What is a payroll checklist?

Our monthly payroll checklist outlines all the processes you must undertake across the UK payroll lifecycle. This includes administering new starters and leavers, managing leave, running payroll, pensions, benefits, and more. A comprehensive payroll checklist will not only ensure that your staff are effectively managed in terms of pay, leave, pensions, and benefits but also that you meet UK regulatory compliance requirements.

Why is a payroll checklist important?

When you’re running payroll, it can be easy to forget to go through certain steps or procedures. But the consequence of this is that payroll compliance falls by the wayside leaving you open to fine-attracting errors and pay discrepancies. A payroll implementation checklist not only keeps you on track but will ensure you perform the correct procedures every month to keep you compliant.

How do I prepare for payroll in the UK?

If you’ve not done so yet, you’ll want to register as an employer with HMRC. Then, you’ll need to decide on pay dates and calculate what deductions need to be made from salaries. In addition to sending out payslips, you’ll need to make RTI submissions to HMRC (payroll software can help automate this). A monthly payroll checklist can help you remember to do all of this.

What information is needed to process payroll in the UK?

In order to process payroll in the UK, you’ll need information about your starters and leavers, any pay changes for the month (such as salary changes or bonus payments) and any other variances from the previous month. PayFit, incidentally, includes built-in variance reporting as standard.

2024 Payroll Checklist

A monthly payroll checklist for UK pay runs
Reminders to manage starters, leavers, and other variables
A payroll implementation checklist focused on compliance

Format

PDF

Writer

The PayFit team

A payroll checklist that guides the UK payroll process for you

Running payroll in the UK might be more straightforward than in other countries, but there are still many moving parts. This monthly payroll checklist can help you stay on track with all of your tasks and even help you put together your own template tailored to your organisation's needs.

Never miss a payroll checklist beat

Check off items like processing starters and leavers, updating employee information, through to actually running payroll, paying your employees and those all-important time-sensitive HMRC obligations. Our monthly payroll checklist is a comprehensive to-do list designed to help each payroll run pass off smoothly and compliantly.

Looking to automate your monthly payroll checklist items?

Payroll can be a needlessly manual and time consuming process, and get in the way of doing more strategic work. But if you fancy automating many of those fiddly monthly payroll processes to free up time for those impactful HR initiatives, then there is another way. You’ll find details of how to get in touch with us at the bottom of the payroll checklist so you can learn about how PayFit helps teams win back their time each month.

Download our payroll checklist to:

Learn what tasks are involved in monthly payroll

Ensure everyone on your team follows the same process

Meet all UK regulatory & compliance requirements

FAQs

What is a payroll checklist?: Our monthly payroll checklist outlines all the processes you must undertake across the UK payroll lifecycle.

This include administering new starters and leavers, managing leave, running payroll, pensions, benefits, and more. A comprehensive payroll checklist will not only ensure that your staff are effectively managed in terms of pay, leave, pensions, and benefits but also that you meet UK regulatory compliance requirements.

Why is a payroll checklist important?: When you’re running payroll, it can be easy to forget to go through certain steps or procedures. But the consequence of this is that payroll compliance falls by the wayside leaving you open to fine-attracting errors and pay discrepancies. A payroll implementation checklist not only keeps you on track but will ensure you perform the correct procedures every month to keep you compliant.

How do I prepare for payroll in the UK?: If you’ve not done so yet, you’ll want to register as an employer with HMRC. Then, you’ll need to decide on pay dates and calculate what deductions need to be made from salaries. In addition to sending out payslips, you’ll need to make RTI submissions to HMRC (payroll software can help automate this). A monthly payroll checklist can help you remember to do all of this.

What information is needed to process payroll in the UK?: In order to process payroll in the UK, you’ll need information about your starters and leavers, any pay changes for the month (such as salary changes or bonus payments) and any other
variances from the previous month. PayFit, incidentally, includes built-in variance reporting as standard.