10 payroll tips for contractors in the UK

With over 15 years’ experience specialising in recruitment, Sellick Partnership is ideally positioned to place professionals into roles on a temporary, contract and permanent basis across the private, public, not-for-profit and practice sectors. 

Whether you're new to contracting or a seasoned professional, getting your payroll right is essential to ensure timely payments and compliance. 

Here are 10 practical tips to help you stay organised, meet deadlines and avoid common issues while working on assignment. 

Know your payroll deadlines:

When you start your new assignment with us, you will be told when your deadline will be for getting your timesheets approved and submitting your invoices (if applicable). Our approval deadline for timesheets is Tuesday at 10am. Payroll must also receive invoices (if applicable) by Tuesday at 10am. 

Any timesheets approved after this date and time will fall into the following week's payment. 

Familiarise yourself with your timesheet system:

Depending on where you have been placed, you will most likely be using an online timesheet system to enter your timesheets. Our Compliance Team will give you the appropriate login information for whichever system you will be using, but it's worth exploring the system early to understand: 

• How to enter and submit hours.
• How to track approvals.
• How to follow up with your line manager if needed.

Most are quite easy to use, but it would be advisable to take some time – this will come in handy when your payroll deadline is near, as you will be able to check on the status of your timesheet.

Check your invoice:

Unless you are PAYE or operating via an umbrella company on our Preferred Supplier List (PSL), you will need to submit invoices as well as your weekly timesheets. Some important things to check before sending your invoices are: 

• That the week-ending date is correct.
• The hours match your approved timesheet (in decimal format).
• Your invoice totals and calculations are accurate.

If using an umbrella company not on our PSL, make sure you understand their process for submitting hours and ensure they meet our payroll deadlines. 

Registering for VAT?

Please ensure you inform us at the earliest opportunity if you are intending to register for VAT, so we can make the necessary arrangements for adding VAT to your account. Notify your Consultant as early as possible and have the following available: 

• A copy of your VAT certificate. 
• Your VAT number clearly displayed on invoices. 

Without this, VAT payments may be delayed. 

Have the correct compliance documents:

Before we can process any payments, we must ensure we have the correct compliance documents. Your Consultant will supply you with exact details of what we need and the appropriate forms. There is a general guide below. 

PAYE contractors:

• A completed PAYE payment form, which will list your personal bank details and NI number.
• Your latest P45 or completed New Starter Checklist.

Umbrella company: 

• No further documentation needed - we already have it. 

Limited company contractors: 

• Completed Limited Company payment form.
• Certificate of Incorporation. 
• VAT certificate (if applicable). 
• Professional Indemnity Insurance (if required). 
• IR35 CEST Tool (if required). 

Claiming for expenses:

If your place of work is happy for you to claim for expenses then these will need recording on your timesheet so that they can be approved. How these are entered will depend on the timesheet system you will be using so if you know that you will be claiming for expenses, ask your Consultant for instruction on how to enter these. 

If you enter your timesheet onto the Sellick Partnership online Precision Portal, an expenses box will be at the bottom of the timesheet, where you will enter the monetary value of the expenses you wish to claim. If you are paid PAYE through Sellick Partnership, a receipt of these expenses will also need to be sent to payroll@sellickpartnership.co.uk to ensure that these can be paid. 

Please be aware that if you operate your own limited company and are VAT-registered, all of your expenses will be subject to VAT.

Keep copies of key documents:

It is good practice to keep copies of all your paperwork, including: 

• Invoices
• Remittances/payslips 
• VAT submissions

These are useful when completing your year-end accounts, tax returns and can be helpful to have to hand if there's a query regarding payments. 

Check your e-mails:

If there is a problem regarding payroll, our first point of contact will usually be via e-mail, so it is advisable to check your e-mails on a regular basis and ensure that payroll@sellickpartnership.co.uk doesn’t go into your Junk mailbox.

Make use of the Sellick Partnership online Precision portal:

Even if you don’t enter your timesheets on the Sellick Partnership online Precision Portal you can still access helpful information. 

Under the 'Your Data' tab, you can: 

• View payslips/remittances
• Confirm timesheet and invoice numbers
• See tax and NI deductions (if PAYE)

Remittances are usually visible from Thursday afternoon before Friday payments. You can also: 

• Set up SMS or email alerts about your pay. 
• Track timesheet approvals in real time. 

Have a payroll issue? Talk to us! 

Talk to us – we are here to help. The sooner we are made aware of any issue surrounding timesheets or payments, the more we will be able to assist in resolving the problem, so please let us or your Consultant know as soon as possible should a problem arise, so that we can help.

For further information, get in touch.