9 Payroll Software UK for 2021

Sage Payroll is a subset of the Sage Group, a startup that has been in operation since 2011. Today, the company is present in 23 countries and has a customer base of 1,000,000+. 

Features

Here are Sage Payroll’s features:

RTI ready

Sage Payroll offers real-time information reporting, which makes PAYE submission easier. You can use this software to submit Real-Time Information (RTI) digitally every time you pay your staff. 

If you’re looking for a solution that complies with HMRC, then this platform is perfect for you. This tool will help you report PAYE information online and in real-time.

Payments and deductions

This is one of the best payroll software for small businesses in the UK because it calculates employees’ deductions and payments. Examples deductions that this software records on payslips include:

• Student loans 
• Statutory payments (maternity/sick leave)
• NIC
• Pension contributions

What’s more?

This solution allows you to make corrections and updates the next payroll.  

Workplace pensions

With Sage Payroll, you can set up pension schemes (People’s Pensions, NEST or NOW). Alternatively, you can set up a provider that you prefer.

Payslips and P60s printing

This software comes with an inbuilt payroll printer. Therefore, you can print payslips and P60s without the need for special stationery. You save time and you also save money!

Error fixing

Most systems require that you reprocess pay runs after editing errors on employee pay.

Not with Sage Payroll.

This software has an inbuilt feature that helps you fix any errors that may arise easily and quickly. The solution then updates the corrections for the next pay runs. The changes also reflect on your staff’s payslips, too. The software also shows the amended items. 

Auto updates

With this software, you’ll always be in tune with the latest payroll regulations since these update automatically.  

Pricing

Sage Payroll has a 30-day trial period.

That’s not all:

You get to use the software free of charge for three months after subscription!

Here are the rates of this payroll software for UK small business:

• Payroll 5 – £7/month plus VAT (up to 5 employees)
• Payroll 10 – £12/month plus VAT (up to 10 employees)
• Payroll 15 – £17/month plus VAT (up to 15 employees)
• Payroll 25 – £27/month plus VAT (up to 25 employees)

If you need to pay over 25 people, you can opt for Sage 50cloud Payroll. 

The best thing about this plan is that it allows you to run payroll for an unlimited number of staff at only £81.50/month plus VAT.

Sage also gives you the option to link it to accounting software for up to 25 employees, for £51+VAT/month (up to 25 staff)

*Every plan gets to enjoy the same exact features. The number of employees brings about the cost difference.

* Note that you have to install Sage 50cloud Payroll on your desktop.

*Sage Business Cloud Payroll purely runs on cloud so no download necessary.

Verdict

This simple payroll software for UK businesses eliminates manual processes. 

What’s more?

You don’t have to install anything to use Sage Payroll. All you need is an internet-connected device.

Some of Sage Payroll’s features include but are not limited to payslip printing, calculation and of payments and deductions, auto-updates, payslips and P60s, workplace pensions, RTI ready, and HMRC compliant. 

But:

This software’s speed is slow when entering transactions like banking because it has a 3-step process. However, this is to minimize errors.

Also, it takes about seven days to clear a prenote. Note that the delays happen only during the authorization of new banking details. The process moves along much faster after that.  

Newer version release comes with bugs. The good news is that the company quickly resolves the issues. 

Duane Jackson, a web developer, founded KashFlow in 2004. Jackson’s business outgrew Excel, and he created a simple system to manage his accounts. 

He soon started getting numerous requests for similar small business payroll software which gave birth to KashFlow. The company has multiple awards, as you can see here.

Features

KashFlow’s features are as follows:

RTIs

The software automatically updates any changes you make on your payroll. It also submits your P11D forms and P60s in real-time.

HMRC compliant

KashFlow is HMRC compliant. That means that at no point will you get penalties and fines from the government for failing to submit VAT returns.

Payslips finalising

This solution runs checks for any discrepancies on your payslips before you approve them for pay date. It then presents a list of items that need your attention.

Employee self-service

Staff can view their payslips from anywhere without any hassle, which makes this one of the top payroll software in the UK. Therefore, you don’t have to send each employee their payslip, which can be redundant.

Holiday pay

This platform comes with an easy-to-use calendar to help you keep track of your employees’ holiday entitlement. 

Reports

KashFlow is payroll software in the UK that is always updating its reports feature based on user requests and feedback. 

There’s also one mind-blowing detail.

This platform has 45+ report types. Yes, you read that right – 45+. 

They fall under three broad categories, namely:

• Expenditure-related reports
• General reports
• Income-relates reports

Auto-enrolment

This software has an auto-enrolment feature to ensure that all your employees comply with the UK pension laws. 

Pricing

KashFlow’s paid packages are as follows:

• Core – £6.75/month plus VAT for up to 5 employees (£1.13 for each additional employee) 
• Core plus Accounting – £22.50/month + VAT for up to 5 employees (£1.13 for each additional employee), comes with accounting options, which is basically the only difference.

*Automatic enrolment add-on is at £1/employee, £13.50/5 employees for both plans.

Verdict

KashFlow is one of the more affordable solutions, especially when you take the features into account. They include robust reports, RTIs, employee self-service, holiday pay, HMRC compliance, automated payroll, and many others. 

Note that this solution’s automatic enrolment doesn’t come with the monthly charges. You have to pay for it as an add-on. But bearing in mind that the platform doesn’t have upfront fees or yearly renewal fees, paying for this feature is fair. 

Intuit QuickBooks acquired PaySuite cloud-based payroll software in the UK, in 2014. The partnership brought the 5 million+ businesses that were previously PaySuite’s clients to join QuickBooks’s customer base.

Features

Here are Intuit’s features:

HMRC submissions

Intuit is one of the UK‘s best payroll software because it submits the necessary data to HMRC in real-time. You can set this feature to run automatically to avoid missed filing.

The system then sends you automatic updates so that you can have peace of mind knowing no fines are coming your way.

Automatic pension enrolment

Pension enrolment is yet another function that you can set to run automatically with this solution. This is one payroll area that will leave you with enough time to run other areas of your organization.

 Employee self-service

Your staff can upload their own data to free up your management time.

Video support

Sometimes, you just want to talk to a real person when experiencing an issue with any software. 

Aside from phone and online chat, this solution has a video call feature, which makes it one of the top payroll software in the UK.  Here you can get to see instructions on the support person’s screen in real-time. Quite unusual, but extremely useful.

Real-time insights

This software comes with inbuilt reports to help you understand your payroll data better. The documents will give you better insights into things like staffing costs, leave requests, or rotas. 

Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)

If you’re a business in the construction space, then this solution is ideal for you. It supports HMRC’s CIS on both plans. 

Payslip creation

With this solution, you can create and send payslips to your staff via email. The payslips show things like deductions and net pay in case your employees want to follow up on anything. 

This software is also a payslip generator for UK employees. Your team can print them out if they wish to. 

Pricing

Intuit allows you to save 50% of the initial costs for six months. Note that you have to subscribe to at least one QuickBooks plan and choose payroll as an add-on. Here are the software’s pricing options:

• Standard payroll – £4/month+£1/month or each employee
• Advanced payroll – £8/month+£1/month or each employee

Verdict

Intuit is a reliable payroll tool for the construction industry, but it can work with any other business type in the UK. Some of this tool’s features include HMRC submissions, payslip printing, CIS, automatic enrolment, and video support. 

Note that the solution can be difficult to troubleshoot because there are too many steps. Therefore, it becomes hard trying to figure which part of the process is causing the issue. 

The good news is that Intuit has 24/7 support to assist you whenever you get stuck.

Xero went live as basic software in 2007. Since then, the company has grown in leaps and bounds and often has frequent software updates with more superior features. To date, this software’s client base amounts to 2,000,000+.

Features

Here are Xero’s features: 

HMRC submissions

Xero is one of the best payroll software for UK enterprises because it updates your pension and payroll accounts automatically. In addition, it forwards your data to HMRC.

Hours tracking

Xero payroll has built-in timesheets to track how many hours your staff has worked. It then seamlessly automates calculations of payments due, making it easier for you to run payroll. 

Flexible calendar

With this software, you can choose payment periods suitable for your organization. That means you can pay your employees on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis. 

Multiple pay rates

You might have staff that works different roles in your company. This software allows you to pay them at different rates for each pay period.

Encrypted payslips

Xero is one of the best UK payroll software because it comes with iOS and Android apps. Therefore, staff can access their payslips from anywhere. For security measures, the system encrypts the digital payslips to ensure they reach the intended recipients safely.

Expense refunds

Reimbursements can be time-consuming if you don’t have the right solution. Refund staff for expenses spent on the job as you run payroll with this solution. 

Pricing

Xero Payroll comes with a 30-day trial period for you to experiment with its features. 

It gets better.

This payroll software for the UK is free to use for three months! 

Note: Xero payroll doesn’t come as a stand-alone package. You have to subscribe to one of the software’s all-inclusive accounts and then add the feature. 

Here are the tool’s packages and their rates:  

• Starter – £10/month plus £5/month for five employees and £1 for each additional staff
• Standard – £24/month plus £5/month for five employees and £1 for each additional staff
• Premium – £30/month plus £5/month for five employees and £1 for each additional staff

Verdict

Xero Payroll is a scalable software that will grow with your business. Its features include HMRC submissions, expenses refund, flexible calendar, built-in timesheets, encrypted payslips and multiple pay rates. 

Although this platform is easy to set up, it has a steep learning curve. The good news is that you’ll get an advisor to guide you initially. After a while, it becomes easier to use. 

Her Majesty Revenue and Customs is a non-ministerial organization that the UK Government formed in 2005. The purpose – tax collection, the issuance of national insurance numbers, the regulation of minimum wage, and some state support issuance. 

Features

Here are HMRC Basic PAYE Tools features:

Full Payment Summary (FPS)

You can use this HMRC payroll software to let the organization know the deductions like National Insurance contribution or tax from your employees’ pay. Note that you must send every staff member’s FPS for each pay run.

National Insurance Number Verification

If you have new staff and would like to ascertain their insurance numbers, this software can help. In addition, you can use it to find out what a fresh employee’s insurance number is, in case they’ve forgotten.

Employee Payment Summary (EPS)

This feature comes in handy:

• If you want a refund for statutory payment
• If you haven’t run payroll for a specific period
• For calculating apprenticeship levy.
• If you’re a limited company that has gone deductions from the Construction Industry Scheme

Earlier Year Update (EYU)

If you have employee details that you’d like to change, you can use this tool to do so. It allows you to change deductions and pay information for a tax year that’s over.  

Pricing

This is one of the few free payroll software in the UK. In other words, there are no charges for using this platform. You get all the good stuff without paying.

Verdict

HMRC Basic Tools is a simple solution that can help you run your payroll. Some of this software’s features include National Insurance number verification, full payment summary, earlier year update, an employer payment summary.

Note that this software doesn’t perform automatic enrolment for you. Therefore, you have to do the process manually, which means that your payroll could be prone to human error.

This software isn’t ideal for you if you have more than ten employees. It’s also unsuitable for agents/bookkeepers with more than three customers, and each must have less than nine employees.

In addition, if you’re looking for software with a payslip function, Basic PAYE Tools is not the software for you. Luckily, we have plenty of other options on our list with that feature. 

Nevertheless, it’s still a useful tool for performing basic payroll functions. Anf it’s free, which definitely makes it a great solution for people on a tight budget.

This company has over 40 years of payroll management experience. Over 330,000 businesses in the United Kingdom rely on it to manage their payrolls.

Features

Here are IRIS’s features:

Job Retention Scheme (JRS)

This software fully supports furlough teams and is excellent with handling JRS claims. It also ensures that your payroll is fully compliant whether it’s on holiday pay calculations or allowances.

Flexible benefits 

IRIS is one of the best online payroll software in the UK when it comes to supporting business initiatives on benefits like childcare vouchers or salary sacrifice. 

Flexible payroll options

This software has 22 payroll products, which means you have quite a lot to choose from. Here are some of the solutions:

• IRIS Managed payroll – for companies that want to outsource payroll
• IRIS Payroll Basics – free software for less than ten employees
• IRIS Payroll Business- for up to 100 members of staff
• KashFlow payroll – web-based solution for furlough staff
• IRIS Payroll Professional – formerly Star Payroll for both mid-sized organisations and bureaus
• IRIS Payrite -ideal for SME payrolls, large retail, businesses and public sector
• IRIS Earnie IQ – best solution to handle evolving businesses
• IRIS GP Accounts – the best solution for customisation to meet your organisation’s unique needs
• IRIS GP Payroll – the best solution for practice managers

HMRC compliant

This solution is HMRC approved and RTI compliant. Also, it doesn’t have a 30-day limit. 

Auto-enrolment

IRIS automatically enrols pensions to comply with government regulations. 

Pay slip printing

IRIS calculates NI, PAYE, and all other statutory payments automatically. The software allows your staff to print out payslips through either tablet, smartphone, Mac, or PC. 

Absence holiday diary

This feature monitors the time that your employees are off work. This is an important feature depending on whether your staff have paid or unpaid holiday/leave.

Pricing

IRIS is one of the best free payroll software in the UK because of its IRIS Payroll Basic plan. Note that your business must have less than ten employees to enjoy this tool.

The solution also has paid packages, some of which display pricing. For some plans, you have to contact the company for quotes.

Here are some of the company’s packages:

• IRIS Payroll Basics – £0 (10 employees)
• IRIS Payroll Business – £230 upfront fee +£96/year (up to 100 employees)
• IRIS Payroll Professional – Contact IRIS ( 100 to 2000 employees)
• IRIS Earnie IQ – Contact IRIS ( Over 250 employees)
• IRIS Managed Payroll – Contact IRIS ( For outsourcing)
• IRIS Bureau Payment – £116 upfront fee +£947/year (for bureaus)

Verdict

IRIS payroll is one of those solutions that have something for everyone. The software is so broad that it can be the best payroll software in the UK for large companies or serve small companies with less than ten staff.

Some of its features include payslip printing, HMRC compliant, job retention scheme, absence holiday diary and auto-enrolment. 

Although some IRIS packages can be costly for small enterprises, it has a lot to offer larger organizations. Luckily, there are packages within the same solution that are suitable for SMEs.

Ed Molyneux, Roan Laver, and Olly Headey founded FreeAgent in 2007. Since its inception, the company has been making headway with constant improvements on its features, to serve its clients better. 

The bank of Scotland currently owns the software. To date, this solution has 200+ staff working to ensure that FreeAgent remains to be one of the most popular payroll software in the UK. 

Features

Here are FreeAgent’s features:

HMRC compliant and RTI support

This software automatically forwards the necessary data to HMRC as you run your payroll every month. Therefore, with FreeAgent, staying compliant will never be an issue.

Time tracking

This tool has an inbuilt stopwatch and timesheets to track time for you automatically. That means you don’t have to waste time entering the hours worked into the system. 

Pay slip and P60 generation

FreeAgent is one of the top 10 payroll software in the UK because it generates payslips automatically. The documents are available online for you to edit and print. At the end of the year, you can print P60s for your employees. 

Bank payments

Connecting some solutions to bank accounts can be hectic. This solution links to bank accounts directly.   

Furlough claims calculator

FreeAgent has a calculator to help you calculate claims for your furlough staff. It has essential features, such as:

• Gross monthly pay
• Date of claim
• No. of furlough hours

This feature also gives you an option to include pension and National Insurance Contributions. 

Pricing

This is yet another one of the best free UK payroll software. However, to get access to the free payroll, you have to subscribe to one of the paid packages that also incorporate accounting.

Here are FreeAgent’s premium plans.

• Limited company – £14.90/month for the first six months, then £29/month + VAT
• Partnership – £12/month for the first six months, then £24/month + VAT
• Sole trader – £9.50/month for the first six months, then £19/month + VAT

NB: You can use FreeAgent for free if you have a current business account at the Royal Bank of Scotland or NatWest.

*FreeAgent is free for the first 30 days.

Verdict

FreeAgent is an excellent solution to help you manage accounting and payroll. Some of its features include HMRC compliance, RTI support, stopwatch, timesheets, bank payments, and furlough claims calculator. 

Note that this software’s reports are limited, but bearing in mind that it’s best for small businesses, they work just fine. 

Moneysoft has been in the market since 2000. This solution is suitable for agents, CIS contractors, employers. 

Features

The following are MoneySoft’s features.

HMRC recognized

This software will always ensure that you stay on the right side of the law by submitting relevant payroll information to HMRC. It’s also RTI compliant helping you make all your submissions on time. 

Tax and NIC

This solution comes with inbuilt NIC and tax rates. It then populates the data automatically in your payroll, saving you time.

Flexible payslips

MoneySoft allows you to add company logos or notes on your payslips. This online payslip generator for UK businesses also will enable you to print them on plain paper or pre-printed stationary for variety. 

Online filing

This solution files the following docs online for you for easy access:

• CIS 300 monthly returns
• P46 (Car) notification
• HMRC and RTI submissions
• P11D expenses & benefits
• CIS subcontractor verification

The platform validates data before submitting and alerts you if anything’s missing.

Automatic enrolments

With this software, enrolling for workplace pensions becomes much easier because it does that automatically. It conducts employee assessments on your behalf and then calculates the qualifying earnings.

Holidays

MoneySoft comes with a holiday fund feature. This solution also takes note of all UK work and national holidays and has an annual leave feature that’s user-defined. 

Pricing

Moneysoft has a 30-day trial period. Here are the software premium plans:

• Payroll Manager 20 – £72/year for one employer/contactor and up to 20 subcontractors/employees
• Payroll Manager 100 – £144/year for unlimited employers/contactors and up to 100 subcontractors/employees
• Payroll Manager 250 – £216/year for unlimited employers/contactors and up to 250 subcontractors/employees

*All plans come with a 12-month license.

Verdict

Moneysoft is one of the top 5 payroll software in the UK because it offers value for money. HMRC  approved RTI compliant, automatic enrolment, holiday pay, flexible payslips and online filing.

Unfortunately, this software doesn’t have a Mac version. The good thing is that we have plenty of other options that you can use on the OS. 

BrightPay has 25 years of industry experience. This solution started as a small company with two staff members, and that figure has grown to 45 employees to date. BrightPay currently has over 250,000 clients scattered across Ireland and the UK.  

Features

The following are BrightPay’s features:

Statutory pay

This software helps in determining eligibility and calculations of statutory payments such as:

• Maternity leave
• Parenting leave
• Sick leave

Auto-enrolment

This solution automatically enrolls your staff’s pension through several schemes including but not limited to:

• Standard Life
• Aviva
• Creative Auto-enrolment
• Scottish Widows
• Royal London

Annual leave

BrightPay aligns the tax year with the annual leave days to do correct calculations for payday. This feature also displays the balance of annual leave days on staff payslips. 

Employee Calendar

This payroll software for the UK market has a responsive employee calendar that helps you set working and non-working days. You can also set both paid and unpaid leave days.

RTIs

BrightPay enjoys full recognition by the HMRC. It also submits relevant data in real-time, saving you from penalties. 

Even better:

This software allows you to send multiple RTIs at once.  

Payslips

With BrightPay, you can choose to print payslips using Sage/IRIS stationary or a blank paper. One-click is all it takes to email payslips to your staff. It also allows you to export the documents as PDF files.

Pricing

This solution has a 60-day trial period. Here are its paid packages and their rates:

Standard for individual employers (One employer)

• Up to 3 employees – £ 49
• Up to 10 employees – £ 99
• Up to 25 employees – £ 149
• Unlimited employees – £ 199

Bureau for payroll service providers (Unlimited employees)

•  Up to 10 employers (small bureaus) – £249
•  Up to 25 employers (mid-sized bureaus) – £399 
•   Up to 10 employers (large bureaus) – £499

It is one of the best bureau payroll software in the UK.

Verdict

BrightPay is a feature-rich solution, with transparent pricing. It has plenty of useful payroll features, and some of them include automatic enrolment, RTIs, HMRC compliance, payslips, employee calendar, and so much more. 

Note that this software is only limited to Windows and Mac operating systems. However, we have plenty of other solutions on our list that work well with other devices.