Our blogs

Salary sacrifice v pay rise - mobile phone

Mobile phone benefit vs pay rise – which delivers more value?

Employer National Insurance costs are going up. Personal tax thresholds have been frozen for years. If you’re an employer trying to figure out how to reward your team without breaking the bank, you’re not alone. When considering employee remuneration, employers...

National Minimum Wage excessive hours analysis

The annual excessive hours analysis for National Minimum Wage – do you really need one?

If you’ve got salaried employees on your payroll, you’ve probably wondered whether you’re legally required to carry out an annual excessive hours analysis for National Minimum Wage compliance. Maybe not surprisingly, the answer isn’t straightforward. It depends on how your...

The future of the gig economy

The gig economy – what’s changing in 2026 and beyond

The gig economy has transformed how millions of people work in the UK, but significant changes are coming that will reshape this landscape. With the Employment Rights Bill reaching Royal Assent in Deccember 2025 and new regulations from the Autumn...

In-House vs Outsourced Payroll

Outsourced Payroll vs In-House

Choosing whether to outsource your payroll or manage it internally might be a common business decision, but it’s not one that should be taken lightly. This comprehensive blog examines both options through the lens of cost, compliance risk, and scalability...

Universal Credit and Payroll

Understanding Universal Credit and payroll

As payroll professionals, we occasionally receive queries from clients about discrepancies between the figures we’ve submitted via FPS (Full Payment Submission) and the amounts HMRC has forwarded to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). These discrepancies can directly impact...

The benefits of Payroll Giving

Payroll giving – the tax-efficient way to support causes you care about

The payroll sector is full of complexity, and that’s putting it mildly. But here’s something that doesn’t have to be complicated – supporting charities through your workplace. Payroll giving is one of those rare things that actually works exactly as...

Payroll outsourcing for accountants

Why accountancy practices are partnering with payroll providers (and why you should too)

As an accountancy practice, your clients expect you to handle their payroll. It’s part of the service, part of being their trusted adviser. But payroll has become a beast that’s quietly eating away at your practice’s profitability and your team’s...

How a tronc can save your hospitality business thousands in tax

How tronc schemes can offset rising wage costs in hospitality

The numbers for the hospitality sector are stacking up, and not in a good way. From April 2026, the National Living Wage is jumping to £12.71 an hour. That’s a 4.1% increase for workers aged 21 and over, with even...

The myths about switching payroll providers (and why they’re keeping you stuck)

There’s a good chance you’ve considered switching payroll providers at some point. Maybe your current service is declining, mistakes are happening more often, or perhaps you’ve outgrown what they can offer. But then the doubts creep in, and suddenly staying...

Ascend Customer Satisfaction Survey

Why we built Ascend Payroll (and what our first-year survey results tell us)

When we launched Ascend Payroll in November 2024, we had a simple yet clear vision – to create a premium managed payroll service that actually works the way businesses need it to work. Not just technically compliant. Not just efficient....

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