Mar 2021

Furlough extension: How the rules are changing

The furlough scheme has once again been extended, this time until the end of September 2021. The rules in relation to scheme eligibility, the levels of subsidy support, and the reference period used for newly eligible employees are all due to change between now and September.

Levels of Subsidy Support

1st November 2020 to 30th June 2021

Under the existing scheme rules, employers can claim grants covering 80% of wages up to a cap of £2,500 for the hours an employee is not working. Where the employee is not working, the employer does not have to contribute towards wages for unworked hours, but they are responsible for paying employer NICs and pension contributions. Where an employee is on flexible furlough, or also known as partial furlough, employers have to pay full pay for any hours worked.

The Government subsidy will continue at this level until 30th June 2021, but from 1st July, employers will be asked to contribute a percentage of their employees' wages as the scheme winds down.

1st July 2021 to 30th September 2021

For the month of July, the Government will contribute 70% of wages up to a maximum of £2,187.50 per month for unworked hours. The employer will also have to contribute 10% of wages so that the employee receives 80% of their usual wages for any hours not worked, (up to the cap of £2,500).

For August and September, the Government subsidy will drop to 60% up to a cap of £1,875 per month, with the employer having to top up the additional 20% so that the employee receives 80% of their wages (again, up to the cap of £2,500).

Employers must continue to pay the employer NICs and pension contributions on the Government subsidy for the hours not worked. Employers can also continue to choose to top up their employees’ wages above the 80% total and £2,500 cap for the hours not worked at their own expense.

Scheme Eligibility

On or before 30th April 2021

For periods ending on or before 30th April 2021, you can claim for employees who were employed on 30th October 2020, as long as you have made an RTI submission to HMRC between 20th March 2020 and 30th October 2020, notifying HMRC of a payment made to that employee.

Employees made redundant, or who stopped working for you, after 23rd September 2020 can be rehired and placed on furlough under the scheme up until 30th April 2021. This is allowed as long as the employee was employed as of 23rd September 2020 and included in an RTI submission between 20th March 2020 and 30th October 2020.

On or after 1st May 2021

For periods starting on or after 1st May 2021, you can claim for employees who were employed on 2nd March 2021, as long as they were notified to HMRC on an RTI submission between 20th March 2020 and 2nd March 2021. You do not need to have previously claimed for an employee before the 2nd March 2021 to claim for periods starting on or after 1st May 2021.

The Government has not yet produced guidance for calculating hours for workers who were first on the payroll after 30th October 2020 but will do so shortly. This will only be relevant for workers furloughed for the first time from 1st May 2021 onwards.

Free Furlough Webinar

Join the BrightPay team for a free webinar where they explore the upcoming changes to the furlough scheme, how BrightPay payroll software caters for CJRS and furlough, and answer any questions that you may have.

Book your place here.

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Posted byRachel HynesinHMRC Payroll

Mar 2021

Informally Payrolling of Benefits Changes for 2021-22

From 2021-22 onwards the option will no longer be available for employers to informally payroll benefits by making an agreement with HMRC. Informally payrolling benefits meant the employer did not have to register for payrolling of benefits before the start of the tax year and made an agreement with HMRC. All employers that now wish to payroll benefits in the tax year 2021-22, even if they had this previous arrangement with HMRC, must register with HMRC using the online Payrolling Benefits in Kind (PBIK) service before 6th April 2021 (if you had not already registered last year).

Employers can register with HMRC using the PBIKs service. Registering with HMRC allows you to payroll tax on benefits and expenses without the need to submit a form P11D after the end of the tax year. P11D(b) returns will still have to be submitted and must include the total values of all payrolled and all non-payrolled benefits.

Using the online service, you can:

Choose which benefits and expenses you want to include in the payroll for the following tax year.
Add or remove benefits and expenses.
Exclude employees who receive benefits or expenses but don’t want them payrolled. For these employees you must continue to report the benefit or expense on a P11D (you can exclude an employee at any time in a tax year but once you’ve done this you can’t reverse the decision, in year).

The benefits you wont be able to payroll are:

Employer provided living accommodation
Interest free and low interest (beneficial) loans

Tax is collected on benefits and expenses by adding the benefit or expense to the employee’s taxable pay in payroll. Tax is then deducted or repaid as usual as per the employee’s tax code and the details reported on the Full Payment Submission to HMRC. Payrolling of benefits and expenses can be processed for employees in BrightPay 2021-22 and a PBIK form can be produced for employees.

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Mar 2021

Payroll in the Connected Era: How integration has transformed the world of payroll

Application programming interface (API) integration makes our lives easier by simplifying processes. Put simply, API integration facilitates connectivity between two or more applications. APIs are everywhere and many of us use them on a daily basis. An example of an API is using your Facebook login credentials to sign into a third-party website or when you use your PayPal account to pay on an e-commerce site.

How can API integration help simplify your payroll processing?

BrightPay’s integration with HMRC, accounting software packages, pension providers and an employee self-service portal can help you improve your business and make life easier for you when processing payroll. Communication between BrightPay and other platforms means you can halve the amount of time that needs to be spent entering payroll data.

Some of the benefits of API integration when processing payroll include:

Increased efficiency
Increased productivity
Time savings
Reduced errors
Data accuracy
Simple processing

Coming soon: Pay employees directly through BrightPay

Coming soon to BrightPay – our latest API integration with payment platform Modulr will allow you to pay your employees quickly and securely, directly through BrightPay. Saving you time, maximising efficiency, and eliminating costly payroll errors. Learn more about BrightPay's integration with Modulr here.

Upcoming Webinar

On Tuesday, March 30th at 11am, join us for a live webinar where we will discuss the benefits of integration between your payroll software and your accounting software. We will discuss how BrightPay’s integration with Accounts IQ, Clear Books, FreeAgent, FreshBooks, Kashflow, Quickbooks, (Online), QuickFile, Sage One, Twinfield, Xero and Zoho can streamline payroll processes. There will also be a live demonstration of how this integration works within the software.

Webinar Agenda:

The importance of automation
What is payroll journal integration?
How BrightPay’s journal integration can help your business
The benefits of integrated payroll & accounting systems
Other API integrations in BrightPay

Book your place now to join the live webinar on Tuesday, March 30th at 11am.

If you are unable to attend the webinar at the specified time, simply register and we will send you the recording afterwards.

Mar 2021

BrightPay 2021/22 is Now Available. What's New?

BrightPay 2021/22 is now available (for new customers and existing customers).

2020 was challenging. Many of our development plans for the year had to be changed or postponed due to the need to cater for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (CSSPRS) in BrightPay (not to mention the withdrawn-at-the-last-minute Job Support Scheme (JSS), which we invested many development hours on to no avail). We also have an Irish version of BrightPay, which likewise required additional time and attention on the equivalent schemes in the Republic of Ireland. And of course all of this had to be done in suboptimal conditions, with staff working remotely from home, often with young children. Demanding as it was, our team really stepped up, and as a company we were awarded with the COVID Hero Supplier Award at the Accounting Software Excellence Awards 2020.

At the same time, we have been working hard to bring a version of BrightPay to the cloud. While we have nothing to announce just yet, I can confirm it's going well, but it is still very much in development. We have a beta version planned, but cannot yet commit to a timeframe.

And so, given the time spent on COVID-19 features, along with that on cloud development, there hasn't been as much time as in previous years to spend on new features for BrightPay 2021/22. But we do have some new features, and we hope you'll find them useful. Rest assured that time-constraints have not caused any sacrifices to be made on quality – our goal to make the best payroll software continues as usual.

Here’s a quick overview of what’s new in 2021/22:

2021/22 Tax Year Updates

2021/22 tax bands. The emergency tax code has changed from 1250L to 1257L. When importing from the previous tax year, L codes are uplifted by 7, M codes are uplifted by 8 and N codes by 6.
2021/22 employee and employer National Insurance contribution rates, thresholds and calculations.
2021/22 Student Loan and Postgraduate Loan thresholds. Support for the new Student Loan Plan 4.
2021/22 rate of Statutory Sick Pay, including continued support for COVID-19 related periods of sick leave (in which SSP is paid from day one).
2021/22 rates and average weekly earnings thresholds for Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Shared Parental Pay and Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay.
2021/22 rates and calculations for company cars, vans and fuel.
Support for off-payroll workers.
Ability to process 2021/22 HMRC coding notices.
April 2021 National Minimum/Living Wage rates. The top minimum wage age threshold has been reduced from 25 to 23.
Eligible employers can continue to claim Employment Allowance which can be used to reduce Employer Class 1 Secondary NICs payments to HMRC.
Updated P11, P45, P60, P30, P32, P11D and PBIK forms.
Updated RTI submissions in line with the latest HMRC specifications. BrightPay continues to be officially HMRC Recognised for all submission types (FPS, EPS, NVR, EXB, CIS300, CISREQ).
Continued support for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (CSSPRS).

Automatic Enrolment Updates

2021/22 qualifying earnings thresholds.
For 2021/22, the minimum required pension contribution level continues to be 8%, at least 3% of which must be contributed by the employer.
Various enrolment/contributions API submission and CSV formats have been updated to the latest versions to ensure continued compatibility with all pension scheme providers.

Pay Using Modulr

You can now create and send payment requests to Modulr directly from BrightPay, provided you have an active Modulr account that is set up for making payments. Payee information and amounts are automatically populated using the data from your payroll, making it a simple, fast and efficient way to pay your employees (or subcontractors).

More Journal API Support

BrightPay 2021/22 now supports posting journals directly via API to FreshBooks, QuickFile and ClearBooks.

Other New Features and Updates in 2021/22

The way of setting up a pay schedule for the tax year has been changed in response to customer feedback, making it easier and more flexible.
Ability to auto-zeroise individual basic payments, additions and deductions for each pay period (i.e. repeat them into the next pay period as usual, but with a zero amount)
Ability to auto-generate works numbers.
BrightPay now shows the total "number of employees" in many more on-screen summaries and report documents.
CIS – New custom P&D Statement template design that is able to contain much more information than the standard HMRC template (e.g. breakdown of hourly payments, addition subcontractor information, etc.)
CIS – BrightPay is now smarter about automatically ticking/unticking and including/excluding subcontractors from various lists or reports by default depending on whether they received any pay in a tax period.
More employee fields are importable from CSV, and a few column options have been added to Analysis.
Several additional minor improvements throughout the entire BrightPay user interface, as well as the latest bug fixes and security improvements.

Includes all updates made to BrightPay during the 2020/21 tax year

Although 2020/21 updates were primarily focused on the CJRS, we did add a few other enhancements, all of which are of course included in BrightPay 2021/22. See our release notes for full details. Here's a quick reminder of some of the main areas of improvement:

Supports the latest UK and London Living Wage rates, announced in November 2020.
New message in HMRC Payments that lets you know when the equivalent annualised NIC-able pay would put you in excess of the Apprenticeship Levy threshold.
New "Amount due to HMRC" column is available to be displayed on the BrightPay startup window.
BrightPay now uses the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime to display web-based content, ensuring technical compatibility with the requirements of modern web services.

What's Next?

We're continually at work on the next version of BrightPay, developing new features and making any required fixes and improvements. See our release notes to keep track of what has been changed to date at any time.

Posted byRoss WebsterinPayroll Software Software Upgrade

Mar 2021

The Key to Keeping in Touch with Employees while Working from Home

One of the biggest frustrations for many employees who now work from home is not having access to the physical paper-based files they had in the office. Many organisations still rely on a HR cabinet which stores sensitive employee data such as contracts of employment, annual leave requests and appraisal documents. Due to COVID-19, the new remote working culture has created many new challenges, data security being a significant one. How secure is your filing cabinet, particularly when you aren’t in the office?

Without the added challenge of a pandemic, HR productivity and managing HR workflows are everyday issues. Common tasks such as the managing of annual leave requests/cancelling requests or dealing with employee queries such as, ‘‘Can I have a copy of my last 3 payslips?’’ can take up unnecessary amounts of time.

BrightPay Connect can help. BrightPay Connect is an optional cloud add-on to BrightPay's payroll desktop application that offers employers flexibility and online benefits, making the payroll process easier.

Along with many other features, BrightPay Connect offers a HR Document Upload feature which allows managers to share documents with individuals, teams or the whole company at the touch of a button. Distribute the company handbook to all employees or upload an individual’s contract of employment, performance reviews or training material. The document upload feature ensures company documents are organised and that employees can securely access HR information anytime, anywhere using their smartphone or tablet device.

Regular communication is an essential way to help your teams adjust to home working. Without it your employees can feel disconnected, morale can dip, and priorities can become confused.

BrightPay Connect’s HR Document Upload tool can be used to distribute COVID-19 mandatory documents such as a COVID-19 Safe Working Policy, the company newsletter or details of the Return-to-Work Policy. The notification system will stand out and draw employees to read the communications via an employee app, avoiding it becoming lost in their email inbox.

Sending this important information directly to the employee’s phone is so much more powerful than simply sending a company-wide email. The click rate of a push notification is 7 times higher than that of email, and so it’s a great way of communicating with employees when it comes to important updates.

Things can – and should – be much simpler in your HR department. And with BrightPay Connect, that’s the new reality. Book a demo of BrightPay Connect today and see how you can eliminate time-consuming HR tasks.

Posted byHolly McHughinCoronavirus

Mar 2021

1 Year On: BrightPay & Covid-19

It’s been exactly one year since BrightPay sent all employees to work from home for 2 weeks as a mysterious flu-like disease called COVID-19 began spreading across Ireland and the UK. Those 2 weeks have turned in 52 weeks... and counting.

On March 10th 2020, employees were given access to all the tools and resources needed to work from home well in advance of the lockdown panic that came towards the end of March 2020. BrightPay worked with employees to try and strike a balance between ensuring employees could be productive and focused when not in the office, whilst also juggling often hectic home lives as we all adjusted to lockdown. Keeping in-touch and keeping moral up was a key priority.

The company was in a fortunate position to be able to continue employing all members of staff during such a scary and uncertain time. BrightPay’s COVID-19 response plan involved additional staffing and increased hours to assist customers. With payroll being an essential service and part of every business, the show had to go on!

BrightPay has been at the forefront for employers and accountants when it comes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and were one of the first payroll software providers to release software upgrades to cater for the furlough scheme as changes were announced. BrightPay's overall response to COVID-19 was rated 98.6% in a recent customer survey, and this included payroll upgrades, webinars, online guidance and customer support.

BrightPay won the COVID-19 Hero Award (supplier) at the Accounting Excellence Awards that took place recently. There were a number of criteria that were considered by the panel for this award. Judging took into account the speed, time and relevance of businesses’ COVID-19 response and how many customers accessed it.

Despite all the COVID-19 scheme changes, upgrades and webinars, the developers have been kept busy constantly improving the software and introducing new features. BrightPay’s optional add-on product, BrightPay Connect now supports two-factor authentication sign in. This means you can add an extra layer of security to the employer login on your BrightPay Connect account in case your password is stolen.

As remote and flexible working are now the new normal, BrightPay in tandem with BrightPay Connect will soon allow for a completely seamless "working from home" experience where there are multiple individuals who work on or require access to the same employer files. BrightPay Connect can help you prevent conflicting copies of the payroll, including an ‘other user check’ and a ‘version check’ when opening the payroll.

Let’s hope we all return to a somewhat normal life within the next year, and that I won’t be writing ‘working from home 104 weeks later’ this time next year. BrightPay wishes you the very best as we enter Year 2 of living with COVID-19.

If you are looking to change payroll software provider or looking to bring your payroll in-house, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Book a free 15-minute online demo to see how BrightPay can change your world of payroll.

Posted byHolly McHughinEvents

Mar 2021

Making the move to BrightPay: The time is now!

As we approach the new 2021/22 tax year, many accountants are evaluating whether they are using the right payroll software to suit their client's needs. There are so many payroll software providers on the market that choosing the right one for your practice can become overwhelming. To make it easier for you, we have summarised the key reasons why hundreds of accountants are switching to BrightPay.

Book a demo Sales enquiry

Multi-User Remote Access

All BrightPay licences can be installed on up to 10 PCs, and this means that payroll processing is possible by up to 10 users, or from 10 different locations. In conjunction with BrightPay Connect, BrightPay has a new ‘version checking’ feature when opening an employer, and an ‘other users check’ when opening an employer to prevent the risk of conflicting payroll copies.

Furlough Pay Calculator and Claim Report

BrightPay has a furlough pay calculator, including support for flexible furlough, to help users calculate an employee's furlough pay each pay period. BrightPay also has a CJRS claim report to make it easier for the user when making a claim via HMRC’s online claim portal.

Batch Payroll Processing Capabilities

With BrightPay’s batch payroll processing, you can finalise payslips, check for coding notices and send outstanding RTI and CIS submissions to HMRC for multiple clients at the same time. This will allow you to save time on manual, repetitive tasks, especially if you have a number of payrolls that don’t change from week to week or where a large number of single-director companies are on the payroll software.

Integration with Accounting and Pension Systems

BrightPay includes direct API integration with various accounting and pension systems. Send payroll journals directly to your general ledger from within BrightPay. Send auto enrolment files directly to the pension provider at the click of a button.

Online Client & Employee Portals

Invite clients to their own secure online dashboard. Clients can upload timesheets, approve the payroll, notify you of payroll changes, access employee payslips, run payroll reports and much more. Employees also have self-service access to payroll and HR information via an employee smartphone and tablet app.

Pay Employees Directly from BrightPay

BrightPay’s new functionality will give you a fast, secure and easy way to pay employees through BrightPay. Eliminate the need to create bank files and the manual workload associated with making payments to employees.

Free Webinar for Accountants & Payroll Bureaus

Don’t let the fear of switching payroll software hold you back. Register for this free webinar to discover top tips for making the transition to BrightPay as seamless as possible.

Book a demo today to discover more ways that you can automate your payroll processes. With payroll automation, simple furlough processing, and multi-user remote working capabilities, you can turn payroll into the quick and easy process it should be.

Book a demo Sales enquiry

Posted byRachel HynesinPayroll Software

Mar 2021

International Women’s Day 2021

Thesaurus Software is proud to be supporting International Women’s Day 2021.

The theme of International Women’s Day this year is “Choose to Challenge”, a theme we wholeheartedly agree with. When we challenge the norms, the status quo, the “because that’s just the way it is”, we create change. At Thesaurus Software we firmly believe that change is necessary for development and improvement, so much so that it is embedded in our core values.

This year we are enhancing our Inclusion and Diversity efforts, in the hope that all staff will feel comfortable in bringing their whole self to work. International Women’s Day is our first day of celebration this year, our aim is not only to celebrate our women, but to raise awareness of inclusion more generally.

Promoting Gender Equality at Thesaurus

We are proud to say that we have always had a strong representation of women right across our company.

Our senior management team is 66% female. Across the Company as a whole, we are 64% female.

As we grow, we are continuously looking at how we can best assist our employees to grow and be themselves. In the last six months, we have introduced two key initiatives which help us achieve this.

Firstly, LinkedIn Learning has been made available to all employees. LinkedIn Learning has been a game-changer for our employees and opened the window on learning and awareness.
Secondly, we have just introduced paid maternity and paternity leave. We really hope that this will help new parents to be successful both at work and at home.

Our Female Leaders

We asked some of our female leaders for their thoughts on working in leadership;

“It’s important that all managers inspire, engage, and encourage their team. This is what I strive for. As a female manager, I’m very privileged to work for a company that recognises and promotes these values for both men and women equally. Females in any workplace should never underestimate what they are capable of achieving” - Karen Bennett, Chief Commercial Officer

“My advice to my 20-year-old self would be to think of your career as a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t ever settle on the first job or career path you undertake, if you are not invested in it. Allow yourself the time to discover what are you passionate about doing. Finding a job that I love has certainly helped me reach the point in my career that I’m at today.” - Victoria Clarke, Product Development Manager

“As a woman working for Thesaurus Software for the past 23 years and fast approaching retirement, I feel I am now entering the most exciting period of my career at Thesaurus Software and rather than winding down, the journey forward in this fast-growing company, supported by our amazing CEO, Paul Byrne has no limits.” - Ann Tighe, Senior Business Development Manager

“Working at Thesaurus as a woman in management, I feel inspired by other female leaders and peers within the company to lead my team with the same encouragement I feel every day. I have always felt hugely supported as a woman within Thesaurus which has provided me with the tools I need to motivate and empower my team, particularly as I progressed into the management role.” - Cailin Reilly, Sales Manager

“After joining Thesaurus Software as a Marketing Intern, I never thought that I would be where I am today after just 6 years. Working at Thesaurus Software has really given me the opportunity to progress, both in terms of personal and professional development. No two years have been the same and it has been an exciting time to be part of the team, helping the company grow to where it is today.” - Rachel Hynes, Marketing Manager

IWD 2021 in Thesaurus

Some of our fantastic team have taken part in the IWD challenge, standing up socially distantly and choosing to challenge. See their fab pictures below.

This year, we will also be using our LinkedIn Learning platform to raise awareness around inclusion and equity in the workplace. We have a series of short informative videos addressing a range of topics that we will share with staff remotely during March.

Our message to all our employees today is, bring your whole self to work, your thoughts and ideas are valued, we love to hear them. Working together, trusting, respecting and supporting each other we can only do great things.

Posted byLaura MurphyinCompany News Events

Mar 2021

Customer Update: March 2021

Welcome to BrightPay's March update. Our most important news this month include:

BrightPay 2021/22 is Now Available to Pre-Order

BrightPay 2021/22 is scheduled for release the week commencing 22nd March. We will send you another email once it is released and ready to download.

Pre-Order BrightPay 2021/22 Year End FAQs

Top Tips for Migrating your Payroll to BrightPay

In this webinar, we explore the benefits associated with switching to BrightPay. Plus, discover some top tips for making the transition to BrightPay as seamless as possible.

Free Webinar Book a Demo

Free Webinar | IR35 Reforms - Are you Ready?

Discover how to comply with the upcoming changes to the off-payroll working rules, and how they will affect your business and payroll processes. Guest Speaker: Jas Jhooty, emTax

Book your place here

Pay Employees Directly from BrightPay – Coming in BrightPay 21/22

Find out more

Another Furlough Extension, Another Set of Changes

The furlough scheme has been extended for a further five months until the end of September, with the scheme winding down from July. In this webinar, we look at how the scheme rules are going to change between now and September.

New and Improved Multi-User Features are on the way

We are introducing new multi-user features that work in conjunction with BrightPay Connect to improve the working from home experience, including an 'other users' check and a 'latest version' check.

Find out more Book a demo

Posted byRachel HynesinCustomer Update

Mar 2021

Budget 2021 – An Employer Focus

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak presented Budget 2021 to Parliament today 3rd March 2021.

The main points to be noted by employers are:

The personal tax allowance will increase from £12,500 to £12,570 for the new tax year 2021-22 and the plan is to keep it at this level until 2026.
The higher rate income tax threshold will increase by £270 to £50,270 from 6th April 2021 and will be frozen until April 2026.
The NIC primary threshold will increase by £68, from £9,500 to £9,568 for 2021-22.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is to be extended until the end of September 2021 with the government to continue paying 80% of employees' wages for hours they cannot work. Employers will be asked to contribute 10% for July and 20% for August and September.
The grant for new apprenticeships made available by employers in England to be extended to September 2021 and the amount increased to £3,000.
Traineeships to get a £126 million boost to fund 40,000 more places.
The Employment Allowance remains at £4,000 and will apply to eligible employers whose Secondary Class 1 National Insurance Contributions liability is under £100,000 a year.
From 1st April 2021, the National Living Wage of £8.91 per hour will now be paid to employees aged 23 years and over instead of the previous age threshold of 25 years and older.
The Vat rate for the hospitality sector will remain at 5% until 30th September 2021. This will increase to 12.5% until 31st March 2022, with the 20% rate resuming from April 2022.
£5 billion in new Restart Grants for businesses announced – £6,000 for non-essential outlets that are due to re-open in April and for hospitality, accommodation, leisure, gym and personal care businesses, a one-off cash grant of up to £18,000.

Posted byDebbie ClarkeinHMRC