Sep 2016
22
BrightPay announced as a finalist for CIPP’s ‘Payroll Software Product of the Year’ award
The finalists for the CIPP Annual Excellence Awards have just been announced. We are delighted to reveal that BrightPay has been shortlisted for the ‘Payroll Software Product of the Year’ award for the second year running.
CIPP's Annual Excellence Awards will be held on Thursday 6 October at the Celtic Manor Resort, Wales. The awards are the longest running awards in the industry, currently in their 13th year. Being the only awards from a Chartered professional body for payroll, they are the most prestigious awards for individuals and organisations in the industry.
The awards ceremony will be run alongside CIPP’s Annual Conference and Exhibition which will take place on 6th & 7th October. BrightPay will be exhibiting at the conference allowing attendees to ask us any questions you might have. Make sure to chat to the BrightPay team where we can give you a quick demo of the software and take you through our newest feature – BrightPay Cloud.
Find out more about CIPP’s Annual Conference and Exhibition and Annual Excellence Awards here.
Sep 2016
21
National Living Wage Increase 1st of October
The Government's National Living Wage was introduced on 1 April 2016 for all working people aged 25 and over, and is set at £7.20 per hour. The current National Minimum Wage for those under the age of 25 still applies.
From October 2016, the national minimum wage will rise by 3.7% to £6.95 for 21 to 24 year olds, and by 4.7% to £5.55 an hour for those aged 18 to 20.
The minimum wage for 16 to 17 year-olds will rise to £4.00 and apprentices will see their wages go up to £3.40. Almost half a million young people will benefit from the increases introduced.
Sep 2016
11
Student Loans - which Plan type to use?
On 6th April 2016, a new plan type for student loans was introduced by HMRC. Employers should now be deducting student loan repayments from their employees using either Plan 1 or Plan 2.
A query that regularly comes into our BrightPay Helpdesk is 'How do I know which plan type to use?'
HMRC provide the following guidance on how you can determine an employee’s student loan plan type:
- check the Student Loan Start Notice (SL1)
- ask your new employee to fill in the starter declaration checklist
- ask your employee to go online to the Student Loan Company website at www.slc.co.uk/students/loan-repayment.aspx – if they do not know their plan type already.
HMRC also advise that if you receive an SL1 with a start date prior to 6 April 2016 and there is no plan type shown, you should make deductions under Plan 1.
Generic notifications have been sent by HMRC to those employers who haven’t reported any student loan deductions for a specific employee, but for whom deductions are expected. Where two generic notifications have been sent to an employer already, HMRC will begin contacting such employers to discuss the matter further.
Sep 2016
11
Payrolling Benefits in Kind 2017-18
HMRC requires an employer to register in order for them to process benefit in kind through the payroll. If you are planning on processing the benefit in kind through the payroll for 2017-18 you can register now and up to 5th April 2017. But HMRC are advising employers that it would be best to register before the 21st December, when the annual tax coding process normally starts, in order to avoid being sent several tax codes for employees with payrolled benefit in kinds.
Employers who wish to process benefits in kind through the payroll must ensure they are registered with HMRC for real time information. Employers can register for payrolling of benefits using their government gateway ID to login. Currently agents cannot use this registration service for payrolling of benefits but HMRC will develop this option at a later stage.
Employers must select the benefits that will be processed in the payroll for their employees for the whole tax year. If a benefit is not selected by the employer but is processed through the payroll the employer must report these benefits on a P11D. Benefits may be added or the original application can be changed by the employer if an error was made. Normally the selection of benefits, if no changes were made, would automatically be carried forward to the next tax year.
Sep 2016
9
BrightPay to showcase BrightPay Cloud at Accountex
We are excited to be able to showcase our new BrightPay Cloud product at Accountex 2017!!!
BrightPay have just launched an innovative online tool for payroll bureaus, employers and employees. BrightPay Cloud is an add-on to BrightPay Payroll bringing exciting new online features to our customers. BrightPay cloud is not a ‘cloud version’ of the desktop version of BrightPay. Rather, BrightPay Cloud provides a way to connect your payroll data to the cloud to enable new features.
Processing your payroll will still be managed and maintained on your BrightPay Payroll which will remain a desktop based solution. We recognise that employers and their employees want a certain level of cloud functionality to access their payroll information on the go, online and at anytime.
BrightPay Cloud Explained
- Automated Cloud Backup
Until now, BrightPay customers had to manually back up their payroll data. Even if your data is regularly backed up onto your computer, you could lose it all if your computer is broken, lost or stolen. Manually backing up succumbs to human error along the way too. Using BrightPay Cloud, your payroll data will be automatically backed up every 15 minutes to a secure cloud facility. Any changes you make to your payroll data in BrightPay will automatically be synced back to the Cloud.
- Payroll Bureau Dashboard
Bureaus can view each client's payroll information on one online dashboard including the employer's paye reference code, payroll reports, employer annual leave calendar, when the last payroll has been finalised to and more. Payroll bureaus can invite their clients to their own personal self service employer portal. Likewise employers can also invite their accountant to BrightPay Cloud. Bureaus can also view the schedule of HMRC payments, any outstanding payments due and access the P30 for each tax period. The bureau dashboard allows you to save time, reduce admin and collect your clients payroll information as you need it.
- Employee & Employer Self Service
Employers can access their own self service dashboard online where they can view their employees information, manage holiday leave requests, access payroll reports and view scheduled HMRC payments and liabilities. Employers can also grant their employees access to an interactive, online self service portal. Employees can log on and view their payslips and other relevant payroll documents such as P60’s. Employees can even request annual leave from the self service portal. A notification will then be visible on the employer's dashboard and also emailed to them informing them of any employee request.
- Bureau Branding / White Labeling
Accountants or payroll bureaus may wish to brand BrightPay Cloud with their own logo. Not only does the Cloud allows accountants to add value to their existing payroll services but also helps position their company branding with their clients. Employers will additionally have the feature to brand their self service portal with their branding.
For more info click - BrightPay Cloud Features or BrightPay Cloud Overview.
Accountex 2017
BrightPay will be back again at Accountex 2017. With over 6,500 visitors through the door, Accountex is the place to be to meet the very best of accountants, suppliers and key influencers in the accounting space. For BrightPay, it is the perfect platform to introduce our latest Cloud product to the accounting industry. Drop by our stand and say hello. Our team would be happy to take you through the benefits and features of BrightPay Cloud.
