Auto-enrolment drives growth for Chorley firm Abrams Ashton

Lancashire accountancy firm Abrams Ashton saw takeup of its payroll services increase by a fifth over the course of January and February this year.

The Chorley-based firm has attributed the 20% growth to the introduction of auto-enrolment, which it believes is causing more and more SMEs across the county to outsource for payroll provision.

Now, Abrams Ashton said payroll has become its fastest growing offer, particularly with smaller firms.

Company director Jo Ecob commented: “There’s so much research out there that shows the difficulties businesses face when trying to meet complicated payroll regulations, with auto-enrolment the latest headache for smaller firms.

“2016 really is the year of auto-enrolment, with thousands of small and micro-employers facing their staging date this year.”

He continued: “The new mandatory living wage is also a concern for small businesses in low pay sectors such as retail and care, who will struggle with increased costs, forecasting and budgeting – something that will make payroll and business planning even more challenging.”

Established 30 years ago, today Abrams Ashton has a client portfolio of more than 150 businesses.

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