Sponsor records · Cost guide · Checked 17 September 2026
Sponsor audit preparation: the real cost
The real cost of sponsor audit preparation includes finding records, checking gaps and making staff available, as well as any adviser’s invoice. Our hypothetical five-worker example values 28 staff hours at £840. Adding a separately commissioned £1,500 professional review brings the combined budget to £2,340 before applicable VAT. This is a planning example, not a typical bill or a quote.
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An internal review is different from a Home Office check
An employer can prepare an internal evidence review or commission a private mock audit. Neither is a Home Office assessment. The official sponsor guidance, section C7, describes document requests, onsite visits and digital checks, including interviews and inspection of records and systems. Visits or interviews may be announced or unannounced. The budget below covers a planned internal preparation exercise; it does not assume a notice period or guarantee an outcome.
Worked example · Five sponsored workers
Count the preparation hours before adding supplier fees
On smaller screens, scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| Task | Illustrative time and rate | Internal time cost |
|---|---|---|
| Find and index worker evidence | 5 workers × 2 hours × £25/hour | £250 |
| Reconcile records and log gaps | 5 workers × 1 hour × £30/hour | £150 |
| Review company processes and responsibilities | 6 manager hours × £40/hour | £240 |
| Brief staff and test evidence retrieval | 4 total person-hours × £30/hour | £120 |
| Assign follow-up work and check the index | 3 administrator hours × £26.67/hour, rounded | £80 |
| Preparation total | 28 person-hours across the team | £840 |
Every time and hourly rate is an editorial assumption, not a measured benchmark. Rates represent loaded employment costs. Existing salaried time is an opportunity cost, not automatically extra payroll; record overtime or temporary cover separately and avoid counting the same hours twice.
What a professional review adds to the budget
As a published supplier example, SO Legal lists a sponsor licence audit/compliance review at £1,500 excluding VAT (£1,800 including 20% VAT), checked 17 September 2026. This is one firm’s advertised fee, not a market average or a quote for this five-worker scenario. If that scope fits, £840 of internal time plus £1,500 of external spend gives £2,340 before VAT. With £300 VAT charged on that review, the gross combined amount is £2,640, before any recovery. Confirm file coverage, sites, written findings, follow-up and attendance separately.
Adjust the example
Record condition matters as well as headcount
The model uses three hours per worker plus 13 shared staff hours. A worker with scattered evidence may take longer than one with a complete, accessible file.
Holding everything else fixed, one extra retrieval hour per worker at £25 adds £125, taking internal time to £965 and the combined pre-VAT budget to £2,465. One fewer retrieval hour per worker reduces those figures to £715 and £2,215. These are arithmetic scenarios, not promised software savings. Remedial work, translations, travel, overtime, actual inspection attendance and continuing administration are excluded; they are not assumed to cost nothing.
- Measure retrieval time on a small sample before estimating the remaining files.
- Count person-hours: a one-hour meeting with four people uses four staff hours.
- Give missing evidence and unresolved questions an owner and a separate follow-up estimate.
- Obtain a scoped quote for legal assessment, urgent work or attendance if needed.
Practical preparation
Make the evidence retrievable and the gaps visible
Use an index to connect the record, the responsible person and the next action. This is an administrative starting point, not a complete legal checklist.
The free sponsor audit-pack checklist helps structure an internal review. Check the current Home Office guidance for applicable obligations and seek qualified advice where interpretation is needed. A tidy index does not establish that the underlying duties have been met.
- List the worker files and company records included in your review.
- Locate permission and right-to-work evidence, contact details and relevant employment records.
- Reconcile relevant attendance, absence and change records with supporting evidence.
- Test access permissions and retrieval; record unresolved gaps without inventing or backdating evidence.
Keep ongoing software separate from a one-off review
Soteriaa Starter tracking is £25/month for up to 5 sponsored-employee records, or £300 across twelve monthly payments at unchanged prices, excluding VAT where applicable. This ongoing budget is not included in the £2,340 preparation example. If you already pay for record software, do not add its full annual bill again as a new audit expense. Soteriaa organises supported records, dates and evidence; it does not perform a professional audit, supply legal assistance or guarantee compliance. See the solicitor and software cost comparison and current tracking plans.
Sources and assumptions
Soteriaa publishes this commercial guide and sells document generation and tracking software. Sources were checked on 17 September 2026. The Home Office source establishes the check process, and SO Legal supplies one advertised professional fee; neither supplies our time estimates. We have not commissioned that review or measured customer savings. Replace all assumed hours and rates with your own figures and confirm the supplier’s scope and tax treatment. Soteriaa provides document and workflow tools, not legal assistance or compliance advice. It helps organise records, evidence and deadlines; it does not determine compliance, certify records or submit official reports on your behalf. You review the information and remain responsible for required checks and submissions.