Manually migrate your payroll data

Summary

How to manually add all your payroll data from another system in Sage Payroll.

Description

Use this guide if you have been using a different payroll system and have existing year to date figures.

If you’re doing this at the start of the tax year, so don't have year to day figures, read Setup a new company.

If you have a Full Payment Submission (FPS) file from your previous software, you can upload this into Sage Payroll. This will save you time by not manually entering the data. For more information, read Import employees - Import FPS file.

Resolution

If you prefer to watch a video on the process, select play below.

Watch a video

Preparation

▼When to migrate your data

Make sure your Full Payment Submissions (FPS) year to date values match with HMRC records. To do this:

Migrate your data at the start of a new tax month or quarter
Make sure you complete all pay runs in your previous software
Depending on how often you pay HMRC, enter the total payroll values in Sage Business Cloud Payroll up to that date

A tax month runs from the 6th of one month to the 5th of the next.

The first tax quarter runs from 6 April to 5 July then every three months after that.

Example:

If you’ve processed the first two weekly pay runs of the current tax month in your old software:

Process the remaining weekly pay runs of the reporting period in the old payroll system
Make the relevant online submissions
Migrate to Sage Business Cloud Payroll at the beginning of the next tax month or quarter

▼Before you start

Collect the following information from your previous payroll system.

NOTE: The information must be accurate to ensure consistent reporting to HMRC.

P11 reports	P11's give you totals for PAYE, NI, Student Loan, and statutory payments to enter. You need a P11 for every employee this tax year. This includes leavers, starters, directors, students, and casual employees.
P45 or P46 information	For employees who started in the current tax year, you need their P45. The P45 contains figures from their previous employment.
Start dates	The start dates of current employees.
Leaver dates	If anyone has left during the current tax year, you need the date they left.
Statutory payments information	For employees who got statutory payments this tax year, you need their YTD values. Find absence dates and average weekly earnings on the P11 report.
Directorship details	The date they became a director.
Your employees RTI Pay ID	If you already submitted information to HMRC, you need to have the correct RTI Pay ID for each employee. If you enter the wrong ID, this could duplicate HMRC records for the employee. If your previous payroll system didn’t use an RTI Pay ID, you must enter an ID of your choice. You should inform HMRC that you’re moving software systems and don’t have the original RTI ID’s already used
P32 reports	You need P32 reports for the pay runs processed in the current tax year in the previous payroll system. You need these to enter statutory pay or employment allowance you’ve claimed during the year. You also enter Class 1A Employers NI payments made on redundancy payments over £30,000. You should keep the P32s for your records.
Detailed Reports	You need these reports if you paid over £30,000 in termination payments to more than one employee in a P32 period. You get the breakdown of Class 1A Employers NI made for each employee.

Setting up

When you log in to Sage Payroll for the first time, you must enter details about your company. You then have to choose how you want to enter you employee details.

TIP: You can leave the setup at any time before fully completing all sections. Select Save then Next.

▼Enter company details

Enter you company details in the Get started with Payroll screen and select Submit.
Select Manually enter employees.

▼Enter P32 details

Select your P32 reporting details as follows:

P32 Reporting Frequency

Choose whether you pay HMRC monthly or quarterly, as appropriate. If you’re unsure, contact HMRC’s payment enquiry helpline.

P32 Payment Method

Choose whether you pay HMRC by cheque or bank transfer.

Last completed P32 reporting period

Choose the last tax period you completed and paid to HMRC, using your previous payroll system.

The first pay run you process in Payroll is at the start of the next reporting period.

▼Set up a pay calendar

Select when your employees get paid by checking the appropriate frequency boxes.
For each pay frequency you’re using, choose the day of the week or month you want to pay your employees.
Payroll will adjust dates that fall on weekends and bank holidays to the preceding work day. Select the Avoid Public Holidays and Weekends check box, then select Next.

For more information on pay calendars, read Set up a pay calendar.

Add employees

Select Add employee and enter the details listed below. Repeat this step for each employee you want to add.

▼Personal details

Enter your Employee details.

You'll need:

Forename(s)*
Surname*
NI Number
Date of Birth*
Gender*
Address (You must complete Street 1 and Street to prevent any future HMRC or pension submission errors)
Telephone number
Email Address

* compulsory field

▼Tax details

Read Add an existing employee - tax details.

▼Opening balances

Read Add an existing employee - opening balances

Enter employer values

▼Enter employer values

Enter the amount of Employer contributions for any statutory payment recovery and compensation that you’ve received so far, such as employment allowance values.

Enter this information before completing your first pay run

Select Next Steps in the Migrate Payroll Data wizard, or select Settings, and Migrate Payroll Data – Employer Values xxxx/xx.

Eligible for Small Employer’s Relief	Specify whether your business is eligible for Small Employers' Relief .
Statutory Pay Recovery Values	Record the amounts you recovered on your previous payroll system. Go only up to the date that you migrated your payroll data to your new Payroll. As a small employer, you can reclaim 100% of the statutory payment amounts you paid during the tax year. This is due to Small Employers' Relief. Otherwise, you can reclaim 92%. These values are on the Employer Payment Summary (EPS). These values reduce your PAYE, NIC, and Student Loan liabilities to HMRC.
Statutory Pay Compensation Values	If you’re classed as a small employer, you can receive an extra 3% small employers' relief from HMRC. You can claim back statutory payment amounts you paid to employees during the tax year. Record the compensation amounts you received from HMRC. Only use the value up to the date that you migrated your payroll data to Payroll.
Employment Allowance values	If you have been claiming the employment allowance in the previous payroll system. Ensure to enter the allowance into Payroll.
Allowance Applied	Record you were claiming the allowance in the previous payroll system. Choose Yes from the Allowance Applied drop-down.
Allowance Applied Mid-Year	If you started claiming the allowance at the start of the tax year, click No. In this situation, the allowance reduces your liability to employer NI contributions. If you started claiming the allowance at some point during the tax year, click Yes. If yes, you can claim the amount, you would have claimed up to that point since the beginning of the tax year. This offsets against employer NI liabilities. If a balance remains, you may offset it against PAYE liabilities.
Allowance Used	It's important you enter the correct value here. The program will use this number to figure out how much more you can claim for this tax year. An incorrect value could result in you overclaiming the allowance. This could result in actions from the HMRC.

Once you've filled in the fields, select Save.

Additional steps

Although you’ve now completed the set up wizard, there are other things to consider.

▼Pensions

Employer

If you have an Auto Enrolment pension in place, then you need to set this up within the program. This isn't part of the migration process and you can't add year to date figures.

For steps on setting up your pension scheme, read Set up pensions.

TIP: You must use the correct staging date when you set up your pension scheme. If you aren't sure what this is, speak to The Pension Regulator (TPR).

Employees

With the pension added, set the employee's Workplace Pension status.

In this example, you enrolled your employee.

Select the Employee tab.
Select the relevant employee record, then Edit.
Select the Workplace Pensions tab.
In the Workplace Pension section, select the Status drop-down menu. Select Enrolled.
Enter the correct Enrolled Date, then select Save.

Repeat the above step for each employee, if required.