Sage 50 UK Payroll – Stage 1: Prepare for Year End

Stage 1: Prepare for Year End

Before you process your payroll year end, you must check that you are on the latest version of the software.  You can check your software as follows:

• Click Help, then click About check the version begins v29.00.

If not, you must install the update before you move on.

1. Download and install Sage 50 Payroll year end update

Sage 50 Payroll v29 includes both the new legislation for the 2023/2024 tax year, and the legislation for 2022/2023 and prior. This means you can install v29 before you process the final pay period of the 2022/2023 tax year.

You can update via the automatic update prompt when you open your software, or manually download and install the update following the steps below.

Under Program Details check:

1. • If your version number is v29.00.239, you’ve already installed your update and you don’t need to take any further action
   • If your version number begins with v28, you need to follow the steps below to install v29

Before you install v29

To make the installation process easier, we recommend that you carry out the preparation steps below.

• Check your antivirus software to avoid conflicts with Sage 50 Payroll >
• Optimise your data >
• Make a note of the Program Directory
  1. Click Help then click About
  2. Make a note of the Program Directory
• Backup your data >
• Check your computer meets the system requirements for Sage 50 Payroll >

Download and install v29.00.239 full program update

1. Close Sage 50 Payroll.
2. Now, simply click the link below:

1. • Download Sage 50 Payroll v29.00.239 >
     • If you’re prompted to Run or Save the installation file, click Save, it then downloads to your computer

2900239. To begin the installation, locate and right-click exe, then click Run as administrator.
         NOTE: The installer must be opened using the Run as administrator option.
2900240. Click Accept Licencethen click Next.
2900241. Check the path is the same as the program directory you noted earlier, then click Yes.

1. • If the path isn’t the same, click No then Yes and browse to the program directory you noted, click Sage50Payroll_2900239.exe, then click Open

1. Click OK, when the installation completes, click Close.
2. Enable background updates >

TIP: If Sage 50 Payroll is installed on more than one computer, repeat these steps on each one.

When you log in to a company for the first time after you install v29, your software upgrades your company data into the new version.

From v29, after the data upgrade process completes your software automatically optimises the database for your company. This helps to reduce the size of your backups, and to maintain error free data.

2. Paid your employees for the last time in the 2022/2023 tax year:

• From the payroll desktop, check the date in the Last Updated column.

If you pay your employees on Tuesday 5 April 2023, you may have an extra pay run at the end of the tax year.

Week 53 occurs if your regular pay date for weekly, fortnightly or four weekly paid employees falls on 5 April. This is because the number of days in the tax year doesn’t divide into a whole number of tax weeks.

TIP: You don’t have a week 53 if you process a monthly payroll.

Check if you have a week 53

In the 2022/2023 tax year, week 53 is Wednesday 5 April 2023. You have a week 53 if the following applies:

Your normal pay day is a Wednesday and…

• You last processed your weekly paid employees on Wednesday 29 March 2023.
• You last processed your fortnightly paid employees on Wednesday 22 March 2023.
• You last processed your four weekly paid employees on Wednesday 8 March 2023.

In each of these instances, you’re next due to process the employees on 5 April 2023, week 53.

Process a week 53

It’s easy to process a week 53, simply process it in the same way as any other pay period and your software will complete the correct calculations automatically.

3. Process any leavers who left on or before 5 April 2023:

• From the payroll desktop, check the Current Status column to see if it shows Leaver.

When an employee leaves your company, you need to provide them with a P45. To do this, after updating their final payment, but before submitting the full payment submission (FPS), you must mark them as a leaver.

Before you start, visit our guide on What to consider before processing an employee as a leaver >

Once you’ve done this, you’re ready to process your employee’s final pay and process them as a leaver.

NOTE: If you have an employee who’s leaving earlier than your normal pay day, you can follow our guide to Pay a leaver mid month >

Click here for detailed instructions on processing a leaver

4. Submitted your FPS for the last pay period:

• From the payroll desktop, check the date in the last FPS Date column.

The FPS is the submission you must make to HMRC each time you pay your employees. It contains:

• Starter and leaver information
• Employee information such as name, address, NI number and tax code
• Employee payment and deduction information
• Tax, NI and student loan contributions

Click here for detailed instructions for Full Payment Submissions (FPS) – The basics

5. If required, submitted your employer payment summary (EPS) for month 12:

• Click e-Submission, then click e-Submission Log.

You can use the EPS to report values to HMRC that you can’t include in your full payment submission (FPS). The values that are sent in the EPS affect the payments you make to HMRC on a monthly or quarterly basis.

Click here for detailed instructions on submitting employer payment summary (EPS)

6. Backed up your Sage 50 Payroll data:

• Click File, then click Backup and follow the steps in the Backup Wizard.

Click here for details on taking a backup of your data

 Click Here to return to checklist 

UK Payroll – What’s new in Sage 50 Payroll v29