The 7 Best Payroll Solutions for Your Small Business

As a small business, navigating payroll can feel like a daunting and time consuming task, but it doesn’t have to be with the right payroll service provider. The best payroll companies can provide you with qualified guidance and advice, and free up some of your time by either fully or partially managing payroll for you.

According to our extensive research, Moorepay provides the best payroll service for small businesses. Its payroll software is easy to use, and its team of highly-qualified consultants can clarify any payroll issues and offer the latest information on payroll legislation changes.

However, it won’t suit every business, since it doesn’t, for example, process payroll internationally. So, to help you choose the service best suited to your needs, we’ve prepared a detailed ranking of our top seven picks. Read on to learn about them, or skip ahead and get no-obligation payroll quotes right away using our free quote-finding service.

The Best Payroll Services for Small Businesses

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

Prices correct as of September 2024.

1. Moorepay: Best Overall Payroll Services Provider

Key facts:

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

Why we recommend Moorepay

Moorepay is one of the UK’s largest payroll services and software providers, and has been around for almost 60 years.

On the software front, it offers an easy-to-use platform with integrated payroll and HR solutions. Moorepay even has a mobile app for employees, where they can view payslips, P60s, and book time off. On the services front, Moorepay gives you access to UK-based payroll specialists who are available to help you with any queries, making it easier for you to get started and avoid major problems when it comes to paying your contractors.

Moorepay’s onboarding process is simple. It handles all the legislative and policy changes your business might need when you switch providers, and sets up your new system for you, which is great if you’re not super tech-savvy, or you want to avoid a steep learning curve.

Also, like ADP, Moorepay provides CIPP-accredited expert payroll advice and offers tax-related educational resources. This helpful feature offers incredible support to companies, especially small businesses and those without an accounting team.

What Moorepay could improve

Unfortunately, it doesn’t allow for payment of international employees nor does it offer live training – features our experts have found in Iris Staffology.

2. ADP: Best for Integrated Payroll and People Management

Key facts:

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

Why we recommend ADP

ADP has been in the payroll business for a long time, and this expertise has brought about great payroll and hiring solutions.

Along with payroll, ADP packs a powerful native suite of associated programs, like HR and recruiting software. Out of its native software, ADP’s hiring solution really stood out to our researchers. With it, you can run background checks, schedule interviews and send out contracts.

The provider is also flexible and you can choose the add-on features and services your business needs, meaning you only pay for the services you need, which is great for small businesses looking to save money.

Like Moorepay, ADP offers a mobile app where employees can view payslips. Conveniently, it can also be used as a clock-in system, which helps employees with rotating shift patterns to ensure their hours are being recorded correctly, something Moorepay, and TopSource don’t offer. Plus, ADP offers several payroll solutions for running international payroll, unlike Moorepay, which is great for small businesses that employee remote, overseas employees.

Lastly, you can integrate third-party solutions such as QuickBooks, ClockShark, and Wave to create one seamless platform to manage various aspects of your business.

What ADP could 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.

3. OneAdvanced: Best for Training and Support

Key facts:

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

Why we recommend OneAdvanced

OneAdvanced gives you the tools you need to deal with your payroll accurately and efficiently. As per our independent review, one of its selling points is its wide training tools, which are a plus if you’re running a small accounting team.

Its live training feature is noteworthy, allowing you to have lessons with provider’s personnel to get a grasp of its system quite quickly. Moorepay, for instance, doesn’t offer this – although Iris Staffology does.

OneAdvanced is also CIPP accredited, which means it can offer expert advice on payroll compliance, which can be extremely valuable for those who are less experienced in payroll management. Plus, it offers educational information to help businesses understand taxes better.

Furthermore, OneAdvanced’s software can be integrated with its other solutions, which include HR, attendance and finance software, providing small businesses with one comprehensive platform for both people management and accounting.

What OneAdvanced could improve

Even though OneAdvanced has one of the largest suite of native software solutions of the providers we researched, from recruiting to accounting, its software platform lack open API, which means you can’t easily integrate your existing software into the platform.

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

Key facts:

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

Why we recommend TopSource

If you have a global businesses, or plan to expand internationally, TopSource is a good choice as it offers compliant payroll services in over 150 countries.

Conveniently, TopSource’s also has a Portico app, which enables you and your employees to access relevant payroll data anywhere, anytime, making managing a workforce that’s in different time zones easy.

TopSource deals with every aspect of payroll from registering with HMRC to end-of-year processing. But unlike ADP, it doesn’t offer a part-managed version, and is only available as a fully-managed payroll solution, and payroll software. Its native suite is quite comprehensive, packing HR, recruitment, and employee benefits platforms.

The company also offers open API,  allowing businesses with an IT team to integrate their native software with their payroll. It also has ready-made integrations for accounting software, such as Sage, Xero, and Quickbooks.

What TopSource could improve

TopSource doesn’t allow for custom report building, which makes its reporting less flexible and customisable than MHR’s. Also, as with most providers we looked at, its pricing is bespoke, making it difficult to gauge whether this is the right provider for you.

If you own a small business and are in a hurry to choose your next payroll provider, Iris Staffology and Payescape may be better choices, since the former advertises its prices, and the latter offers monthly contracts.

5. Iris Staffology: Best for Integrating with Third-party Software

Key facts:

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

Why we recommend Iris Staffology

Iris Staffology is a cloud-based payroll and HR software solution, that advertises its pricing (a rarity in the industry), and starts at an affordable £35 per month.

It packs more accounting and HR integrations than any of the providers we researched, including Sage, Xero, Quickbooks, AccountsIQ and more. This benefits businesses owners who want to keep their current accounting or HR software and integrate them with Iris Staffology.

Iris Staffology ensures your business complies with legislation around Automatic Enrolment, making sure you stay compliant. The platform also deals with all deductions, such as NI and statutory tax, offering business owners peace of mind by helping them stay on top of these.

What Iris Staffology could improve

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.

The platform also doesn’t allow for custom report building, unlike rivals Moorepay, MHR, and OneAdvanced.

6. MHR: Best Reporting Features

Key facts:

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

Why we recommend MHR

MHR boasts some of the most powerful reporting and analytics capabilities on the market. Reports cover anything from salary modelling to insights on employee engagement and performance management. You can, of course, also build custom reports to suite your needs.

For businesses owners keen on making the most out of their employee data, this is a key asset. However, we note that, due to its sheer breadth, this makes MHR more suited to large businesses, as such deep reporting prowess is likely to be lost in smaller organisations.

One of MHR’s unique features is its emergency payroll support features, where MHR will step in to provide added consultation if your team are feeling overwhelmed. This extra support is helpful for businesses who are going through complex changes or a wider expansion.

If you don’t want to outsource your payroll services fully, MHR is a good choice, as it offers you the choice to opt for in-house, outsourced payroll or a combination of the two. This makes MHR more flexible than solely fully-managed provider such as TopSource and means you’re free to pick the right option for your businesses’ unique needs.

What MHR could improve

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.

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 on the latest legislation.

7. Payescape: Best for Businesses Looking for Short Contracts

Key facts:

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

Why we recommend Payescape

Payescape offers the most flexible contract among the providers our researchers looked into, since it lets you sign up for a 30-day rolling contract. This lack of a long-term commitment makes it suitable for small businesses that are finding their feet and don’t want to be tied to a contract.

The provider offers payroll, HR, and time management solutions all on one platform, giving you a streamlined and efficient way to manage your business. You can approve and monitor holidays, record working hours, and calculate wages with this provider.

When paying contractors, it’s important to ensure you’re tracking working hours correctly. Payescape’s time management solutions, which are built into the platform, make it easy for you to prevent under or over paying an employee. They also mean you can manage compliance risks and projects more effectively.

Although Payescape no longer advertises its prices, it still tends to be cheaper than competitors such as ADP and MHR, which makes it a natural choice for businesses that want to save their pennies.

What Payescape could improve

Payescape doesn’t manage payroll for international employees, unlike ADP.  Similarly, its 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 a more details, see our guide to payroll outsourcing costs.

What Are the Different Types of Payroll Solutions?

Payroll solutions involve you outsourcing some or all of your payroll administration work to a specialist third-party company. Choose between:

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 safe in the knowledge that everything is backed up on secure servers.

Payroll Outsourcing: What Are the Benefits?

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

1. It will save you money. Despite the cost of outsourcing payroll, it’s still cheaper than hiring trained staff to do the work in-house and small business 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. Oh, and don’t forget everything else you’re supposed to be doing.
3. It will save your neck. Filing payroll documents late or with inaccurate information can incur a hefty penalty fine. Don’t give HMRC another reason to come after you.
4. It reduces error. An underpaid worker is an unhappy worker. Payroll service providers get things right, first time.
5. It’s watertight. Because you don’t have time to scrutinise the figures each month. Sophisticated software can alert you to time and rates abuse and other shady dealings.

Important Payroll Dates in 2024

Important payroll dates lie on the horizon, with a couple of important ones coming up in October. Payroll system can certainly help you keep on top of them, but in any case, it pays to be aware of them. To help you out, here’s a brief recap of the most important payroll dates.