Outsourcing payroll in the UK: what it includes and how to switch

What a fully managed payroll service includes

A proper managed service takes the whole cycle off your desk:

• Every pay run processed — weekly or monthly, salaried and hourly staff.
• RTI submissions (FPS/EPS) filed with HMRC on time, every time.
• Payslips, P60s and P45s produced accurately and compliantly.
• New starters and leavers handled, statutory pay calculated.
• Pension auto-enrolment assessed each run, with uploads to your provider.
• A UK-based human to call when something needs answering.

The part most providers skip: paying less

Most payroll bureaus process what they're given. The reason businesses switch to us is the optimisation layer on top: we check the Employment Allowance is claimed in full (and backdated where owed), NI category letters are right, and every relief you're entitled to is being used. Processing keeps you compliant — optimisation is what makes payroll cheaper.

How switching works

Switching payroll provider sounds disruptive; done properly, it isn't. We migrate you free of charge: we collect your year-to-date figures and employee records from your current provider or software, replicate the payroll in parallel, and take over from the next pay run — in as little as 24 hours. Your employees notice nothing except that payslips keep arriving.

And because there are no long-term contracts, you're never locked in — we keep your business by running payroll properly and saving you money, not with exit fees.

When outsourcing makes sense

If a director or office manager is spending hours each month on payroll, if you've had a late-filing penalty, if auto-enrolment is being done by hand, or if nobody has ever checked whether you're claiming the Employment Allowance — the service usually pays for itself out of the savings it finds. That's the point of the free payroll review: you see the numbers before you decide anything.

How long does it take to switch payroll providers?

With PayrollSmart, migration is free and can be completed in as little as 24 hours once we have your payroll data — quick, simple and hassle-free.

Do I lose control if I outsource payroll?

No — you approve each run and see everything. You lose the admin and the deadline risk, not the visibility.

What does outsourced payroll cost?

It depends on headcount and pay frequency — but for most businesses the reliefs and savings we find cover the fee many times over. The free payroll review shows you both sides of that maths up front.