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What Is Involved in Reprocessing Payroll — and Why Is There a Charge?

Reprocessing is complex and carries risks — here’s what it involves and why fees apply

Reprocessing payroll (sometimes called a "rollback") is not just a quick fix — it’s a technically complex process that can impact multiple systems and reporting requirements.

Because of the time and precision involved, we apply a reprocessing fee, typically 75% of your monthly payroll charge. Here’s why.

🔁 Why Reprocessing Payroll Is Complex

Once payroll is processed and submitted, several things happen in the background:

  • Tax and NI calculations are finalised and submitted to HMRC

  • Pension contributions are triggered and may be auto-submitted

  • Statutory reports and system markers (e.g. leavers, joiners) are logged

  • Workflow states across the platform are locked in

Rolling back payroll affects all of these — and most systems do not automatically reverse those actions.

⚠️ Technical Risks and Limitations

  • HMRC submissions may duplicate or cause reporting errors if not carefully managed

  • Pension contributions can only be corrected within a short delay window — outside of that, changes must be manually managed

  • Employee rejoiners (e.g. someone rehired after leaving) present system constraints that make full reversals impossible

  • P45s, tax code updates, and workflows all require manual reset and verification

🔧 What We Manually Correct During a Reprocessing

  • Tax codes are reviewed and reapplied

  • Pension contributions are reconfigured per employee

  • Workflow status and approval paths are reset

  • Leaver processing is redone from scratch

  • Reports are regenerated to match the updated state

💰 What It Costs — And Why

The standard reprocessing fee is:

  • 75% of your monthly payroll charge (e.g. £75 + VAT on a £100 + VAT service)

  • The actual fee may be higher depending on complexity and turnaround time

This fee covers both:

  • Software provider rollback charges

  • The manual, specialist work required to ensure full accuracy and compliance

✅ Our Recommendation

Wherever possible, we recommend making corrections in the next payroll instead of reprocessing. This approach:

  • Avoids added cost

  • Reduces risk

  • Ensures smoother processing across HMRC and pensions

Still unsure or need advice? We’re happy to talk it through.
📧 support@intelligentpayroll.co.uk