Payroll

Payroll New Year

1. Check you are using the correct version.

Before you start processing the new tax year, you must have installed the update for the 2024/25 tax year, V31.00.231, if you process a NHS Pension scheme, ensure you have installed background update to V31.00.236 and enter the new NHS pension legislation.

2. Update your employees’ tax codes.

For the 2025/26 tax year, the personal allowance and emergency tax code remains the same at £12,570 and 1257L. This means you do not need to change your employees’ tax codes unless informed by HMRC. You do however need to remove the week 1 / month 1 flag on any employees’ tax codes before processing in the new tax year.

3. Small employers’ relief

If you are eligible for Small Employers’ Relief (SER) you need to set your Sage Payroll to calculate and claim it.

1. Click Company then
2. Select the Eligible for Small Employers’ Relief check box.
3. Click OK
4. Apply for Employment Allowance

TIP: make sure your process date is set to 6/04/2025 before completing this.

In the 2025/26 tax year the employment allowance has increased to £10,500. This allows eligible employers to reduce their annual Employers National Insurance liability by up to £10,500.

Submit the Employer Payment Summary (EPS) for Employment Allowance

1. Click Company, then click Settings.
2. Click the Apply for EA
3. From the State Aid drop-down menu, select one of the following options:

• Applicable
• Not Applicable

If State Aid is applicable, select the relevant State Aid Sector. For more information on State aid, visit Gov.uk.

4. Click Submit then click Continue, then click Submit then Submit

At this stage, HMRC receives an EPS with Employment Allowance application.

• If your application is unsuccessful, you receive a notification in your IR Secure Mailbox within five working days.
• If you do not hear back from HMRC, then your application has been successful, and you can then select the Eligible for Employment Allowance check box within Company then Settings. Once you select this check box, your software is set up to calculate Employer Allowance.

Memo

If you select the Eligible for Employment Allowance check box after you have already processed one or more tax months, you must re-run your P32 for each month of the tax year starting from month 1. Sage 50 Payroll then calculated the Employment Allowance due in each period and records these values in Company Settings > HMRC Payments of your software.

5. Pensions module

If you use the pension module, when you process the first period of the new tax year, you are prompted to check your pension contribution rates are correct.

Pensions Data Exchange

If you use the Pensions Data Exchange (PDX) to send data to your provider, there are some additional steps to complete at the start of the tax year.

6. New legislation for 2025/2025 tax year

There are a few changes to payroll legislation in the new tax year, including a change to the National Minimum Wage from 1 April etc.

If you need help running your payroll year end routine or setting up for the new Payroll year or need any other help or advice with your payroll, please contact us

We can also provide a remote access service where we can link into your computer to help you resolve your Sage Accounts or Payroll problems.

Sage 50 Accounts

Updating Customer Invoices/Credit Notes

We will go through how to update sales invoices so that they show on your customer ledgers, enabling you to know what is due from your customers at any given time.

Posting to your ledger, posts a Sales Invoice (SI) or Sales Credit for each item line on your invoice or credit note.  If you have created a product invoice it will also adjusts the stock levels for the required products.

How to update an invoice or credit to the ledger

1. Click Invoices and credits and then click the required invoice(s) and/or credit(s).
2. Click Update Ledger then click
3. Check the update ledgers report shows the transactions updated to the nominal ledger.

Memo: Once you have updated a customer invoice or credit note to the customer ledger you cannot amend the customer invoice or credit note, you must either create a new customer invoice or credit note to amend/cancel the original invoice or credit note.  If you do not need to send a credit invoice or a credit note to the customer, you can go to Transactions and find the sales invoice or credit note and amend whatever needs correcting.

If you need to credit a customer invoice you can highlight the relevant invoice and then click Credit Invoice, you can either click Save, to credit the customer’s invoice exactly as it was, or you can change whatever you need and then click Save.

If you would help creating customer invoices or credit notes, printing/emailing or updating customer invoice or credit notes or need any other help with your Sage 50 Accounts, please contact us