The 7 Best Payroll Solutions for Your Small Business

Moorepay ranked as our top payroll service for small businesses after scoring highly across our research criteria, placing it among the best payroll companies in the UK. It’s easy-to-use, intuitive software, combined with its compliance support and access to UK-based payroll specialists, makes it a strong all-round option for many SMEs.

However, payroll needs vary widely between businesses. Some employers may be better suited to alternatives like ADP, which supports international payroll and broader workforce management, or IRIS Staffology, which offers transparent pricing and extensive third-party integrations. For this reason, we’ve reviewed and ranked seven payroll providers to reflect different business sizes, budgets, and workforce structures.

Choosing the right payroll provider can significantly reduce admin time and compliance risk, but comparing providers individually is often time-consuming. Our free personalised comparison tool uses the same research framework to match you with payroll providers that fit your requirements, helping you compare suitable options without starting from scratch.

The Best Payroll Services for Small Businesses

Here’s a quick overview of the best payroll services for small businesses:

1. Moorepay: Best Payroll Software For Expert Consultancy

• Services available: Fully-managed payroll, DIY software, HR software
• Contracts available: Bespoke
• CIPP PAS-accredited: Yes

Moorepay stood out in our research for its hands-on consultancy-led approach to payroll, combining CIPP PAS–accredited compliance support with flexible service levels and strong reporting tools. This makes it a strong fit for UK small and mid-sized businesses that don’t have an in-house payroll or finance team and want expert guidance baked into the service, rather than relying solely on DIY software.

What makes Moorepay a good payroll service for small businesses?

In our research, it stood out for offering a strong balance of usability, compliance support, and service flexibility. Below are some of the features we rated most highly.

• Easy to get started on – Moorepay handles system setup, data migration, and legislative changes during onboarding. This removes the technical and regulatory burden of switching payroll providers, making it a strong option for businesses that want a smooth transition without a steep learning curve.
• Robust compliance support – Small businesses get access to trained payroll specialists who understand UK legislation. This support helps businesses avoid common compliance mistakes, especially when dealing with contractors, statutory pay, or changing employment rules, without needing an in-house payroll expert.
• Employee self-service reduces admin overhead – Moorepay’s employee portal and mobile app let staff access payslips, P60s, and holiday balances themselves. This cuts down on routine payroll queries and frees up time for small teams that don’t have dedicated HR support.
• Flexible service model as your business grows – Moorepay offers both part-managed and fully managed payroll, making it easier for small businesses to adjust the level of support they need over time without switching providers as headcount or complexity increaases.

What type of business is Moorepay best for?

• Businesses without an in-house payroll or finance team, because Moorepay handles onboarding, system setup, and ongoing payroll complexity on your behalf.
• UK small and mid-sized businesses are after hands-on payroll support, thanks to its mix of fully managed services and payroll software, backed by UK-based specialists.
• Companies prioritising compliance and peace of mind, as Moorepay is CIPP PAS–accredited and actively manages legislative changes, reducing the risk of payroll errors or penalties.

What could Moorepay improve?

• Lacks some useful features – Unfortunately, it doesn’t allow for payment of international employees, nor does it offer live training – features our experts have found in Iris Staffology.
• Custom pricing – Like most outsourced payroll providers, Moorepay’s pricing is also only quote-based, which makes it hard to know ahead of time whether it’s within budget for a small business.

2. ADP: Best for Integrated Payroll and People Management

• Services available: Fully managed payroll, DIY software, HR software
• Contracts available: Bespoke
• CIPP PAS-accredited: No

ADP impressed us with the breadth and depth of its integrated payroll and people management tools, combining payroll, HR, and hiring into a single, highly configurable platform.

This makes it particularly well-suited to small and mid-sized businesses that want to manage the full employee lifecycle in one system, especially those with shift-based teams or plans to employ staff across multiple countries.

What makes ADP a good payroll service for small businesses?

• Integrated payroll, HR, and hiring tools in one system – ADP combines payroll with native HR and recruiting software, including tools for background checks, interview scheduling, and contract issuance. This helps small businesses manage the full employee lifecycle without juggling multiple platforms at once.
• Modular pricing lets you pay only for what you need – We found ADP’s add-on model particularly useful for smaller teams, as it allows businesses to select specific payroll and HR features rather than committing to an all-in-one bundle, helping keep costs under control.
• International payroll support for remote or overseas staff – Unlike UK-only providers such as Moorepay, ADP offers solutions for paying employees in multiple countries, making it a strong option for small businesses with global ambitions or remote international teams.
• Strong third-party integrations keep systems connected – ADP integrates with popular tools like QuickBooks, ClockShark, and Wave, allowing payroll, accounting, and time tracking data to flow between systems and reducing duplicate data entry.

What type of business is ADP best for?

• Small and mid-sized businesses that want to unify payroll, HR, and hiring processes, thanks to ADP’s integrated suite covering payroll, recruiting, time tracking, and people management.
• Companies with shift-based or hourly staff, as ADP’s mobile app doubles as a clock-in system, helping teams with rotating schedules record hours accurately.
• Businesses employing international or remote workers, since ADP offers dedicated global payroll solutions (something UK-only providers like Moorepay don’t support).

What could ADP improve?

Like most providers on this page, ADP’s pricing isn’t transparent, which can be a problem if you run a small business and need to find out whether ADP fits your budget. For the most part, this is standard practice in this industry, but some competitors, such as Iris Staffology or Sage, do advertise their prices and are worth considering.

Additionally, ADP doesn’t offer a payroll changes report, unlike Moorepay, which makes it more difficult to track evolving payroll costs over time.

3. OneAdvanced: Best for Training and Support

• Services available: Fully managed payroll, DIY software, HR software
• Contracts available: Bespoke
• CIPP PAS-accredited: Yes

OneAdvanced stood out for the depth of its training and implementation support, combining live, instructor-led onboarding with CIPP-accredited payroll expertise. This makes it a strong choice for small and mid-sized businesses that lack in-house payroll experience and want structured guidance to get up and running quickly and compliantly.

What makes OneAdvanced a good payroll service for small businesses?

• Live training accelerates onboarding and confidence – OneAdvanced offers instructor-led training sessions, helping small payroll or finance teams get up to speed quickly without relying on trial and error. This is particularly valuable for businesses adopting new payroll software for the first time.
• CIPP-accredited compliance expertise reduces risk – With accredited payroll professionals and built-in guidance, OneAdvanced supports businesses that may lack deep payroll experience, helping them stay compliant with changing UK tax and employment rules.
• Educational resources and in-house payroll support – Beyond the software itself, we found OneAdvanced’s tax and payroll learning materials useful for building internal knowledge. This can reduce reliance on external accountants and give small teams more confidence in running payroll themselves.
• Integrated HR, attendance, and finance tools in one platform – The platform’s payroll service connects seamlessly with OneAdvanced’s wider suite of HR, time & attendance, and finance software, giving small businesses a central system for managing both people and payroll data.

What type of business is OneAdvanced best for?

What could OneAdvanced improve?

• No open API – Even though OneAdvanced has one of the largest suites of native software solutions of the providers we researched, from recruiting to accounting, its software platform lacks an open API, which means you can’t easily integrate your existing software into the platform.
• No employee-focused employee app – OnAdvanced also doesn’t have an employee mobile app, which is offered by Moorepay and ADP, although employees have access to their data via desktop.

4. TopSource: Best for Managing International Payroll

• Services available: Fully managed payroll, HR software
• Contracts available: Bespoke
• CIPP PAS-accredited: Yes

TopSource stood out for its fully managed approach to both UK and international payroll, handling everything from HMRC registration to year-end processing. This makes it particularly well-suited to UK businesses with overseas employees or global growth plans that want to outsource payroll entirely.

What makes TopSource a good payroll service for small businesses?

• International payroll support – TopSource provides compliant payroll services in over 150 countries, making it a strong option for small businesses that already employ overseas staff or plan to expand internationally.
• Fully managed payroll – TopSource handles the entire payroll process, from HMRC registration through to year-end submissions. This is ideal for small teams that want to fully outsource payroll rather than manage it in-house.
• Dedicated employee self-service app – TopSource’s Portico app gives employees access to payroll information anytime, helping businesses manage teams working across different locations and time zones more efficiently.
• Built-in HR, recruitment, and benefits software – TopSource’s native suite allows businesses to manage multiple people functions through one provider, avoiding the complexity of juggling separate systems.
• Strong integration options for finance and IT teams – An open API and ready-made integrations with tools like Sage, Xero, and QuickBooks allow payroll data to flow into existing accounting systems, reducing manual data entry and errors.

What type of business is TopSource best for?

• UK businesses paying staff across multiple countries, as TopSource supports compliant international payroll in over 150 countries.
• Companies that want to fully outsource payroll, since TopSource is a fully managed service handling everything from HMRC registration to year-end submissions.
• Growing or global organisations looking to avoid multiple subscriptions, because payroll, HR, recruitment, and benefits can all be managed through one provider.

What could TopSource improve?

• No custom reports – TopSource doesn’t allow for custom report building, which makes its reporting less flexible and customisable than MHR’s. It’s also missing live training, unlike OneAdvanced, which means it might take your internal payroll team more time to get to grips with its software.
• Custom pricing – Lastly, as with most providers we looked at, its pricing is bespoke, making it difficult to gauge whether this is the right provider for you. Iris Staffology and Payescape may be better choices, since the former advertises its prices, and the latter offers monthly contracts.

5. Iris Staffology: Easiest to Integrate With Your Existing Software

• Services available: DIY software, HR software
• Contracts available: 12 months
• CIPP PAS-accredited: Yes

IRIS Staffology stood out for its exceptional third-party integration coverage and transparent pricing. This makes it a strong fit for small UK businesses that prefer a DIY payroll setup but want HMRC-recognised software that connects seamlessly with tools like Sage, Xero, and QuickBooks.

What makes Iris Staffology a good payroll service for small businesses?

• Transparent, low entry pricing – IRIS Staffology clearly advertises its pricing, starting from £39 per month, making it easier for small businesses to budget without committing to bespoke quotes or long-term contracts.
• Best-in-class third-party integrations – With support for tools like Sage, Xero, QuickBooks, AccountsIQ, and more, IRIS Staffology lets businesses keep their current accounting or HR software while upgrading payroll.
• HMRC-recognised software to simplify compliance – Being HMRC-recognised means submissions are handled digitally and accurately, reducing the risk of errors or rejected filings.
• Built-in automatic enrolment and statutory deductions – The platform manages pension auto-enrolment, National Insurance, and statutory tax calculations automatically, helping small businesses stay compliant without needing payroll expertise in-house.

What type of business is Iris Staffology best for?

• Small UK businesses that want transparent, predictable pricing, as plans start from £39 per month with no bespoke quoting at the lower end.
• Companies using third-party accounting or HR tools, since IRIS Staffology offers more integrations than any other provider we tested, including Sage, Xero, QuickBooks, and AccountsIQ.
• Businesses that prefer DIY payroll with built-in compliance support, as the software is HMRC-recognised and handles statutory deductions and auto-enrolment.

What could Iris Staffology improve?

• Lack of end-of-year features – Iris Staffology does not offer all of the steps necessary for year-end features, such as your final payment submissions (FSPs). Moorepay does offer this; however, it tends to be a pricier provider.
• No custom reports – The platform also doesn’t allow for custom report building, unlike rivals Moorepay, MHR, and OneAdvanced.

6. MHR: Best Reporting Features

• Services available: Fully managed payroll, DIY software, HR software
• Contracts available: Bespoke
• CIPP PAS-accredited: Yes

PayEscape stood out for its short, rolling monthly contracts and straightforward, fully managed payroll service. Its low commitment makes it a good fit for small UK businesses that want to outsource payroll quickly and keep costs under control.

What makes MHR a good payroll service for small businesses?

• Advanced reporting and analytics – MHR’s iTrent platform offers powerful reporting tools, covering everything from salary modelling to engagement and performance insights. This helps businesses extract real value from payroll data rather than just processing pay runs.
• Custom report building for complex payroll needs – Moorepay will let you create tailored reports to suit internal analysis, audits, or leadership reporting, which is especially useful for organisations with more complex pay structures.
• Emergency payroll support during periods of change – MHR’s emergency support service provides additional consultation when internal teams are stretched, such as during growth phases, restructures, or system changes.
• Flexible delivery model (in-house, outsourced, or hybrid) – Unlike fully managed-only providers, MHR allows businesses to choose how much control they retain over payroll, making it easier to adapt as internal capabilities and requirements evolve.

What type of business is MHR best for?

• Mid-sized and larger organisations that rely on detailed payroll reporting, as MHR’s iTrent platform offers some of the most advanced analytics and custom reporting tools on the market.
• Data-driven businesses that want deeper workforce insights, including salary modelling, performance metrics, and employee engagement reporting.
• Companies with complex payroll structures, where sharing payroll data across HR and finance systems is essential.

What could MHR improve?

• No live training – MHR doesn’t offer live training sessions to ease your onboarding process, unlike OneAdvanced and Payescape. This could pose an issue if you need your team to operate this software to its full potential.
• Standard compliance controls – It also doesn’t offer its customers advice on how to stay compliant with payroll laws, something Moorepay, Payescape, and ADP all do. This could be a real issue if you’re not well-versed in the latest legislation.

7. Payescape: Best for Businesses Looking for Short Contracts

• Services available: Fully managed payroll, HR software
• Contracts available: Rolling monthly
• CIPP PAS-accredited: Yes

What makes Payescape a good payroll service for small businesses?

• Transparent, low entry pricing keeps costs predictable – IRIS Staffology clearly advertises its pricing, starting from £39 per month, making it easier for small businesses to budget without committing to bespoke quotes or long-term contracts.
• Best-in-class third-party integrations protect your existing setup – With support for tools like Sage, Xero, QuickBooks, AccountsIQ, and more, IRIS Staffology lets businesses keep their current accounting or HR software while upgrading payroll.
• HMRC-recognised software simplifies compliance – Being HMRC-recognised means submissions are handled digitally and accurately, reducing the risk of errors or rejected filings.
• Built-in automatic enrolment and statutory deductions – The platform manages pension auto-enrolment, National Insurance, and statutory tax calculations automatically, helping small businesses stay compliant without needing payroll expertise in-house.

What type of business is PayEscape best for?

• Small UK businesses that want short, flexible contracts, as Payescape offers rolling monthly agreements rather than long-term commitments.
• Companies looking to fully outsource payroll without enterprise complexity, since Payescape provides a straightforward, fully managed service.
• Budget-conscious businesses, as it typically costs less than larger enterprise providers like ADP or MHR.

What could Payescape improve?

• Lack of support for global payments – Payescape doesn’t manage payroll for international employees, unlike ADP.
• Standard reporting tools – Payescape’s reporting features aren’t as advanced as MHR’s, which allows for greater customisation and detail retrieval from tasks like cost analysis, while Payescape doesn’t.

How Much Does Payroll Outsourcing Cost for a Small Business?

Prices vary a lot, but as a general guide, a business with 10 employees can expect to pay:

• £70-£80 a month for a fully managed service with hosted software
• £40-£60 for simple outsourcing

Generally, the fewer employees, the higher your per-person payroll costs will be. For more details, see our guide to payroll outsourcing costs.

What Are the Different Types of Payroll Solutions?

The three primary payroll solutions for small businesses are fully-managed services, part-managed bureaus, and hosted software, each offering varying levels of administrative control.

Fully-managed payroll service

It does what it says on the tin. Full service payroll companies take full control of all aspects of payroll — from paying employees, to issuing payslips, generating reports, and filing papers with HMRC. You can rest easy knowing your business is fully compliant with regulations.

Part-managed payroll service

A service provided by a ‘payroll bureau’ and a helping hand for businesses that want to retain some control of the process. Imagine you’re happy to continue paying your staff, but you’d like a bit of help when it comes to filing documents at the end of the tax year. A payroll bureau offers you that kind of flexibility – and at a bargain price compared to a fully managed option.

Hosted payroll software

A secure and efficient way of storing and updating data. Even if you have an experienced bookkeeper working for you in-house, your business could benefit from cloud-based payroll software. Set up alerts for missing or required data, or easily distribute payslips via email. You can track expenses, claims, and benefits safely in the knowledge that everything is backed up on secure servers.

What Are The Benefits of Payroll Outsourcing?

Five reasons why outsourcing your payroll makes total sense for small business owners:

1. It will save you money. Outsourcing payroll is cheaper than hiring trained staff to do the work in-house, and small businesses can benefit from these savings.
2. It will save you time. Pension, tax, BACS, payslips, National Insurance, RTI, reporting, holiday, benefits — just a few of the things you’ll need to take care of if you choose to handle payroll yourself, on top of running your business.
3. It reduces errors. Payroll errors can lead to heavy penalties and fines from the government and decrease employee satisfaction. Outsourcing payroll to the experts reduces this risk.
4. It reduces the risk of payroll fraud. Sophisticated payroll software and trusted experts can alert you to time and rates abuse and other shady dealings. Plus, most payroll fraud occurs when payroll is handled in-house, so outsourcing is a way to reduce this risk.

Which Is Better for Small Businesses: Payroll Outsourcing or Payroll Software?

The answer depends on your time, budget, and number of employees.

When to use payroll software:

Payroll software is typically best for micro-businesses with 1–50 employees, while outsourced services are recommended for businesses exceeding 50 employees as internal admin costs rise.

That’s because it’ll generally be cheaper and simpler to pay for payroll software than use an outsourced payroll service when you have a low employee count.

When to use a payroll service:

As your employee numbers grow, payroll becomes more time-consuming and more costly if you choose to do it in-house since you’ll need to hire more payroll experts. This is generally the reason why businesses with over 50 employees choose to outsource their payroll.

If you still want some oversight into payroll, you can choose a partly managed service over a fully managed service. Partly-managed payroll services are also cheaper, although you’ll need to weigh the costs of doing more payroll work in-house against the savings you make.

Upcoming Payroll Dates for 2026/2027 Tax Year

Using a professional payroll provider can help you keep important deadlines, but it’s still good to be aware of important payroll dates.

To help you out, here’s a brief recap of the most important payroll dates this tax year:

Upcoming Payroll Legislation for 2026/2027

New legislation has just come into effect in the 2025/2026 tax year that will affect payroll for some businesses. Here’s what you need to know:

National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) increase

Following the major increases applied in April 2025, minimum wage rates were reviewed and increased again from April 2026, in line with the government’s commitment to keep wages aligned with inflation and median earnings.

Updated rates apply from 6 April 2026, and continue throughout the 2026/2027 tax year unless further changes are announced. Rates still vary by age band and apprentice status, so employers should ensure payroll systems are updated before the first April 2026 pay run.

Failing to pay the correct minimum wage remains a criminal offence, with businesses facing penalties of up to £20,000 per underpaid employee, plus naming and shaming by HMRC.

Employment law reforms

A variety of employment reforms begin to affect payroll operations from April 2026 onwards.

Firstly, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) day-one entitlement applies from 6 April 2026, removing waiting days and lower earnings limits. From this date, eligible employees can claim SSP from their first day of sickness absence, increasing payroll costs and the need for accurate short-term absence tracking.

The Fair Work Agency is scheduled to launch in 2026, with enforcement powers expected to come into effect from mid-2026 onwards. Once operational, it will strengthen oversight of minimum wage, holiday pay, and wider employment rights, increasing the risk of penalties for payroll errors or incomplete records.

How We Ranked Payroll Products and Services for Small Businesses