Why 91,000 Irish Businesses Run Payroll with Bright

Have you ever wondered why 91000 Irish Businesses choose Bright to run payroll? 91,000 Irish businesses process payroll through Bright’s payroll software. Businesses don’t migrate payroll systems lightly, they do it when the system solves real problems that other ones can’t.

What makes Irish businesses switch from their current payroll system?

Payroll migration happens for three reasons: cost, capability, or collapse of the current system. Most Irish businesses that switch do so because their existing payroll solution doesn’t integrate with modern accounting software, doesn’t automate Revenue compliance, or runs on aging technology that forces manual workarounds.

Desktop payroll software illustrates the problem. It locks data to a single computer. So, if the payroll processor is on holiday, no one else can run payroll. If the office PC fails, you’re restoring from backup (and that’s only if you have one). If you need payroll data for reporting, you export it manually to email. If Revenue rules change, you download an update and hope the new tax tables are correct.

Cloud payroll eliminates these problems by design. Data is accessible from any browser, so any authorised user can process payroll from the office, home, or anywhere else. Revenue compliance updates roll out automatically while you work away int he background. Integrations with accounting software mean payroll journals flow directly to your general ledger without manual re-entry.

How does BrightPay simplify the migration process?

Switching payroll systems sounds daunting. BrightPay supports multiple migration paths:

Importing from BrightPay Desktop: Existing users can migrate their data directly from the older desktop software
Importing from other payroll software: Easily move from Thesaurus Payroll Manager and other systems
Mid-year migration: You can switch at the beginning of the tax year or mid-year

What accounting software does BrightPay integrate with?

For Irish accountants and payroll bureaus, integration is non-negotiable. You cannot afford to manually re-enter payroll journals into Xero, Sage, or other accounting platforms.

BrightPay integrates with Xero, Safe, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, BrightBooks, and more. Check out the full list of BrightPay’s bookkeeping integrations here.

This means payroll journals post automatically to the accounting software. Run payroll in BrightPay, and the journal appears in the general ledger in your accounting platform in seconds.

For payroll bureaus managing dozens of clients, this integration capability transforms your work week. Instead of sending clients a spreadsheet and asking them to enter payroll data into their accounts software, you just send the journal directly. Everyone stays accurate and on schedule.

How does BrightPay handle Revenue compliance?

Revenue compliance is non-negotiable in Ireland. You must retrieve Revenue Payroll Notifications (RPNs) and submit Payroll Submission Requests (PSRs) each pay period. You must calculate PAYE, USC, and PRSI correctly every single time.

BrightPay automates this through direct Revenue integration:

Retrieve RPNs automatically each pay period
Generate and submit PSRs directly to Revenue
Real-time PAYE, USC, and PRSI calculation

BrightPay Cloud is a cloud-based payroll software, so it updates automatically in the background while you work when legislation changes. So, when PRSI rates change in October 2026 (employee rate to 4.35%, employer rate to 11.30%) BrightPay updates without you even noticing.

For auto-enrolment pensions, BrightPay includes full auto-enrolment functionality. The system calculates contributions, identifies eligible employees, and produces compliance reports automatically.

What does the employee experience look like in BrightPay?

Employees are part of your payroll process. If they can’t access their own payslips online, your HR team fields endless requests for paper copies or emailed PDFs.

BrightPay includes an employee portal where employees can:

View and download current and historical payslips
Check leave balance
Request leave
Update personal details
Access HR documents uploaded by the employer

This reduces administrative overhead as employees serve themselves instead of requesting help from HR. Managers approve leave requests in seconds and the entire cycle is self-service and auditable.

How should Irish businesses evaluate a payroll system before switching?

If you are considering a switch, evaluate based on these criteria:

Does it integrate with my accounting software?
Is Revenue integration built in?
Does it support auto-enrolment pensions?
Can multiple users work in the system at the same time?
Does it facilitate remote working?
Is there an employee portal?
Is it cloud-native?
What’s the migration process?

BrightPay ticks every box. It integrates with leading bookkeeping providers, supports auto-enrolment, includes Revenue integration, allows multiple users, provides employee self-service, is cloud-native, and includes documented migration support.

That is why 91,000 Irish businesses and 674,000 Irish employees run payroll through Bright. The numbers tell you it works.

Ready to switch to BrightPay? Start a free trial and see why Irish businesses choose Bright.

This content may have been developed with the assistance of AI tools. Content is reviewed by a member of the Bright team before publication. Guidance on legislation can be obtained from your industry body.