Invoice templates for freelance payroll specialists billing small businesses for PAYE, auto-enrolment, and payroll processing.
A payroll specialist invoice is issued by a freelance payroll bureau or specialist to small and medium-sized businesses for the processing of employee wages, PAYE tax and National Insurance calculations, auto-enrolment pension management, and HMRC RTI submissions. In the UK, employers with staff must run PAYE through Real Time Information (RTI), submitting Full Payment Submissions (FPS) to HMRC each time wages are paid. Auto-enrolment obligations require employers to enrol eligible workers in a qualifying pension scheme and make minimum contributions. Payroll specialists take on these compliance obligations on behalf of their clients. Payroll is typically charged per employee per payroll run, with minimum charges for very small payrolls. Additional charges apply for new starter P45 processing, P60 annual certificates, P11D benefits-in-kind returns, auto-enrolment management, and year-end filings. Some payroll specialists charge a flat monthly fee inclusive of all standard activities.
| Service | Typical Rate | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly payroll processing (per employee) | 8 | employee |
| Weekly payroll (per employee per run) | 3 | employee |
| New starter processing | 15 | starter |
| Auto-enrolment management (per month) | 25 | month |
| P60 annual certificates | 5 | employee |
| P11D benefits-in-kind return | 150 | employee |
Invoice after each payroll run, or monthly consolidating all runs in that month. Issue invoices promptly after payroll is processed as clients need their invoice records to align with their payroll costs in their accounts. For clients with multiple payroll cycles (some weekly workers and some monthly), issue a single monthly invoice covering all runs in that month. List each run separately with dates and employee counts. Year-end charges for P60s and P11Ds should be invoiced once the work is complete, typically in April and July respectively. These are discrete chargeable events and should not be buried in the monthly invoice without client awareness. Auto-enrolment is an ongoing compliance obligation. If you manage pension deductions, postponement periods, and re-enrolment cycles, charge a standing monthly fee for this service. Document what is included so clients understand they are not just paying for payroll processing.