How to calculate UK payroll taxes in 2026: A step-by-step guide for small business owners

Payroll tax can be calculated manually, but thankfully we have software to help make it easier. Payroll tax is a notoriously confusing area for small business owners, especially those new to managing employees. Getting it wrong can lead to penalties, employee dissatisfaction, and a lot of wasted time. In this comprehensive guide, we break down … [Read more…]

Turn Compliance Into a People Win

For many HR leaders and business owners, every April means only one thing: the annual scramble to update payroll for the new tax year. It’s easy to view statutory pay increases as just another administrative headache, a mandatory box to tick so you don’t fall foul of the law. But what if you rethink the … [Read more…]

Pricing for MTD: How to charge more, and prove it’s worth it

18 February, 2026 11 min read Share Copy Link Copied Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is forcing a pricing reset across the profession. You’re being asked to do more work, and more often, with tighter deadlines. Meanwhile, your clients still expect fees that were set for a once-a-year service. In this article, we … [Read more…]

7 Ways Employment Hero Can Help You Retain Top Talent

Retaining top talent in 2026 is about more than providing a positive workplace culture; employees are looking for jobs where they feel genuinely seen, heard, and invested in. They want growth opportunities, but also to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Offering all this isn’t always easy, but the cost of not offering it could be … [Read more…]

What to automate: 30-day AI wins for accounting and bookkeeping firms

Your people may have been informally automating for years—copying and pasting between systems, building workarounds in spreadsheets, reusing old emails, or finding the quickest way to get something done when your software didn’t quite fit. The problem is that this kind of automation is invisible, inconsistent, and often relies on senior people’s time. It’s also … [Read more…]

How Apprenticeships Help SMEs Hire Responsibly and Build Skills

For too long, hiring has been treated like a numbers game. Post a role. Sort through hundreds of CVs. And hope the right person stands out. But for many UK employers, especially small and medium-sized businesses, the reality looks very different.  Traditional recruitment is slow, expensive and biased towards outdated credentials. We found that 3 … [Read more…]

A labour of love: New research reveals the sacrifices made by SME leaders

London, 12 February 2026: This Valentine’s Day, Employment Hero, the global leader in HR, hiring and payroll software, is celebrating the heart of the UK economy: British small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). New research commissioned by Employment Hero, surveying 1,047 UK business leaders, reveals that running a business is truly a labour of love. Despite … [Read more…]

Government red tape risks blocking youth jobs as SMEs look to access apprenticeship scheme

LONDON, 9 February 2026: The Government’s apprenticeship reforms could unlock a youth hiring breakthrough or fall victim to bureaucracy. New research from Employment Hero, the global leader in HR, hiring and payroll software, shows 73% of SME leaders are ready to take advantage of new support announced in last year’s Autumn Budget. The same data … [Read more…]

AI: Why every accountant should visit the Sage AI Roadshows 2026

There’s a conversation happening in many accounting practices across the UK. It’s happening over morning coffees, in partner meetings, and in the quiet moments between client calls: “What do we do about AI?” With Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax launching in just a few months, affecting 864,000 sole traders and landlords in its … [Read more…]

AI Skills Boost: Get free government-backed AI training for your business

Your people are probably using AI, whether your business has officially adopted it or not. From drafting invoice reminders and summarising meeting notes in seconds, to getting help with prospecting templates or ideas, AI has crept into everyday work. That’s the context for the AI Skills Boost, a UK government initiative designed to help millions … [Read more…]