General settings
Introduction
This specialised software platform designed to streamline practice management for accountants. It offers detailed performance reporting at individual, team, module and client levels. The platform ensures compliance with payroll obligations by simplifying FPS and EPS submissions and includes a PAYE calculator for designing salary structures and clarifying PAYE taxes and NICs, empowering accountants to deliver high-quality services and maintain regulatory compliance.
Client section
In the client section, all clients will be listed as and when the client is created successfully. Also, it has a general setting that provides users with the following utilities -
Practice settings
Email templates
PAYE calculator
Schedule pay-runs
Service requests
Bulk EPS requests
Reports
Notifications
Practice settings
To begin with initiating the changes, edit icon can be utilised, when required.
Formatting
This feature of the practice settings allow practice to display '-' in place of the '0' across all reports. By default, reports shows '0', but if the practice wants to change it to '-' one can do so by ticking the check box.
Gross pay pickup method
This option allows the practice to select either of the option "From employee" or "From previous calculation" for gross pay pickup method. By default, "From previous calculation" has been selected but if the practice wants to change it to "From employee" one can simply do so by ticking the check box
Preferred HMRC pay frequency
This option allows practices to set their preferred HMRC payment frequency as either monthly or 'quarterly. The selected frequency is applied to all clients by default, though it can still be adjusted individually within each company’s PAYE details in the company settings.
Once set, HMRC payments for all clients will follow the chosen frequency. A "Reset to default" option is available to revert any changes and restore the default settings.
Email templates
For improved user convenience and seamless communication, the software provides a range of pre-written (canned) emails—such as FPS submission, EPS submission, Secure Link, and Payroll review—available in the "Email templates" section. These templates are ready to use and can be easily edited as needed.
The email templates are also categorised into two sections: "Staff" and "Client". Templates relevant to each group are displayed under their respective headings, making them simple to locate, customise, and manage.
PAYE calculator
The PAYE calculator within the software is designed primarily to provide clients with an overview of payroll calculations. It offers insights into essential payroll elements such as taxable gross income, PAYE tax, Employee NICs, Employer NICs, Student and Postgraduate loan deductions (if applicable), as well as employee and employer pension contributions where relevant. This tool enhances the understanding of payroll processes by offering a basic overview.
Observe
The ‘Net to gross’ button can be used to decide an employee’s take-home salary, which will eventually calculate the employee’s gross salary.
Additionally, practice can download the generated data in PDF or Excel formats. This feature enables convenient access and utilisation of payroll information tailored to practice preferences.
Schedule pay-runs
The "Schedule Payrun" tab includes 'From' and 'To' date filters, enabling practices to view all ongoing auto payrun schedules for clients within a selected date range. This view displays key details such as pay dates, submission times, and the number of employees. In addition, practices can monitor the scheduler status, including how many client payruns have been completed, whether any submissions have errors and whether FPS has been successfully sent to HMRC.
The schedule payrun function allows practices to bulk transfer all ongoing auto payrun schedules from the previous practice to the software in a single step. To complete the transfer, click the Import button and upload a template populated with employee data for multiple clients. Once the import is successful, all auto payrun schedules will be transferred to the software.
Service requests
If a practice uses FreeAgent for bookkeeping, this service enables the practice to manage payroll-related bookkeeping journals by generating and saving them in CSV format. The file can be downloaded in a FreeAgent-supported format and uploaded directly to the FreeAgent platform. Using this CSV, all payroll bookkeeping journals for each company are uploaded into their respective FreeAgent accounts.
There are two types of FreeAgent reports available: FreeAgent V1 and FreeAgent V2 :
FreeAgent V1 displays data on a company-wise basis in a detailed format.
FreeAgent V2 displays one row for the employment allowance per company.
Nest import: This feature enables practices to bulk import Nest clients into the software using the CSV file provided by Nest pensions. Practices can download a blank template, complete it with the required details, and upload it to the system. To begin, click "Add service", select "Nest import", download the template and enter the necessary information. Once uploaded, all Nest clients and their corresponding unique identification numbers will be successfully imported into the system.
Bulk EPS requests
This feature is used when active companies have no employees or no employees paid during a specific period and are therefore required to submit a “No payment period” EPS for that timeframe. It enables practices to process “No payment period” EPS submissions in bulk.
To begin, click "Add bulk EPS", select the relevant no-payment period, and click "Save" to generate the report. The system then fetches the applicable clients and allows practices to download and review the report. Once verified, use the action button to start the bulk EPS service, and the “No payment period” EPS will be submitted for all selected clients.
Subscribe reports
The Subscribe "Report" tab within Practice settings displays the Master payrun report for the selected period. This centralised payroll report provides a comprehensive overview of all payroll runs during that timeframe and serves as a control document for reviewing, approving and auditing payroll activity. It helps ensure that all payruns are completed accurately and on time.
To access this report, click the "Add" button and select the period and year for which you want to generate master payrun report. This would provide the practices with a download of master data, which includes all the companies’ payroll data in a CSV file. Additionally, once the master payrun report is generated, it is automatically sent to the user via email.
Notifications
This tab serves as a central hub for practices to view HMRC notifications related to employee tax codes, tax regimes, and Student or Postgraduate loan changes. To receive notifications, agent credentials must be configured in Practice settings and the agent must be registered for the relevant clients.
Practices can retrieve employee notifications for all clients within a selected date range in a single action by clicking "Refresh". Action buttons such as "Approve" and "Mark as actioned" are also available. Selecting "Approved" applies the changes from the notifications directly to the employee records. If changes have already been made manually, practices can use "Mark as actioned" to confirm completion.
Observe
If the practices wish to move from any sub-module of payroll to the general settings, they can do so by clicking on the payroll link provided at the top left side. Alternatively, click on the 'Clients tab' available on the top left side of the bar.
Hope this is helpful.
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