Payroll is something most businesses have at the heart of their operations and yet many businesses do not have the resources to deliver a comprehensive service.

"An accurate and deadline-led payroll function is critical to any business and it is an increasingly-common trend to entrust it to experts," says HWB's new payroll manager, James Alesbury.

James Alesbury, who was appointed by HWB to head up the payroll team after more than 10 years of processing and dealing with payroll matters for companies including B&Q, is an enthusiastic advocate of the outsourcing model.

"Outsourcing is an efficient, safe and cost-effective solution for many businesses as it negates the need to recruit in-house," he says. "It also provides peace of mind that this critical function can be performed on time, each week or month, without the worry of a member of staff being absent.

Clients who have outsourced their payroll are not just looking for reliability and reduced administration and paperwork, but also a team on hand with in-depth knowledge of PAYE and NIC

"Essentially we are offering to take the stress and responsibility away."

And it is a responsibility, with the price of even simple mistakes potentially extremely high.

Alesbury said: "Although people regard this as a basic business function, it can cause real problems if anything goes wrong. The worst case scenario is that there can be HMRC fines, employment tribunals and, of course, unhappy staff."

Clients who have outsourced their payroll are not just looking for reliability and reduced administration and paperwork, but also a team on hand with in-depth knowledge of PAYE and NIC, who can resolve issues arising from holidays or sickness. The HWB team is also adept at coping with anything from HMRC queries, pensions, the Construction Industry Scheme, statutory deductions, year-end returns and a range of other technical issues.

With the launch of our improved HWB Payroll Solutions service we are introducing new systems that are eco-friendly, more efficient and cost effective by means of a texting service for communication and e-payslips. HWB currently processes payrolls on a weekly, monthly and quarterly basis for in excess of 200 clients.

"Some companies are concerned that outsourcing this function means that may lose control but this is not the case. In fact, not only do you have the same control as if you'd employed someone yourself, but you also have top level expertise and a reduction in the cost of processing the payroll."

For more information contact James Alesbury Payroll Manager on 023 8046 1200.

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