Best Payroll Software for Small Businesses in Ireland (2026)

Running payroll for a small Irish business is more complex than it looks. PAYE Modernisation requires a Payroll Submission Report to be filed with Revenue after every payrun. Auto-enrolment launched in September 2025, adding pension contributions to the payroll calculation. And PRSI class calculations must be correct for every employee category - getting them wrong creates Revenue liabilities.

The good news: Irish payroll software has kept pace with these requirements, and the options for small businesses are good value. This guide covers what small Irish employers need and which software delivers it.

What PAYE Modernisation Means for Small Businesses

Since Revenue’s PAYE Modernisation rollout, Irish employers - including those with one employee - must:

1. Pull Revenue Payroll Notifications (RPNs) before each payrun - these tell you each employee’s current tax credits and cut-off points
2. Run payroll and calculate PAYE, PRSI, USC, and LPT correctly
3. Submit a Payroll Submission Report (PSR) to Revenue on or before the pay date
4. Pay the PAYE/PRSI liability to Revenue by the 23rd of the following month

All Irish payroll software handles steps 1-3 automatically. The manual step is step 4 - logging into ROS and making the payment - which no payroll software currently automates.

Auto-Enrolment - What Small Employers Need to Know

Ireland’s Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System (AERSS) launched on 1 January 2026. Key implications for small Irish employers:

• Employees aged 23-60 earning over €20,000 per year must be auto-enrolled
• Employer contribution: 1.5% of gross salary in Years 1-3, rising to 6% by Year 10
• Employee contribution: mirrors employer contribution at each stage
• State contribution: 0.5% top-up per €3 contributed

Your payroll software must calculate auto-enrolment contributions correctly and include them in your payrun. All major Irish payroll platforms added auto-enrolment support for the September 2025 launch.

See Auto-Enrolment Ireland Guide for the full employer and employee breakdown.

Best Payroll Software for Small Irish Businesses

BrightPay - Best Overall for Small Businesses

BrightPay is the most widely used payroll software among Irish SMEs and the payroll tool most commonly recommended by Irish accountants. Its combination of ease of use, comprehensive Irish compliance, and reasonable annual pricing makes it the default recommendation for small businesses.

Key features:

• PAYE Modernisation - PSR submission and RPN retrieval built in
• Auto-enrolment support (AERSS)
• All PRSI classes including irregular workers and directors
• BrightPay Connect - cloud portal for employee payslip access, leave requests, and HR documents
• Payroll journal export to Xero, QuickBooks, and Sage
• RCT payroll support for construction subcontractors

Pricing (2026):

BrightPay is desktop software (Windows) with cloud backup via BrightPay Connect. For small businesses that want to run payroll themselves without accountant involvement, it’s the most accessible option.

Full BrightPay review →

Thesaurus Payroll Manager - Best for Very Small Employers

Thesaurus Payroll Manager is the other dominant Irish payroll platform, with a particularly loyal following among employers with very small teams - 1 to 10 employees. Its pricing is competitive with BrightPay and its Revenue compliance is equally solid.

Key features:

• Full PAYE Modernisation support
• Auto-enrolment (AERSS) support
• All PRSI classes
• P60 and payslip generation
• ROS filing for PSRs

Pricing:

Thesaurus is marginally cheaper than BrightPay at the small employer tier and is well-regarded for its straightforward interface. If you’re running payroll for yourself plus a handful of employees and want the lowest-cost compliant option, Thesaurus is the pick.

Full Thesaurus Payroll review →

Collsoft - Best for Accountant-Managed Payroll

Collsoft is widely used by Irish accountancy practices running payroll on behalf of multiple clients. If your accountant manages your payroll (a common arrangement for small businesses), there’s a reasonable chance they use Collsoft.

Key features:

• Multi-company support - accountants can switch between client companies
• Full PAYE Modernisation
• Detailed PRSI class management
• Integration with Xero and QuickBooks via journal export

Pricing: From ~€199/year for a single company.

If your accountant already uses Collsoft and runs your payroll for you, you don’t need to buy payroll software separately - your accountant’s licence covers your payroll.

Full Collsoft review →

Payroller - Best Free Option for Micro-Businesses

Payroller is a cloud-based payroll tool with a free tier - the only fully compliant free Irish payroll software available for micro-businesses.

Free tier: Up to 3 employees, unlimited payruns, full PAYE Modernisation compliance, PSR submission, and payslip generation.

Paid tiers: From ~€9/month for more employees.

For a sole trader with one or two part-time employees who wants to run payroll themselves at zero cost, Payroller is a genuine option. Its interface is simpler than BrightPay or Thesaurus, which is an advantage for owners who aren’t payroll professionals.

Limitation: Less feature-rich than BrightPay or Thesaurus. No desktop version - cloud only.

Sage Business Cloud (Built-in Payroll)

For small businesses using Sage for accounting, Sage’s built-in payroll module handles PAYE Modernisation, auto-enrolment, and Revenue submissions within the same platform as your accounting. This eliminates the separate payroll software subscription and the journal export step.

The integrated approach is compelling for small businesses that want the simplest possible setup. The trade-off is that Sage’s payroll is tied to the Sage accounting subscription - if you move to Xero or QuickBooks, you’d need separate payroll software.

Should You Manage Payroll Yourself or Use an Accountant?

For small Irish businesses, this is a practical question worth answering before buying payroll software.

Manage it yourself if:

• You have 1-5 employees with simple payroll (standard employees, no complex benefits)
• You’re comfortable with basic Revenue compliance
• You want to keep costs down - payroll software is €120-€380/year; accountant payroll service is typically €50-€150/month

Use an accountant or payroll bureau if:

• You have complex payroll (multiple PRSI classes, construction workers, benefits-in-kind)
• Payroll errors have caused Revenue issues in the past
• You’d rather pay for certainty than spend time on compliance

The break-even point is typically around 5-8 employees - below that, self-managed payroll with BrightPay or Thesaurus is cost-effective; above that, an accountant’s payroll service often becomes comparable in cost to software plus your time.

Payroll for Specific Employee Types

Part-Time Employees

PRSI Class A applies to most part-time employees earning over €38/week. Below this threshold, they’re Class J. Your payroll software handles this automatically once you input hours and earnings correctly.

Directors

Company directors are typically Class S PRSI (proprietary directors) unless they also hold an employment contract, in which case Class A may apply. This distinction affects PRSI rates and pension contribution entitlements. Confirm the correct PRSI class for directors with your accountant.

Construction Workers

Payroll for construction workers under the Construction Workers Pension Scheme (CWPS) has specific requirements, and RCT withholding must be calculated for subcontractors. BrightPay has the strongest construction payroll support.

Comparison at a Glance

Related

• Best Payroll Software in Ireland (2026)
• How to Run Payroll in Ireland
• Auto-Enrolment Ireland Guide 2026
• BrightPay Review Ireland
• Thesaurus Payroll Review Ireland
• Collsoft Payroll Review Ireland