New Payroll Software

Paycircle

At PKF Francis Clark Payroll, we are continually looking to improve our service to our clients and from 2022, we are upgrading our payroll software to a new automated cloud-based provider – Paycircle.

What does this mean for our Payroll Clients?

Paycircle is accessed via the web; employers and employees will have their own unique online portal to access the information they need, when and where they need it.

Our Clients will upload their data monthly onto the Paycircle portal. We will then collect and process the data from the Paycircle portal, sending them a report to review and approve, after which, we’ll send their employees their payslips on an agreed date.

Why are we Updating our Payroll Software?

Paycircle is modern, simple and secure.

Payroll in the cloud empowers teams, streamlines payroll processes, improves and speeds up communications and removes unnecessary admin.

Paycircle has a great user experience with an easy-to-use portal that’s accessible via your phone, tablet, laptop or desktop.

There are lots of advantages to managing payroll in the cloud:

The Benefits of Cloud Payroll

Easy Access

The Paycircle Cloud application is fast; it’s easily accessible over any Wi-Fi or 4G connection.

Security you can Trust

Paycircle is fully encrypted and secure because everything is managed online via secure portals.

Working collaboratively on a cloud-based platform has many data security benefits as modern cloud platforms come with in-built security. With everything managed online via secure portals, companies are no longer exposed to the risks that are inherent with uploading and downloading data.

User Friendly

Our payroll portal is easy to use and easy to navigate. You can access your portal via your phone, tablet, laptop or desktop anytime and from any location where there is a Wi-Fi or 4G connection.

Step-by-step Process

The new cloud portal has a built-in payroll process management guide that tracks and manages processing deadlines from the data gathering stage, all the way through to running payroll and paying your team.

Email Reminders

Get gentle nudges and reminders for your payroll processing deadlines. Timely email reminders help everyone stay on track, which helps to reduce a last-minute rush.

Online access to reports

It’s easy to view all of your payroll reports online, there’s no need to download them. Unless you want to, of course and then that’s easy too!

Payroll Data Archive

Paycircle’s cloud platform includes a full audit trail of every action and activity related to each payroll processed, which gets stored with every completed payroll. This keeps everything in one place for easy access to saved information, if needed later

Employee Portal

Every employee gets their own portal, which is unique to them and goes with them wherever they go, even if they leave your company. Employees can access their portal from any device, 24/7 x 365 days a year and it stores all of their payslip documents and other payroll and pension related documents. There’s also an online payslip and handy stats to provide top level pay information at a glance.

“I love how easy it is to view my payslip on my mobile and how much more information it gives me”

Paycircle User

Employee FAQs

The employee portal also comes complete with answers to questions around pay changes and tax code changes along with tips and advice when contacting HMRC. This helps people to understand their pay and, in turn, reduces the queries from them.

The New Payroll Process

Your new cloud portal is your company’s own unique place to send and receive all of your sensitive payroll data. The steps in the below link show you four simplified steps of the payroll process and how you can use your portal during each step.

The Payroll Process is explained here.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. When will the software changes happen?

The changes to the new Paycircle software will start from July 2022. We’ll ask our clients to migrate in phases and we’ll let them know in advance via email when they will be migrated. We’ll send clients a guide on what they need to do before they migrate, how to navigate the migration process and how to log on.

2. What are the benefits of using the Paycircle platform?

There are many benefits of using the Paycircle platform, some of which include:

Accessibility – Paycircle is a cloud application, which means that it is easily accessible over wi-fi or 4G
Security of data – everything can be managed online via secure portals
User-friendly interface – the platform is easy to navigate and can be accessed via phone, tablet, laptop or desktop
Messaging area – the platform has a messaging centre which allows you to leave messages and instructions for your bureau. You can also upload files and images
Online access to reports which can also be downloaded in a variety of formats
Email reminders
Payroll data archive – each action is recorded and stored with the relevant payroll so you get an audit trail of all activity
Employee portal – the employees can access it 24/7, 365 days a year, and they get to keep access to it forever, even if they leave your employment
Employee FAQs – there are lots of FAQs in the portal with hints and tips of what to do when contacting HMRC or how to understand one’s pay information, which hopefully can help decrease the amount of queries you have from your employees

3. How do I use the Paycircle Portal?

Here’s a guided tour of your new payroll portal, with explanations and videos, so that you can start to get acquainted with your new environment. You can familiarise yourself with your portal’s features and also with your employee’s portal experience too

For a complete guide to using PayCircle, please click here.

4. What are the Benefits for Employees?

With the move to Paycircle software, your employees now have their own secure pay portal that is unique to them and it stays active even if they leave your company – it’s theirs forever.

They can access their payslips and all other pay related documents such as P60s and P45s online and if they have an active workplace pension, they can access their pension information online too. Their new pay portal is easy to use and has been designed to help them understand their pay and answer any questions that they may have about their pay and tax.

Benefits of the new pay portal:

View your payslips online in the cloud, any time and from any device.
Download your payslips In a format accepted for mortgage applications and loan agreements.
Store all of your pay documents securely – for as long as you want.
Get email notifications when you have new documents to view.
Get more clarity around your pay and tax calculations with online tips and tools.

Help and support at the touch of a button

Intuitive and interactive help and support guides are available directly inside the app. The pay portal has a packed library of articles, videos and tutorials always just one click away. Look out for the support icon on every page.

Employees can take a look at the following videos to get to know their portals:

A tour of your pay portal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a5FGvuTT28

Guide to employee registration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Zw4OBptLc

Resetting forgotten passwords

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsOu35es_K0

5. Where can I get support?

Your Payroll Administrator is here to help with your transition to Paycircle and answer questions.

Take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions and keep checking this web page for updates.

6. How are passwords issued to users?

Users select their own passwords. This is done when they register with the portal for the first time.

7. How are accounts activated and deactivated?

The employee’s account allows them access to the employee portal and it is theirs to keep, even if they leave your employment. There is no need to deactivate any accounts.

8. Is Paycircle GDPR compliant?

Yes, it is. Paycircle is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under the Data Protection Act. Any personal data added on the system falls within the scope of GDPR and is governed by the Data Protection Act. More information can be found on Paycircle’s website under the FAQs section: FAQs – Paycircle

9. Where is the data stored?

All data is stored within the European Economic Area. Paycircle’s application servers are located in South UK and the Netherlands. It’s a similar story with respect to the storage of backups which is additionally geo-replicated to Ireland.

10. Will I get a better price given the new software streamlines work?

Paycircle is an investment on our part to maintain our current competitive pricing. We are facing cost pressures and clients could be facing price increases if we weren’t making this investment.

11. I cannot get into Paycircle to check the payroll – what is the problem?

If you raised a query regarding the payroll/reports, this will assign the payroll back to the bureau and you will not be able to see anything until the bureau has finished their processing and sends the payroll back to you to approve. You will be notified when the payroll has been assigned back to you.

12. What report options are there available to me?

Paycircle offers a wide range of reports which can be viewed inside the platform, or exported in the following formats: CSV, PDF or XML. You can check which reports are available to you in draft (pre-approval of the payroll) by going to the payroll area, and scrolling down to the reports section at the bottom – please see this 30 second video if you’re not sure how to do this: Accessing, viewing and downloading draft reports.

You can access your final reports once you receive an email confirmation from your bureau that the payroll has been run and they are ready – the confirmation email will have a link for quick access. Alternatively, you can just log into the Paycircle platform and go to the relevant payroll to view the final reports. Here is a link to a short video how to do this: Accessing, viewing and downloading final reports.

If you don’t know how to find the reports you need, please contact your payroll administrator for help.

13. How can my employee use the employee portal?

They simply need to click on the ‘Let’s go’ button in the email they will have received from Paycircle, confirm their date of birth to authenticate it is them, and choose a password to register. They can then log in and start using the portal.

14. What can my employees expect from the employee portal?

The employee portal is an easy-to-use platform, which employees can keep access to forever, even if they change their employment. It allows them to access a variety of information: there is a dashboard with a quick overview of pay and pensions information, ability to view, download and print payslips, ability to view payments, tax code changes and pension contributions.

There is also a lot of information on payroll, such as what is a tax code, why tax codes change and what to do if you think your tax code is incorrect, what is a P45, how to opt out of pension and much more.

You can find out more in this Employee Education Pack.

What do our clients say?

“The Payroll Team at Francis Clark have offered unwavering support for our business throughout lockdown and beyond. They have remained on hand, to answer queries, process payroll and maintain business as usual whilst they have had to rapidly learn new and constantly changing regulations for the Covid-19 government schemes.”

The Bowgie Inn

“I was recommended to FC Payroll Solutions by our Independent Financial Advisor at a time when I was struggling to assimilate yet another change introduced by HMRC. After an initial interview I was confident that FC Payroll Solutions would provide a payroll service for us in a professional and courteous way, and that has proved to be the case. I would unhesitatingly recommend them to others.”

All Saints Church

“Your payroll staff are always available at the end of a phone or by email; nothing is too much trouble and the accuracy and professionalism is superb. In the time you have been looking after us we have built an excellent relationship between ourselves and your payroll department. We truly do not know how we managed before asking you to take on our seven payrolls and wish we had done it years ago.”

Yacht Havens Ltd

“The Charity has outsourced its payroll to FC Payroll Solutions for a number of years now. We have always found FC Payroll Solutions to be responsive to our needs and undertake our monthly payroll promptly and efficiently. We would gladly recommend FC Payroll Solutions to others who wish to outsource their payroll.”

Families for Children

“We have been relieved of the burden of ever-increasing compliance with HMRC’s requirements for a very modest cost.”

Eventide Homes

“The team consistently deliver good customer service by answering both simple and complex queries in a timely manner, being clear and concise to non-payroll people! We would recommend their services as they provide the reassurance that our employees will have their pay processed correctly, compliantly and meeting all the necessary HMRC regulations. FC Payroll ultimately deliver on what they promise, making it a pleasure to work with them.”

BOFA International Limited

“FC Payroll Solutions have provided an excellent and seamless end-to-end service for Ben Ainslie Racing Limited since we started the company. Outsourcing this critical function is always done with a certain amount of trepidation but their professionalism and capability, including answering queries and managing last minute change requests, has been exemplary.”

Ben Ainslie Racing Limited

“I would recommend FC Payroll Solutions to any new or existing business, as they provide a very high and professional quality service, and are always available if you require assistance and advice. FC Payroll Solutions have been very helpful by answering my numerous questions. Fast service, really easy to work with, providing excellent management of payroll, tax and any NI issues.”

The Haven Café

Talk to the experts

Get in touch by calling 0330 134 4872, or you can fill in one of our online forms and one of our experts will be in touch.