How to set up your Tide Payroll

Connect your Tide Payroll with HMRC's Pay As You Earn system, so you and your employees' tax, national insurance and Student Loans are all calculated and paid automatically.

Get connected

Step 1: Register with HMRC as an employer

You'll first need to let HMRC know that you're an employer, even if you're a director-only business that doesn't have any employees.

Start this step as early as possible to run your first payroll without delays.

If you've already done this, skip steps 1 and 2.

By registering, you'll be set up for PAYE (Pay As You Earn), HMRC's system for collecting tax and National Insurance, as well as student loans.

Registering takes about 15 minutes, but HMRC can take up to up to around 1 month to process it. Bear this in mind to avoid delays to your payroll.

To register, follow these onscreen instructions. You'll need your:

Company name, number, and address

Number of employees (including all directors)

Director(s) name, email address, and National Insurance number

Your chosen first salary payment date

Step 2: Get your PAYE details

In about 1 month after your registration, HMRC will post your:

Employer PAYE Reference and Accounts Office Reference – sometimes called your PAYE references

Before you take any further action, you need to wait for your Activation Code letter. It’ll arrive by post in roughly 10 days. Then:

When you get your activation code, log in to your Government Gateway portal

Click on PAYE for employers

Enter your activation code, which will activate your PAYE references

See your references in the portal under the PAYE for employers box and in your letter

Keep your references handy as you’ll need them for Step 4.

Having trouble with your PAYE details?

If you've been trying to enter your PAYE details, but keep getting the error that HMRC couldn't validate your credentials, follow these steps:

Wait for the two letters from HMRC to arrive – the first with references and the second with your activation code

Enter your activation code* on the HMRC website – this will activate your references

Add your references to your app – connect your HMRC account to Tide Payroll and sync your employer references. Read on to find out how

* If you haven't entered your code within 28 days of the date on the letter, you'll need to request a new one.

Having trouble with your login details?

Before you contact HMRC, confirm you have the correct login details. Sometimes you may be entering:

Auto-filled login details – when logging in at gov.uk, don't rely on your browser or password manager to pre-fill in your details

Your personal account details – at the top of your page, it should say "Business Tax Account" for your business account details

Your login details for another business account – sometimes business account details can get mixed up

Need help resetting your password or reactivating your account?

If none of the above steps work, it may be because you:

Need to reset your password – you may need to change your password to regain access to your account

Haven't used your account for months – sometimes, HMRC may freeze or close your account. You'd need to reactivate it by reaching out to HMRC by contacting gov.uk

If you need further support with setting up your Payroll on HMRC, contact gov.uk.

Step 3: Connect your HMRC account to Tide Payroll

You’ve now got everything you need to set up Tide Payroll.:

Tap Payroll > Connect your account

Add the Government Gateway user ID and password you use to log in to your HMRC business tax account. Be sure not to use your personal tax account login details

Tap Save account details to confirm them

Step 4: Sync your employer references

Having registered with HMRC in Step 1, you'll now have your 'Employer PAYE Reference' and your 'Accounts Office Reference' mentioned in Step 2.

On your app's Payroll homescreen, tap Sync your references

Add your references to your Tide Payroll

Tap Save employer references to confirm them

You've now connected your account to HMRC, and are ready to add in your information and schedule your first payday.

Step 5: Add your (and your directors') details

You're now ready to add your personal details, so your personal tax is calculated accurately.

Go to the Payroll homescreen

Tap Add yourself to payroll

Here you can add your:

Name and address

National insurance number

Bank details

Employment start date

Student loan details

Payroll ID number (which can be any number you choose)

If you have any directors in your company, add their details too.

Find out if your bank's supported

We support most major banks. See a list of available banks:

Go to the Admin tab

Tap Payroll > Pay Salaries

If your bank is not on this list, you should use an alternative payment method, i.e. a regular bank transfer or use your Tide account.

Troubleshooting your payments

Get in touch with your bank if your payment was a mistake or was returned.