Oscar, BrightPay’s AI Employee Onboarding Assistant, is already being used by a group of payroll bureaus and accountancy practices through the Oscar Early Adopter Programme — and the feedback is clear. A process that used to take a week or more now takes minutes. Manual chasing, data re-entry, and paper-based starter checklists have been replaced by a WhatsApp conversation that new employees complete themselves. Here is what practices using Oscar first are saying, and what it means for yours.
What are early adopters saying about Oscar?
The feedback from practices using Oscar through the Early Adopter Programme has been consistent across two themes: time saved and process quality improved.
Mark Francis FMAAT AATQB, Director at Francis Bookkeeping Solutions Ltd, has been using Oscar in his practice and describes the change plainly:
“Oscar has transformed the way we onboard new employees through BrightPay. What used to take a week or two — chasing employers for missing details, deciphering handwritten starter checklists, and re-entering information manually — now takes just 5–10 minutes. The process is clean, accurate, and instant. No more scratty bits of paper, no more delays, no more duplication of work. Oscar has dramatically improved our turnaround time and overall efficiency. A fantastic enhancement to the BrightPay experience.” ~ Mark Francis FMAAT AATQB | Director, Francis Bookkeeping Solutions Ltd
A second practice echoes the same sentiment:
“Oscar has completely transformed our onboarding process and saved us a huge amount of time. Having it built directly into BrightPay makes everything so quick, easy, and efficient — a brilliant addition to payroll.” ~ BrightPay Early Adopter
Others in the Early Adopter Programme are still in the process of getting started — and even at that early stage, the response has been positive. Two practices shared their first reactions after testing Oscar for themselves:
“I noticed this had appeared in my settings the other day. I tested it in my demo company and loved it! We actually have a new starter this month on our internal payroll so we are also using her as a guinea pig before I reach out to any clients.” ~ BrightPay Early Adopter
“I have just carried out a dummy employee onboarding so that I can see how the product works and it works really well.” ~ BrightPay Early Adopter
The pattern across these four responses is the same: practices that try Oscar — even in a test environment — come away confident and excited to use it with real clients. That is not a coincidence. The process is straightforward, the experience is intuitive, and the output speaks for itself.
What is Oscar and how does it work?
Oscar is BrightPay’s AI Employee Onboarding Assistant, built directly into BrightPay Cloud. It handles the entire new starter onboarding process automatically and works through two parts:
- Part one – Oscar contacts the new starter on WhatsApp, gathering non-sensitive information through the conversation
- Part two – Oscar sends the new starter a secure link to a web form, where they complete the sensitive parts of the onboarding – bank details, NI number and P45 details – in a dedicated, encrypted environment
If anything is missing or unclear, Oscar asks for it himself. No intervention from the practice is required.
Once the new starter completes the process, the data arrives in BrightPay clean, validated, and ready for approval. No manual re-keying. No chasing. No risk of transcription errors.
Why does Oscar matter for payroll bureaus and their clients?
New starter onboarding has always been one of the most admin-intensive tasks in payroll. The traditional process involves multiple parties — the practice, the employer client, and the new employee — passing information back and forth over days or weeks.
Oscar collapses that process into a single, automated WhatsApp conversation.
The numbers:
| Before Oscar | With Oscar | |
| Total onboarding time | Up to 7 days | ~1.5 hours |
| Practice team involvement | 30–45 minutes per new starter | Less than 5 minutes |
| Data entry | Manual | 100% automated |
| Errors | Introduced at re-keying stage | Validated in real-time |
| Available hours | Office hours only | 24/7 |
For a bureau with 10 clients averaging five new starters each per month, the time saving is 25–37 hours of admin every month. That is capacity that can be reinvested in higher-value work, or used to take on more clients without increasing headcount.
Does Oscar create a new revenue opportunity for practices?
Yes — and practices in the Early Adopter Programme are already acting on it.
Oscar is not simply a background efficiency gain. It is a genuinely new service capability that clients will notice, which makes it something worth charging for. Practices are approaching this in three ways:
Per-starter fee — charging £10–15 per new starter as a standalone onboarding service. Simple to explain, easy to invoice, and immediately demonstrable as a cost saving for the client.
Managed onboarding retainer — a monthly fee per employer that bundles onboarding into the wider payroll service package. Predictable revenue for the practice; no admin overhead for the client.
Value anchor at renewal — using Oscar to demonstrate the concrete time and cost savings delivered, justifying fee levels and differentiating from lower-cost competitors.
At £12 per new starter, a bureau with 10 clients averaging five new starters per month generates £600 per month in new onboarding revenue — whilst saving 25–37 hours of admin at the same time.
What do clients and new starters experience?
Oscar’s impact is not limited to the practice. Employer clients no longer need to chase their own employees for documents or act as an intermediary. New starters receive a WhatsApp message and complete the process in around 10 minutes — at whatever time suits them, without needing to download an app or log into a portal.
As Mark Francis notes, the end result for his clients is a process that is “clean, accurate, and instant” — with no paper, no delays, and no duplication of work. That is the kind of service clients notice and, crucially, the kind that strengthens the practice’s relationship with them.
How to get early access to Oscar
Oscar is currently available through the Oscar Early Adopter Programme (EAP), open to BrightPay Cloud users now. Practices who join the EAP receive:
- Early access to Oscar before general release
- A dedicated support contact throughout the programme
- A Quick Start Guide, Client Conversation Guide, and Practice Benefits Guide
- Regular check-in sessions with the BrightPay product team
- Access to the Oscar ideas portal to shape future development
- 1:1 sessions with the product team on request
The practices joining now are not just getting early access — they are helping to decide what Oscar becomes next.
Want to get access? The programme is free while in early access. Just open BrightPay and navigate to add a new employee. A message will then appear on screen, where you can enable Oscar.
We recommend running a test employee onboarding using your own details so you can see the Oscar experience firsthand. Just enter your name, email and phone number and Oscar will message you on WhatsApp!
*Not using BrightPay and want to learn more? Click here.
Want to see Oscar onboard a new starter live?
Get a 2-minute overview here. Plus, we’re also hosting a free live demo webinar on Tuesday 9 June 2026 at 2pm, where you can see Oscar onboard a new starter in real-time.
Frequently asked questions about Oscar
What is Oscar by BrightPay?
Oscar is an AI Employee Onboarding Assistant built directly into BrightPay Cloud. It handles new starter onboarding automatically via WhatsApp and a secure link — collecting P45s, bank details, personal information, and proof of address, validating everything in real-time, and delivering clean data into BrightPay ready for review and approval.
How long does Oscar take to onboard a new starter?
A process that typically takes up to 7 days completes in around 1.5 hours with Oscar. The practice team’s involvement is less than 5 minutes per new starter.
Does a new starter need to download an app?
No. Oscar works via WhatsApp, which the majority of new starters already have. There is no app to download and no account to create. Oscar will collect non sensitive information via WhatsApp and send a secure link to collect the remaining sensitive data, such as P45s, Bank Details & National Insurance Number.
What happens if a new starter forgets to include information?
Oscar identifies missing information and asks for it directly — without any intervention from the practice team. The practice receives complete, validated data regardless.
Is Oscar available to all BrightPay users?
Oscar is currently available through the Early Adopter Programme for BrightPay Cloud UK users. Practices can join now to get early access and help shape how the product develops.
Can payroll bureaus charge clients for Oscar?
Yes. Practices are already doing so — as a per-starter fee (typically £10–15), a monthly managed onboarding retainer, or as a value anchor at fee renewal. The commercial model is flexible and straightforward to explain to clients.
