Gemba as a payout layer for UK payroll bureaus.
If you already have a payroll engine — Brightpay, IRIS, Moneysoft, your own build — and you're looking at client segregation, international contractor payouts, or bulk BACS/SEPA runs, this is the page for you. Gemba is a payout and account layer, not a replacement for your calculation or RTI filing.
What we hear from UK bureaus, specifically
Three problems come up on almost every call with payroll-bureau founders and operations leads. Gemba addresses the first two cleanly. The third is better but not magic — more on that below.
A typical week in bureau operations on Gemba
Bureau infrastructure features
| Feature | Availability | Bureau-specific detail |
|---|---|---|
| Client Segregation | ||
Virtual IBANs per client GBP sort code + account · EUR IBAN |
✓ Unlimited | Each employer client gets a dedicated account identifier. Contributions and payroll funding arrive tagged with client reference. No per-IBAN charge. |
Inbound DD collection |
✓ BACS DD | Collect client payroll funding D+3 before pay day. Reduces risk — cleared funds held before BACS credit submission. |
Webhook per receipt |
✓ Real-time | Each inbound payment fires a webhook with vIBAN ID, client ref, amount, sender. Drives automated reconciliation in your system. |
| UK Payroll Payments | ||
BACS Credit (Standard 18) |
✓ D+2 | File upload to Gemba dashboard. Bureau operates under Gemba's BACS SUN — no need for your own SUN. Submission window closes 23:00 for next-day processing. |
Faster Payments |
✓ Instant | For emergency payouts, corrections, and contractor one-offs up to £1M. Available 24/7. Confirmation of Payee check supported. |
| International Payroll | ||
SEPA Credit Transfer |
✓ D+1 | pain.001 file or per-payment. All SEPA-zone countries. EU employees receive a domestic transfer — no international fees from receiving banks. |
SWIFT MT103 |
✓ 1–4 days | 150+ countries. gpi tracking per payment. OUR/SHA charge options. USD, GBP, EUR and local currency delivery. |
FX for international payouts |
✓ 0.70–0.90% | Convert at upload. Single FX GL line per client batch in Xero. Volume pricing available at £500k+/month throughput. |
One practical note before any of this matters: employee and client bank details have to be right. A UK sort code and account number carry a check digit, so a transposed pair can be caught at the point of entry rather than days later in the returns file — our account number checker applies the official modulus rules in the browser, and the Bacs bureau guide covers what changes once you submit for clients rather than only for yourself. What that looks like in practice for a bureau moving onto multi-currency infrastructure is written up as a worked scenario.
Set up your bureau account with Gemba.
We guide payroll bureaus through onboarding. Typical setup: 5–10 working days including compliance review.
Planning client pay runs around bank holidays? The payment timing calculator counts BACS and SEPA working days on the correct calendar for each currency.