Payroll accuracy challenges for small businesses and how payroll software helps

Running a small business is never straightforward. There are sales to chase, customers to please and countless administrative tasks to manage. Payroll is one of the trickiest areas and it’s one that can quickly spiral into errors if you’re not careful. Even a simple mistake can lead to compliance issues, unhappy employees or fines from HMRC. So why do so many small businesses struggle with payroll accuracy and what can you do to fix it?

Common payroll challenges for small businesses

1. Keeping up with legislation
2. Payroll rules change constantly, from tax codes to statutory pay obligations. Without regular updates, it’s easy to miscalculate employee pay or miss deadlines for submissions.
3. Manual processes and human error
4. Many small businesses still rely on spreadsheets or basic bookkeeping software to manage payroll. This can lead to calculation errors, missed deadlines and data discrepancies.
5. Managing multiple payrolls
6. If you have different departments, part-time staff or subcontractors, running multiple payrolls manually becomes a nightmare. It’s easy to lose track of hours, payments and statutory obligations.
7. Time and resource pressures
8. Payroll isn’t just about paying your staff. You also need to generate payslips, submit statutory returns, manage pensions, handle timesheets and expenses and respond to HMRC requests. For small teams, this is a huge time drain.
9. Compliance risks
10. Missing HMRC submissions, incorrectly calculating statutory pay or failing to manage pensions can all put your business at risk of fines or audits.

How payroll software solves these issues

This is where payroll software comes in. The right system doesn’t just automate calculations, it simplifies compliance, saves time and reduces the risk of errors.

MyPAYE, Liquid’s cloud-based payroll solution, is designed with small businesses in mind. Here’s how it tackles the challenges above:

• Legislation handled for you: Automatically updates for statutory pay, pensions and HMRC rules, keeping your payroll compliant without you having to monitor every change.
• Easy, accurate payroll processing: Handles weekly, fortnightly, monthly and even multi-level payrolls, including directors, departments or subcontractors.
• Time-saving features: Payslip production, statutory returns and timesheet/expense integration reduce administrative overhead.
• Auto Enrolment and pensions: Full assessment and submission support ensures your business meets pension obligations.
• Secure cloud access: Staff can view their own payslips or input hours while you retain control over permissions and data.

With over 30 years’ experience helping UK businesses run smoothly, Liquid understands the challenges small businesses face. MyPAYE isn’t just software, it’s backed by a team of experts ready to provide support, guidance and personalised service whenever you need it.

Take the stress out of payroll

Payroll doesn’t have to be a headache. With the right payroll software, you can save time, reduce errors and focus on running your business. Join over 1,200 businesses already using MyPAYE and enjoy a solution that’s simple, compliant and built with small businesses in mind.

Try MyPAYE for free today and see how simple payroll can really be.