Services · Accounting
Payroll accounting
Payroll processed and checked each period, posted to the ledger and reconciled, with salary information seen only by the people who need to see it.
Payroll that agrees with the ledger
Employees check their own payslips, so payroll errors are noticed quickly. Errors in payroll accounting are not. Each run leaves balances in the ledger that are easy to overlook: tax withheld but not yet paid over, employer and employee contributions, net pay still due to staff, and accruals for holiday pay and bonuses. A payroll can be paid correctly and still leave the accounts wrong.
We handle both sides. We process payroll in your payroll software, or work alongside your payroll provider and check what they produce, then account for every run: journals posted, liabilities reconciled and each figure traced from the payroll report to the bank.
The service suits employers without a payroll specialist of their own, and businesses whose provider runs the payroll but whose ledger never quite agrees with it.
What each payroll period covers
From the first pay change of the period to the last reconciling item.
Payroll processing
Hours, overtime, salary changes, bonuses, commissions and reimbursements collected by an agreed cut-off, then processed in your payroll software, or sent to your provider and checked when the draft returns.
Payslips
A payslip for every employee showing gross pay, each deduction and net pay, released through your payroll system or provider.
Statutory deductions and filings
Income tax, social security and the other deductions your jurisdiction requires, calculated under current rules, with periodic returns and payments prepared to the filing calendar.
Starters and leavers
New employees set up with the tax and bank details the payroll needs; leavers paid their final amounts and given the documents they are entitled to.
Year-end payroll forms
Forms W-2 for each employee and the Form W-3 transmittal, with the year-end state filings your payroll provider requires, prepared from reconciled records.
Payroll journals
Each run posted to the ledger as a summary journal by department or cost centre, so the accounts show the full cost of employment without exposing individual pay.
Five reconciliations each period
So that the payroll, the ledger and the bank tell the same story.
| Reconciliation | What it proves |
|---|---|
| Gross to net | Gross pay, less every deduction, equals net pay for each employee and for the payroll in total. |
| Period to period | Changes in headcount, gross pay and deductions since the last run are explained by starters, leavers and approved changes. |
| Liability accounts | Amounts withheld from pay and employer contributions agree to the returns filed, and clear once they are paid. |
| Net pay to bank | Net pay in the payroll report agrees to the amount that left your bank. |
| Payroll to ledger | Payroll costs in the ledger agree to the payroll reports, for the period and the year to date. |
Keeping salary data private
Pay is personal, so access to it is restricted at every stage.
A written confidentiality agreement covers every engagement, and access to your files is limited to the partner and team assigned to you. Within that team, payroll reports, payslips and employee records are restricted further, to the people who process and review your payroll.
Payroll files travel through our encrypted client portal, not as email attachments. Posting payroll as summary journals keeps individual pay out of the general ledger, which more of your own staff may be able to see. You tell us who in your business may receive payroll reports, and we keep to that list.
A payroll period, step by step
The same four stages whether you pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Changes by cut-off
Starters, leavers, hours and pay changes reach us on a standard change form, through the portal, by the agreed date.
Draft and check
We process the draft and compare it with the previous period, explaining every material movement.
Your approval
You approve the payroll summary, and your signatories release net pay from your bank.
Post and reconcile
Journals are posted, liabilities reconciled and statutory returns prepared for their deadlines.
Questions
Do we have to change payroll software or provider?
No. We work in the payroll software you already use, or alongside your current provider, checking their output and accounting for it in your ledger.
Can you handle employees in several states?
Yes. State income tax withholding, unemployment insurance and local payroll taxes differ from one state to the next, so we confirm each state's requirements during the initial review. The proposal records which states are included, which filings we prepare and which your payroll provider submits.
Can you take over a payroll that has gone wrong?
Yes. We first reconcile past payroll records to the ledger and to the amounts paid to the tax and social security authorities, then propose corrections for your approval before the next run. Where earlier filings need amending, we set out what is required and by when. See account reconciliations.
Speak with a partner
Every enquiry is read by a partner and answered within one business day. Meetings are held at our offices, at yours, or by video.