Access receives Gold Award

Colchester, UK - 26th May 2009 - Access Accounting has been rewarded for fostering a culture of giving in the workplace with a Gold Award, the highest Award available through the Payroll Giving Quality Mark programme. This is the second time the business and accounting software house has received the accolade since it started offering the scheme in 2007.

The Payroll Giving Quality Mark aims to provide sustainable income sources for UK charities by increasing participation in Payroll Giving. By setting up a scheme, employers enable their employees to give to any UK charity straight from their gross salary and to get immediate tax relief of up to 40% on each donation.

John Beech, managing director for Access Accounting, commented, "As a company we actively encourage community and charity involvement and our staff were very keen to participate in the Payroll Giving scheme. This forms part of our wider initiatives including our Charity of the Year, for which staff have raised more than 37,600 since 2000. The success of payroll giving at Access Accounting is testament to the ongoing generosity of our staff and their commitment to helping good causes."

Payroll Giving has minimal administrative requirements or costs and is an ideal way for organisations to generate a regular, reliable income stream for good causes. The Payroll Giving Quality Mark is funded by HM Government, managed by the Institute of Fundraising and administered by the Payroll Giving Centre.

Lindsay Boswell, Chief Executive of the Institute of Fundraising, said: 'Payroll Giving is a vital source of income for charities, last year raising £109 million for many different good causes. It also brings benefits to businesses as well, boosting staff morale, recruitment and retention. In turn, staff working at companies with a Payroll Giving scheme in place can claim tax relief on donations to their favourite charities out of their gross pay."

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