12 days to go: IRIS urges small businesses prepare for RTI now with free payroll software
In 12 days time, on 6 April, over 1.4 million SMEs will be legally required to report payroll information in real-time via the Internet. Leading payroll and accountancy software provider IRIS Software Group is responding to this historic change in payroll legislation by providing free payroll software, IRIS RTI Payroll Basics, to every small business or enterprise in the UK with fewer than 10 employees. Although 8,000 businesses have already downloaded the product, IRIS Software says that many small businesses are still unaware of the required change and don’t have the knowledge to operate PAYE in real-time.
Any business that employs anyone will need to submit information about PAYE to HMRC every time a payroll is run and employees are paid.
In an All-Party Parliamentary Taxation Group report last year, it was indicated that 23 per cent of micro business (one to nine employees) did not have payroll software in place. In order to be legally compliant, every one of these businesses will need to start using RTI ready payroll for transmitting an electronic RTI submission to HMRC on or before every pay date.
“We decided from day one that we would offer a free RTI software package for small businesses and enterprises,” says Mark Paraskeva, CEO SME Payroll Division at IRIS Software Group. “Life is hard for many SMEs in the UK and RTI comes at a difficult time, which is why we launched IRIS RTI Payroll Basics ahead of the mandatory regulations. We were delighted that IRIS RTI Payroll Basics fully passed HMRC payroll tests for RTI and was recognised as one of the leading implementations.”
In addition to the software, IRIS has also been running RTI training seminars. To date over 12,500 individuals have already enrolled on these 3-hour courses across the country, which totals more than all other RTI Training providers added together.
RTI will affect over 1.4 million SMEs and is acknowledged as the biggest change in PAYE since it was introduced in 1944. IRIS RTI Payroll Basics can be downloaded for free for any employer with fewer than 10 employees from www.iris.co.uk/rtibasics
