Payroll Services
Accountant or payroll bureau?
Plenty of small businesses have payroll done by their accountant because it was easiest at the time. That is often fine — and it has specific failure points worth knowing about.
This is a different question from whether to outsource at all. Both options are outsourcing; the choice is who to. Your accountant already knows your business and is one relationship rather than two. A specialist bureau does nothing but payroll.
Which suits you comes down to headcount, complexity, and how your accountant is set up.
Side by side
| Accountant | Payroll bureau | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | Bundled, or £4 – £10 per payslip | £4 – £8 per payslip |
| Knows your business | Yes | No, but does not need to |
| Number of relationships | One | Two |
| Cover if your contact is away | Depends on firm size | Usually a team |
| Weekly or fortnightly payroll | Sometimes reluctant | Routine |
| Complex pay, CIS, salary sacrifice | Varies considerably | Routine |
| Busiest exactly when you need them | Yes — tax season and year end | No, payroll is the whole job |
The case for your accountant
Simplicity. One firm, one relationship, one point of contact, and year-end figures that reconcile without anybody having to send anything anywhere. For a small business paying a handful of people monthly, that is genuinely valuable.
They also already hold your director information, dividend position and pension arrangements, which avoids duplication and the errors that come with it.
Where it goes wrong
Capacity, usually. A small practice is at its busiest in January and around year end, which is precisely when payroll deadlines still land every month. Payroll is deadline-driven in a way that annual accounts are not, and it cannot wait.
The second issue is cover. If one person in the practice does the payroll and they are on holiday or ill on your pay date, there may be nobody else who runs it. Ask that question directly — it is the single most useful thing to establish.
The third is specialism. Weekly payrolls, CIS, variable hours, salary sacrifice and complex statutory pay are routine for a bureau and occasional for a general accountant.
The case for a bureau
Payroll is all they do, so the deadline is never competing with something else. They are usually structured as a team rather than an individual, so cover is built in.
They are also more likely to act as your PAYE agent and deal with HMRC directly, and to include auto-enrolment administration as standard rather than as an afterthought.
You can have both
A common and sensible arrangement is a bureau running payroll and the accountant receiving the reports for the accounts. Most bureaus are used to working alongside an accountant, and most accountants are relieved to hand over the monthly deadline.
If you go this way, agree who is the PAYE agent and make sure the reporting reaches the accountant in the format they want.
The short answer
A handful of employees on fixed monthly salaries, and a practice with cover: your accountant is fine, and the simplicity is worth something.
Weekly or fortnightly pay, variable hours, CIS, or a practice where one person does it alone: use a bureau.
Either way, ask what happens if your usual contact is unavailable on a pay date — the answer tells you most of what you need to know.
Ready to compare payroll?
Compare Payroll Services is our dedicated site for this category, with the detail, local coverage and a quote form.
Common questions
Is an accountant more expensive for payroll?
Not necessarily. Some bundle it, some charge comparably to a bureau. Ask for it itemised rather than as part of a package price.
Can my accountant and a bureau both be involved?
Yes, and it is common — the bureau runs payroll, the accountant receives the reports. Agree who acts as PAYE agent.
What if my accountant makes a mistake?
Liability for PAYE stays with the employer, but a regulated accountant carries professional indemnity insurance, as does a reputable bureau.
Is switching disruptive?
Not particularly. Year-to-date figures transfer, and April is cleanest. Ask about parallel running for the first month.
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