Welcome to the Cintra iQ Release Notes
Your go-to source for staying informed about the latest developments. Our release notes offer a concise overview of all new features, resolved issues, and known challenges in the most recent version of Cintra iQ.
May
Salary
How to override the payment due date for salary payments.
Ensuring the payment run due date for salary payments is correct is very important. This date dictates when employees will get paid.
To override the payment due date for salary payments, follow these steps:
Navigate to Payroll → Payroll Tools → Paying Out → Pay Employees.
In the 'Pay Employees' window, locate and click the Create Run button.
The 'Create Payment Run' window displays the default payment due date, which is typically based on your payroll pay date setup. If needed, you can override this date to accommodate specific circumstances. This window will also contain other important information related to the payment run.
In most cases, you can allow Cintra iQ to use the default due date, which is based on your payroll pay date setup.
If you need to create a supplementary payment run (outside your normal payroll processing), the due date must represent the date you want the employee(s) to be paid. Not checking this date risks the payment being made for an incorrect date or not being paid at all if the due date is in the past.
The correct due date also applies to a penny test when a payment run is created and BACS submitted to test the connection between the Bureau and the client’s SUN number.
How to apply Penultimate or earlier Last Working Day rules in Cintra iQ.
Cintra iQ allows you to make employee payments on the last working day less 1, 2, or 3 days.
To use this option, navigate to Payroll → Payroll Setup → Employer Setup.
Select the correct employer
In the PAYE & Payrolls tab, select the payroll associated with the selected PAYE scheme.
In the 'Main Settings' tab, locate the 'Payments made:' dropdown and select the number of days (1, 2, or 3) prior to the last day of each month that you want to pay employees.
Note: if you are making a change to a live payroll, the new normal pay date will take effect once you roll your period forward.
Note 2: You can dictate how your actual pay date is moved if the normal pay date falls on a non-banking day (for example, 31st May 2025 is a Saturday). Follow this link for step-by-step instructions: How do I change pay date rules for non-banking days in Cintra iQ
How to do a penny test.
Penny test is the payment of £0.01 to an employee’s bank account. It is done to test the connection between the Bureau and the client’s SUN number to ensure the BACS payment can be transmitted. This payment should be done for any new client being onboarded or for any new SUN number the client has.
To do a penny test on Cintra iQ:
Start by putting an advance amount on the employee’s payslip to reduce the net pay value to £0.01.
Create a payment run for the selected employee.
Note: It is very important to ensure the payment run due date is correct. You might need to override the default date so that the payment run due date reflects the actual date the employee should be paid.
Cintra iQ will classify any payment run with a value of £0.01 as a penny test and the FPS submission will not be required.
Once the payment run has been created, the client will need to authorise this payment via Cintra Cloud.
Once the penny test payment has been authorised by the client in Cintra Cloud, the Bureau will then need to submitt the corresponding bank file through the Cloud Bank File portal.
If the payment is successful, the advance amount from the payslip can be removed.
The payment run for the penny test should not be overridden by the main run, instead, it is left on Cintra iQ in the same way as the supplementary run.
If the payment run failed, it will need to be cancelled via the Cintra Cloud Bank file portal, which will also delete the payment run on Cintra IQ
A new payment run for the value £0.01 and the correct due date will need to be created on Cintra iQ.
HMRC
How to change the HMRC Payment due date.
The HMRC payment run Due Date is the date HM Revenue and Customs will receive your PAYE liability payment. To ensure this date is correct and to remove the risk of penalty for late payment, you need to ensure this date is correctly set up on Cintra iQ.
Navigate to Payroll → Payroll Setup → Third Party Associations.
In the Third Party Associations window, open the plus next to HMRC and select Accounts Office Cumbernauld.
In the 'Payment Settings' tab, select the pay date. Cintra iQ will then calculate the HMRC BACS payment due date based on this selection, typically processing payments for the due date on the 20th day of the following month.
Note: This payment should always be set as Electronic Transfer.
How to specify HMRC BACS Payments for PAYE schemes.
Cintra IQ provides you with the ability to control which PAYE scheme has the HMRC paid by BACS, particularly useful in cases with multiple employers where only some HMRC payments are made via BACS. This ensures accurate and streamlined payment processing for each scheme.
As a default, all PAYE schemes are set up to be paid to the Accounts Office Cumbernauld. If the HMRC payment is active on the Cintra Cloud, this means that the HMRC liability for this PAYE scheme will be paid by BACS.
To exclude specific PAYE from being paid by BACS, navigate to Payroll → Payroll Setup → Employer Setup.
Find your employer on the Employer Definitions window and click Open.
In the PAYE & Payrolls tab, double click on the relevant PAYE ref.
In the 'PAYE Scheme' window under 'HMRC Bank Account', change the Accounts Office Cumbernauld value to Cheque/Other using the dropdown menu. This action excludes this specific PAYE scheme's HMRC liability from being paid by BACS.
Note: If your normal pay date falls on a non-banking day (for example, 22nd March 2025 is a Saturday), the actual payment date might be moved. For step-by-step instructions on managing pay dates around non-banking days, follow this link:: How do I change pay date rules for non-banking days in Cintra iQ
How to exclude a single HMRC liability payment from the BACS
In the situation when your HMRC liability is normally paid by bacs, you can exclude a specific payment from being processed this way (for example, if you don’t have sufficient funds in the bank account), you can use the adjustments to zero out the value of that payment within Cintra iQ.
Navigate to Payroll → Payroll Tools → Paying Out → Pay HMRC.
Within the Pay HMRC window, click on Create Runs
Once your payment run has been created, locate and click on the Adjustments button.
4. In the 'Adjustments' window, locate the Other Adjustments and use the input box to offset the liability value
When you save your changes, the 'Total' amount on your HMRC payment run will show as zero, indicating that this specific liability will not be included in the BACS payment file.
Important Note: After excluding the payment from the BACS file, you must ensure the payment is made through an alternative method or contact HMRC to arrange the payment.
Third Party
How to change Third Party payment default due date.
The third-party payment run Due Date determines when your provider will receive the liability payment. To ensure this date is correct and to remove the risk of penalty for late payment, you need to ensure this date is correctly set up on Cintra iQ.
Navigate to Payroll → Payroll Setup → Third Party Associations.
In the Third Party Associations window, find your provider.
In the 'Payment Settings' tab, select the default pay date. Cintra iQ will use this date to determine the default due date for payments to this third-party provider.
Note 1: You can dictate how your actual pay date is moved if the normal pay date falls on a non-banking day (for example, 10th May 2025 is a Saturday). Follow this link for step-by-step instructions: How do I change pay date rules for non-banking days in Cintra iQ
How to ensure third-party payments are paid on the last working day of the month.
If your third-party payments are due on the last working day of the month, you need to select 31st as your default pay date. If the month you are processing has fewer than 31 days, the system will automatically set the payment date to the last day of that month.
Navigate to Payroll → Payroll Setup → Third Party Associations.
In the Third Party Associations window, find your provider.
In the 'Payment Settings' tab, locate the 'Payments due to third party on the:' field and select 31st as your pay date.
How to edit the third-party due date for a specific payment run.
Cintra IQ allows you to override the default payment due date for a specific third-party payment run. The due date on the third-party payment run indicates when your provider will receive the funds.
Navigate to Payroll → Payroll Tools → Paying Out → Pay Third Parties.
In the Pay third Parties window, click on Create Run Set
In the 'Pay Third Parties' window, locate and click on the Create Run Set button.
Once the payment run is displayed, find the specific payment run you want to adjust and select Edit Due Date.
You can select a new due date
If you select a date that is a non-banking day, you will see the following message, and Cintra iQ will propose a banking date instead. You should accept the new date if your payment is processed by BACS
Note: if your payment date has changed, you need to update the normal (default) pay date for the third party, rather than overriding it on each payment run. Follow those instructions: How to change the third-party payment default due date
How to exclude a specific third-party provider from the BAVS payment.
When third-party payment is generally activated for BACS within Cintra Cloud, you can still exclude specific third-party providers so their payments will be processed outside of BACS.
If you wish to do the BACS payment for some third-party associations but not for all, you have the ability to change the payment method to a cheque/other for those paid outside the BACS.
Navigate to Payroll → Payroll Setup → Third Party Associations.
In the Third Party Associations window, find your provider.
In the 'Payment Settings' tab, locate the Payment Type section and select the Cheque/Other radio button.
Note: When you create a payment run for this third-party provider under the 'Cheque/Other' setting, the 'Total paid by Cheque' amount in the payment run summary will show the value for this provider, and the 'Total paid by BACS will show as zero.
How to exclude specific payroll from third-party BACS payment.
In situations where you use the same third-party provider across multiple payrolls, and you want BACS payments processed for some payrolls but not others, you can exclude specific payrolls from the third-party payment.
Navigate to Payroll → Payroll Setup → Third Party Associations.
In the Third Party Associations window, find your provider.
In the 'Payment Settings' tab, locate the section titled: 'If you want to make payments for some payrolls but not others, for this third party, you can exclude specific payrolls from generated payment runs by listing them below:' and right-click within the Payroll Name table. From the context menu that appears, select New.
Select the specific payroll(s) you wish to exclude from the third-party payment using the dropdown menu in the 'Payroll Exclusion' window.
Note: When the third-party payment run is created for the selected provider, it will not include the values from the payrolls that have been excluded. Therefore, it's crucial to check your payment run carefully to ensure the included values are correct.
January
Account Mapping report
A new reporting feature is now available in Cintra iQ, allowing you to easily access your Account Mapping information.
To generate the report:
Navigate to: Payroll > Payroll Setup > Accounting
Click on "Account Mapping Report."
Cintra iQ will create an Excel report with separate tabs mirroring the tabs in the Account Mapping window.
This enhancement simplifies the process of sharing accounting details within your organization.
New Starter Declaration (P46) Import Interface
Cintra iQ allows you to import New Starter Declarations data from the CSV file.
To do so, follow the steps:
Navigate to the Interface Definition window: Go to Cintra iQ: Tools>Interfaces
Enter “P46” into the Search box
Select P46 Bulk Import from the IN section.
Click Open button to see the interface History window
Select Load File button
Navigate to find your CSV file with the New Starter Declaration Data (see the template attached at the bottom of this article).
The file is imported into the Cintra iQ database awaiting processing.
Click the Process Unprocessed Files button. The file is processed
Click the File Processing Log button to view the details of the file's processing.
9. Click the Close button when finished. You are returned to the Interface Definition window.
Streamlined Process for Death in Service in Cintra iQ
We understand that handling employee bereavement is a sensitive and difficult time. To support you, we've simplified the process of updating payroll records in Cintra iQ. This improvement aims to make these administrative tasks as straightforward as possible.
Furthermore, Cintra iQ now includes a helpful validation check: if you populate the date of death, the system will remind you to update the NI category to X, and the leaving date, ensuring no steps are missed.
These changes are designed to prevent the inadvertent generation of a P45 and avoid NI contributions on the final payslip.
Further Education Workforce Data - submission file import
Cintra iQ now allows import of the Further Education Workforce Data (FEWD) return from a previous year. If you have an XML file from a previous year's FEWD submission, you can now upload it directly into Cintra iQ. The system will automatically extract the relevant data and populate the corresponding fields within the payroll system.
Important: This import function is designed for clients onboarding to Cintra iQ who already have a previous year's XML submission file. Please be aware that importing an XML file will overwrite any existing teaching data currently stored within Cintra iQ.
For more details regarding FEWD take a look at our help articles: Checklist ✔ - Further Education : (freshdesk.com)
New P11D Vehicle Validation Interface
We've created a new tool to simplify the process of checking your company car and van data: the P11D Vehicle Validation interface. This is helpful for identifying vehicles that fall within the 1-50g/km CO2 emission range and are missing the required Zero Mileage Range. Providing this information is mandatory.
How to Access:
1. Go to the "Tools" menu.
2. Select "Interfaces".
3. In the "OUT" section, search for "P11D Vehicle Validation".
The interface will list the vehicles that are not compliant.
Was this article helpful?
That’s Great!
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry! We couldn't be helpful
Thank you for your feedback
Feedback sent
We appreciate your effort and will try to fix the article