Payroll

How the new National Insurance thresholds work

The National Insurance threshold from the 6^th July will increase to £12,570, which means employees must earn £12,570 per year before paying National Insurance.

Sage 50cloud Payroll V28.02, has the new thresholds added to your Legislation Settings and automatically applied correctly based on your process date and employee status.

Employees

The new NI thresholds are automatically applied on all payrolls with a process date on or after 6^th July 2022. The date employees are being paid for are not relevant to the NI thresholds, instead, it is the process date that decides which thresholds are used.

HMRC require that NI for employees is calculated period by period rather than as a year-to-date calculation.  This means that NI values calculated using the new rates are not affected by any NI calculated prior to 6^th July 2022.

Directors

The new NI thresholds are applied differently for directors depending on their status.

• Pro-Rata (Table) – NI for directors who have a Pro-rata status is calculated using the new Primary Threshold each period from 6^th July onwards. This is then re-calculated in a year to date calculation using the Directors Primary Threshold, either at the end of the tax year, or if the director leaves during the tax year.
• Annual (Non-Table) – The new Director Primary Threshold is correctly applied in the next period as soon as v28.02 is installed, even is the process date is before 6^th This may cause a re-calculation of NI liability if the director has already exceeded the original Primary Threshold, as the annual calculation will use the new Director’s Primary Threshold.

Re-process pay Periods

Once you have installed v28.02, when you re-process a pay period the NI threshold used depends on the employee’s status.

Employees and Pro-Rata directors– If you reprocess any periods before 6^th July the old thresholds are used.  If you re-process any periods with a process date on or after 6th July, the new thresholds are used.

Directors

• Annual (Non-Table) – The NI calculation for any period you re-process in the tax year uses the new Directors Primary Threshold.

If you would like help with the new National Insurance thresholds or need help installing Sage 50cloud Payroll V28.02 or need any other help or advice with your payroll please contact us

Accounts

Customer Activity

This shows the trading history between you and your customer.  It shows the customer’s credit limit, the balance owed, as well as the total they have paid and the turnover for the year.

Each line represents a transaction such as an invoice or a receipt.

To view the activity, click Customers, either highlight the required customer and click Activity at the top of the screen or double click the required customer record Activity.

Viewing the Customer activity

A/C  – This shows the customer account reference.

Name  – This shows the name of the customer.

Credit Limit – This shows the credit limit entered in the Credit Control tab.

Balance – The current balance of the customer account.

Amount Paid– Total payments made by the customer.

Turnover YTD – The year to date turnover value for this customer. This value is net of VAT.  The YTD figure is taken from the Sales tab and clears when you run the year end routine.  You can manually amend this value in the Sales tab.

O/s Only – If ticked, the window will update to display outstanding transactions only. Untick to show all transactions.

No – the number of the transaction.

Type – The following transaction types may appear:

SI  =  Sale Invoice

SR = Sales Receipt

SC = Sales Credit

SA = Sales on Account

SD = Sales Discount

SP = Sales Payment

Date – The date of the transaction.

Due on – The transaction due date.

Ref.  – The transaction reference.

Exchange Rate  – The exchange rate of the transaction (will not show if foreign currency not set up)

Details – Any details entered for the transaction.

Amount – The value of the transaction.

O/S – The amount of the transaction that is still outstanding.

TIP – *=Transaction is fully outstanding. P=transaction is part paid.

Debit – If the transaction represents a debit, its value appears here.

Credit  – If the transaction represents a credit, its value appears here.

Viewing transactions

Show details – opens a window breaking down any selected transaction into its component parts.  For example, a sales receipt is broken down into the invoices it paid off, and a sales invoice lists any receipts allocated against it.

Hide Details Closes the window showing the detailed breakdown.

View transaction – To view the full details of the transaction, select the required transaction then click View transaction or you can double-click the transaction.

View item – If the transaction was created from an invoice record, to see the related invoice, select the required transaction then click View item.  Alternatively, you can double-click the transaction.

View Bank charges – If you use the bank charges feature, to view any bank charges associated with the customer click View bank charges.

Amending or removing transactions

Edit transaction  – To amend a transaction while in the activity window, click the transaction then click Edit transaction.

Unallocate transaction – If you have posted a receipt or credit against an invoice in error, you can use the Unallocate  transaction option to unlink the transaction.  A sales receipt (SR) becomes a sale on account (SA) when it is unallocated, then it can be allocated against a different invoice.

Delete transaction – To delete a transaction while in the activity window, click the transaction then click the Delete transaction.

Aged balances – At the foot of the window aged balanced appear, broken down into boxes according to the ageing method chosen in Settings > Customer Defaults > Ageing.

If you would like further help with the Customer activity screen or need any other help with your Sage Accounts please contact us

Payroll

Forgotten to claim Employment Allowance in a previous tax year?

You will need to contact HMRC if you need to claim a refund etc.

To claim Employment Allowance in a Previous Year.

1. Click Payroll, then click Change Process Date.
2. Enter 05/04/XXXX, then click OK.
3. Click Company, then click Settings.
4. If the Eligible for Employment Allowance check box is ticked, you should untick it, then follow the on-screen instructions to submit the Employer Payment Summary (EPS).

NOTE: if it isn’t ticked, skip to step 6.

5. Once you have submitted the EPS go back into Company, then click Settings.
6. Click Apply for EA.
7. From the State Aid drop-down menu, select one of the following options:

• Applicable
• Not Applicable

If State Aid is applicable, select the relevant Sate Aid Sector.

8. Click Submit then click Continue.
9. Click Submit then click
10. Select the Eligible for Employment Allowance Check box, then submit the EPS again.
11. Repeat for each tax year that you forgot to claim employment allowance.

TIP: Now re-print the P32 report for each period to see how much Employment Allowance is now being claimed.  You can then use this to reconcile against the liability you have already paid to HMRC.

If you would like help claiming the Employment Allowance for a previous year or need any other help or advice with your payroll please contact us

Accounts

Supplier Activity

This shows the trading history between you and your supplier.  It shows your credit limit with them, the balance owed, as well as the total you have paid and the expenditure for the year.

Each line represents a transaction such as an invoice or a payment.

To view the activity, click Suppliers, either highlight the required supplier and click Activity at the top of the screen or double click the required supplier record the click Activity.

Viewing the Supplier activity

 A/C  – This shows the supplier account reference.

Name  – This shows the name of the supplier.

Credit Limit – This shows the credit limit entered in the Credit Control tab.

Balance – The current balance of the supplier account.

Amount Paid– Total payments made to the supplier.

Turnover YTD – The year to date turnover value for this supplier. This value is net of VAT.  The YTD figure is taken from the Purchases tab and clears when you run the year end routine.  You can manually amend this value in the Purchase tab.

O/s Only – If ticked, the window will update to display outstanding transactions only. Untick to show all transactions.

Attach – Add or view attachments from this column.

No – the number of the transaction.

Type – The following transaction types may appear:

PI = Purchase Invoice

PP = Purchase Payment

PC = Purchase Credit

PA = Purchase Payment on Account

PD = Purchase Discount

PR = Purchase Receipt

Date – The date of the transaction.

Due on – The transaction due date.

Ref.  – The transaction reference.

Exchange Rate – The exchange rate of the transaction (will not show if foreign currency not set up)

Details – Any details entered for the transaction.

Amount – The value of the transaction.

O/S – The amount of the transaction that is still outstanding.

TIP – *=Transaction is fully outstanding. P=transaction is part paid.

Debit – If the transaction represents a debit, its value appears here.

Credit  – If the transaction represents a credit, its value appears here.

Viewing transactions

Show details – opens a window breaking down any selected transaction into its component parts.  For example, a purchase payment is broken down into the invoices it paid off, and an invoice lists any receipts allocated against in.

Hide Details Closes the window showing the detailed breakdown.

View transaction – To view the full details of the transaction, select the required transaction then click View transaction or you can double-click the transaction.

View Bank charges – If you use the bank charges feature, to view any bank charges associated with the supplier, click View bank charges.

Amending or removing transactions

Edit transaction – to amend a transaction while in the activity window, click the transaction then click Edit transaction.

Unallocate transaction – If you have posted a payment or credit against an invoice in error, you can use the Unallocate option to unlink the transaction.  A purchase payment (PP) becomes a payment on account (PA) when it is unallocated, then it can be allocated against a different invoice.

Delete transaction – To delete a transaction while in the activity window, click the transaction then click the Delete transaction.

Aged balances – At the foot of the window aged balanced appear, broken down into boxes according to the ageing method chosen in Settings > Supplier Defaults > Ageing.

If you would like further help with the Supplier activity screen or need any other help with your Sage Accounts please contact us

Payroll

Customise your Sage 50cloud Payroll desktop and the employee list

You can change the look of the employee list to help you find your way around.

Change a column colour

1. Right-click the column heading.
2. To select a colour, click Colour Background Column.
3. Select the required colour, then click OK.

To remove the colour, right-click the column and click Colour Off.

Change the colour of the text

1. Right click the column heading, Colour Text Column.
2. Select the required colour then click OK.

To remove the colour, right-click the column and click Colour Off.

Change the default alternate colours

Click Desktop then click Options then click Colours:

• Ignore colours – Select the check box to remove any colours from the desktop, including the default settings and any colours that have been applied to the columns or text.
• Alternate Employee Lines – Use this option to change the alternate colours in the employee list. Click the first colour button to change the colour of the text within the alternate row.  Click the second colour button to change the colour of the alternate row.
• Employee Highlight – Use this option to display highlighted employees in a different colour. Click the first colour button to change the colour of the text within a highlighted row.  Click the second colour button to change the colour of the highlighted row.
• Revert to Defaults – Click this button to revert to the default colours.

Customise your columns

Sort a column

To sort a column either

1. Click the column heading, clicking the column heading a second time sorts the list in reverse order and clicking a third time reverts the list to the default order.
2. Right-click the relevant column heading, and click Sort Column or Reverse Sort Column. To remove a sort on a column, right-click the column heading, and click Sort Off.

TIP: If a sort has been applied to a column, it will have an arrow indicating the sort order.

Re-order columns

You can re-order columns to show the employee list in any order you want, for example you may want employee forenames to appear on the list first, followed by their surname then employee reference numbers.

To re-order columns, drag the column heading to the desired position.

TIP:  You can not hide any columns, but you can move unwanted columns to the far right of the window.

Change column widths

You can also change the width of a column to make it wider or narrower.

To change the width of a column, click and drag the vertical bar to the right of the relevant column heading.

To reset column widths, you can either:

• View (top menu) then go down and click Reset Column Widths.
• Right-click on the desktop then Reset Column Widths.

TIP:  Resetting the column widths also reverts the column order back to the default settings.

Change which employees appear

You can use the criteria window to filter out employees on a particular payment method or pay frequency.

1. Click Criteria then complete as follows:

These options determine the categories by which employees are filtered when expanding the All Employees folder in the Outline pane in the desktop.

Filter Employees List then Filter then Filter – For example, if you want to group your employees first by department, then by payment period, from the Filter Employee List drop-down list select By Department, from the second drop down list select by Payment Period and leave the third drop-down list set to None.

Include these Pay Frequencies – Select the pay frequencies you want to include in the Outline level structure.

Include these Pay Methods – Select the pay methods you want to include in the Outline level structure.

Exclude Employees who are – Select the relevant check box to hide employees who have a status of

• On hold
• On holiday
• Leaver

You can differentiate between historical and current year leavers.

These employees do not appear in the employees and cannot be accessed via the Outline view.  If you want to view their records, you must clear the check box in this window.

2. Click OK

If you would like help customising your Sage 50cloud Payroll or need any other help or advice with your payroll please contact us

Accounts

Add Reports and Layouts to Favourites 

You can save time by setting reports and layouts you use on a regular basis as favourites in Sage 50cloud Accounts.  This means that you don’t have to search through the many reports to find the one you want each month or struggle to remember where it is.

Add a report, layout, letter or label to Favourites

1. Browse to the required report or layout in your software. For example, click Customers, then click Reports, then select the required reporting area eg Aged debtors.
2. Find which report you want to use eg Aged Debtors Analysis (Detailed) and click the star on the left of the document name.

When a document is added the star turns yellow and the document is added to your favourites menu.

Run a document from Favourites

When you browse to the required report or print area, for example, Customer Reports, the report browser will automatically show you the reports you have set as favourites.

To remove a report, layout, letter or label from Favourites

1. Browse to the required report or print are, for example Customer Reports.
2. Right-click the required report, layout, letter or label, then click Remove from Favourites

If you would like help adding reports, layouts, letters or label to Favourites or need help finding the right report, layout, letter or label for you or need any other help with your Sage Accounts please contact us