It is almost time for the new Real Time Information era of Payroll submissions, and as usual I am making sure I run everything in my own payroll first so that I can correctly advise my customers on how to follow the new process.  There is no better way to learn than to do!

So – first things first – have you downloaded your year end legislation pack?  You need to have Sage Cover for this – there is no way around it – if you don’t have cover, please get in touch and I can help you to get it in place.

If, like me, you installed your Sage Payroll Version 19 software back in November when it was released, it is easy to forget that you now need a new version to make sure that all the legislation is correct.  If you go to Help -> About in your software and your version number is 19.00.0016 this means that you have not yet installed the new version. However – if you click on ‘Check for Updates’, Sage will tell you there are no updates – but there are.

You need to download the software from your Payroll Sage Cover area on the Sage website at https://payroll.sage.co.uk – you will need to log in and click on Software Updates and then download your tax year software update.  You need to close all Sage products including Sage 50 and ACT before you do this – and you should also close Excel before installing this update.

Sage Payroll Website

Once this software is installed, you will find that your version has changed to 19.01.075.  If you go to Help -> Check for Updates now, you will find Update 2 available to download and install.  This MUST BE DONE before you start to do your first RTI submission.  It is a little confusing, as there is no Update 1 because it has been replaced by Update 2, which is not the usual way things are done.

The one thing I did find confusing is that once I had installed Update 2, the version number still said 19.01.075 – but the update had definitely installed.  I always go to the Company->Legislation area for my own peace of mind too and check the legislation matches the new HMRC legislation – you need to make sure that your processing date is 6th April or after otherwise the legislation displayed will still be last year’s.  An easy guide is to check the Emergency Tax Code – if is says 944L you are in the correct year.

2013 2014 Legislation Settings

The other confusing thing is that if you check the legislation before doing these two updates the message at the bottom of the screen says ‘The Legislation Settings shown are for the 2013/2014 Tax Year’, even though they are clearly incorrect.  Doing the two updates means that the legislation is now correct.

Summary: Updating Sage 50 Payroll V19 Update 2

1. Check your version number (Help – About) – if it’s 19.00.0016 you need to do an update
2. Close Sage, ACT and Excel
3. Log in to https://payroll.sage.co.uk click on Software Updates and then download and install your tax year software update
4. In Sage, Help – About shows version has changed to 19.01.075
5. Help – Check for Updates – download and install Update 2
6. Check Company->Legislation area for the legislation matching the new HMRC legislation (processing date must be after 6 April, Emergency Tax Code says 944L)

I hope that this article has helped you if you are having problems with your payroll – and good luck with your first RTI submission – although don’t try to do them until after  6am on Saturday 6th April as HMRC are carrying out scheduled maintenance on the Gateway before then – no doubt preparing the decks for all of our new submissions!

**Update as of 23rd April**

Update 3 for Sage 50 Payroll has now also been rolled out.  Following download and installation of this third update your version number should read 19.01.079 .