Cintra Payroll Review UK 2026: Pricing, Features & Verdict

Cintra is a UK payroll platform built for mid-market businesses with 50 to 5,000 employees. It’s one of the few providers that offers both cloud software you run in-house and a fully outsourced bureau service – from the same vendor, on the same platform.

Cintra is the flagship product of PSSG (Payroll Software & Services Group), a Newcastle-based group that has acquired 10 payroll businesses since 2020. The platform won CIPP Payroll Service Provider of the Year in 2024 and holds ISO 27001 certification.

The credentials are real – but so are the concerns. Pricing is entirely quote-based with no public rate card, contracts run 3-5 years, and Trustpilot reviews (3.5/5) show a pattern of declining support quality. We’ve verified all claims against Cintra’s website, the G-Cloud 14 marketplace, and CIPP records. Here’s what we found.

PSSG at a Glance

PSSG’s Cintra is a CIPP award-winning payroll platform offering both cloud software and fully outsourced managed payroll for UK businesses with up to 5,000 employees.

PSSG isn’t a single product – it’s a group of companies consolidated under the Cintra brand. Think of PSSG as the holding company and Cintra as the software and service you actually use. The group was formed in 2019/2020 when Tenzing Private Equity began acquiring established UK payroll businesses.

Cintra Products and Services

Cintra offers five distinct products – cloud payroll software, fully outsourced payroll, employee self-service, benefits management, and consulting – making it one of the few UK providers covering both in-house and outsourced payroll.

What sets Cintra apart from most payroll software providers is the dual offering: you can run payroll in-house using their SaaS platform, or hand the entire process to their bureau team. Many mid-market competitors force you to choose one or the other.

PSSG also owns Capture Expense, a cloud expense management tool with a free Starter plan and a Business tier from £6/user/month. It integrates with Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, and SAP – useful if you want expense claims flowing directly into your payroll cycle.

Cintra Payroll Features

Cintra’s payroll software is HMRC-recognised with RTI submissions, auto-enrolment, integrated HR, employee self-service, configurable dashboards, and BACS-approved payment processing.

Cintra’s feature set is comprehensive, particularly for the mid-market. Here’s what the platform covers across core payroll, HR, compliance, and reporting.

Core payroll processing: Real Time Information (RTI) submissions to HMRC, automatic pension auto-enrolment, P45/P60/P11D generation, retroactive pay calculations, statutory payments (SSP, SMP, SPP), and BACS-approved payment files. The system handles multi-frequency payrolls (weekly, fortnightly, four-weekly, monthly) from a single platform.

Integrated HR: Cintra includes HR modules for onboarding, absence management, performance tracking, and offboarding. Employee data flows between HR and payroll without manual re-entry – no separate systems needed.

If you’re currently running payroll and HR on different platforms, this integration could save significant admin time. See our guide to HR and payroll software for more integrated options.

Employee self-service: The Cintra Serve portal gives employees and managers access to payslips, P60s, absence requests, and personal details. It’s mobile-optimised, which means employees can check their payslips or book leave from their phone. Managers get approval workflows and team dashboards.

Reporting and dashboards: Configurable dashboards with bespoke reporting. Cintra claims reports are shareable in CSV, Excel, PDF, and Word formats. However, Capterra reviewers have noted that the reporting interface has too many fields and lacks a custom report builder – it’s powerful but not always intuitive.

Security and compliance: ISO/IEC 27001 certified (SGS-accredited, July 2023), Cyber Essentials Plus, UK GDPR and EU GDPR compliant, annual penetration testing, and UK-based single-tenant databases. PSSG claims to invest £500,000 per year in cybersecurity. Two-factor authentication is standard.

API access: Cintra offers API integration with a sandbox environment and documentation, allowing connections to accounting software, HR systems, and bespoke internal tools.

• Cintra's strongest feature — advantage is the dual software-plus-bureau model
• you can start managing payroll in-house and switch — to fully outsourced if your needs change, without migrating to a new provider

Cintra Pricing: What Does PSSG Cost?

PSSG uses quote-based pricing with no public rate card – the only confirmed figure is £1.87/user/month from the G-Cloud 14 framework, which is a discounted public sector rate.

This is where PSSG frustrates. Unlike Xero (from £7/month) or Sage (from £10/month), Cintra does not publish pricing on its website. You need to request a quote, which typically involves a discovery call and needs assessment.

Here’s what we do know about Cintra’s pricing structure:

Pricing model: Per payslip, billed monthly. The rate decreases with headcount – businesses with more employees pay less per payslip. Contract terms are typically 36, 48, or 60 months, with longer commitments attracting lower rates.

G-Cloud 14 rate: The UK Government’s Digital Marketplace lists Cintra at £1.87 per user per month for the cloud software licence. This is a framework rate for public sector procurement and is almost certainly lower than commercial SME pricing – but it gives a floor.

Add-on costs: Several services carry additional charges. Manual calculations cost extra per item, BACS file generation is charged per file, P11D processing has its own fee, custom reporting is billed at an hourly rate, and payroll consulting is charged by the day.

Outsourced (Cintra Source): Managed payroll pricing is entirely bespoke and depends on headcount, pay frequency, and complexity. Industry benchmarks for UK outsourced payroll range from £4 to £10 per employee per month for SMEs – Cintra likely falls within this range.

The lack of pricing transparency is a genuine weakness. Businesses comparing options face a friction point that transparent competitors like Xero and other payroll software providers don’t impose. If pricing transparency matters to you, Cintra may not be the right starting point.

Customer Reviews: What Users Say About Cintra

Cintra’s Trustpilot score is 3.5/5 from 50 reviews with a polarised split – 54% give 5 stars, but 28% give 1 star, with recent complaints about removed dedicated support teams.

Cintra’s review profile tells a story of two eras. Earlier reviews praise the platform and its people; more recent feedback raises concerns about service changes following PSSG’s growth-by-acquisition strategy.

What positive reviewers say: User-friendly dashboard, intuitive navigation, reliable and accurate payroll processing, smooth implementation process, and responsive dedicated account managers. The platform’s interface is frequently described as clean and well-organised.

What negative reviewers say: The biggest complaint – appearing in multiple 2024-2025 reviews – is that Cintra removed dedicated support teams. Customers who had a named contact now deal with a general helpdesk.

Other negative themes: payroll processing errors, additional charges for previously included services, password reset issues, and commitments not followed through.

Our take: The Trustpilot profile is unusually polarised – 54% five-star, 28% one-star, almost nothing in between. That pattern is common in companies growing fast through acquisition: the product stays strong, but support doesn’t scale at the same pace.

If you’re considering Cintra, ask specifically about your support model during the sales process. Will you have a named contact, or will queries go to a general team?

PSSG Cintra: Pros and Cons

Cintra’s key strengths are its dual software-plus-bureau model, CIPP award credentials, and ISO 27001 security – offset by opaque pricing, long contracts, and declining support quality.

Who Is PSSG Best For?

PSSG Cintra is best suited to UK businesses with 50-5,000 employees who want integrated payroll and HR from one provider, especially those considering outsourcing payroll entirely.

Good fit for:

• Mid-market businesses (50-5,000 employees) – Cintra’s feature depth and scalability shine in this range. Below 50 employees, cheaper alternatives like Xero or budget payroll software will do the job. Above 5,000, you’re likely looking at enterprise platforms like SAP or ADP.
• Businesses considering outsourcing payroll – The ability to start with software and switch to fully managed payroll (or vice versa) without changing vendor is a genuine differentiator. Read our guide to outsourcing payroll if you’re weighing that decision.
• Education sector – Cintra has specific expertise in schools and Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs), with compliance features tailored to the education pay structure.
• Businesses needing integrated HR and payroll – If you’re running separate HR and payroll systems and want to consolidate, Cintra covers both in a single platform.

Not ideal for:

• Micro-businesses and sole traders – Quote-based pricing and long contracts don’t make sense for businesses with fewer than 20 employees. Look at Moneysoft (from £90/year) or Xero Payroll instead.
• Businesses that need pricing transparency – If you want to compare costs upfront without a sales call, Cintra’s approach will frustrate you.
• Companies needing best-in-class reporting – Capterra reviewers consistently note that Cintra’s reporting interface is powerful but not user-friendly, with too many fields and no custom report builder.

How PSSG Compares to Alternatives

Compared to Xero (transparent pricing, SME-focused), Sage (mid-market incumbent), and Moorepay (outsourced specialist), Cintra’s differentiator is its combined software-plus-bureau model under one vendor.

Here’s how Cintra stacks up against the UK payroll providers you’re most likely considering alongside it.

If you’re a small business (under 50 employees) wanting transparent pricing, Xero Payroll or the providers in our best payroll software guide are a better starting point. For outsourced payroll specifically, see our best outsourced payroll companies comparison.

Cintra’s sweet spot is the mid-market business that wants one vendor for both in-house software and the option to outsource – a flexibility most competitors can’t match.

Our Verdict on PSSG

PSSG’s Cintra earns 7/10 – a CIPP award-winning platform with genuine mid-market credentials, held back by pricing opacity and a concerning support trajectory.

PSSG’s Cintra is a serious payroll platform with genuine credentials: CIPP Payroll Service Provider of the Year 2024, ISO 27001 certification, 40+ years of heritage, and a dual software-plus-bureau model that few competitors offer. For mid-market UK businesses with 50-5,000 employees – especially those in education or considering outsourced payroll – it deserves a place on your shortlist.

But we can’t ignore the warning signs. The Trustpilot profile shows a clear pattern of service decline since PSSG’s PE-backed acquisition spree began. Dedicated account managers have been removed, support quality is inconsistent, and some customers report being charged for services that were previously included. The lack of pricing transparency adds friction that competitors like Xero and Sage don’t impose.

Our advice: if Cintra’s feature set fits your needs, request a quote – but ask hard questions about your support model, contract flexibility, and exactly which services are included in the base price. Get it in writing.

Clara Wenslow

Finance & Business Services Editor

Clara analyses SME finance and procurement markets, covering business loans, invoice finance, payroll, and related B2B services. She ensures each comparison and guide is transparent and data-driven.

Reviewed by

Sarah Mitchell

B2B Commerce & Finance Reviewer