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:
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Tax and NI calculations are finalised and submitted to HMRC
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Pension contributions are triggered and may be auto-submitted
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Statutory reports and system markers (e.g. leavers, joiners) are logged
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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
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HMRC submissions may duplicate or cause reporting errors if not carefully managed
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Pension contributions can only be corrected within a short delay window — outside of that, changes must be manually managed
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Employee rejoiners (e.g. someone rehired after leaving) present system constraints that make full reversals impossible
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P45s, tax code updates, and workflows all require manual reset and verification
🔧 What We Manually Correct During a Reprocessing
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Tax codes are reviewed and reapplied
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Pension contributions are reconfigured per employee
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Workflow status and approval paths are reset
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Leaver processing is redone from scratch
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Reports are regenerated to match the updated state
💰 What It Costs — And Why
The standard reprocessing fee is:
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75% of your monthly payroll charge (e.g. £75 + VAT on a £100 + VAT service)
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The actual fee may be higher depending on complexity and turnaround time
This fee covers both:
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Software provider rollback charges
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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:
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Avoids added cost
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Reduces risk
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Ensures smoother processing across HMRC and pensions
Still unsure or need advice? We’re happy to talk it through.
📧 support@intelligentpayroll.co.uk