NGJ Bookkeeping & Payroll Ltd

21/10/2026

HMRC payroll enquiries are on the rise. Would you be ready?

We recently had a call from HMRC about one of our client's payroll. We dealt with it there and then, during the call, and no compliance issues were found.

Our client had zero stress. The first they heard about it was when we told them it had been handled and everything was fine.

Could you pull the right information together that quickly?

What’s driving more HMRC checks:
✅ National Minimum Wage
✅ Real-time data matching
✅ Off-payroll working (IR35)
✅ Moves towards real-time benefit reporting

Most enquiries aren’t random. They’re usually triggered by something in the data, or by a tip-off from a disgruntled ex-employee about unpaid hours or holiday pay.

If you’d like your payroll handled properly, so an HMRC call is nothing to worry about, get in touch.

📞 0191 512 12 12
🌐 www.ngjpayroll.com

19/10/2026

💸 Why pay more to do payroll yourself? Today we saw an advert for payroll software. The monthly subscription cost more than we charge to fully outsource a 3-person payroll. 🤯

Think about that for a second. You’d be paying more, and still doing all the work yourself.
And it doesn’t stop there. Software providers are putting their subscription prices up regularly, so you’re locking yourself into a job that costs more every year, while taking up your time too. ⏳

When you outsource your payroll to us, you get:
✅ Your payroll done for you, accurately and on time
✅ Someone to deal with HMRC on your behalf, so no more hours stuck on hold 📞
✅ Someone to handle HMRC queries and confirm your wages have been processed correctly
✅ More time to run your business

Save your time and your money. 💷

📍 NGJ Bookkeeping & Payroll, Houghton le Spring, covering the whole UK
🌐 www.ngjpayroll.com
📞 0191 512 12 12

Payroll you can trust.

-Le-Spring

15/10/2026

How much notice do you have to give to switch payroll provider? 🤔

Many providers tie you into long contracts with months of notice. At NGJ we don’t. There are no contracts and no notice periods, just reliable, per-payslip payroll from a local team with 15+ years’ experience.

📞 0191 512 12 12 | 🌐 www.ngjpayroll.com

15/10/2026

Quick reminder of how much your support matters! Thanks for helping our business grow! 🫶

12/10/2026

12/10/2026

Employers: Are you actually getting your Employment Allowance? 🤔

If you employ staff, the Employment Allowance could knock up to £10,500 a year off your employer’s National Insurance bill. Most small businesses and charities qualify. The main exception is a company where the only person paid above the NI threshold is a single director.

Here’s the catch: ticking the box to tell HMRC you’re entitled is not the same as actually getting the money off.

We regularly see employers who have claimed it on paper but are still paying employer’s NI in full every month.

✅ How to check
Look at the PAYE bill you produce, or the one your payroll provider sends you (often called a P30 or P32). You should see the Employment Allowance as its own line, reducing your employer’s NI. If it isn’t there and you’re paying the full amount, something is wrong. (Check the PAYE bills starting from April if you pay more than £10,500 Employers NI in a tax year – you may have already used the allowance up this tax year).

✅ What to do if you’ve been overpaying
• This tax year: get the claim applied now. It covers the whole year, so what you’ve overpaid since April becomes a credit against your upcoming PAYE bills.
• Earlier years: you can go back up to four tax years. That’s £10,500 for 2025/26 and £5,000 a year for the three years before it.
• HMRC will set the overpayment against other tax you owe, or you can ask for a refund.

Don’t leave it too long, as the oldest year drops off every April. It’s not often you get to cut tax bills!

Not sure if you’re claiming? Send us a message and we’ll happily take a look at your PAYE bill for you.

NGJ Bookkeeping & Payroll Ltd - Payroll you can trust.

06/10/2026

DIY bookkeeping? Don't stop at entering bank transactions! 📊

Your Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet are where all that hard work pays off. You don't need to be an accountant to read them. They're about your own business, so the figures should feel familiar once you know what to look for.

🔎 Two reports to check today

📈 Profit & Loss
• Income minus expenses over time
• Spots rising overheads and shrinking margins
• Shows which services or products earn their keep

🗒 Balance Sheet
• Assets, liabilities and equity at a glance
• Tracks unpaid invoices and tax owed
• Shows what your business is really worth

If a figure surprises you, that's the report doing its job. Ask yourself how it got there.

Not sure what you're looking at? Message us and we'll talk you through it.

02/10/2026

Common minimum wage payroll mistake:

Payroll News ‼️

💷 When checking National Minimum Wage for apprentices, the hourly rate is only the starting point.

HMRC is reminding employers and apprentices that minimum wage compliance must take into account all eligible working and training time, as well as certain work-related costs.

For 2026/27, the apprentice rate is £8.00 per hour for apprentices under 19, or those aged 19 and over who are still in the first year of their apprenticeship. After the first year, apprentices aged 19+ must receive the minimum wage rate applicable to their age.

Employers should also remember:
⏱️ Employer-approved training can count as working time
🛠️ Required tools, equipment or uniform paid for by the apprentice could reduce their pay for NMW purposes
📚 Associated travel during time the apprentice would otherwise be working may also need to be included

For payroll teams, it’s a useful reminder that NMW compliance isn’t simply a case of checking the hourly rate. The full working arrangement matters.

30/09/2026

Recording take home pay as gross wages - common error & how to fix it

Employing someone costs more than their take home pay. Here's what that looks like in your accounts:

Take a £20k salary:
👉 Take home pay: £1,447.44 a month
👉 Over 12 months: £17369.20
👉 Missing from your accounts: over £2,500

And that's before you add:
• Employer pension contributions
• Employer's NI (if your Employment Allowance has been used up)

Why it matters:
Understated costs mean overstated profit, which can mean paying more tax than you need to.

The fix:
Post a wage journal each pay run. It puts the full cost of employment (gross pay, employer pension and employer's NI) into your Profit & Loss, and records what you owe the employee, HMRC and the pension provider on your Balance Sheet. When you pay those people, the payments clear those amounts.

Or skip the journals altogether ✅
Outsource your payroll to NGJ and we'll handle the pay run, the pension uploads and the accounting entries. Our payroll platform connects to your cloud accounting software, so the figures flow through accurately without you needing to learn debits and credits. I'm sure you have better things to do!

If you want to know more, feel free to message us

www.ngjpayroll.com

(NB £20k salary figures based on 2026/27 rates and 5% employee pension, take home pay varies with tax code and pension deductions etc)

25/09/2026

🎉 Friday Fact: Give your team a treat, tax-free! 🎉

Did you know you can treat your employees (and directors) to something nice — up to £50 a time — without it costing you or them a penny in tax or National Insurance? 🙌

It's called a Trivial Benefit, and here's the (short) list of rules to keep HMRC happy:
✅ Costs £50 or less per employee (including VAT & delivery charges)
✅ It's not cash or a cash voucher
✅ It's not a reward for their work or performance
✅ It's not in their contract as something they're entitled to

Think: a bunch of flowers, a bottle of w**e, a box of chocolates, or a Friday afternoon treat box for the team! 🍫🌸

Directors of "close" companies can get up to £300 a year in trivial benefits (as long as each one is still under £50).

Fancy giving your team a little pick-me-up? Just make sure it ticks all the boxes above — and if you're not sure, that's exactly what we're here for.

https://www.gov.uk/expenses-and-benefits-trivial-benefits