To celebrate National Payroll week, we wanted to feature our Queen of Payroll, Natalie Standen ACIPP, who tells us all about her role and why outsourcing your Payroll is a brilliant business decision for many small to medium sized businesses.
Natalie, what do you see as the main benefits for a business looking to outsource their payroll?
“Many small businesses need to process an accurate payroll on time, but this might not be a full-time job for an expert. By outsourcing your payroll to an expert, you can put that cost against something else in your business and save on headcount as outsourcing means you’ll only pay for the payroll support that you need.”
Why can’t a business manage their own payroll in-house?
“They can and it is possible. But like many things, the result is always faster and more accurate when you’ve got an expert doing it every single day. We do have clients who manage their own payroll in-house and they can come to me for advice and guidance if there is a complex matter, but often business owners see the benefits of outsourcing it as they see how complicated it can be to get it right.”
“Our clients also see the benefit of knowing that their payroll can be covered throughout the year as we can cover holiday and sickness, plus it’s removed from their teams, so there is no potential for gossiping about what people get paid, which can be a common challenge for some small businesses.”
What do business owners find challenging about payroll?
“Some aspects of payroll can be quite straight forward. But pension schemes often trip business owners up because they can be complicated to get right. Equally, sick pay,NMW changes and maternity leave – these are quite common occurrences in a business, and they do have an impact on a person’s end pay. So, it’s important to get this right.”
Many clients like to know that their trusted payroll provider is using the best software when it comes to processing payroll and that an expert team can manage their payroll so that they are fully compliant with all the latest legislation and employment laws.
Finally, how has Payroll changed over the course of your career?
Everything’s changed! There was barely any automation when I started out in payroll. The introduction of statutory payment SPP in 2003 was a big change, followed by the Auto-enrolment phased roll out in 2012. Then in 2020, we had Furlough to contend with during the Covid 19 pandemic. It’s an ever changing payroll world!
Natalie is Coopers&Co’s ‘Queen of Payroll’ and makes sure our client’s payroll is processed accurately and on time. She processes hundreds of payrolls for happy clients each month, ensuring their pensions, holiday pay, maternity pay and SSP are taken care of. For sub-contractors and businesses in the construction industry, Natalie can manage all returns and verifications and help you to reclaim CIS. It’s a legal requirement in the UK for employers to provide a payslip, so a fully compliant and timely payroll is a legal requirement.
With over 35 years of payroll experience, Natalie has worked across a variety of sectors and has achieve her National Payroll Certificate Levels 1 & 2 and is an active member of the Chartered Institute of Payroll Providers.