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2. Prepare for payroll year end

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Summary

How to prepare for payroll year end in Sage 50 Payroll.

Description

This is stage two of four to complete your payroll year end. To view all four stages, visit the payroll year end 2026 hub.

The steps below take you through important steps to prepare for year end.

TIP:

If you prefer to follow a checklist, visit the prepare for year end checklist article.

Resolution

1. Check you're using the correct version

If you haven't updated your software yet, check your version number now:

  1. Log in to Sage 50 Payroll as normal.
  2. Go to Help then About.
  3. Under Program Details, check the Version Number.

The latest version is v32.00.300. For help with checking your version and updating your software, follow the download and install the Sage 50 Payroll year end update article.

2. Check if you have a week 53

If you pay your employees monthly, you don't have a week 53.

Also, if you don't pay your employees on a Sunday, you won't have a week 53 this year.

For help with checking whether you have an extra pay period this year, visit our how to identify and process week 53 article.

3. Process your final pay period

There are several key tasks to process your final payroll and ensure all of your year end values are correct.

Final pay period

Process your final pay period and update records for all pay frequencies in the 2025/2026 tax year.

Process leavers

Check if you have any leavers who:

  • Leave on or before 5 April 2026, and
  • Receive their final payment by 5 April 2026

If you do, process them as leavers and produce their P45.

TIP:

Follow our separate article for any leavers whose last pay date and leave date are in different tax years.

Full Payment Submission (FPS)

Submit the FPS as normal, on or before the date your employees receive their pay.

NOTE:

This isn't your final submission for the tax year. You make the final submission when you process your year end.

Employer Payment Summary (EPS) 

If applicable, submit your EPS for month 12. For example, you need to recover statutory parental payments from HMRC.

Director's National Insurance (NI)

In the last pay run of the tax year, Sage 50 Payroll automatically calculates any pro rata basis directors' NI cumulatively. 

This is due to HMRC requirements. You don't need to do anything differently when you process a director's last payment of the tax year.

To find out more, visit our understanding directors' NI at payroll year end article.

Next steps

You've completed your final pay periods of the 2025/2026 tax year. You can now process your payroll year end.

Payroll year end training in Sage 50 Payroll

You can arrange bespoke Payroll year end training for 1-2-1 support with a Sage expert. This is a chargeable service.

To find out more or book bespoke Payroll year end training, leave your details and we'll be in touch.

Leave your details

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