In the build up to the much-anticipated National Payroll Week, we asked Katy Monk, Head of Payroll, to talk through our partnership with PensionSync.
Auto-enrolment – where it all began
It feels like such a long time ago that Automatic Enrolment was introduced. It was in fact 2012 that the largest employers had to start their duties.
Back then, it seemed like a significant challenge for payroll teams. We had to quickly learn a brand-new piece of legislation (luckily, that’s our superpower!) and be ready to support clients with setup, implementation, and answering inevitable queries.
One of the biggest hurdles was understanding the wide variety of pension providers. Each provider required contribution uploads in a specific file format, with unique column headings and data validation rules.
After preparing the files, we had to log in to each provider’s website and navigate their upload systems. This process wasn’t straightforward and varied across different platforms.
To manage the complexity, payroll teams attended training calls with pension providers. They also created comprehensive guides for their colleagues, affectionately known as our “Bibles.”
Connecting payroll-to-pensions
Portt & Co became one of the first companies to test the integration between our software and PensionSync. Today, we are proud to be one of PensionSync’s Gold partners and a recommended provider for payroll and automatic enrolment pension services.
PensionSync is a third party piece of software that sits between our payroll system and pension providers. It creates the contribution file from payroll in the required format for the provider, carries out data validation checks, submits the file, generates the direct debit payment and reports back to us.
Seamless payroll and pension service
By using PensionSync, we provide clients with a seamless and efficient payroll and automatic enrolment service. This efficiency keeps our time spent on pension management to a minimum.
If you know Portt & Co, you know we champion digital innovation, system integration, and automation. PensionSync has become an integral part of our payroll service, aligning perfectly with our commitment to streamlined processes.
So there you have it, Portt & Co and PensionSync – partners in crime!