Purpose-built for Joint and Several Liability
Don’t just monitor your JSL exposure. Settle it.
- Powered by HMRC-recognised payroll software
- Built by Professional Passport
- Fortis does not handle client money
The JSL question that matters
Has the liability been checked - or has it been paid?
Payslip reviews, RTI checks, accreditation and HMRC-account monitoring all have a role in a responsible compliance programme. But they do not, by themselves, settle an unpaid liability. If an umbrella has not paid the correct PAYE and NICs, HMRC can recover the shortfall from the relevant party.
Fortis changes the final step. It gives the relevant party a controlled process for validating the calculation, separating the funds and making the PAYE/NIC payment directly to HMRC. The result is evidence created at the point of payment, rather than an exception discovered after the event.
Three levels of control
Detection, assurance and protection
Detection
See it before the run is released
Identify incorrect payslips, unusual calculations, missing data and mismatches before a payment run is released.
Assurance
Know the organisation behind it
Combine ongoing controls with Professional Passport’s independent assessment of the umbrella company, its ownership, connected businesses, contracts and operating processes.
Protection
Settle it and keep the evidence
Enable the relevant party to settle the correctly calculated PAYE and NIC liability directly with HMRC and retain the supporting worker-level evidence.
Fortis combines all three. The differentiator is protection through control of the payment - not reliance on a downstream promise that payment will be made later.
HMRC-recognised engine
Payroll control built on an HMRC-recognised engine
Fortis is not a payslip-checking tool layered over payroll produced elsewhere. At its core is a payroll engine that has been through HMRC’s software-recognition process.
It independently calculates the worker’s PAYE, National Insurance and other statutory deductions, creating a verified liability figure before the relevant party releases its funds. That calculation then drives the payment split, direct HMRC settlement and resulting audit trail.
HMRC-recognised payroll engine
Independent worker-level payroll calculation
PAYE and National Insurance validation
RTI-capable payroll technology
Separate umbrella and HMRC payment instructions
Complete calculation-to-payment reconciliation
Fortis does not simply check the output of somebody else’s payroll. Its HMRC-recognised payroll engine establishes the liability on which the controlled payment process is based.
How Fortis works
Five stages from assignment data to settled liability
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01
Submit once
The agency sends assignment and payment data for every worker and umbrella through one secure upload or system integration.
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02
Validate each payroll
The umbrella calculates the gross-to-net pay through Fortis using the data supplied, and exceptions are identified before release.
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03
Reconcile the evidence
Worker-level liabilities, payroll outputs and RTI information are aligned so each party is working from the same record.
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04
Split the funding
Fortis produces separate payment instructions for the umbrella allocation and the relevant PAYE/NIC liability.
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05
Settle and retain
The relevant party pays HMRC under the umbrella’s PAYE reference and retains a complete calculation-to-payment audit trail.
The umbrella remains the worker’s employer and retains its employment obligations. Fortis provides the control and evidence layer around payroll calculation, funding and payment; it does not receive or hold the money.
Across 4 linked umbrellas
Validated for direct HMRC payment
Across 4 providers
1 worker record needs review
Import New Timesheets
One submission
One upload. Every worker. Every umbrella.
Fortis integrates with pay-and-bill platforms so agencies and MSPs can submit assignment and payment data once, across their entire approved umbrella panel. The platform provides worker-level visibility without adding a separate manual audit to every payment run.
- One upload covering every worker and umbrella
- Worker-level gross-to-net payroll validation
- Separate umbrella and HMRC payment instructions
- Umbrella PAYE reference recorded against each payment
- RTI, payroll and payment reconciliation
- Immediate exceptions where data or calculations do not match
Evidence
Evidence from calculation to settlement
Every payment run creates a clear record of the data received, the payroll calculation, the PAYE and NIC liability, the amount released to the umbrella, the HMRC payment instruction and the reconciliation outcome. That evidence can be retrieved by worker, agency, umbrella and pay period.
Shown on screen
- Total workers
- PAYE liability
- Umbrella allocation
- Exceptions
- Payment run ready
- HMRC payment reference
- Reconciliation status
All Liabilities
Protection when an umbrella fails
Keep agency-funded PAYE out of the umbrella’s insolvency risk
Suppose an agency is due to fund £100,000 of gross umbrella income. Fortis validates the payroll and separates the relevant PAYE and NIC amount for direct settlement with HMRC. If the umbrella enters administration before its normal monthly payment date, the agency-funded tax is not sitting in the umbrella’s bank account awaiting onward payment.
The agency can evidence what was calculated, what it paid to HMRC, the PAYE reference used and how the amount relates to its workers. Control is applied before the failure - not reconstructed afterwards.
See the Insolvency Scenario
Wider due diligence
Control the payment. Understand the organisation behind it.
Payroll control is only one part of a resilient labour supply chain. Professional Passport independently reviews the organisation operating the payroll - not merely the payslip. The assessment considers directors, shareholders and connected companies; contracts and employment terms; operational processes; payroll controls; and the provider’s continuing compliance position.
- Ownership and connected-company review
- Contracts, employment terms and operating processes
- Gross-to-net payroll and payment controls
- Holiday pay and automatic-enrolment checks
- Tax-free expenses and salary-sacrifice controls
- VAT and financial-status monitoring
- Ongoing review, reporting and exceptions
Who it’s for
Built for every responsible party
Agencies & MSPs
Settle worker-related PAYE and NIC liabilities through a controlled process and evidence your position across complex supply chains.
End Clients
See who supplies, employs and pays each worker, with one view of agencies, umbrellas, payroll records and controlled JSL transactions.
Umbrella Companies
Give clients transparent calculations, faster reconciliation and clear evidence that their agency-funded PAYE has been paid under your reference.
Know what is due. Control where it goes. Evidence that it was paid.
Book a tailored demonstration using one of your own payment scenarios and see the worker-level audit trail Fortis creates.