The time to get ready for Real Time Information is NOW

RTI (Real Time Information) represents the biggest change to payroll since the introduction of Pay As You Earn (PAYE) in 1944. It affects any business operating a PAYE scheme for its employees or directors.

RTI represents a change for employers from notifying HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) about the deductions and payments they’ve made through a year-end return. Instead, employers will send electronic submissions to HMRC each time they pay an employee. Rather than submit a P35 and P14s each year in April or May, employers will tell HMRC about employee payments either before they are made or as they are paid.

So what can you do to get ready for RTI?

Don’t panic!

Start preparing your business now. The majority of businesses will start reporting under RTI from April 2013. We recommend that the necessary changes to payroll processes and procedures , including introducing new payroll software if you don’t use it already, are made as soon as possible.

Check if RTI fits into your existing payroll procedures

Find out how easy it will be to fit RTI into your current payroll solution. This is where an RTI ready payroll system, like Moneysoft or Qtac, will make things really easy.

Check that your current employee details are accurate

Your employee details must agree to HMRC’s own records. This is really important, because information will be submitted much more frequently. Many software packages will include the ability to check your data against HMRC’s at the push of a button.

Make sure you can submit data electronically

Under RTI, payroll data must be sent to HMRC electronically. It will no longer be possible for businesses to manually enter data onto the HMRC website. RTI ready payroll software will be able to send your information directly to HMRC.

Align your data

When you use RTI for the first time, HMRC will align their records of your employees with your own payroll records. This will make sure that data you submit in future is correctly recorded by HMRC. RTI ready payroll software will be able to guide you through this process, and identify and fix any issues quickly and easily.

If you’re worried by RTI and need help making sure your business is ready for its introduction in April, then get in touch today.