Introduction
Finding software that suits your business, and your budget can be difficult.
Did you know that payroll software could cost you as little as £3 a month?
In this guide, you’ll find out everything you need to know about cheap payroll software, including what it is and where you can find it.
Let’s take a closer look and find out more.
What’s in this guide?
Top 10 Cheap Payroll Software
1. Payescape
Type: Payroll Software
Pricing: £52.50 to £172.50
Available software: Payroll, HR
Bark Score: 5/5
Payescape offers competitive pricing for their highly rated payroll and HR software, with the lowest price starting from £12 per week for one employee, up to £70.80 per week for 49 employees.
This cheap payroll software comes with many beneficial features such as creating and submitting forms to HMRC, auto-enrolment, flexible scheduling, HR functions and lifetime history so you can view your past documentation.
2. BrightPay
Type: Payroll Software
Pricing: £99 to £299
Available software: Payroll
Software Advice Score: 5/5
Brightpay offers clear pricing on their website, and have a perfect five-star rating on Software Advice where customers state that the interface is user-friendly, the software is easy to learn, and it is excellent value for money.
Their cheap payroll software packages start at £99 for up to 10 employees, while their more expensive options are approximately £199 for an unlimited number of employees.
These tiered options allow you to choose the option that suits your company best while being able to benefit from many features such as payment schedules, hourly and daily pay, expenses and much more.
3. Capium
Type: Payroll software for accountants
Pricing: From £100 per month to £300 plus VAT
Available software: Payroll, bookkeeping
Google score: 4.4/5
Capium is a highly rated provider of software which is specifically designed for accountants who do accounting and payroll for their customers, from as little as £100 per month.
This is for beginners who have up to 100 clients.
On the higher end, their most expensive package is £300 a month plus VAT, but this is for your firm if you have up to 500 clients.
You can benefit from features such as pensions, auto-enrolment and real-time information submissions.
4. Free Agent
Type: Payroll software
Pricing: £19 per month to £29 per month including VAT
Available software: Payroll
Software Advice score: 4.3/5
Free Agent is easy to use and affordable payroll software for accountants which starts from £19 per month for a sole trader which includes self-assessment filing, up to £29 per month for limited companies which will include corporation tax and dividend vouchers.
On Software Advice they have been given a high rating of 4.3 out of a possible 5, which they claim is essential software for accounting businesses and it can save your company money.
5. Xero
Type: Payroll Software
Pricing: £10 to £27.50
Available software: Payroll, business
Software Advice Score: 4/5
Xero combines both business and payroll software, with one easy to use product which can be used for sending invoices, managing assets, managing your inventory and expenses.
Their cheap payroll is an additional option which is generally £5 a month for up to 5 employees, and then £1 extra for every extra employee per month.
This makes Xero both a cheap option, but with high-quality software that has multiple purposes.
6. KashFlow
Type: Payroll Software
Pricing: £6.50 to £27.50
Available software: Payroll
Software Advice Score: 4/5
KashFlow provides its customers with both accounting and payroll software, which has a low and affordable price starting from £6.50 per month for up to 5 employees, then an additional £1.10 per employee after that.
Some of the features available include automatic enrolment, weekly or monthly payslips, the calculation for tax and flexible functionality.
You can also combine payroll with their accounting software for £21 a month plus VAT so that you can manage both tasks in one place.
7. SageOne
Type: Payroll Software
Pricing: £3 – £13
Available software: Payroll and accounting
Trustpilot Score: 4/5
Sage offers some of the cheapest payroll software on the market today, which is also highly rated on trusted review sites such as Trustpilot with over 1,000 individual reviews.
Their customers state that the customer support is excellent, the software is easy to use and of high quality.
Some of the features of SageOne include real-time information, workplace pensions, corrections and payslips.
SageOne might be a good fit for customers that have a budget, but still, want the flexibility and features of a well-known brand and developed software with full functionality.
8. Quickbooks
Type: Payroll Software
Pricing: £8 to £27.50
Available software: Payroll, accounting
Trustpilot Score: 4/5
Quickbooks are a highly rated company who offers their customers accounting and payroll software, which can be used for a variety of business-related tasks for the low price starting from £8 per month.
Some of the features you can expect to utilise, include calculating national insurance and tax, generating payslips, real-time information which can be sent to HMRC and workplace pensions.
9. Moneysoft
Type: Payroll software
Pricing: £68 to £204 per year
Available software: Payroll, accounting
Trustpilot score: 3/5
Moneysoft can offer their customers accounting and payroll software which comes in different packages, the cheapest being £68 per year for up to 20 employees, to the highest price which is £204 for an unlimited number of employees.
Features of the Moneysoft software include real-time information, sending payslips, reporting for employers, and calculation of different elements like sick pay, paternity and maternity pay.
Customers have stated on Trustpilot that they have found the software easy to use and the customer care excellent.
10. HMRC Basic PAYE Tools
Type: Payroll Software
Pricing: Free
Available software: Payroll
Trustpilot Score: 1/5
HMRC offers business owners free software which is suitable for companies that have ten employees or under, that can be used for essential payroll tasks such as calculating tax and national insurance.
They clearly state that there are some limitations to using their software such as the fact that you can’t send payslips, and it isn’t suitable for accountants with multiple clients.
FAQ
What is payroll software?
Payroll software is software that is used by business owners and payroll professionals, to calculate the amount that each employee needs to be paid, deductions and create payslips.
This removes a lot of the risk of human error, the time needed for administration and sometimes, it allows business owners with no experience to learn how to do payroll like an expert.
Who offers the best payroll software?
The best payroll software for you and your company depends on many different factors, which might include the following elements:
- Your budget
- The company’s reputation
- Their support service
- The flexibility of the software
- How many employees you have
- Whether you are a business owner or accountant
- If the software integrates with accounting or HR software
Which cheap payroll software is the easiest to use?
According to reports, SageOne is payroll software that doesn’t require any previous experience, making it one of the most accessible brands of software.
Xero is another that works very similarly to things like Excel, making it a bit easier to pick up and learn how to use.
How much does payroll software cost?
Some software, such as the software from SageOne, could cost you as little as £3 per month depending on the size of your company.
However, there is more expensive software on the market such as from SAP which can be upwards of £1,000.
There are solutions for every budget, regardless of if you need free software or access to top end corporate payroll software.
What are the benefits of using cheap payroll software?
Using payroll software comes with several benefits that include:
- Keeping control over your payroll
- Run calculations and deductions easily
- Create and send payslips
- Take away some of the human administration
- Minimise any errors
- Save money on hiring a payroll administrator
Is there any free cheap software available?
Yes, both the HMRC PAYE tools and Payroo are software that is specifically free.
Some companies such as BrightPay offer free software for companies that have under ten employees too.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is cheap payroll software that can help you regardless of the size of your business and your budget.
Why not try free software for your small business? Or top-end software like Brightpay for those who have more substantial companies.
Are you ready to compare all of your available options?
Check out the ExpertSure guides to find out more about payroll, or fill out the form at the top of the page.
