Which payroll route fits this placement?
Free tool · Agencies
Five questions about the placement, and a shortlist of the payroll routes that fit it — with when to use each, when to avoid it, and what April 2026 asks you to keep on file.
Choosing how a contractor is paid is usually decided by habit: the route the last placement used, or the provider who called most recently. This tool asks the five things that should decide it instead — the sector, how many people and how often, where they work, what the client insists on, and how much of the employment you want on your own books.
It returns a shortlist, not a verdict. Most agencies with a mixed contract book run more than one route, and that is fine when each one is chosen on purpose. Where an umbrella or an outsourced provider is on the list, the result says what the April 2026 rules expect you to hold on file for it.
Nothing you enter is sent anywhere unless you ask for a copy by email.
Payroll route finder
The printable pack
Payroll route card
Every route we hold, side by side: when to use it, when to avoid it, and what April 2026 asks you to keep on file for it.
The detail behind it
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Where this leads
The things people ask before they ring
No. Every result is on the page as soon as you press the button. If you want a copy, you can email it to yourself, and we only follow up if you tick the box that says we can.
It is a starting point. It ranks the routes we hold against what you told it, and shows why. The right answer for a placement also depends on the contract, the client and the provider, which is the conversation we have next.
From 6 April 2026 the agency holding the contract with the end client is jointly and severally liable with the umbrella for its PAYE and National Insurance. The umbrella still runs the payroll. There is no due-diligence defence, so keep a record of the checks you make.
Yes, and most agencies with a mixed contract book do. What matters is that each route is chosen for the placement it serves, with its own provider checks, rather than inherited from the last one.
Fifteen minutes will tell you where you stand
Whether you're a contractor after your next job, an agency placing across Europe, or a business that needs people found, paid and funded — start with a conversation. It costs nothing and we'll tell you honestly if we can't help. No form to fill in first.
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