Payroll Outsourcing Services in the UK: How Much Do They Cost?

Payroll outsourcing gained immense momentum in the UK accounting sector in the aftermath of the global coronavirus pandemic. In lieu of the furlough scheme, the need for expert third-party professionals to handle and execute end-to-end payroll grew enormously, thus putting payroll outsourcing services in huge demand.

As more and more accountancy practices in the UK turn to outsourcing their payroll, accountants have one question at the very top of their minds: How much do UK payroll outsourcing services cost?

There are a number of firms in the market providing outsourced payroll services for accountants and small businesses. However, most of them do not display fixed pricing on their website as it is customised for each client based on their specific requirements.

Let’s look at the factors that determine and affect the costs of payroll outsourcing services in the UK.

Payroll Outsourcing Models: A Comparison

Same Salary Model	Variable Salary Model	FTE Model	Per-Payslip Model
Simple payroll processing with the same salary details/amount every month	Complex payroll processing, such as changing payroll frequency	Dedicated full-time expert working on your payroll needs	Pricing based on number of payslips processed. Includes volume-based discounts.

Before you decide to go for payroll services outsourcing and begin looking for a service provider, understand your client’s payroll requirements thoroughly. If you have been handling their payroll for some time now, you must already know their needs. If you have landed a new client or recently added payroll as an add-on service to your portfolio, speak to your client to understand their exact requirements in detail.

While the cost of outsourced payroll depends on the above engagement models, the exact pricing can be determined only based on your specific needs.

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What is the Cost of Outsourcing Payroll?

The cost of outsourcing payroll depends on several crucial factors. To make it easy for you, we have listed individual elements below:

1. Setup Cost

The fee for setting up payroll with a supplier will vary according to your accounting firm’s size and requirements. For a new company set-up, typical charges start at £10.00 per company as a one-off cost.

2. Running Payroll / Per Payslip Costs

Another important factor determining the final payroll outsourcing prices is the per-payslip cost. This cost varies depending on the number of payslips your accounting firm processes. Typically, you could expect to pay between £4 to £6 per payslip. Many outsourcing companies generally offer a discount when there are more payslips to process each month.

3. Auto-Enrolment

Several accountants providing payroll services to clients also offer Auto-Enrolment services. If you are not one of them, this is an excellent opportunity to start offering it with minimal overhead investment. Outsourcing Auto-Enrolment costs are made up of three components:

• Initial review stage – This generally ranges from £15 to £25 per client
• Registration stage – You could expect this to range from £25 to £35 per client up to a maximum of 10 employees
• Compliance – On an average, you could be paying £0.75 per pay run per employee

4. Year-End Filing

An important component of UK payroll is year-end filing. HMRC has made the year-end filings very simple for each time payroll is processed. However, the primary concern is to ensure you submit your final FPS and/or EPS on time. You could expect to pay £20.00 per EYU (£10.00 for client set-up and £10.00 for processing).

How Can You Determine if Payroll Outsourcing is Appropriate for Your Accountancy Practice?

It may not always be easy to determine whether to outsource your payroll needs. But here are some statistics to help.

The payroll outsourcing market size has grown strongly in recent years. Research suggests it will grow from $11.17 billion in 2023 to $16.12 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 7.6%.

The below video can help you assess your firm’s outsourcing readiness effectively.

QXAS is a leading payroll outsourcing provider in the UK with 20+ years of industry experience and a dedicated team of trained payroll specialists. To help accountants evaluate our payroll services risk-free, we offer a free trial and complete data protection guarantee. We usually provide the following reports: payslips, FPS, P30, and P32.

To learn more about the free trial or explore our services in further detail, please get in touch with us and one of our team members will be happy to call you back.

Profitable Payroll

To make the maximum profits from payroll, moving to an outsourced model is essential. It is a straightforward way to turn a low-margin service into something that churns a profit while also minimising the time you spend on it and the investment you need in terms of software and hiring specialist staff. Learn how to make payroll profitable for your practice using the free guide below.