For busy payroll teams, changing software can easily fall down the priority list. The current system gets the job done, everyone knows how to use it and there's always another payroll run to prepare.
But completing payroll doesn't necessarily mean the process is efficient. The extra spreadsheets, repeated data entry and manual corrections your team deals with every week all come at a cost.
“Another year on the same system could mean another year of lost time and limited capacity.”
Finity
The quieter period before Christmas and the busy tax year-end offers a chance to assess whether your existing payroll software still meets your needs, or whether it’s time to reconsider renewing for another year.
A contract renewal is a chance to reassess
At Finity, we've been speaking to more payroll teams considering a change outside the traditional new tax year switching period.
For many, an approaching contract renewal has prompted the conversation. They know which parts of payroll take too long and want to explore whether another platform could improve their working week before committing to another year.
This is particularly important for recruitment agencies, umbrella companies and payroll bureaus managing frequent payroll runs and changing worker information. As volumes increase, the manual work needed to keep everything running can quickly become difficult to manage.
A renewal is a useful point to consider whether your current software can support that growth without adding the same amount of admin.
Staying with the same system costs you time too
Switching payroll software involves work. Employee data needs to be transferred, payroll outputs need checking and your team needs to become familiar with a new system. Those are visible costs that businesses can plan for. The time lost to inefficient software is often harder to measure because it's spread across every payroll cycle.
Finity’s UK Payroll Efficiency Report 2026 found that 77% of payroll professionals lose up to 11 hours a week to inefficient technology or processes. Meanwhile, 91% are dissatisfied with the amount of time they spend running payroll.
Almost half (48%) of payroll professionals identified manual processing as a cause of payroll errors. These findings highlight how much work can sit around the payroll run itself, from preparing information to resolving recurring issues.
Even a few hours each week can add up. If your team spends four hours on avoidable admin every week, that's 104 hours over six months. A new system won’t necessarily eliminate all of that work, but the figure gives you a starting point for calculating the potential value of a change.
And when your business is growing, getting that time back can make a difference to how many workers and clients your team can support.
Efficient payroll creates more capacity
Improving payroll efficiency is about what your business can achieve with the resources it already has. One Finity customer pays 25,000 workers every week with a team of just three. Finity helps them manage that volume by reducing manual work and the need to move between systems.
Your business may have different requirements, but the example shows how better software can support a team working at scale. Think about what less payroll admin could mean over the coming months. Your team could have more time to respond to workers, support client requests or take on additional payroll within the working day.
That’s a useful consideration when deciding when to move. Once you’ve identified a clear improvement, delaying the change also delays the capacity it could create.
What should you look for in a new payroll platform?
The best way to assess an alternative is to look at the tasks your team handles every day. Start by identifying where your current process takes longer than it should. This might include preparing payroll imports, entering the same information more than once or pulling together reports for clients.
A few questions can help:
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Where are you handling the same information more than once?
Look at repeated data entry and the movement between systems or spreadsheets. Identify the steps that add work without adding value. -
Which tasks regularly need correcting or repeating?
Make a note of recurring issues and how long they take to resolve. These are useful starting points for simplifying your process. -
What takes the most time before payroll is ready to run?
Include preparation and checks in your review. The time spent getting payroll ready can be just as important as processing it. -
Could your current process handle more volume?
Consider what would happen if you added more workers or clients. Would your team have capacity, or would the manual workload increase with them? -
How quickly can you find the information you need?
Whether you’re answering a worker’s question or demonstrating compliance, records and calculations should be easy to access and explain.
Use the answers to identify where better software could give your team the most time and capacity back.
When you engage with software providers, ask them to demonstrate how their software handles those specific tasks.
For example, if you're running weekly payroll for temporary workers, look at how easily the system manages changing hours, rates and worker details.
A useful software comparison should show you how your actual payroll process could improve, with a sales demo that goes beyond the feature list.
Start reviewing now, even if you're not ready to switch
Starting a review now gives you more time to assess your options and plan a suitable switching date. It also reduces the pressure to rush a change before the new tax year.
For some teams, an approaching renewal and manageable workload may make an earlier move worthwhile. Others may need to plan around seasonal demand, staff availability or a particularly busy payroll period.
A recruitment agency preparing for increased Christmas demand, for example, may want to use autumn to assess the software and agree a migration plan, then go live when the team has more room to manage the change.
Before deciding on a migration date, confirm what information needs to be transferred from your current platform, including employee records and year-to-date figures. You'll also need time to validate payroll results and make sure your team has the support it needs throughout the change.
A well-planned migration can take place during the tax year, provided the necessary preparation and checks are completed. Leaving the review until your contract is about to renew could limit your options, particularly if notice periods apply.
Make your next payroll software decision count
Sticking with familiar software can feel like the simplest choice, especially when your team already has a full workload. But if inefficient processes are taking hours out of every week, another year on the same system could mean another year of unnecessary work.
At Finity, we help payroll teams reduce manual admin, process payroll faster and create more capacity to support their businesses. Our 14-day free trial gives you the opportunity to explore the platform using the everyday tasks that matter to your team, without committing to a switch.
You don't have to wait until the new tax year to see what a more efficient way of working could look like.
