Payroll
Contractor payments
Finbryn tracks what UK businesses pay self-employed contractors and subcontractors across the year and reconciles totals before year end. We collect the records needed up front and prepare clean payment data; a Self Assessment return or a Construction Industry Scheme return is filed by the contractor's own accountant or a registered agent.
Payroll reconciliation
Illustrative client · August 2026
GBP
- Payroll register agreed to the provider reportDone
- Net pay agreed to the bank debitDone
- Withholdings and employer costs postedDone
- Payroll liability accounts cleared to zeroIn progress
- Filing dates checked against the calendarNext
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
Why contractor payments need separate tracking in the UK
A self-employed contractor invoiced through Xero or QuickBooks looks the same as any other supplier until year end, when someone has to pull together exactly what was paid, when, and against which invoice. That reconciliation is easy to get wrong once payments are spread across a business bank feed, a card and the odd bank transfer.
What we collect and track
Before the first payment, we check that a contractor's details, including their UTR where relevant, are recorded correctly. Payments are then tracked against invoices and vendor records as they happen through the year rather than reconstructed retrospectively, and totals by contractor are reconciled ahead of year end.
Construction Industry Scheme work
Where a business engages subcontractors in construction, deductions under the Construction Industry Scheme have to be calculated on each payment and reported to HMRC monthly. We reconcile the deduction totals against what was actually withheld and paid, so the figures feeding a CIS return are accurate; the return itself is filed by the client or their registered agent.
Who files at year end
We do not complete or submit a contractor's own Self Assessment return, and we do not file a CIS return on a client's behalf. What we provide is a reconciled, review-ready set of payment data that the contractor's accountant, or the client's registered agent for CIS, can use without having to rebuild it from scratch. See payroll journals and reconciliations for how payments to employees, rather than contractors, are recorded.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Contractor payments
Do you decide whether someone is a contractor rather than an employee?
No. Employment status is a legal judgment for you and, where needed, your adviser, and it affects both tax and CIS treatment. We track payments accurately once the status is set.
Do you file our contractors' Self Assessment returns?
No. We reconcile the payment data. The return itself is completed and filed by the contractor's own accountant.
Can you handle Construction Industry Scheme deductions?
We reconcile CIS deduction totals against what was actually withheld from each subcontractor payment. The monthly CIS return is filed by the client or their registered agent.
What records do you need to support an employment status decision?
The contract terms, how much control you exercise over the work, and whether the individual can send a substitute, since these are the factors HMRC's own status tools weigh. The final determination and any HMRC check-employment-status result stay yours to confirm, not ours to assume.
Can you handle a contractor invoiced in a foreign currency?
Yes, the payment is converted and recorded at the applicable exchange rate, and any Construction Industry Scheme deduction, where it applies, is calculated on the sterling-equivalent gross amount so the withholding figure matches what HMRC expects regardless of the invoice currency.
Do you decide who counts as a contractor rather than an employee?
No. That classification is a legal judgment for you and, where needed, your adviser. We track payments accurately once the classification is made.
Do you file the year-end forms?
The forms are filed or transmitted by your payroll or e-file provider, or by a credentialed preparer. We prepare the underlying data and reconcile it before the deadline.
What if our records for contractor payments are not up to date?
If your records are behind, we scope a catch-up first so contractor payments starts from a clean, reconciled base. That catch-up is priced and timed separately from the ongoing engagement, so you always know what each part costs.
Who reviews the work before it reaches us?
Every deliverable under contractor payments is reviewed by a senior principal before it reaches you. You keep access to the underlying file at every stage, so nothing about the work happens somewhere you cannot see it.
Related services
- BookkeepingMonthly bookkeepingOngoing monthly bookkeeping: transactions sorted into categories, accounts reconciled and month-end reports delivered in the software you already use.
- PayrollPayroll journals and reconciliationsPayroll journal entries recorded each pay period and reconciled against the payroll platform's reports, so wages, withholdings and benefit deductions match your general ledger.
Industries
- Agencies and consultanciesBookkeeping for marketing agencies, design studios and consulting firms billing clients on retainers and project fees.
- SaaSBookkeeping and reporting for subscription software businesses tracking recurring revenue, deferred revenue and burn.
- Startups and VC-backed companiesBookkeeping and reporting for early-stage, venture-backed companies watching burn, runway and investor reporting closely.
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.