If you would like any further information about LivePay or the service that we provide, please browse our collection of the most frequently asked questions about our system and services.
Payroll is one of the best business processes to outsource since it is regular and predictable needing both specialist knowledge and software to be fully legally compliant. Few businesses would invest in their own vehicle maintenance, since it is easier and more cost effective to outsource to a specialist, your time and effort is better spent on activity that earns a profit.
While many suppliers claim to be outsource payroll providers they often just provide you with software and expect you to “Do It Yourself” at LivePay we do it for you but you have access to our web portals so that you can easily tell us anything that is different for this payroll. All the payroll data is stored securely on our systems but available to authorised people with internet access.
Unlike many service providers we use our own. Central Computer Management Ltd underpins the LivePay service and have been writing payroll software for over 40 years. With a long pedigree in both the large system mainframe world as well as over 15 years of web experience our systems are designed with ease of use and security as top priorities. Our software is HMRC recognised and compliant.
Unlike many service providers we do not need to receive data by email (always a security risk) and nor do we return anything, even payslips, by email. Many systems email payslips to employees, this is inherently insecure even if password protected as the passwords have to be pre-allocated (often birth date) and cannot be changed by the employee. Our web portal is fully secure using the latest encryption protocols and ensures safe password formats and allows employees to change their own password. In addition we will only discuss your payroll with approved contacts within your organisation and have an authorisation process that keeps you in control.
You or an authorised person will have secure, password protected access to the managers portal on LivePay. You will be able to add and remove employees, change basic employee information such as address, name change, bank detail changes etc. In addition you will be able to enter employee hours, change of salary and wage levels, hours worked, overtime and commission payments. But over all of this you have unrestricted access to our support team without an automated phone system getting in the way and with no “on hold” music.
Yes. The system has a number of standard reports, in text, spreadsheet and PDF format for you to download (and print) whenever you want. You do not need to contact us for a report as they are always available. If you would prefer a report in a different layout or format you can use the ad-hoc report writer. If this is going to be a regular report you can add it to run automatically every pay period. Our Support Team are on hand to help and guide you if you cannot find what you are looking for in the reports.
This is dependent on a number of factors including size of payroll, quality of data received and length of wait for information from your current provider. Generally we quote 4-5 weeks all things being equal. Larger payrolls will probably take longer due to the amount of testing involved. We will always run at least one parallel payroll before going “live”.
LivePay costing is simple, dependent on a number of factors including number of employees, complexity of payroll, how data collected etc. We always charge an all-inclusive price per employee. When comparing quotes ensure that you do not just compare our inclusive price against a “payslip price” - sometimes there can be “extras” such as year end processing, BACS processing, pension auto-enrolment - all of these and more are included in our quotation. For accurate costings please contact us.
No, you can have as many people logging in to the portal as you like.
We offer an all inclusive price per payslip which includes processing of new starters, leavers, calculation of student loans, SSP, SMP, holiday pay, deductions from earnings orders, court fines, CSA payments. On-line payslips & P60s, BACS payments, Tax & NI disbursements, RTI submissions, Tax year end processing, On demand management reports, Operation of pension auto-enrolment including preparation of file for upload and Our help desk, staffed by experienced payroll professionals all qualified to CIPP diploma standard.
The only additional charges we have are for uploading pension files, P11Ds and Declaration of Compliance for The Pensions Regulator, as not every customer wants or needs these to be completed by us. Everything you need for payroll processing is included as part of the price.
Our standard contract length is 36 months, other contract lengths are available on request.
We will invoice you monthly and ask that you set up a Direct Debit which we will use to take payment. You will be protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee.
Yes. Department managers can have their own secure login details to allow them to input employee hours, new starters, leavers, bonus payments, etc. But you will still retain overall control. In addition, you can restrict the amount of information your managers can see to maintain confidentiality between departments.
We supply electronic payslips as standard. Employees are provided with the portal address and a temporary password, here they can view payslips and P60s for as long as you continue to have an agreement with us. If the employee would prefer a paper payslip this can be provided but postage, at cost, is chargeable.
Yes, electronic payslips can be used to support loan and mortgage applications.
The payslip shows all of the required information, gross pay, overtime, commission, tax paid, NI paid, student loans, SSP, company sick pay, pension deductions etc.
Yes you can. If you want your company logo on the payslip we can accommodate this, there is a small set-up charge. We can also include messages on payslips for example Merry Christmas, Happy Easter.
We will generate reports every pay period to show what each individual employee is due. You will be able to see not only the net amount due but also how this figure is made up. LivePay provides easy to use reports so that you can be sure every employee receives the correct amount.
You can continue to pay your employees by the same method you do at the moment. This may be by cash, cheque or bank transfer. As standard we offer the BACS facility as an approved BACS bureau, we can also generate the necessary file(s) for you to upload direct to your bank (e.g. For NatWest Bankline) at no extra cost.
There is the option to have a queries section in the employee’s payslip portal. We will be able to answer certain questions (tax code query for example) but not such things as missed overtime, bonus payments etc. These questions would be passed to the client company to answer as we probably don’t have access to that information. All of this information, both question and answer, is securely held with no content sent by email.
We are able to work with all pension providers for the purpose of auto enrolment.
Every pay period we assess every employee to ascertain their status as a jobholder, enrol those eligible and prepare the return for the pension provider.
These are employees who are ‘eligible’ for automatic enrolment who:
These are employees not eligible for automatic enrolment but can choose to opt in to a pension scheme. These include workers who either:
These are employees ‘entitled’ to join a pension scheme. These are workers who: are aged between 16 and 74, are working or ordinarily work in the UK under their contract, and do not have qualifying earnings payable by the employer in the relevant pay reference period.
No, you will never have to pay for updates as you never own or licence the software. Our software is constantly being developed and before we release any updates they are tested thoroughly in-house. You can be assured therefore that you are using the latest version at all times.
All data input to our portal is always maintained on our secure servers and is hosted entirely within the UK. No data is stored on your PC or network.
While nothing can be described as 100% secure, we apply all the security that can be found on other secure systems such as internet banking. Since we develop our own software we do not rely on other suppliers developers.
Apart from our long experience first with mainframes and now with servers and the internet, our systems are regularly inspected by BACS and we have received the highest ratings since our first registration in 1994.
We do not discuss your confidential information with any person who has not been nominated by you as an authorised contact.
We strongly discourage the use of emails for carrying confidential data. LivePay has secure means of accepting and distributing files and communicating with both managers and employees. Many systems email payslips to staff, this cannot be considered secure since emails are often read by others and even passwording is usually very basic e.g. date of birth.
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