The calculation your payroll software can’t do

Standard payroll software calculates forward: gross pay in, deductions out, net pay to the worker. It assumes you already know the gross salary.

Agency PAYE works in the opposite direction. You know what the client is paying — the charge rate. From that, you need to work backwards through the margin, employer's National Insurance, apprenticeship levy, pension, and holiday pay accrual to arrive at the correct gross pay.

That back-calculation is what umbrella companies do. It's why businesses rely on them — not because running PAYE is hard, but because arriving at the right gross pay number is. Your payroll provider handles the PAYE run fine. They just need the right number to start with.

Hubbado does that calculation. From the client charge rate through every employment cost to the exact gross pay — ready for your payroll system.

How it works

Timesheets come in

Workers submit time against agreed rates. Reviewers approve.

Hubbado calculates what to pay

From approved timesheet amounts, Hubbado works backwards through the margin and all statutory employment costs to the correct gross pay for each worker.

Your payroll runs as normal

Gross pay figures go into your existing payroll software. PAYE is paid to HMRC under your own employer reference. No umbrella in the chain.

Who this is for

Any business placing or managing workers inside IR35 who relies on umbrella companies for payroll — recruitment agencies, consultancies, or companies managing contractors directly. If you're considering bringing workers onto your own PAYE — for Joint and Several Liability, cost, control, or supply chain simplification — this is the piece that makes it practical.

You don't need to replace your payroll provider. Hubbado sits alongside whoever runs your PAYE, handling the charge rate to gross pay calculation they can't.

What makes this different

Back-calculation from charge rates — the specific gap between what agencies need and what payroll software provides. Other tools that do this calculation are designed for umbrella companies, not for agencies running their own PAYE.

Correct IR35 tax treatment — off-payroll workers are taxed at source like employees but aren't employees. Hubbado handles the right NICs, deductions, and RTI reporting without creating actual employment obligations.

Proven in production — running off-payroll PAYE since 2022, processing over 100 contractors through its own group companies.

Full workflow, not just payroll — timesheets, invoicing, and contracts in the same platform. Numbers flow end to end without manual reconciliation.

Transparent pricing — costs less than umbrella companies charge workers (typically £80–£130/month). Absorb the cost or pass it to workers transparently.

Ready to get started for free?Start with 2 free active assignments — enough to see the full flow from time entry to invoice generation.

Agency Payroll