UK Payroll Outsourcing for Charities & SMEs

Tell us about your staff numbers, pay frequencies and reporting needs. Read our charity payroll outsourcing checklist before discussing an appropriate service scope with KBA.

Planning a hire or comparing payroll support? Use our 2026/27 PAYE, National Insurance and pension calculator to explore regular monthly pay and employer-cost estimates. Read the assumptions first: it does not produce an actual payslip or cover every employee circumstance.

What a managed monthly payroll cycle can include

A reliable outsourced payroll needs an agreed timetable and named responsibilities. Before the first run, KBA and the employer agree the cut-off, approval contact, payday, pension process, submission responsibilities and the reports required by the finance team.

1. Authorised change pack: the employer provides starter and leaver details, approved salary changes, hours or overtime, statutory leave, deductions, pension changes and any charity project or fund codes by the agreed cut-off.
2. Draft and control checks: KBA prepares the draft payroll within the agreed scope. The employer reviews employee changes, gross-to-net movements, unusual deductions and the funding or department allocation.
3. Named approval: the authorised person confirms the draft before finalisation. Missing or disputed information is recorded as an exception rather than guessed.
4. Submission and handover: depending on the engagement, outputs can include payslips, payroll reports, an FPS submission receipt, any applicable EPS, pension information, payment summaries and a payroll journal or cost-centre schedule.

Under HMRC’s Real Time Information rules, the Full Payment Submission is normally due on or before payday. An Employer Payment Summary may also be needed—for example, to claim an eligible reduction or report that no employees were paid—and is generally due by the 19th of the following tax month. See HMRC’s FPS guidance and payroll reporting fields and EPS guidance. Using a payroll provider does not remove the employer’s legal responsibility, so the service timetable must leave enough time for review and approval.

Starter, leaver and pension information to prepare

• New starter: start date, agreed pay and hours, residential details, National Insurance number where available, student or postgraduate loan information, and a P45 or the relevant HMRC starter checklist.
• Leaver: confirmed leaving date, final salary and deductions, outstanding holiday or other authorised final-pay items, and details of any payment expected after leaving.
• Pension: scheme and worker-category information, join or opt-out changes, contribution basis and the agreed responsibility for pension assessment, communications and uploading contributions.
• Recurring changes: approved overtime, bonuses, expenses processed through payroll, statutory leave, attachment orders and other deductions that apply to that pay period.

Once an engagement starts, sensitive employee data should be transferred using the agreed secure method. Do not put National Insurance numbers, bank details, medical information or payroll files into KBA’s general enquiry form.

Charity payroll reporting that supports the finance team

Charities may need the payroll journal split by department, project, location or fund. Agree the coding structure and who approves staff-cost allocations before the first live run. KBA can then scope a report that reconciles total gross pay, employer National Insurance and employer pension costs to the payroll totals while presenting the authorised allocation.

Illustrative example: if one employee’s authorised cost allocation changes from 60:40 to 70:30 between two projects, the employer confirms the effective pay period before approval. The payroll totals do not change, but the journal split does. Recording the change prevents the payroll report, management accounts and grant reporting from drifting apart. This example is not a prescribed allocation method; each organisation remains responsible for its own coding and approvals.

For a payroll quote, tell us your employee count, pay frequency, intended first payday, pension provider and whether you need a mid-year transfer. Charities can also outline department, project and funding-code reports. We will agree the data handover, approval timetable and responsibilities before starting.

See payroll packages and fees or request a payroll consultation. Use a brief summary for the first enquiry; do not send employee National Insurance numbers, bank details or payroll files through the general enquiry form.