- Growing team payroll
Payroll for 10-20 Employees
Ten employees do not create a new PAYE system. What usually changes is the way payroll has to be managed. More people are joining and leaving, variable pay becomes more common, managers start supplying payroll information and a final approval step becomes far more useful.
Payrollcompany.ie helps growing Irish employers replace an informal payroll routine with a repeatable process for inputs, review, approval, Revenue reporting and payroll records.
Monthly payroll 10 to 20 employees
€25
- RPN retrieval and Revenue submissions
- PAYE, USC and PRSI calculations
- Standard payroll reports
- Starters, leavers and corrections
- MyFutureFund administration
- A dedicated payroll manager
Who it’s for
Who This Payroll Service Is For
Payroll as a regular process
Businesses whose payroll has grown from an occasional task into a regular operating process.
Mixed pay types
Companies with a mix of salaries, hourly rates, overtime, bonuses or commission.
Managers supplying inputs
Employers where managers or supervisors now provide payroll inputs.
Multiple pay cycles
Businesses running weekly, fortnightly or monthly payrolls, or more than one agreed cycle.
Outgrowing spreadsheets
Companies that have outgrown an ad hoc spreadsheet or one-person payroll routine.
Switching providers
Employers switching from an accountant, in-house process or another payroll provider.
Want to compare this stage with our other service routes? See how support changes by business size, industry and payroll need in the Payroll Services for Irish Businesses hub.
How we help · By scale
What Changes Between 1-9 and 10-20 Employees?
The change is usually operational rather than statutory. The underlying Revenue obligations apply from your first employee, but the number of payroll movements and people involved can increase quickly.
| Area | Often at 1-9 Employees | Often at 10-20 Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll Inputs | One owner or manager may know most changes personally. | Hours, leave, overtime and other changes may come from several people. |
| Approval | A simple owner review may be enough. | A named reviewer and final approver become useful. |
| Variable Pay | Fewer one-off movements. | Bonuses, commission, overtime and differing hours can appear more often. |
| Starters and Leavers | Changes may be occasional. | More frequent changes make a standard onboarding and leaver process valuable. |
| Reporting | Basic payroll totals may be enough. | Finance may need clearer payroll reports and regular reconciliation. |
| Continuity | Payroll knowledge may sit with one person. | A documented process reduces dependence on one person remembering every change. |
The core payroll rules themselves are unchanged. Employers still need the latest Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN) before payroll and must report pay and deductions to Revenue on or before the pay date.
As your team grows, a consistent payroll calendar, clear input cut-offs and defined approvals make each pay run easier to manage. Our Running Payroll in Ireland guide explains the wider process from employee setup and RPNs through to Revenue reporting.
Process design
Payroll Inputs Need a Standard Route
At this size, payroll information is less likely to sit in one person’s head. A manager may approve overtime, HR may hold starter details, finance may know about a bonus and the owner may still give final payroll approval.
A standard input process gives each type of change a clear route into payroll. It also makes late or missing information easier to spot before the pay run is finalised.
Typical inputs can include:
- Hours worked and approved overtime.
- New starters and leavers.
- Sick leave, unpaid leave and other payroll-relevant absences.
- Benefits-in-kind or taxable benefits.
- Corrections affecting an earlier pay run.
- Bonuses, commission and other variable pay.
- Salary, hourly-rate or role changes.
- Pension and other recurring deductions.
- Expenses or benefits that may fall within Enhanced Reporting Requirements.
Controls
Separate Input, Review, Approval and Payment
A useful payroll process separates the different decisions rather than treating payroll as one large task. The person who supplies hours does not necessarily need to approve the final payroll, and the person approving payroll does not have to be the person authorising the bank payment.
For a growing business, a simple control structure can define:
- Who is allowed to submit payroll changes.
- The cut-off for hours, bonuses, starters and other updates.
- Who reviews unusual movements or high-value variable pay.
- Who gives final approval before payroll is closed.
- Who authorises the employee payment.
- Who receives payroll reports for reconciliation.
- How late changes and payroll corrections are handled.
- Who acts as the backup contact if the usual payroll person is unavailable.
These are practical controls, not statutory requirements created by reaching ten employees. They become useful because there are more transactions and more opportunities for information to be missed.
Consistency
Variable Pay Needs Consistent Treatment
As the team grows, one payroll can contain basic salary, hourly wages, overtime, commission, bonuses and taxable benefits at the same time. Revenue’s definition of gross pay includes different kinds of pay and notional pay, so the payroll input needs to identify each element before the run is approved.
The practical risk is inconsistency. Two managers can submit similar payments under different labels, or a bonus can arrive after payroll has already been reviewed. A standard input template and a clear cut-off reduce those problems without forcing every manager to become a payroll specialist.
Starters Without a PPSN Can Still Be Reported
A missing Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) does not mean the payroll submission has to stop. Revenue allows the employer to report the employee’s name, address and date of birth together with an Employer Reference while the PPSN is unavailable.
The Employer Reference must remain unchanged until the PPSN becomes available. Because Revenue cannot issue an RPN without a PPSN, emergency-basis taxation still applies until the required Revenue record is in place.
When the PPSN becomes available, the payroll records and previously unlinked submissions need to be matched correctly. A consistent starter process is therefore useful even when payroll can technically proceed before every detail is available.
Pensions
MyFutureFund Can Become a Regular Payroll Input
MyFutureFund is based on the individual employee’s official enrolment position, not on whether the business has ten, fifteen or twenty employees. The National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA) identifies and enrols eligible employees using Revenue payroll data.
Payroll then follows the official enrolment information when processing contributions. The MyFutureFund employer guide explains the detailed notification and contribution workflow, while this service handles the payroll administration where it applies.
benefits
Benefits Need to Reach Payroll as Well as Cash Pay
A company car, employer-paid medical insurance or another taxable benefit can create notional pay even though no extra cash is handed to the employee. Revenue requires taxable benefits to be reflected through payroll, with the appropriate PAYE, PRSI and USC treatment.
As the number of employees and benefit types grows, a documented process for reporting new, changed or ceased benefits is more reliable than waiting for payroll to discover them later.
What’s included
What Our 10-20 Employee Payroll Service Can Include
- Weekly, fortnightly and monthly payroll processing within the agreed service and pricing structure.
- PAYE, USC and PRSI calculations.
- Starters and leavers, including the Revenue reporting route where a PPSN is not yet available.
- Holiday and sick-pay payroll calculations where applicable.
- Director payroll where included in the agreed scope.
- Enhanced Reporting Requirements administration where applicable.
- Standard payroll reports.
- Latest RPN retrieval before each pay run.
- Revenue payroll submissions on or before the pay date.
- Overtime, bonuses, commission and other variable pay.
- Digital payslips.
- Benefit-in-kind payroll calculations where applicable.
- MyFutureFund payroll administration using official enrolment information.
- Payroll corrections.
- A dedicated payroll manager.
Reporting
Payroll Reports Should Support Reconciliation
At this stage, payroll reports often become more useful to finance than a single net-pay total. The business may want to review gross pay, employer PRSI, pension deductions, variable pay and other agreed totals before or after the payroll is finalised.
Payrollcompany.ie provides the agreed payroll reports. The finance team can then use those outputs to reconcile payroll to the relevant accounting records and investigate a difference while the pay run is still recent.
how we work
How the Payroll Process Works
1
2
Collect employee changes and variable-pay information through the agreed route.
3
Retrieve current RPNs and process the payroll.
4
5
6
Report payroll information to Revenue on or before the pay date.
7
Issue the agreed digital payslips and payroll reports.
8
Carry approved corrections or late changes through the appropriate payroll process.
WHAT GOES WRONG
Common Payroll Problems at 10-20 Employees
Keeping a process built for five employees.
An informal method can work until different managers begin supplying hours, leave and other changes. At that point, a standard input route is more dependable.
No named final approver.
Several people may contribute information, but somebody still needs responsibility for confirming that the payroll can be finalised.
Variable pay is coded differently by different managers.
Standardising the input description helps similar payments receive consistent payroll treatment.
MyFutureFund or benefits are treated as separate from payroll inputs.
Both can affect the payroll process and need to reach the payroll team through the same controlled workflow.
No clear payroll cut-off.
Late overtime or bonuses can force rushed changes after the payroll has already been reviewed.
Starter information arrives incomplete.
Payroll can be reported without a PPSN using Revenue’s Employer Reference mechanism, but no RPN is available without the PPSN and emergency basis can apply.
Payroll reports are produced but not reviewed.
The report becomes more useful when finance uses it to reconcile the payroll and investigate unexpected movements.
Switching provider
Switching From Your Current Payroll Process
You can change payroll provider during the tax year. The handover needs to preserve employee records, year-to-date payroll figures, recurring pay items and the Revenue position so the new process continues rather than restarting the payroll.
If you are moving from an accountant, another bureau or an in-house process, our payroll migration service explains how we reconcile year-to-date data, arrange Revenue access and manage the cutover.
How we help · By size
Payroll that scales exactly as fast as you do
No renegotiated contracts when you hire your fifth employee, or your fiftieth just the right level of service, automatically, as you grow.
1–9 employees
Starter
€30 / employee / mo
10–20 employees
Growth
€25 / employee / mo
21–49 employees
Established
Custom pricing
50+ employees
Enterprise
Custom pricing
Published rate · 10–20 employees
€25 / employee / month
Exclusive of VAT. Weekly, fortnightly and low-frequency payroll use separate per-payslip pricing.
See the complete schedule, inclusions and separately quoted work on our Payroll Pricing page.
What Happens When You Move Beyond 20 Employees?
There is still no new PAYE calculation that starts with employee number 21. One employment-law threshold can, however, become relevant in a different context.
The WRC collective redundancy framework applies where an establishment normally employs more than 20 people and the required number of redundancies is proposed within 30 consecutive days. For an establishment with 21 to 49 employees, that threshold is five or more proposed redundancies. Stronger payroll controls become necessary as headcount continues to grow.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Revenue Reporting Change When We Reach 10 Employees?
No. The requirement to retrieve the relevant Revenue information and report payroll on or before the pay date applies from the first employee. Ten employees is an operational stage, not a new PAYE threshold.
What Payroll Controls Are Useful at 10-20 Employees?
A clear input route, payroll cut-off, reviewer, final approver, payment authoriser, reporting process and correction route are practical controls once several people contribute to the payroll.
What Happens If a New Employee Does Not Have a PPSN Yet?
Revenue allows payroll to be reported using the employee’s name, address and date of birth plus a consistent Employer Reference. No RPN is available without a PPSN, so emergency-basis taxation applies until the Revenue position is resolved.
Can You Handle Different Pay Rates, Overtime and Commission?
Yes, where those elements are included in the agreed payroll scope. The important part is supplying each approved pay element consistently before the payroll cut-off.
Who Decides Whether an Employee Is Enrolled in MyFutureFund?
NAERSA determines eligibility and enrols employees. Payrollcompany.ie administers the payroll contribution process using the official enrolment information.
Can We Switch Payroll Provider Mid-Year?
Yes. A mid-year switch can be handled when the employee records, year-to-date data, Revenue access and transition date are reconciled before the first live payroll.
How Much Does Payroll Cost for 10-20 Employees?
The published standard monthly rate is €25 per employee per month, exclusive of VAT. Other payroll frequencies are priced separately on the Payroll Pricing page.
Still stuck on something?
Disclaimer: This page provides general information about payroll administration in Ireland. It is not legal or tax advice. Employee entitlements, director PRSI, benefits and other specialist issues can depend on individual circumstances. Employers remain responsible for payroll compliance even where payroll processing is outsourced.