What Is the Best Accounting and Payroll Software?

Combining your accounting and payroll software is great way to stay on top of your finances, and ensure a smooth flow of data. Plus, integrating the two eases processes and gives you more time to focus on growing your ventures.

Out of the nine providers we tested, Iris Staffology offers the best accounting and payroll software in the market. As one of the best payroll providers, it offers the most integrations with accounting software of any platform we tested, giving you the best of both worlds. Combined with its transparent pricing, it’s a great solution for small businesses.

That said, with varying options on the market, it can be difficult to make the right choice. That’s why we’ve reviewed five of the best accounting and payroll platforms, so you can find the best match for your business.

If you need more help finding a provider, you can use our free quote tool to be matched up with the right payroll suppliers for your business. Just answer a few questions about your business, and you’ll be contacted by expert providers offering custom quotes.

Top Five Accounting and Payroll Software Providers: Overview

Here’s a quick overview of the best accounting and payroll software:

1. Iris Staffology

Iris Staffology is the best overall software for combined payroll and accounting.

Why we like Iris Staffology

Iris Staffology tops our list because of the number of boxes it ticks. It offers payroll software, and both part-managed and fully-managed payroll services, unlike TopSource, which only offers an outsourced service.

It doesn’t offer a native accounting platform, but it packs the most accounting software integrations of any payroll provider we’ve researched, offering businesses the best of both worlds.

Iris Staffology links up with seven third-party providers: Sage, Xero, Reckon One, AccountsIQ, QuickBooks and Twinfield. It also integrates with other 12 solutions, in areas such as HR and benefits management. In comparison, TopSource also integrates with seven accounting platforms but lacks any other integrations. This makes Iris Staffology a better pick if you’re looking to streamline your business and centralise operations.

Also, its transparent pricing is a rarity in the payroll market, which largely operates on a quoting basis. Out of the providers on this list, only Sage Payroll also offers it. QuickBooks and Xero, while openly priced, are primarily accounting platforms rather than payroll ones.

How could it improve?

When it comes to payroll, Iris Staffology does not offer all of the steps necessary for year-end features, such as your final payment submissions (FSPs). The platform also doesn’t allow for custom report building.

Top payroll provider Moorepay, however, does, but it hasn’t got as many accounting integrations.

2. QuickBooks

Quickbooks is the best for accounting and payroll software for businesses looking for a full tax service.

Why we like Quickbooks

QuickBooks is primarily an accounting software, but is has a payroll tool that’s an affordable add-on, costing from £1 per month. If you’re already using that platform, your bookkeeping records and reporting can be synced up and updated in real time each pay cycle, making it easy for you to share payroll info with your accountant.

That said, apart from its entry-level Self-Employed plan, all of QuickBooks pricing plans include full-service payroll, which is rare to find as other payroll providers tend to limit the number of services available depending on how much you’re paying. All of the plans include unlimited payroll runs, automated tax calculations and filing, direct deposit and an employee portal.

Where could it improve?

Like Xero Payroll, QuickBooks Payroll is only available as an add-on for its provider’s accounting software, which means you have to go all-in with the provider to use it. This is bad news if you plan on keeping your current accounting program and integrating it with QuickBooks because you’ll end up paying for two accounting services.

3. TopSource

TopSource offers the best outsourced payroll and accounting service.

Why we like TopSource

TopSource offers outsourced payroll and accounting services, and is a great solution for business owners who lack a dedicated accounting team in-house and are happy for payroll and accounting management to be outsourced.

It’s a particularly great option for businesses with international employees, since it offers compliant payroll services in over 150 countries. On your side, you’ll get access to its 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.

If you’d prefer to manage your own accounting while still using TopSource’s payroll services, that’s also possible. TopSource offers integration with seven third-party accounting platforms: Xero, Sage, MS Dynamics, Navision, CODA, QuickBooks and Tally.

Where could it improve?

Unlike the other providers on this list, TopSource’s pricing is only available through a quote, which, to be fair, is quite standard in the payroll industry. If you’d prefer a similar solution with clear pricing, we recommend Iris Staffology.

4. Sage

Sage offers a suite of native software tools, from accounting to HR.

Why we like Sage

Sage offers a clean, simple and intuitive software for payroll, accounting, HR and more. Its cloud-based software platforms integrate with each other, so you have one organised platform for all your business needs. Its comprehensive native software is impressive, and with transparent pricing on all, Sage is a rarity in the industry.

Sage Payroll structures its payroll submission into a quick 4-step process, with the provider handling all the calculations. If maths aren’t your strength, this can ensure your payroll is accurate. Sage is HMRC-compliant, so you can send real-time data to HMRC with just a click.

Like Xero, Sage has 24/7 online customer support and free telephone support. This is incredibly helpful if you hit a blocker with your submission and need to find a last-minute workaround.

Find out more about Sage Payroll Costs

Where could it improve?

Despite offering a large suite of native tools, Sage doesn’t integrate with a lot of third-party software, besides other payroll software. So, if you’re not looking to use Sage for all your business needs, you’ll be better off using a platform like Iris Staffology, which you can connect to a range of other software quite easily.

5. Xero

Xero is the easiest to use joint payroll and accounting software, perfect for small businesses.

Why we like Xero

Xero is a accounting software that easily integrates with its native payroll software provided at no extra cost on all accounting plans besides its cheapest one. It packs an intuitive, easy to use interface that automates several tasks related to payroll, like pension re-enrolment and leave calculation.

Like Iris Staffology, Xero also has a mobile app, so you can access both your accounting and payroll data from anywhere in the world. Plus, you can accept payments, such as online invoices through Xero by connecting to Stripe, GoCardless and others.

These tools, and Xero’s cheap starting price of £33 per month, with regular deals throughout the year, make Xero particularly suitable for small businesses owners who don’t have complicated accounting needs. 

Read more about Xero’s pricing on our page.

Where could it improve?

Like Quickbooks, Xero doesn’t offer independent payroll software, it has to be purchased with an accounting plan. Sage’s accounting and payroll software, on the other hand, can be used independently.

Xero can also only process payroll for a maximum of 10 employees, meaning it’s a solution that’s only suited to very small businesses. For businesses with more than 10 employees, Sage or Iris Staffology are the best alternatives.

What Are the Benefits of Outsourcing Payroll?

There are five main benefits to outsourcing payroll 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.
3. It will help you avoid fines: 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 payroll errors: 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.

That said, if you have less than 50 employees, doing payroll in-house is probably the best option. It starts to get time-consuming and expensive beyond that number, at which point you should consider outsourcing payroll.

How to Choose the Right Accounting and Payroll Software

When choosing the best payroll solution for your business, you should consider:

• Budget: how much can you afford to spend on payroll software or services
• Pay frequency: how often do you pay your employees, and can your chosen provider accomodate that
• HMRC compliance: does your chosen provider provide a high standard of service, compliant with HMRC guidlines and regulations
• Integrations: do you use existing software, such as accounting and HR, that you want to keep, and does it integrate with your new payroll platform

These are important factors, as every business is different and has its own set of needs.

Considering the size and frequency of your cash flow means you have a bigger chance of finding a solution within your budget. Also, taking stock of your potential provider’s features is a good way to ensure you pick one that’s truly useful to you and one that doesn’t make you pay for tools your business doesn’t need.

Our Methodology: How Did We Rank the Best Accounting and Payroll Software?