Your team puts in the work—they deserve to be paid correctly and on time. In the United Kingdom, payroll software helps growing businesses stay compliant, avoid costly mistakes, and cut down the time spent managing payslips by hand.
Still, 51 percent of small businesses are using spreadsheets to run payroll. That might do the trick for a tiny team, but as your company grows, manual processes slow you down and open the door to errors.
Modern payroll platforms take care of the admin—tracking hours, calculating deductions, and submitting reports—so you can stay focused on your people and what’s next for your business. The key is finding a solution that fits your size, workflows, and growth plans.
In this guide, we’ll walk through the top payroll software for small businesses in the UK—and how to choose the one that works best for your team.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect HiBob’s views. Prospective users are encouraged to conduct their own research to make the best decision for their organization.
Best payroll software for UK small businesses: At-a-glance
Benefits of payroll software for small businesses
Spreadsheets can only take your team so far. As your headcount grows, so do your responsibilities—tracking sick leave, holiday pay, part-time hours, and making sure deductions are accurate. Here’s how using payroll software brings clarity, accuracy, and peace of mind to growing teams.
Saves time with automation
Manually running payroll every cycle can take up a lot of valuable time, especially when you’re adjusting for tax codes and different payment schedules. Payroll software automates repetitive tasks like calculating taxes, creating payslips, and sending reminders for missing hours.
Maintains HMRC compliance
The United Kingdom’s tax authority, HMRC (His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs), sets clear expectations for payroll processes—from calculating tax and National Insurance contributions to submitting Real Time Information (RTI) with every pay run.
Payroll software may help by automating tax updates, syncing individual details like tax codes and pay rates, and alerting you if something’s off so you don’t miss deadlines or risk costly penalties. That peace of mind matters when you’re running a lean team and focusing on growth.
Improves payroll accuracy
Mistakes can happen when you’re keying in numbers by hand or managing variable pay rates. Payroll software can help keep data accurate by syncing team information, automating calculations, and flagging any gaps. That builds trust with your people and ensures they’re paid correctly.
Scales along with your business
The right payroll software grows with you. Whether you’re hiring new professionals, updating contracts, or managing more complex pay structures, a scalable platform makes it easy to stay organised. Choosing software that can scale means you won’t be stuck switching systems when you’ve got bigger goals to meet.
Top payroll software for small businesses in the UK
If you’re ready to upgrade to a smarter payroll system, here are some of the best payroll software options for small businesses in the UK today.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect HiBob’s views. Prospective users are encouraged to conduct their own research to make the best decision for their organization.
Bob
Small business leaders in the UK use Bob to manage payroll without bouncing between platforms or manually updating data. Instead of relying on traditional spreadsheets or multiple systems, HR teams can track salaries, time off, tax codes, and individual changes in one place. This data flows directly into payroll, meaning fewer payroll errors, faster pay runs, and less time spent double-checking compliance with HMRC rules.
The platform supports complex UK payroll requirements like prorated salaries, maternity pay, and National Insurance contributions. It flags minimum wage violations, keeps tax codes current, and automatically handles end-of-year reporting—all while giving team members a clear view of their payslips, P60s, and pay history. But Bob goes far beyond payroll. As a full HCM (human capital management) platform, it also helps you manage the entire employee lifecycle—including onboarding, performance management, engagement tools, and workforce planning. This means fewer tools to manage in your tech stack and a smoother experience for both leaders and team members.
Payroll features:
- HMRC compliance: Submit RTI reports, manage tax code updates, and stay compliant with year-end duties and P11D management
- Automated pay runs: Calculate pro-rata, overtime, bonuses, and statutory pay automatically to reduce manual effort
- Self-service: Give team members access to payslips, P60s, contracts, and more
- Flexible workforce support: Handle pay runs for full-time, part-time, shift workers, zero-hour staff, and IR35 contractors
- Real-time variance reporting: Flag and fix pay discrepancies before payday with built-in alerts
- Custom pay schedules: Support weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly payroll frequencies
- Payroll onboarding automation: Automatically collect P45s and add new joiners to payroll based on start dates
- Expert support: Work with CIPP-certified payroll professionals for guidance on complex or bespoke scenarios
Additional HR software features:
- Core HR: Automate HR workflows, centralize records, and simplify admin with a single source of truth
- Onboarding: Welcome new joiners with personalized workflows, task checklists, and peer introductions
- Time and Attendance: Let people clock in and out via web or mobile and auto-submit timesheets for payroll
- Compensation: Run structured pay cycles including bonuses, salary reviews, and equity allocations
- Payroll Hub: Sync real-time data across HR and payroll systems to eliminate double entry and errors
- Hiring: Track applicants and collect feedback
- Learning: Assign training tied to career events and let people learn on-demand via the mobile app
- Time Off: Manage PTO, holidays, and sick leave in one system with approval workflows built in
- Surveys: Run engagement, onboarding, and exit surveys
- Performance: Conduct 360-degree reviews and align team goals with company-wide objectives
- People Analytics: Monitor KPIs like retention, headcount, and growth with visual dashboards
- Your Voice: Give team members a secure, anonymous channel to report concerns
- Workforce planning: Map current and future roles, plan hiring events, and track headcount against goals
- Sandbox: Test changes to workflows, compensation cycles, or imports in a safe duplicate environment
Pricing: Contact HiBob for a custom plan.
Bamboo HR
BambooHR integrates with external UK payroll solutions. HR teams can manage time off, salary details, and new joiners in BambooHR, then sync that information with their preferred payroll system. This approach helps small businesses streamline data transfer and reduce manual input between HR and payroll tools.
Features:
- Marketplace integrations: Connect BambooHR to external payroll platforms
- Automatic data sync: Share salary, start dates, and leave information with payroll in real-time
- Payslip access: Let people view their payslips through their BambooHR account
- Time-off tracking: Feed approved holidays and sick leave into payroll calculations
Pricing: Custom pricing
(This article includes platform features and pricing that reflect the information available on the BambooHR website as of the publication date.)
<< Compare Bob vs. BambooHR and see which fits your business best >>
BrightPay
BrightPay is a cloud-based payroll platform built specifically for UK businesses. It helps growing teams stay compliant with HMRC, handles multiple pay runs, and offers team members access to payslips and time-off requests. Information syncs in real time so admins, accountants, and team members can work from the same live data.
Features:
- Automatic HMRC submissions: Send RTI files straight from the platform
- Batch processing: Finalize multiple payslips, coding notices, and employer files in one session
- Direct payments integration: Pay people and HMRC using integrations
- Real-time multi-user access: Let multiple people work on payroll files simultaneously
Pricing: Custom pricing
(This article includes platform features and pricing that reflect the information available on the BrightPay website as of the publication date.)
EmploymentHero
Employment Hero provides an automated payroll platform for small businesses in the United Kingdom. It consolidates data such as hours worked, time off, and salary details to help run payroll efficiently. The system is HMRC-compliant and includes access to expert support for more complex tasks like back pay, redundancy calculations, and auto-enrolment.
Features:
- Pre-payroll automation: Consolidate time off, schedules, and salary data automatically before pay runs
- One-click pay run approvals: Review payroll through a visual dashboard that flags errors
- Integrated HMRC reporting: Submit reports directly to HMRC
- Post-payroll sync: Automatically generate payslips, update general ledgers, and send pension contributions
Pricing: Custom pricing
(This article includes platform features and pricing that reflect the information available on the Employment Hero website as of the publication date.)
IRIS
IRIS gives small businesses the option of either running payroll themselves with their HMRC-recognized software or outsourcing it to their global payroll experts. If you run it on your own, you can handle day-to-day tasks like payslips and deductions in-house. Or, IRIS manages everything from international compliance to individual payments across 135+ countries.
Features:
- HMRC-recognized software: Stay compliant with automatic tax calculations, RTI submissions, and the latest UK regulations
- Mobile and self-service portals: Give people easy access to payslips, personal information updates, and time-off tracking
- Automation: Automate calculations, payments, and end-of-year reporting
- Dedicated account management: Work with a single point of contact for local and international payroll support
Pricing: Custom pricing
(This article includes platform features and pricing that reflect the information available on the IRIS website as of the publication date.)
PayFit
UK small business leaders can use PayFit to adjust salaries, bonuses, or deductions and see payslips update immediately. Before finalizing payroll, the system automatically flags any unexpected changes. Once approved, PayFit submits RTI reports to HMRC and pension providers on your behalf.
Features:
- Live payslip editing: Add or adjust bonuses, deductions, and pay variables before payday
- Automated compliance: Handle RTI submissions to HMRC and pension reporting
- Variance reporting: Review any unexpected pay changes compared to the previous month
- Undo feature: Reopen and fix pay runs if needed without starting from scratch
Pricing:
- Light: Starts at £34/mo
- Standard: Starts at £65/mo
- Premium: Starts at £126/mo
(This article includes platform features and pricing that reflect the information available on the PayFit website as of the publication date.)
QuickBooks
QuickBooks is a good payroll option for small businesses that already use QuickBooks for accounting. It lets you automate weekly or monthly pay runs, calculate tax codes and deductions automatically, and directly submit everything to HMRC. Users can generate payslips, manage statutory payments like sick pay or maternity leave, and set up pension contributions to major providers like Nest and Smart Pension.
Features:
- HMRC-recognised: Submit RTI filings and tax code updates directly from QuickBooks
- Built-in statutory pay calculations: Handle sick pay, maternity, paternity, and bereavement leave without manual tracking
- Self-service: People can access their payslips through a portal, email, or printed copies
- Integrated accounting: Payroll data feeds directly into QuickBooks Online for a complete financial overview
Pricing:
- Sole Trader: £10/mo
- Simple Start: £16/mo
- Essentials: £33/mo
- Plus: £47/mo
- Advanced: £115/mo
(This article includes platform features and pricing that reflect the information available on the QuickBooks website as of the publication date.)
Recommended For Further Reading
Sage
Sage offers a UK-based payroll tool for small businesses that want to keep payroll, pensions, and basic HR admin under one roof. Small teams can manage shift work, leave requests, and payroll year-end tasks without a dedicated HR or finance department.
Features:
- Runs all payroll frequencies: Run weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly pay runs for up to 150 people
- HR built-in: Track time off, manage documents, publish announcements, and onboard new joiners
- HMRC-recognized: Submit RTI, FPS, and EPS reports directly from Sage
- Sage Accounting integration: Automatically sync salary journals into the books
Pricing:
- Payroll Essentials: £10/mo
- Payroll Standard: £20/mo
- Payroll Premium: £30/mo
(This article includes platform features and pricing that reflect the information available on the Sage website as of the publication date.)
<<Compare Bob vs. Sage and see which fits your business best>>
Find the right UK payroll software for your small business
Now that you’ve explored top payroll software options in the United Kingdom, you’re one step closer to choosing a solution that makes paying your team simple, accurate, and stress-free. The right platform does more than save time—it helps you stay compliant and focus on what matters most: growing your business.
For small businesses looking to do more than just run payroll, Bob is here to help. HR teams across the UK use the platform to manage everything from hiring and onboarding to tracking time off, supporting team member development, and running compliant payroll—all in one place. Instead of stitching together separate systems, Bob gives you a single, people-first platform that supports your team at every stage.
Start simplifying payroll—and so much more—with Bob.
