KashFlow Case Study – The Ayr Ark

KashFlow Payroll helps The Ayr Ark comply with auto enrolment

The Ayr Ark


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Customer Profile

The Ayr Ark is a youth project based in Ayr, Scotland.

Christopher Groves fills multiple roles at the business and currently acts as company director, trustee and treasurer.

Christopher also helps manage the payroll for the Ayr Ark’s 33 employees.

Business Challenge

Christopher was using HMRC’s own PAYE system but it soon became clear to him that it was not going to be suitable for auto enrolment, so he decided to look for an alternative. He found KashFlow through HMRC’s own website.

Solutions Used

KashFlow Payroll


We recently spoke with Christopher Groves to see how KashFlow Payroll has helped them run their business.

KashFlow is award-winning, cloud based and simple accounting software, designed specifically to help small business owners make sense of their accounts. KashFlow’s aim is to take the hassle out of payroll giving small businesses more time focus on what they do best. Christopher spoke about life before KashFlow Payroll, explaining that he needed a solution to running auto enrolment assessments alongside doing the books.

The first time Christopher used KashFlow he discovered it was “quicker to use once set-up”, adding that “it takes 5 minutes to do the payroll each month”.

Christopher also described how KashFlow Payroll has changed the way he pays his small team of 4 employees, by cutting down the time spent on it each month, “The speed KashFlow can run the payroll has certainly met my expectations,” which is great feedback to hear.

Ease of use
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KashFlow Payroll is specifically designed for small and medium sized businesses and their requirements.

Help & support
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The Ayr Ark complimented KashFlow’s support options. Issues have been resolved quickly and easily for The Ayr Ark by our helpful and friendly Support Department.

Time-saving & efficiency
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The Ayr Ark spend just 5 minutes each month when they run their monthly payroll because of KashFlow.

Auto enrolment staging

Auto enrolment can be complicated and time consuming for any business, and for The Ayr Ark, Christopher explained that it wasn’t a good time of year until the business came across KashFlow. “It’s quite scary, I started preparing at least a year ago when the first letter arrived from The Pensions Regulator.”

“I read the letter and really was unsure what was going on. I began looking for software which was able to handle the workplace pension element and found KashFlow.”

Training and Support

Christopher went on to add that he believes the business are preparing well for the company’s auto enrolment staging date on 1st June, thanks to training he received from KashFlow.

“I was already with KashFlow and thought I should certainly get training on auto enrolment by my current payroll software provider. I’m conscious of the scale of the fines, so therefore I’ve got to get it right and want to make sure that on the 1st of June, we’re ready to go.”

Business compliance 

Christopher said that he wasn’t sure what auto enrolment was about when he first received the letter from HMRC, but thanks to KashFlow and the extra training and support he received, he now believes his company are in a strong position for when their staging date arrives.

He added that KashFlow gave him the peace of mind that his business is educated and compliant with auto enrolment legislation, saying that it “gave me the assurance that the software is processing and submitting the correct reports to HMRC.”

KashFlow Payroll & your business

The Pensions Regulator estimate there are around 570,000 SMEs staging for auto enrolment between April 2016 and April 2017. If your business is one of them, speak to us about KashFlow Payroll and see the range of benefits the software brings, just as The Ayr Ark have seen.

To see KashFlow in action book a free, no-obligation KashFlow demo by calling 0344 815 5779.

See how IRIS KashFlow works with your business and your books