Outsourced payroll means handing the whole job to a specialist who runs it for you. Calculations, payslips, RTI submissions to HMRC, pension contributions, starters and leavers, the lot. You send us the hours and any changes. We do everything else and make sure your people are paid the right amount, on the right day, every time.
Most business owners don’t outsource payroll because the maths is hard. They do it because the rules never sit still. Statutory pay rates change, auto enrolment thresholds shift, RTI deadlines don’t move for anyone, and one late or wrong submission can mean an HMRC penalty plus a very awkward conversation with the person whose wages were short. Payroll is one of those jobs that has to be right 100% of the time, which makes it a bad use of a Tuesday afternoon you don’t have.
We run payroll for businesses across the UK, from one-person limited companies to teams of a few hundred. Some have never run payroll in-house. Others are switching because their last provider treated them like a ticket number. Either way the promise is the same. A named, qualified person who knows your account, picks up the phone, and gets it right.
What outsourced payroll actually covers
The phrase gets used loosely, so here’s what a fully managed service from us includes.
Every pay run, we calculate gross to net for each employee. That covers PAYE tax, National Insurance, student loan deductions, pension contributions, and any statutory payments like sick pay, maternity, paternity or holiday pay. We produce payslips and send them out, then file your Full Payment Submission to HMRC on or before payday, which is what Real Time Information demands.
Around that core sit the jobs people forget about until they bite. Starters and leavers and their P45s. The Employer Payment Summary when you’re reclaiming statutory payments. Year end, P60s, and the P11D work if you payroll benefits in kind. Auto enrolment assessment every single pay period, not just once, because an employee can trigger re-enrolment by crossing the earnings threshold one month. We handle the pension file uploads to providers like Nest, The People’s Pension or Smart Pension too.
If you run weekly and monthly payrolls side by side, or a director-only payroll alongside a larger team, that’s normal for us. We process weekly, fortnightly, four-weekly and monthly, in any combination.
How it works when you move to us
Switching sounds like the scary part. It isn’t, as long as the timing is handled properly, and handling it is our job not yours.
We take a copy of your most recent payroll, your employee records, your pension scheme details and your HMRC PAYE references. We reconcile the year-to-date figures so nothing resets to zero mid-year, which is the single most common mess we see when businesses move provider at the wrong point. Then we run a parallel check on the first pay period so you can see our numbers match before anything goes live. Once you’re happy, we take it from there.
You get a fixed cut-off each period for sending changes, a named contact who actually answers, and payslips delivered however suits you. Most clients send their changes by email or a shared sheet and never think about it again. That’s the point. If you’re coming from another provider, our switching payroll providers guide walks through the handover in more detail.
What outsourced payroll costs
Honest answer first. UK outsourced payroll typically runs between £2 and £15 per employee per month, depending on the provider and how much they take off your plate (Xero, April 2026). Some charge a base fee plus a per-payslip rate. Others bundle it. The cheap end is usually self-service software with a payroll label on it. The expensive end is a national bureau where you’re a number.
We price per payslip with a small standing charge, no long tie-in, and no surprise fees for the things that should be included, like year end or auto enrolment. A five-person monthly payroll costs less than most owners expect, and a good deal less than the hours you’d spend doing it yourself and checking it twice. For an exact figure based on your headcount and pay frequency, see our pricing page or ask for a quote.
One thing worth saying. The real cost of getting payroll wrong isn’t the software. It’s the £100-per-month-per-50-employees late filing penalty from HMRC, the corrections, and the trust you lose with staff when their pay is wrong. Outsourcing to someone qualified is cheap insurance against all three.
Is it worth outsourcing payroll?
For most small and medium businesses, yes, and the tipping point comes sooner than people think.
Running payroll in-house only makes sense if you have the time, the software, and someone who genuinely understands PAYE, RTI, statutory payments and pension regulations well enough to stay current as they change. That’s a real skill set. The moment you’re spending evenings on it, or you’ve had a near miss with a deadline, or you’re growing past the point where one spreadsheet copes, the sums favour outsourcing.
The benefit isn’t only the time back. It’s that a specialist catches the things you’d miss. The employee who should have been auto-enrolled. The salary sacrifice that changes the pension calculation. The leaver whose final pay needs holiday accrual worked out properly. We do this all day, so we see those before they become a problem rather than after.
There’s a flip side worth being straight about. Outsourcing means giving up direct control of the timetable, so you have to hit the agreed cut-off for sending changes. If your business runs on last-minute, every-pay-run chaos, you’ll need to tighten that up. Most owners find the discipline a relief, not a cost.
Compliance is the whole point
This is where outsourcing earns its keep, and where the cheap options quietly fall short.
Every pay run we file your FPS under Real Time Information on or before the day you pay people. We assess every employee for auto enrolment each period and manage opt-ins, opt-outs and the three-yearly re-enrolment duty that catches so many employers out. We apply the current statutory rates for sick, maternity, paternity, adoption and holiday pay, and we keep on top of changes like the Employment Rights Act reforms to statutory sick pay coming through. If you use subcontractors, we also handle CIS payroll and the monthly CIS returns.
Get RTI wrong and HMRC penalties start at £100 a month and climb with headcount. Get auto enrolment wrong and The Pensions Regulator can issue fixed and escalating fines. Neither is worth risking to save a few pounds a month on a tool that leaves the compliance on you.
Who we work with
We work with employers right across the UK, not a postcode list. Limited companies running director-only payroll. Owner-managed businesses with a handful of staff. Care providers, agricultural employers, construction firms with CIS obligations, hospitality, professional services, charities. Payroll is payroll wherever you are, and ours runs remotely with the same named contact whether you’re in Hull or Hampshire.
Where we’re different from the national bureaus is simple. You get a person, not a portal and a queue. Sarah and the team learn your business, your quirks, the seasonal staff who come back every summer, the director who takes a bonus in March. That context is what stops mistakes, and it’s the first thing you lose when payroll gets run by a call centre.
Why Purely Payroll
Payroll is run by Sarah Meek, who holds the CIPP Diploma in Payroll Management and is a qualifications tutor for the CIPP, which means she trains other payroll professionals. We’re licensed and regulated through the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers under Practice Licence 17284, so the work is covered, insured and held to a professional standard. Our Google reviews sit at a full five stars.
That mix matters. You’re not handing your wages to a faceless platform or a junior working off a script. You’re handing it to a qualified specialist who teaches this for a living and answers the phone when you call. For a fuller picture of the practice and Sarah’s background, see our about page, or read what clients say on our testimonials page.
If you want payroll off your desk and done properly, get in touch for a quote. Tell us your headcount and how often you pay, and we’ll come back with a fixed monthly price and a start date.
Frequently asked questions
What are outsourced payroll services?
Outsourced payroll services are when a specialist third party runs your payroll for you. They calculate pay and deductions, produce payslips, file submissions to HMRC under RTI, manage pension auto enrolment, and handle starters, leavers and year end. You provide the hours and any changes, and they handle the rest.
How much do outsourced payroll services cost in the UK?
UK outsourced payroll usually costs between £2 and £15 per employee per month, depending on the provider and service level. Most providers charge a small base fee plus a per-payslip rate. The exact figure depends on your headcount, how often you run payroll, and whether things like auto enrolment and year end are included, which with us they always are.
Is it worth outsourcing payroll?
For most small and medium businesses, yes. Outsourcing removes the risk of HMRC penalties, frees up the hours payroll eats every period, and gives you access to a qualified specialist who keeps up with changing rules. It tends to make sense as soon as payroll starts costing you evenings or you’ve had a near miss with a deadline.
Will I lose control of my payroll if I outsource it?
No. You approve every pay run and keep full visibility of the figures. What you hand over is the processing and the compliance, not the decisions. The one thing you commit to is sending your changes by an agreed cut-off each period so the run can be done on time.
Can you take over payroll part way through the tax year?
Yes. We reconcile your year-to-date figures so nothing resets, run a parallel check on the first period to prove the numbers match, and only go live once you’re happy. Moving mid-year is routine when it’s handled properly.
Do you handle auto enrolment and workplace pensions?
Yes. We assess every employee for auto enrolment each pay period, manage opt-ins and opt-outs, handle the three-yearly re-enrolment duty, and upload contribution files to providers like Nest, The People’s Pension and Smart Pension.
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