LHP Accountants works across a range of sectors including tourism and agriculture, and it offers several services such as advisory, business support, tax advice and payroll.
A busy team of three lead the payroll department, including Kay Augustus, Head of Payroll, who we sat down to chat with. Payroll is where Modulr has made a considerable difference, shaving off hours of manual processing time each week not only for the team, but for their clients, too.
Such significant timesaving is critical at LHP Accountants as, across the company, offering advisory services to their clients forms the core of their ethos. Kay explained that LHP is more than your standard accounting practice – that each team sees itself as composed of business advisors committed to helping SMEs run their businesses more profitably and efficiently.
From accounts to HR advice, going the extra mile for customers is what maintains LHP’s competitive stance – the payroll department even offers training on accounting software platforms such as Xero.
With all that in mind, tasks which ‘keep the lights on’ for LHP are best automated. And, for Kay and her team, that meant automating payroll with the BrightPay-Modulr integration.
How LHP Accountants is using BrightPay, powered by Modulr
LHP uses BrightPay for payroll and HMRC payments – two processes that, although important, are often incredibly long-winded and error-prone.
It can be easy to miss PAYE deadlines as the end of month or quarter creeps up, seemingly, out of nowhere. And if PAYE is paid to HMRC using Bacs, then businesses must account for the three-day clearance period, which can add to the stress.
With Modulr, LHP is better able to make sure clients aren’t penalised for late PAYE payments. The dedicated reporting capabilities in BrightPay make it easier to ensure payments are always set up on time for clients. Not only can payments to HMRC be made directly through the BrightPay software, but, because Modulr leverages the Faster Payments network, they clear in just 90 seconds.
“One of our clients was juggling PAYE payments and payroll for 40 members of staff – they had to go through the process manually and check each individual payment was correct. Now, it’s all done automatically. We simply push payments from the software and the client can approve at the click of a button”
When it comes to payroll, what used to be a heavily manual process can now be completed in just a few clicks. Without having to move between platforms and upload payment files, everything can be managed from within a single, secure online portal – which makes life a lot easier for Kay and her team, and for their clients. Check out what Kay had to say about the integration over on LHP’s blog.
“A client of ours runs weekly payroll for his business, and it was stopping him from being able to book a holiday – he didn’t want to have to train up another member of staff. Now, we can do it all for him. He can simply approve the payments from wherever he is on his phone”
Looking ahead, LHP intends to develop payroll-as-a-service
As Kay describes it, having Modulr on board is a ‘new string to the LHP bow’: it’s a new income stream, and it has transformed the team’s working efficiency. Both LHP’s established and prospective clients seem to be sharing in the excitement, too, which means word must be getting around.
“We’re onboarding a new client to LHP and when we told him we offered Modulr, he got really excited. For him, it’s the icing on the cake”
Aside from looking forward to onboarding more clients with Modulr, LHP is intending to develop payroll-as-a-service. This would come as a welcome relief for those looking to offload their payroll without switching accountants.
It can be tricky to find accountants willing to take on payroll but, with the Modulr-BrightPay integration, it’s a no-brainer for LHP. Payroll-as-a-service would be automated, secure, LHP would be able to execute without increasing resources, and the offering would reinforce the company’s position as unique and competitive. The only question remaining is: how quickly can they get going?
