Payroll Onboarding: Why It Still Takes a Week (And Why It Should Take Hours)
Discover why payroll onboarding still takes a week to complete, and how to reduce that time to just hours with our AI assistant.
·3 min read
Where does payroll onboarding time actually go?
In most practices, the payroll onboarding process is manual. You contact the new starter to collect information, the new starter responds which can be time consuming, as they need to look up their National Insurance number, contact their previous employer for their tax code, make sure their bank account details are correct, etc. You might end up chasing them for data, asking them ‘Did you get the form? Can you send it back?’ Some new starters don’t respond to email and need to be called. Once you’ve got everything you need, you then verify the data and enter it into the payroll system. The entire cycle takes 5-7 days, leaving a lot of room for error.
This blog is part of our series on how accountants get real value from AI.
For payroll bureaus, this friction is multiplied by the number of clients. A bureau with multiple clients is managing dozens of these manual processes in parallel, all with different requirements, runs and deadlines.
How Oscar eliminates the onboarding bottleneck
Oscar is BrightPay’s AI employee onboarding assistant. Rather than sending forms or calling, you send the new starter a WhatsApp message with a secure link. Oscar contacts them via WhatsApp and guides them through a secure onboarding process to collect everything needed for payroll: personal details, NI number, bank details, tax information, and documents like a P45.
Sensitive information is collected via an encrypted webpage, keeping data secure at every step. Oscar validates the information as it comes in, checking that the NI number format is correct and all the documents contain the relevant data they need. It follows up automatically if anything is missing, asking clarifying questions without your team’s involvement.
Once the process is complete, Oscar sends the validated data to BrightPay for review. Nothing is added to the payroll system until you approve it. You review Oscar’s output, confirm everything is correct, and it flows directly into BrightPay. No manual data entry required from your end.
The process works 24/7 as Oscar engages and collects data whenever a new starter is ready, independent of business hours. This means a new starter could complete onboarding at 11pm on a Sunday night, and the data arrives in your system the next morning, fully validated and ready for payroll.
What AI payroll onboarding unlocks for your practice
New starter onboarding reduces from 5-7 days to approximately 1.5 hours, with less than 5 minutes of your team’s involvement. But the real value runs deeper.
Speed and reliability: Payroll bureaus that can confirm a new starter is ready for payroll in 1.5 hours (instead of 5-7 days) have a competitive advantage. Clients experience faster, more reliable service.
Consistency: Oscar works the same way every time. There’s no variation based on who answered the phone or sent the email. Every new starter receives the same professional, guided experience. Every piece of data collected is validated using the same standards.
Capacity: Oscar also works 24/7. Because he engages and collects data whenever a new starter is ready, payroll runs arrive on schedule and your teams get consistent onboarding every single time.
Check out further information on where AI should help your accounting practice.
Getting started with Oscar
Oscar is exclusively available on BrightPay Cloud. First, confirm you’re using BrightPay Cloud. Next, enable Oscar in your account in your settings. Then, communicate with your clients by sending them guidance on how new starters will receive the Oscar onboarding request via WhatsApp and what to expect during the process. Make it clear that this is a secure, professional process. Your team shifts from reactive data chasing to proactive payroll administration.
Ready to try out Oscar? Give it a try today by clicking the button below.
This content may have been developed with the assistance of AI tools. Content is reviewed by a member of the Bright team before publication. Guidance on legislation can be obtained from your industry body.
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