Payroll & CIS Services in Burgess Hill

Gross income is the amount of money an employee has earned before any deductions are removed.

Gross pay is calculated for hourly employees by multiplying the hours worked by the hourly wage. For salaried employees, the salary is divided equally across the number of pay periods in a year. For both, tips and bonuses are added (along with overtime pay for hourly employees).

The three easiest ways to pay employees are cash, direct deposit, or paper cheques.

Cash is affordable and straightforward but the least secure. Paper cheques are fairly secure and let you include an itemised pay stub, though they can be costly to post. Direct deposit is fast, affordable and more secure — once set up, workers receive pay quickly without a trip to the bank.

Net income is what an employee receives after all deductions have been removed from their gross wages — the amount the worker takes home. Deductions include:

• Taxes
• Retirement fund contributions
• Insurance premiums
• Wage garnishments and unpaid child support

To determine net income, consult tax charts and an itemised list of deductions to ensure you withhold the correct amounts.

How frequently you run payroll is up to you, as long as your schedule follows all relevant laws and regulations. The most common schedules are:

• Weekly
• Biweekly (every two weeks)
• Semimonthly (twice per month on set days)
• Monthly

Weekly keeps employees happiest but is more work to manage; monthly is the most affordable but less popular. Biweekly and semimonthly split the difference.

The essential components of payroll are the employee's information, salary or wages, and deductions.

Employee information — legal name, address, National Insurance number and bank account details. Because this is sensitive, it must be kept safe.

Salaries and wages — what each employee's gross wage is, which can vary by hours worked, holiday or sick pay, tips and bonuses.

Deductions — tax & National Insurance, health insurance, retirement contributions, voluntary deductions, wage garnishments and child support. Payroll software (or a payroll service) does much of this heavy lifting for you.

• Hourly pay — the set amount earned for every hour at work.
• Salary — a fixed yearly amount divided evenly by pay period.
• Supplemental pay — anything outside normal hourly/salary pay, including bonuses, commissions and tips.
• Overtime — usually 1.5× the hourly rate for hours worked beyond the standard week.

Each type of pay is governed by different rules and laws, which can be found on the HMRC website.

No — you can transfer payroll providers at any time without disruption to payroll. Depending on the provider, it may cost more if you don't transfer at the start of the tax year, as some need to recreate your whole payroll since the start of the year.

You can outsource your payroll to Oval Accountants at any time of year without disruption and without any set-up costs.

You do not usually need to contact HMRC if you change payroll providers. However, if you outsource to specialists like Oval Accountants who take on the HMRC responsibilities for you, you'll need to complete a year-end submission.

This confirms to HMRC that you have closed your old PAYE — usually via an EPS submission once your final payroll is processed, with the cessation date confirmed on the submission.