Payroll-software explainer
AEPN vs RPN - two notifications, two authorities
Revenue Payroll Notifications come from Revenue. Auto-Enrolment Payroll Notifications come from NAERSA. They are separate API channels, not a single envelope. From January 2026 your payroll software has to retrieve both in every pay run - RPN first, AEPN after - and submit contribution data back alongside the existing PAYE Modernisation Payroll Submission. Below: the side-by-side, plus where each Irish payroll vendor stands as of May 2026.
RPN vs AEPN side-by-side
| Attribute | Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN) | Auto-Enrolment Payroll Notification (AEPN) |
|---|---|---|
| Issuing authority | Revenue Commissioners | NAERSA |
| Statutory basis | Pay As You Earn Modernisation (Finance Act 2018) | Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Act 2024 |
| API channel | Revenue Online Service (ROS) APIs | NAERSA AEPN endpoint - separate channel |
| Retrieval frequency | Per pay period, before the run | Per pay period, after the RPN retrieval |
| Payload | Tax credits, standard-rate cut-off, USC bands and cut-offs, emergency-tax basis flag | Enrolment status, effective enrolment date, employee contribution %, employer contribution %, exemption flag, employee PPSN |
| What changes per period | Tax credits and cut-offs adjust on Revenue updates (mid-year P-form changes, etc) | Contribution % steps when a phase boundary crosses (1 January 2029, 2032, 2035) |
| Eligibility logic upstream | Employer-asserted (employee status, marital status, etc) | NAERSA-asserted (age 23 to 60, gross over EUR 20,000 across all employments on rolling 13-week basis, no active occupational/PRSA contribution) |
| What payroll software submits back | Pay As You Earn Modernisation Payroll Submission (PAYE, PRSI, USC withheld) | Contribution data alongside the same Pay As You Earn Modernisation Payroll Submission, which triggers the Variable Direct Debit on the employer's NAERSA mandate |
What your payroll software has to do, every pay run
- Retrieve all RPNs from Revenue for the active employee population.
- Retrieve all AEPNs from NAERSA for the same population.
- Calculate gross-to-net using the RPN values (tax credits, cut-offs, USC, PRSI), and apply the AEPN-specified Auto-Enrolment contribution percentage to gross pay (subject to the EUR 80,000 annual cap from the rate schedule).
- Deduct the employee Auto-Enrolment contribution at source from net pay.
- Submit the PAYE Modernisation Payroll Submission to Revenue, with the contribution data block included for NAERSA.
- NAERSA's Variable Direct Debit pulls the employer plus State element from the registered mandate automatically.
Irish payroll software AEPN status
NAERSA does not publish a certified-software list. The status below is taken from each vendor's own 2026 release notes or documentation. If your software is not on this list, ask your vendor for the AEPN documentation page and check the published date - the feature should have shipped before your first 2026 pay run.
| Vendor | AEPN status | Source of confirmation |
|---|---|---|
| BrightPay | Live - 2026 release | BrightPay 2026 Auto-Enrolment Employer Help Guide |
| Thesaurus Payroll Manager | Live - 2025 documentation published | Thesaurus 2025 Auto-Enrolment / MyFuture Fund docs |
| Sage Payroll Ireland | Live - 2026 release notes published | Sage Ireland Knowledge Base |
| Big Red Book Payroll | Live - shipped in Payroll 2026 release December 2025 | Big Red Book 2026 release notes |
| Collsoft Payroll | Live - 2026 release | Collsoft customer release communications |
| Surf Payroll | Not publicly confirmed | No public AE-readiness statement located at last verification |
| QuickBooks Payroll | Not publicly confirmed | No public AE-readiness statement located at last verification |
Where to go next
Pillar
Readiness Index 2026
Score your business and get a personalised action checklist.
Walkthrough
Employer registration
MyFutureFund employer portal step-by-step and direct-debit setup.
Category hub
Irish payroll software
Full vendor lineup with verified Irish compliance data.
Decision tree
AE vs occupational pension
The qualifying-scheme test - 1.5% employer, 3.5% combined.
Statutory
Opt-out rules
The 6-8 month window, refund mechanics, and 2-year re-enrolment.
Calendar
AE compliance calendar 2026
Statutory dates plus the within-month AECS rhythm for Irish payroll.
AEPN and RPN - frequently asked questions
For finance leads choosing or auditing payroll software.
Are AEPN and RPN the same envelope with different fields?
No. They are issued by two different authorities and arrive on two different API channels. Revenue issues Revenue Payroll Notifications via Revenue Online Service. NAERSA issues Auto-Enrolment Payroll Notifications via its own endpoint. Payroll software has to integrate against both. The submitting end is unified - contribution data goes alongside the PAYE Modernisation Payroll Submission - but retrieval is two separate calls in every pay run.
In what order does payroll software retrieve the two notifications?
RPN first, AEPN second. The RPN sets tax credits, USC bands, and the standard-rate cut-off, which determine net pay. The AEPN then layers in the Auto-Enrolment contribution percentages on top of gross. BrightPay sequences this explicitly: "Retrieve RPNs" then "Check For and Retrieve AEPNs Now". Other Irish payroll software follows the same order. Manual on-demand retrieval is also supported when adding a new starter mid-period - run the AEPN check immediately after the RPN check.
Does NAERSA publish a list of certified payroll software?
Not as of May 2026. NAERSA does not maintain a formal certification programme or a published list of compliant software. Vendors self-declare AE-readiness based on their own integration testing. The closest thing to authoritative is each vendor's own 2026 release notes and AEPN documentation. Treat any "AE-certified" or "AE-approved" claim that does not link to vendor documentation as marketing copy.
What does the AEPN tell the software to do for a new joiner?
When NAERSA assesses a new starter as eligible (typically once they have accumulated 13 weeks of qualifying earnings), it issues an AEPN with the enrolment effective date, the contribution percentages applicable at that date, and any exemption flag if the employee is in a qualifying scheme elsewhere. The payroll software acts on it from the next pay period after the effective date. The employee does not need to do anything to be enrolled; the trigger is structural.
What if my software submits the contributions but my direct debit fails?
Contribution liability is established by the AEPN-driven submission, not by collection. If the Variable Direct Debit fails, the contribution amount is still owed and accrues from the pay date. NAERSA pursues unpaid contributions via the Pensions Authority - civil proceedings for the principal plus interest. Fix the mandate first (insufficient funds, account closure, mandate revoked at the bank) before processing further pay runs to avoid stacking arrears.
My employee has a qualifying occupational pension scheme. Will NAERSA still issue an AEPN?
Only if the existing scheme falls below the Section 52 Regulations 2025 thresholds. Those regulations require that a qualifying scheme provides at least the minimum employer contribution of 1.5% of gross pay or EUR 1,200 a year (lesser of), and a combined employer-plus-employee contribution of at least 3.5% of gross pay or EUR 2,800 a year (lesser of). If the existing scheme meets both thresholds, NAERSA will not issue an AEPN. If it falls below either, the employee enters Auto-Enrolment regardless of having a "pension". Audit your scheme contributions against these floors before assuming exemption.
What does the Section 52 Regulations 2025 commencement actually do?
Statutory Instrument 668 of 2025, signed on 22 December 2025 and commenced on 1 January 2026, made under section 52(5) of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Act 2024, brought the operational machinery of the scheme into force. Specifically: the start date for contributions, the exemption thresholds for existing workplace pension schemes, and the contribution percentages for years one through ten. Without these regulations the 2024 Act was a framework with no live numbers; SI 668/2025 is what made NAERSA operational.