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25 years of paying South West wages

South West payroll service celebrates its quarter-century

A specialist payroll service, operated by the South West accountancy firm with the widest spread of regional offices, is celebrating a quarter-century of growth.
 
With offices in Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Torquay, and Truro, Bishop Fleming launched its outsourced payroll service to handle all administration for clients’ employee payments and deductions in 1983.
 
Today, that service transacts more than £14 million every month for 350 South West owner-managed businesses, which employ a total of more than 8,000 people.
 
Last year, the Bishop Fleming payroll service achieved its best-ever growth, with a 29% increase.
 
Having achieved full BACS accreditation, the Bishop Fleming payroll service is able to make salary payments directly to client’s employee bank accounts.
 
The chief of the firm’s payroll service, Steve Dennis, is also celebrating his 25th year in that role – having been recruited to launch the operation.
 
“When we started, we had 12 clients, the largest of which employed just 30 people. Today, we have more than 350 clients, some of whom employ about 750 people.
 
“For most owner-managed businesses – by far the most important sector to the South West’s economy – the ever-growing complexities and changes in payroll red-tape is a time-consuming nuisance. Large corporations now have specialist payroll teams to keep track of all these changes: we provide that service to this region’s independent companies”, said Mr Dennis.
 
“We provide a low-cost way for owner-managed companies to outsource all aspects of their payroll administration, while ensuring compliance with all the new regulations – and that their employees get paid correctly and on time”, he added.
 

“Recent years have seen the Government introduce complex tax-credit schemes and a stream of new regulations on maternity pay, paternity pay, holiday pay, and child-support deductions. This all makes payroll a nightmare for busy owner-managers”, said Mr Dennis.

Celebrating 25 years of growth are Steve Dennis and the Payroll Team.