The Admin Burden

The paperwork alone can drown you. If you've never run a payroll before, you're in for a steep learning curve:

• Setting up PAYE with HMRC
• Running payroll software (or paying an accountant to do it)
• Issuing payslips, P45s, P60s
• Managing auto-enrolment pension compliance
• Keeping records of hours, holidays, and absences
• Staying on top of employment law — which changes regularly

You can outsource some of this to a bookkeeper or accountant, but that's another cost. And even if someone else processes the payroll, you still have to manage the people.