Real Time Information (RTI) has been mandatory for UK PAYE submissions since 2013, but the HR software side of the equation keeps getting messier. Most modern HR systems don’t run PAYE themselves; they pair with a separate RTI-compliant payroll engine. The choice of integration partner often matters more than the HR platform itself.
HMRC publishes its full list of recognised payroll software at gov.uk, last updated 24 April 2026. Over 140 paid products and 10 free options (the free ones limited to businesses with under 10 employees) sit on that list. RTI compliance is binary: you’re on HMRC’s list or you’re not. Where HR software fits into this is the integration question.
- RTI is mandatory for every PAYE employer. Every payday triggers a Full Payment Submission (FPS); month-end may require an Employer Payment Summary (EPS). Failure can trigger HMRC penalties starting from £100 per month.
- Most HR software doesn’t run RTI directly. The exceptions are Sage HR (via Sage Payroll), People HR, Employment Hero, Rippling and a small handful of others that bundle native payroll.
- HMRC’s recognised software list is the single source of truth. If a payroll product is not on gov.uk’s list, it cannot submit RTI legally. Always check before signing.
- Free RTI software exists for businesses under 10 employees. 10 free products are HMRC-recognised, including 1st FREE+ Payroll and Primo Payroll.
- The HR-payroll integration matters more than the HR platform. A clean handoff between your HR system (where employees, salary changes, joiners, leavers live) and your payroll engine (where RTI submissions originate) saves hours of monthly admin.
What RTI actually requires from your software
For UK SMEs that want bundled HR and payroll with native RTI, Sage HR and Employment Hero are the two clearest mid-market choices. Both submit RTI directly through their own payroll module rather than relying on a third-party integration. For sub-10-employee firms, HMRC’s free recognised payroll software list at gov.uk includes 10 options at zero cost.
Real Time Information is HMRC’s data feed requirement: every payday, you submit a Full Payment Submission (FPS) detailing what each employee was paid and what tax was withheld. At month-end, where adjustments are needed (statutory leave recovery, CIS deductions, employment allowance), an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) submission may be required. Both are submitted electronically through HMRC’s Government Gateway.
For software to handle this on your behalf, it must be on HMRC’s recognised payroll software list. The list is the authoritative reference. HMRC explicitly states it “cannot recommend one product or service over another” – the list is qualification, not endorsement. The list is updated periodically; the most recent revision was 24 April 2026.
The four main RTI submission types your payroll engine must support:
- FPS (Full Payment Submission): sent on or before every payday. Details pay, tax, NI per employee.
- EPS (Employer Payment Summary): sent at month-end where adjustments apply (statutory pay recovery, employment allowance, CIS, no payments made).
- EYU (Earlier Year Update): used to correct errors in a previous tax year. Required less often since 2020 reforms but still applies for older corrections.
- NVR (NINO Verification Request): used to verify a National Insurance Number for a new starter. Optional but useful.
If your software is HMRC-recognised, all four submission types are supported. The list is binary on this point.
The integration question: HR system to RTI-compliant payroll
Most UK HR software is not on HMRC’s recognised payroll list, and doesn’t claim to be. HR systems hold employees, salary changes, joiners, leavers, and benefits. Payroll engines submit RTI. The integration between the two is where most UK SMEs lose hours each month.
Three integration architectures dominate UK HR-payroll in 2026:
| Architecture | How it works | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Bundled HR + Payroll | One vendor; HR data flows directly to payroll engine; one RTI submission per pay run | Sage HR + Sage Payroll, Employment Hero, People HR (with managed payroll add-on), Rippling, Moorepay |
| Native integration (API) | Two separate vendors with documented two-way sync between HR and payroll | HiBob + Sage Payroll, HiBob + Xero Payroll, BambooHR + Sage Payroll |
| Manual export + import | HR system exports a CSV; payroll team imports each pay run | BrightHR, Breathe HR, CharlieHR + any external RTI payroll engine |
The bundled architecture saves the most time per pay run. The native-integration architecture gives more flexibility on vendor choice but requires more setup. The manual-export architecture works for sub-50-employee firms where pay runs are simple and the time cost is manageable.
HR + Payroll integration matrix for UK in 2026
Verified May 2026 from vendor documentation. Where a vendor offers multiple integration paths, the strongest is shown.
| HR platform | Native UK payroll | Recommended RTI partner | Architecture |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sage HR | Sage Payroll (HMRC-recognised) | Sage Payroll | Bundled |
| People HR | People Payroll (HMRC-recognised, managed option) | Own | Bundled |
| Employment Hero | SmartPayroll UK (HMRC-recognised) | Own | Bundled |
| Rippling | Rippling UK Payroll (HMRC-recognised) | Own | Bundled |
| Moorepay | Moorepay Payroll (HMRC-recognised, managed) | Own | Bundled |
| HiBob | None native | Sage Payroll, Xero Payroll, BrightPay | API integration |
| BambooHR | None native (UK) | Sage Payroll, BrightPay, Staffology | API integration |
| BrightHR | None native (Payroll Navigator hands off) | BrightPay, Sage Payroll | Manual export + import |
| Breathe HR | None native | Sage Payroll, BrightPay, Xero Payroll | Manual export + import (some integrations available) |
| CharlieHR | None native | BrightPay, Sage Payroll | Manual export + import |
| Deel | Deel Global Payroll (own infrastructure) | Own | Bundled (global focus) |
For UK SMEs that want one vendor, fewest moving parts, and one monthly bill, the bundled options are usually cheaper in total cost of ownership. For firms that already have a strong accounting platform (Xero, QuickBooks, Sage Accounting), pairing the matching payroll engine with a separate HR platform via API often gives more flexibility at slightly higher overhead.
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The HMRC-recognised software list (and why you must check it)
The single piece of due diligence that catches the most procurement errors: check the payroll engine on gov.uk’s recognised software list before signing. The list at gov.uk/guidance/find-payroll-software-that-is-recognised-by-hmrc is filterable by employee count, free or paid, and feature support.
What the list tells you:
- Whether the product is HMRC-recognised (binary: yes or no).
- Whether the product supports key HMRC submission types beyond the basics (auto-enrolment, employment allowance, statutory pay recovery, CIS).
- Free or paid status. Free products are limited to employers with fewer than 10 employees; check the list for the current count of free options.
What the list does not tell you:
- Which product is best for your business size or industry.
- How the user interface feels in practice.
- Whether integration with your existing HR platform is smooth.
- Customer support quality or speed of response.
HMRC is explicit: it cannot recommend one product over another. The list is necessary qualification but not sufficient for buying decisions.
As of April 2026, 10 free HMRC-recognised payroll products are available for UK employers with fewer than 10 employees. Notable options include 1st FREE+ Payroll and HR, Primo Payroll, and Collegia FreePayroll. For micro-business and sole employers, these can fully replace paid payroll software at zero ongoing cost. The trade-off is usually narrower feature support (less auto-enrolment integration, fewer report templates, less migration support).
Common RTI errors and how modern software prevents them
HMRC’s most-cited RTI error patterns are well-documented. Modern payroll software has built-in checks for most of them, but the HR platform’s role in keeping data clean upstream matters too.
- Mismatched National Insurance numbers. An NI number that doesn’t match HMRC’s records triggers a “wrong NI number” notification. Modern payroll software (Sage, BrightPay, Staffology, Xero) runs a format check before submission. The HR system’s role: verify NI numbers at onboarding and store them correctly.
- Late FPS submissions. FPS must be sent on or before payday. Modern payroll software (all HMRC-recognised) schedules submission automatically once a pay run is approved. The HR system’s role: feed accurate salary changes, joiners and leavers to payroll before the pay run starts.
- Incorrect starter declarations. New starters need a P45 from previous employment or a starter declaration. Modern payroll software guides the HR team through declaration selection. The HR system’s role: capture the declaration at hiring and pass it through.
- Forgotten EPS submissions for statutory pay recovery. Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and parental pay can be recovered from HMRC. Without an EPS, employers leave money on the table. Modern payroll software flags this; the HR system’s role is to capture the leave correctly and feed it through.
- Pension auto-enrolment timing errors. Auto-enrolment must trigger by the worker’s automatic enrolment date. Modern payroll software calculates this. The HR system’s role: keep accurate date-of-birth and start-date data.
The pattern across all five: payroll software handles the submission rules; HR software keeps the underlying employee data clean. Both must work together; weakness in either compounds the other.
Switching RTI payroll provider mid-tax-year
Migration during a UK tax year is more involved than starting fresh at 6 April. The principles:
- Complete the final pay run on the outgoing system, including any catch-up EPS adjustments.
- Export YTD payroll data from the outgoing system in HMRC’s standard format. Most HMRC-recognised software supports this.
- Import YTD data into the new system before running the first pay run. The new system uses this to continue cumulative tax calculations correctly.
- File an EPS on the new system confirming “no payment” for the gap month if there’s a gap between the last pay run on the old system and the first pay run on the new.
- Run a parallel pay run for one cycle if practical: run the same pay on both systems and compare the outputs. Catches data-migration errors before HMRC sees them.
Most accountant-focused payroll providers (BrightPay, Moneysoft, Staffology) have dedicated migration tools. Bundled HR + payroll providers (Sage, Employment Hero) usually offer migration as a paid professional service. For SMEs without internal payroll expertise, paying for migration support is almost always cheaper than DIY.
Our verdict: best HR + RTI payroll combinations for UK businesses in 2026
For micro businesses (1 to 9 employees):
- Free HMRC-recognised payroll software for the RTI side (Primo Payroll, 1st FREE+ Payroll, Collegia FreePayroll). Pair with a light-touch HR tool like CharlieHR’s free tier or a basic spreadsheet.
For UK SMEs (10 to 50 employees):
- Sage HR plus Sage Payroll for the bundled experience and accounting-stack integration.
- Breathe HR plus BrightPay for cleaner HR UX with a strong third-party payroll engine.
- BrightHR plus BrightPay if you also want the Peninsula HR advice line bundled in.
For mid-market firms (50 to 250 employees):
- People HR with managed payroll for an end-to-end UK-built solution.
- HiBob plus Sage Payroll for modern HR UI paired with a long-established RTI engine.
- Employment Hero for the strongest fully-bundled HR + payroll experience in this size band.
For globally distributed teams:
- Rippling UK Payroll or Deel Global Payroll for UK employees alongside the global EOR coverage. Both are HMRC-recognised for their UK payroll modules.
Across all sizes, the single biggest predictor of RTI smoothness is not the platform – it’s whether the HR data feeding into payroll is clean. New-starter dates entered correctly, salary changes logged before the pay run, leavers processed promptly, statutory leave recorded accurately. The platform handles the submission; you handle the data quality. For broader context on HR platform choice see our best HR software for UK businesses guide, and for SME-specific recommendations see best HR software for small business UK.
