Looking critically at your business practices and processes and then making some appropriate changes can be an effective way of ensuring that you report in real time.
Here are some hints and tips which you might find helpful:
- Ensure your software and business processes are capable of being able to report ‘on or before’ paying employees. One of the reasons for RTI is to assist with timely information for Universal Credits so it is important that your employees understand the need to get time sheets and overtime records submitted in good time. If they don’t, it may affect any Universal Credit payments to your employees
- Review your payroll software if it is unable to meet your reporting obligations e.g. it won’t let you report on the same basis that you pay your staff
- Consider consulting with your employees to move from weekly paid to monthly paid. Although you don’t have to change when you run your payroll, it may ease administration and help reduce the cost of processing your payroll
- Set up your own reminders (e.g. in Outlook or on your mobile phone) to help you report on time
- Report your PAYE early if you know you may not be around on the reporting date e.g. if you’re going away on holiday – but don’t report too early or you may need to send corrected PAYE reports to update HMRC
- Use direct debits and set up advance payments as soon as your final FPS submission for the month is made so that payment to HMRC isn’t forgotten and is made by the deadline
