This article was prepared in conjunction with Steven Tucker, a payroll expert from thepayrollsite.co.uk. They offer a fantastic online payroll service for £5.75 per month.

Whether you’re employer or employee, payroll can, at times, seem like a dark art. Indeed the most frequent questions I receive are always prompted by the pay packet being a little lighter than expected. Here’s a list of 10 things you need to know about payroll.

• If you pay anyone over £109/wk (£473/m) OR this is their second job, you must report Real Time Information to HMRC. This follows rules which came into force in April 2013. If one employee falls within RTI, they all do; even the paperboy!
• Payroll details must be reported each time you pay the staff, at or before the point you pay them
• If a new employee starts and doesn't (yet) have a P45, you should work out their tax code using a starter checklist (or equivalent)
• You must issue payslips to your staff, detailing any deductions made (they can be sent by email)
• In addition to the gross pay, employer's National Insurance is an extra cost to the employer. Factor in an extra 10% if you’re thinking of employing someone
• Statutory Sick Pay cannot be claimed back unless it exceeds 13% of your monthly NI bill, and then you can only claim the excess
• If you qualify for Small Employers' Relief, Statutory Maternity Pay (and other parental pay) can be claimed back in full with an extra 3% compensation
• For PAYE purposes, tax month 1 begins on 6th April and ends on 5th May
• Each tax month begins on the 6th and ends on the 5th, with month 12 ending on 5th April
• As a normal year includes 365 days, which is 52 weeks and 1 day, a weekly pay date that falls on the last day of the tax year is treated as week 53
• A Real Time Information return contains 90 data items about each employee, of which 11 are mandatory. They should be compiled automatically by your payroll software (or by that person constantly exasperated and pulling their hair out in the back office)

This article was prepared in conjunction with Steven Tucker, a payroll expert from thepayrollsite.co.uk. They offer a fantastic online payroll service for £5.75 per month.