“Self-employed” covers two very different set-ups in searches like this one. A company director who is paid through the company’s payroll is an employee of that company for PAYE. A sole trader is not anyone’s employee. Only the first has payslips.
Directors paid through PAYE: you get a payslip
GOV.UK: “If you want the company to pay you or anyone else a salary, expenses or benefits, you must register the company as an employer.” It adds that you must register “even if you’re only employing yourself, for example as the only director of a limited company.” The company then runs payroll on your salary, deducts Income Tax and National Insurance, and reports each payment to HMRC.
Producing payslips is one of GOV.UK’s payday steps for running payroll, and it says you can use different software if your payroll software doesn’t make them. Enter the figures from your company’s payroll in PayDocs, check the preview, and keep the payslip with your company records.
Directors’ National Insurance is worked out on an annual earnings period, not pay period by pay period. The company directors page explains what that means for the NI line on your payslip.
Dividends don’t go on a payslip
Many directors take a small salary and the rest as dividends. GOV.UK describes a dividend as a payment a company can make to shareholders if it has made a profit, recorded with a dividend voucher. Dividends aren’t salary and don’t go through payroll, so they don’t belong on a payslip. Only the salary paid through PAYE does.
Sole traders and freelancers: no payslip
If you trade on your own account, you invoice clients and report your profit through Self Assessment. There is no employer and no payroll, so there is nothing for a payslip to record. A payslip you made for yourself wouldn’t describe a real payment, and PayDocs isn’t for that.
If you want payslips for your own pay, the legitimate route is to trade through a limited company that registers as an employer and pays you a salary through PAYE. That is a decision about tax and company structure, so talk to an accountant first.
If you need to show your income
A PayDocs document is not proof of income, and nobody should present it as one. If a lender or letting agent asks about self-employed income, ask them which documents they accept.
Questions
Can I make a payslip for myself as a sole trader?
No. A sole trader isn’t on a payroll, so there is no pay, tax or National Insurance deducted by an employer for a payslip to show. PayDocs is only for payslips that record real payroll payments.
I’m the only director and employee of my company. Do I need a payslip?
If the company pays you a salary, it must be registered as an employer and run payroll on that salary, and producing a payslip is part of running payroll. PayDocs can lay out the payslip from the company’s payroll figures.
Should my dividends be on my payslip?
No. Dividends are paid to shareholders out of profits and recorded with a dividend voucher. Only salary paid through PAYE goes on a payslip.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Running a limited company: taking money out of a limited company
- GOV.UK — PAYE and payroll for employers: register as an employer
- GOV.UK — Running payroll
- GOV.UK — Payslips: employee rights
Official sources checked 4 October 2026. This guide explains how pay documents work; it is not tax or legal advice.
