free payroll software recommendations?

fenwick458

Pennywise wrote: »

You can't expect support etc if you want it free can you? Why should they work for free when most of their customers are happy to pay?

What you should be looking for is the cheapest paid-for version that suits your needs. I'd suggest moneysoft which is a desktop version and very cheap for it's ease of use and functionality.

well I don't really want the support, I just want a program that is possible to use without the need for support. so far I have found out that copmpanies claim to offer a free service, but they are just lieing, it's not possible to use them without support. I just want the most basic program, I don't think I should have to pay for it. all of the paid ones are aimed at companies and 90% of the features are no use to me.

I have used an invoicing program for the last 9 years, and it's completely free. I know people who pay money for invoicing programs that are not as good. If somebody put a post up on here asking the same type of question, i.e whats a good invoicing program thats easy to use and free, i'd happily recommend invoice express by NCH.
whats what I'm looking for with this post...
so, is there anybody that has managed to use a companies free payroll software?
for a ltd company, 1 director, monthly pay, as basic as you can get, don't care about printing payslips anymore

00ec25

fenwick458 wrote: »

so, is there anybody that has managed to use a companies free payroll software?
for a ltd company, 1 director, monthly pay, as basic as you can get, don't care about printing payslips anymore

you can rant as much as you want but the fact remains, yes, I know someone who uses free payroll software: it's HMRC PAYE Basic.

The person in question had no accounting or payroll knowledge whatsoever. She runs a children's playgroup with 7 hourly paid employees and taught herself how to use Basic. She uses Word to manually produce the 7 payslips using the data provided by Basic (and has to account to NEST for the 2 who opted into pensions).

If you cannot make sense of it then stop demanding something for free because you are clearly unable to cope without the skills/support of someone else who has a right to be paid for their ability. I doubt you work for free....

prowla

Payroo was free for up to 4 employees, but they started charging, so I swapped to Xero (which charges too, but does more).

nmn

prowla wrote: »

Payroo was free for up to 4 employees, but they started charging, so I swapped to Xero (which charges too, but does more).

12cloudpayroll.com is the same software as payroo - but still free

Stepehn_Samuels

We use PayFit. It's pretty good for our needs. It's not free, but it was certainly a lot cheaper and a lot less stressful than the accountant we were previously using. 

fenwick458

been using HMRC payroll basics for the past year. It's slow and awkward but I've got the hang of it.

Grumpy_chap

fenwick458 said:

I'm looking for free payroll software that is actually free,
I don't want to have to pay £80 a year for something if i can get it for free

Payroll is most definitely only a product for businesses.  It has no market for consumer and that limits the potential for an advert-funded product.

Why would any developer create a free product to allow you to operate your business more profitably but to the developer's detriment? 

If you have found a product at £80 per year and your business can't afford that, then time to do something far more drastic than scrabble around to save £80.  Though you can, of course, obtain all the information and do the calculations and prepare payroll manually and then there is no fee - just use Excel or Open Office equivalent.  If your time is worth more than the £80 the products available are costing, then you have your answer.  Indeed, by releasing time to do fee-earning work, the £80 is probably an investment offering return when the final balance sheet is prepared.

How much of your product or service do you offer out for free?

Savvy_Sue

This is a slightly older post bumped by a spammer, I think, so not sure if the OP will be back or not. 

However, I'm surprised I didn't previously mention BrightPay. In the OP's situation, it would cost £49 this financial year (and I don't think it was cheaper last year). The support is excellent: I've always had an answer within 24 hours.

That's if HMRC Basic Tools isn't cutting it, of course. 

However, you've GOT to have a basic understanding of what you're doing, or it's very easy to tie yourself in knots. 

fenwick458

Grumpy_chap said:

fenwick458 said:

I'm looking for free payroll software that is actually free,
I don't want to have to pay £80 a year for something if i can get it for free

Payroll is most definitely only a product for businesses.  It has no market for consumer and that limits the potential for an advert-funded product.

Why would any developer create a free product to allow you to operate your business more profitably but to the developer's detriment? 

If you have found a product at £80 per year and your business can't afford that, then time to do something far more drastic than scrabble around to save £80.  Though you can, of course, obtain all the information and do the calculations and prepare payroll manually and then there is no fee - just use Excel or Open Office equivalent.  If your time is worth more than the £80 the products available are costing, then you have your answer.  Indeed, by releasing time to do fee-earning work, the £80 is probably an investment offering return when the final balance sheet is prepared.

How much of your product or service do you offer out for free?

I really don't get why you are getting so upset about it. I just wanted to save some money by finding a free payroll program.
You do know this is a money saving forum, the people on here are trying to save money?
do you just like to post on the forum telling people what they should and shouldn't have to pay for?

Grumpy_chap

fenwick458 said:

I really don't get why you are getting so upset about it. I just wanted to save some money by finding a free payroll program.
You do know this is a money saving forum, the people on here are trying to save money?
do you just like to post on the forum telling people what they should and shouldn't have to pay for?

I am not getting upset about anything, nor telling anyone what they should and shouldn't have to pay for.

There is, however, no such thing as a free lunch, nor free software.  I have merely pointed out that some of the software that is available "free" only manages to be so because there is an alternative means of payment - normally advertising.  That type of business model is only viable for 'consumer'-targetted software and not business software, which payroll clearly is.

You want a free payroll system.  Others have indicated the HMRC product, which you do not seem to find suitable.  There is always the option to use Excel (or the "free" Open Office equivalent spreadsheet) to create your own payroll system.  Neither of those options seem suitable to you, so in the absence of a business model that makes a "free" product viable, it is a case of spending a relatively small amount to get what you want.