Meet our Team – Luke Smith
Luke is a Chartered Accountant who began his journey with the Big-4 firm KPMG before taking the lead in developing Purpose, an award-winning accountancy business based in Jersey. Luke is now Managing Director of Offshore Payroll and a Partner in a successful, boutique Private Equity firm that has created a portfolio of local high performing, synergistic, professional services businesses across industry sectors. With over 24 years’ experience in accounting, finance, and business evolution Luke acts as an advisor to the boards of over 30 owner-managed businesses in Jersey with turnovers of £1M
In 2019, Luke spotted a unique opportunity and led the acquisition of Offshore Payroll Limited, determined to assemble a dynamic team that could take the company’s growth and technological capabilities to the next level. His passion for innovation drives him to continuously explore new ways to leverage technology, to streamline and add value to businesses.
Luke believes in the power of technology to reveal the true value of people and resources. By enhancing Offshore Payroll’s cloud platform, he is on a mission to develop tools that help businesses gain deeper insights into profitability, leading to smarter, more informed decisions.
Whether he is advising at board meetings, valuing a small business, or perfecting his golf game, Luke’s commitment to excellence is evident. He regularly provides expert testimony in the Royal Court in Jersey and has an unblemished record—a testament to his expertise and dedication.
September 13, 2024
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Combined Employer Return (CER) and changes to the 8 hour rule
From January 2022, the Jersey 8 hour rule will be replaced with a financial limit. This limit will be equivalent to 8 hours at the minimum wage that is in place at the start of the year.
For weekly paid employees there will be a weekly threshold based on 8 hours per week at the minimum wage. The employer will need to determine, each week, if the employee has reached that threshold and deduct contributions accordingly.
It is possible that an employee may exceed the threshold in some weeks during a month and not others. The Combined Employer Return (due January 2022) will require the earnings for the entire month to be declared for tax purposes but for contributions purposes only the earnings for the weeks where contributions have been deducted should be reported.
For monthly paid employees earnings will only need to be declared for social security purposes where the monthly threshold is reached.
Local Consortium Acquire Offshore Payroll Limited
A group of local companies have jointly purchased Offshore Payroll Limited (OP). OP is payroll service and software business that specialises in processing for jurisdictions that have unique tax and social rules.
The new owners include; recruitment specialists Rowlands, financial strategists Purpose and technology experts Vertix. Together, the group plans to invest in OP’s team and technology to innovate and develop the existing services.
Managing Director of Rowlands, Jeralie Pallot, commented:
‘We believe that this business is an excellent fit for Rowlands and will enable us to provide new, innovative solutions for our clients as OP evolves. I am particularly excited about the potential that OP has to offer deeper insights for employers and efficiencies gained through integration with accounting systems. We believe that with some investment, this is an incredibly useful tool that we will be able to provide to you..’
Managing Director of Purpose, Luke Smith added:
‘My focus when supporting the growth of OP will be to consider innovative ways to use the technology to understand the value of human resources. I believe that we can develop OP’s existing platform to create new ways to understand profitability, which in turn will help businesses to be more intelligent in their decision-making.’
Director of Vertix, Ross Huelin concluded:
‘I am excited to be part of a team that is committed to building on OP’s existing technology in creative and original ways. We are passionate about making complex processes simple, and where possible, automatic, to increase business efficiency and agility. I believe that the development work we undertake will add huge value to existing OP clients, but also open up the technology to have widely useful benefits for global organisations.’
Over the coming months, OP will begin growing its team and rolling out improvements for existing clients, before embarking on a programme of development.
Meet our Team – Adam Smith
Adam brings over 20 years of diverse experience in digital and technology fields, expertly managing and building business locations worldwide. From revamping networking and server infrastructure to leveraging cloud solutions, Adam’s expertise spans across multiple industries and organisational sectors. He has a proven track record of collaborating seamlessly with colleagues, suppliers, and partners, regardless of their technical background.
As a former IT Manager in a financial services firm, Adam led major projects, headed a service desk, and guided a team of technical engineers. His core focus has always been aligning organisational needs with technical solutions that truly deliver, all while keeping client experience at the forefront.
“A lot quicker than other products I’ve worked on”
The CER submissions are quick and simple. Also sending payslips and the staff having their own log in to view older payslips, removing the need to re-supply them with payslips for tax purposes, something I used to get a lot! Good support when needed, helpful videos and links for guidance.
Hayley Buesnel – Finance Director
