questions before I agree lol. I want to have an idea what I need to know. I only got asked if I might be interested in doing this today so I’m mulling it over.

Payroll is a challenging job, needs much patience & capacity to work under pressure.

In my opinion most people do not choose to go into Payroll, but once there they either leave quickly as it is not for them or stay with it because it is so enjoyable having parts that are methodical and parts that are intricate. It is a very interesting line of work and the tasks are numerous, when you can make someones day, or even just getting the figures to balance first time, every time.

Payroll is one of those things where people look at their payslip and see what they got paid and that is it. Rarely do you see anyone think about what goes into calculating that pay. It may look easy to the average person because they think it's all about adding up hours worked and multiplying it by rate of pay. No one ever takes into consideration deductions, tax NI.. and the time and accuracy needed to run a correct payroll.

You definately have to be commited and a people person. Without those you will not survive

I did payroll for years - self taught back in the day when you used paper booklets with all the codes and rates in! That was quite complicated. The computerised system was a doddle once it was introduced. You just need to be organised. I did it for a restaurant with many staff (and quite a high turnover in student staff) for years working from time sheets. If they will handover properly I can't see any reason why you can't do it.