Advice on setting up PAYE using SAGE PAYE but...

[Michael_]

Yes, well, of course there's a saga behind this but I don't suppose anyone wants to hear it. Anyhow, I've been in the software business as a sole trader for years. Earlier this year my assistant quit suddenly, at the end of Feb. and what with one thing and another I hired a new person, but haven't yet got round to setting up a proper payroll. I signed up with Sage because it was supposed to be easy, but I'm struggling. I have an accountant, but I find them unapproachable and expensive. My new employee started in early March. Advice please. Not to much scolding please, well maybe some. Alright thanks in advance. Michael_

 

[Newchodge]

Yes, well, of course there's a saga behind this but I don't suppose anyone wants to hear it. Anyhow, I've been in the software business as a sole trader for years. Earlier this year my assistant quit suddenly, at the end of Feb. and what with one thing and another I hired a new person, but haven't yet got round to setting up a proper payroll. I signed up with Sage because it was supposed to be easy, but I'm struggling. I have an accountant, but I find them unapproachable and expensive. My new employee started in early March. Advice please. Not to much scolding please, well maybe some. Alright thanks in advance. Michael_

1. Track down whoever told you that Sage was easy and shoot them.
2. Ditch Sage.
3. Look at Moneysoft Payroll Manager.
4. Get a quote from people who provide payroll services (declaration of interest).
5. Compare 3 and 4.
6. Make sure that you have ditched Sage.
7. Consider looking for a new accountant.

Which acounts package do you use?

Edit: 1. Track down whoever told you that Sage was easy and shoot them. TWICE

 

[johndon68]

1. Track down whoever told you that Sage was easy and shoot them.
2. Ditch Sage.
3. Look at Moneysoft Payroll Manager.
4. Get a quote from people who provide payroll services (declaration of interest).
5. Compare 3 and 4.
6. Make sure that you have ditched Sage.
7. Consider looking for a new accountant.

Which acounts package do you use?

Edit: 1. Track down whoever told you that Sage was easy and shoot them. TWICE

The OP hasn’t even mentioned what the problem actually is or which version of Sage Payroll they are trying to use, it took me all of 5 minutes to setup my Payroll on Sage Business Cloud Payroll with no prior knowledge of the process…

 

[Newchodge]

The OP hasn’t even mentioned what the problem actually is or which version of Sage Payroll they are trying to use, it took me all of 5 minutes to setup my Payroll on Sage Business Cloud Payroll with no prior knowledge of the process…

That doesn't begin to deal with the OP's problem.

 

[johndon68]

That doesn't begin to deal with the OP's problem.

But we don’t even know what the OPs issue is, all they have said is that they are struggling. If and again we don’t know this yet, they are struggling with Sage’s cloud payroll then I’d suggest they’ll struggle with your software suggestion as well.

 

[Newchodge]

But we don’t even know what the OPs issue is, all they have said is that they are struggling. If and again we don’t know this yet, they are struggling with Sage’s cloud payroll then I’d suggest they’ll struggle with your software suggestion as well.

I have made suggestions that may help. What have you done to try to help?

 

[johndon68]

I have made suggestions that may help. What have you done to try to help?

Let's try this this then:

OP - rather than suggesting immediately that you dump Sage, what version of Sage's Payroll software are you using and what are you struggling with?

and a question for Cyndy - have you tried Sage's cloud payroll offering recently? I'd agree completely that their desktop software is far from easy but the cloud offering is a very different piece of software.

John

 

[Newchodge]

Let's try this this then:

OP - rather than suggesting immediately that you dump Sage, what version of Sage's Payroll software are you using and what are you struggling with?

and a question for Cyndy - have you tried Sage's cloud payroll offering? I'd agree completely that their desktop software is far from easy but the cloud offering is a very different piece of software.

John

Why would I bother to try Sage? I am perfectly happy with the software I use.

Incidentally, John, are you still a Sage champion, or have some relationship with Sage?

 

[johndon68]

Why would I bother to try Sage? I am perfectly happy with the software I use.

Incidentally, John, are you still a Sage champion, or have some relationship with Sage?

And yet your first response to the OP is to tell them that the software that you admit to not having even tried is not easy to use?

I've never hidden the fact that I'm a Sage Developer, but only for Sage Accounts, I've never done any work with Payroll but, like you are with yours, I am perfectly happy using Sage's cloud payroll offering as I find it very easy to use.

My current relationship with Sage is solely as someone who pays them money to use their developer tools I do not, nor have I ever, sold their software.

For the record I'm also a Xero developer and probably do more with that these days...

John

 

[NicoJ]

Yes, well, of course there's a saga behind this but I don't suppose anyone wants to hear it. Anyhow, I've been in the software business as a sole trader for years. Earlier this year my assistant quit suddenly, at the end of Feb. and what with one thing and another I hired a new person, but haven't yet got round to setting up a proper payroll. I signed up with Sage because it was supposed to be easy, but I'm struggling. I have an accountant, but I find them unapproachable and expensive. My new employee started in early March. Advice please. Not to much scolding please, well maybe some. Alright thanks in advance. Michael_

If you consider your accountant unapproachable then they are not working for you. You need to look for someone else (maybe one who can quote for the payroll at the same time).

I would say that you need to look at outsourcing payroll if you are struggling. The software isn't necessarily the problem here. Payroll is easy enough (once you get your head around it) until there is something out of the ordinary to deal with.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

Yes, well, of course there's a saga behind this but I don't suppose anyone wants to hear it. Anyhow, I've been in the software business as a sole trader for years. Earlier this year my assistant quit suddenly, at the end of Feb. and what with one thing and another I hired a new person, but haven't yet got round to setting up a proper payroll. I signed up with Sage because it was supposed to be easy, but I'm struggling. I have an accountant, but I find them unapproachable and expensive. My new employee started in early March. Advice please. Not to much scolding please, well maybe some. Alright thanks in advance. Michael_

It's a shame you find your accountant unapproachable.

It is something they should be able to deal with quickly for you.

If you are going to deal with your own payroll I'd have a read here https://www.gov.uk/new-employee and look at MoneySoft to run your payroll. Its the system I use for my accountancy practice and our clients who I run payroll for and have done for many years.

Don't delay getting this dealt with you will have incurred late penalties already. They are explained here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-happens-if-you-dont-report-payroll-information-on-time

 

[Daybooks]

And yet your first response to the OP is to tell them that the software that you admit to not having even tried is not easy to use?

I've never hidden the fact that I'm a Sage Developer, but only for Sage Accounts, I've never done any work with Payroll but, like you are with yours, I am perfectly happy using Sage's cloud payroll offering as I find it very easy to use.

My current relationship with Sage is solely as someone who pays them money to use their developer tools I do not, nor have I ever, sold their software.

For the record I'm also a Xero developer and probably do more with that these days...

John

You can generally get a feel for how good software is within a couple of minutes; first impressions and all that. The fact that commercial software requires developers to, in some case, just make the software palatable speaks volumes.

 

[Newchodge]

You can generally get a feel for how good software is within a couple of minutes; first impressions and all that. The fact that commercial software requires developers to, in some case, just make the software palatable speaks volumes.

I am also a member of a number of payroll fora. The most pleas for help with software are about Sage.

 

[johndon68]

You can generally get a feel for how good software is within a couple of minutes; first impressions and all that. The fact that commercial software requires developers to, in some case, just make the software palatable speaks volumes.

I appreciate that and there is absolutely no doubt that Sage's desktop payroll software suffered and may still suffer (I've not seen it for almost 20 years now) from a lack of ease of use, you only had to see the 2+ hour queues on the phone at year end for help on what should have been simple tasks to know that.

However, assuming that the OP is using the cloud version (Sage don't make it easy to buy the desktop version anymore although it is still available), that is, as I have said, a very different proposition and it seems, for me anyway, a bit strange to dismiss it as not easy to use while admitting to never having even tried it.

Of course, as with all things software, we all have our opinions about what is easy to use. I've become very familiar with Xero over the last year and I struggle to see why it is so popular as I, personally, don't think it is any easier to use that other accounts software and yet other people seem to thing it is the dog's danglies. On the other hand, their API is excellent and, unlike that for Sage 50 Accounts, completely free to use.

 

[NicoJ]

The talk about software is a little bit distracting. SAGE is disliked by a lot of people who insist that you absolutely need to get rid. Its simply not true. The truth is some people like SAGE, some people dislike SAGE and some people don't care either way. I personally have used several different payroll softwares, they all have good and bad aspects.

At the moment you're signed up to SAGE which suggests that you've spent at least £80 (which is the offer at the moment for SAGE cloud). Do you want to spend another £80 on a software that you may have exactly the same issues with?

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

The talk about software is a little bit distracting. SAGE is disliked by a lot of people who insist that you absolutely need to get rid. Its simply not true. The truth is some people like SAGE, some people dislike SAGE and some people don't care either way. I personally have used several different payroll softwares, they all have good and bad aspects.

At the moment you're signed up to SAGE which suggests that you've spent at least £80 (which is the offer at the moment for SAGE cloud). Do you want to spend another £80 on a software that you may have exactly the same issues with?

The OP said they were struggling with Sage hence my suggestion to look at MoneySoft.

Generally the feedback I get from my clients (who are predominately small business clients) is that Sage is quite hard to use and I'm not keen on it personally.

 

[NicoJ]

The OP said they were struggling with Sage hence my suggestion to look at MoneySoft.

Generally the feedback I get from my clients (who are predominately small business clients) is that Sage is quite hard to use and I'm not keen on it personally.

They said they were struggling. This could be due to payroll itself, not the actual software.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

They said they were struggling. This could be due to payroll itself, not the actual software.

The OP said 'I signed up with Sage because it was supposed to be easy, but I'm struggling'

I don't think I misunderstood but hopefuly the replies so far will have helped the OP.

 

[GLAbusiness]

I have an accountant, but I find them unapproachable and expensive. My new employee started in early March. Advice please.

I would advise you to get an accountant you can work with as the top priority. Then worry about software or services for the payroll. Don't get side-tracked by discussions on the relative merits of different software at this stage.

 

[johndon68]

I note that the OP was last seen on the forum 2 minutes after posting their question so they haven't been back to see any of the replies.

Unless we know:

1. Which version of Sage Payroll they are using.
2. What, in particular, they are struggling with.

I'd suggest that there is really nothing more than can be said about the payroll issue for now...

 

[NicoJ]

The OP said 'I signed up with Sage because it was supposed to be easy, but I'm struggling'

I don't think I misunderstood but hopefuly the replies so far will have helped the OP.

Yes we read the same sentence. You have interpreted that to mean the OP is struggling with SAGE but that is not actually what it says. It may mean that, it may not but it doesn't say that.

I wasn't particularly aiming my comments at anyone on this thread, just pointing out that SAGE always seems to stir up a heated debate with posters having very fixed and strong opinions even if they've not used the software.

 

[Michael_]

Should I cancel Sage Cloud Payroll and start wth Moneysoft? How easy is it to get help with Moneysoft? Is there somewhere I could get online help? How much would that cost. I've just got one employee....

 

[Michael_]

Hullo there Nicola. What information would you need, to tell me how much you'd charge for getting me going?

 

[johndon68]

Should I cancel Sage Cloud Payroll and start wth Moneysoft? How easy is it to get help with Moneysoft? Is there somewhere I could get online help? How much would that cost. I've just got one employee....

What is the issue you are having, I use Sage Cloud Payroll with only one employee and don't have any problems with it - entirely up to you of course but I'd be happy to help if it saves you having to move to another package.

 

[Scalloway]

Should I cancel Sage Cloud Payroll and start wth Moneysoft? How easy is it to get help with Moneysoft? Is there somewhere I could get online help? How much would that cost. I've just got one employee....

I have used Moneysoft off and on for years. They have a helpline number which I had a need to call a few years ago and they were very helpful.
I cost me £98 including VAT when I needed it a few weeks ago.
I moved to Moneysoft for a bookkeeping client from Sage Payroll many years ago and it was like going from night to day for ease of use though I will concede I haven't used Sage Payroll since then.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

Should I cancel Sage Cloud Payroll and start wth Moneysoft? How easy is it to get help with Moneysoft? Is there somewhere I could get online help? How much would that cost. I've just got one employee....

That's a very difficult question to answer. But you could certainly take a free trial of MoneySoft to see if you find it better than Sage. On the very few times I've used it Moneysoft online support is very good.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

Hullo there Nicola. What information would you need, to tell me how much you'd charge for getting me going?

@Michael_ I'm very happy to help if you want to email

 

[marcus_bond]

When Quickbooks Desktop closed it's payroll software, we moved to Brightpay desktop, and found them helpful, and the software, relatively easy to get to grips with. As QB Desktop was recently discontinued, we tried Sage Online (OMG what sort of a wreck is that pile of garbage), closed the Sage account and went back to Quickbooks Online. It's better than Sage, but still has it's weird issues. Still using Brightpay Desktop for payroll, and just manually transferring payroll summary totals into QB online. Works fine.

 

[NicoJ]

When Quickbooks Desktop closed it's payroll software, we moved to Brightpay desktop, and found them helpful, and the software, relatively easy to get to grips with. As QB Desktop was recently discontinued, we tried Sage Online (OMG what sort of a wreck is that pile of garbage), closed the Sage account and went back to Quickbooks Online. It's better than Sage, but still has it's weird issues. Still using Brightpay Desktop for payroll, and just manually transferring payroll summary totals into QB online. Works fine.

See my comment above about SAGE. People can't just say "I didn't like it", its always got to be an insult (here "garbage"). I rarely see that with any other accounting software so always advise people to make their own mind up rather than listen to the SAGE bashing.

I would hazard a guess, Marcus that you didn't get on with SAGE because you are used to QB which is a very different software. Its unusual in my experience to like (or love) both QBs and SAGE (or Xero). Its one or the other.