Pegasus Opera II Payroll 2010

This month we would like to remind you that the yearly payroll upgrades for Pegasus Opera II are coming up shortly. You should have recently received a letter in the post recommending that you pre-book your Payroll Update before February 26^th 2010 to take advantage of our reduced offer.

We know how important it is that everything runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible, which is why we are offering our customers a choice of two upgrade options, both of which will ensure your upgrade is performed by an expert and will keep any downtime to a minimum.

Having your upgrade performed by a Pegasus expert from HBP will guarantee the integrity of your data as backups are always taken, tests and designs are carried out once the upgrade is completed to ensure payslips, P60s and P14s are all in working order and the new functionality will be fully explained and demonstrated to you.

Upgrades can be performed either on site or remotely; when performed on site you will benefit from having a Pegasus expert at your offices whilst your upgrade is being implemented – you will be able to ask any questions you may have about the upgrade or any other area of your Pegasus software and the new features will be demonstrated to you there and then. Having your upgrade performed remotely will too ensure that your upgrade keeps downtime to a minimum, you will also benefit from help sheets and speaking to one of our experts over the phone to explain the new features of the upgrade.

We advise you book your upgrade early to ensure you get a slot and will contact you at the beginning of March when we receive the disks to book a suitable date and time.

If you would like to find out more information please call Kirsty Popple on 01724 400345.

Payroll Changes

The following changes will affect this year’s Pegasus Opera II Payroll upgrade:

• The format of the P14 End of Year Summary and the P60 End of Year Certificate for the 2009-10 year end has changed. This affects both paper returns and online returns. For further information including thresholds that are used for National Insurance Calculations that must be included in the returns for the 2009-10 year end you can download the Opera II Payroll Release and Upgrade Guide at the bottom of the page.

 

• Almost all employers must file their Employer Annual Return (P35) and End of Year Summary (P14) for each employee online for the 2009-10 year end. HMRC may charge a penalty if they file on paper. Employers can register for online services on the HMRC web site by clicking on the Online Services button and then selecting the Login or Register for HMRC Online Services option.

 

• Sometimes tax codes operate on a ‘week1’ or ‘month1’ basis which ignores all previous pay and tax in the year. Most tax codes however operate on a ‘cumulative’ basis and have the effect of deducting tax evenly over the tax year.  From 6 April 2010, tax codes ‘NT’ and ‘D0’ (D-Zero) can also be operated on a cumulative basis as well as a ‘week1’ or ‘month1’ basis. This applies only if HRMC tells the employer to do so.

 

• From 6 April 2010, calculations for Scottish Court Orders calculations will change, affecting Earnings Arrestment Orders and Current Maintenance Arrestments.

 

• Starting on 6 April 2010 and continuing to the 2020-21 tax year , the state pension age for women will gradually increase until it is the same as the current state pension age for men- 65 years.  After that, both men and women’s state pension age will gradually increase until it is 68 years.

 

• From 6 April 2010, the NI Lower Earnings Limit will change.

 

• From 6 April 2010, a new 50% tax rate for earnings above £150,000 per annum is introduced. The Basic and Higher rates have not changed for the 2010-11 tax year.

For further details about these changes you can download the Opera II (6.80) Payroll Release and Upgrade Guide.