# Bright Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra > With the help of Capterra, learn about Bright Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Payroll products and more. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/126242/BrightPay --- # Bright Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on March 13, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. Independent research methodology Capterra’s researchers use a mix of verified reviews, independent research and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or speak to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/proprietary-data-research/) How Capterra verifies reviews Capterra carefully verified over 2.5 million+ reviews to bring you authentic software experiences from real users. Our human moderators verify that reviewers are real people and that reviews are authentic. They use leading tech to analyze text quality and to detect plagiarism and generative AI. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-verify-reviews/) How Capterra ensures transparency Capterra lists all providers across its website—not just those that pay us—so that users can make informed purchase decisions. Capterra is free for users. Software providers pay us for sponsored profiles to receive web traffic and sales opportunities. Sponsored profiles include a link-out icon that takes users to the provider’s website. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-ensure-transparency/) [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Integrations](#integrations)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) Bright ## What is Bright? Bright provides a suite of industry-leading software solutions for accountants, bookkeepers and SMEs across the UK and Ireland. Our multi-award-winning, user-friendly and innovative products let users support clients while profitably running their practices, with the backing of exceptional support. Our product suite includes: • BrightPay (Payroll software) • BrightManager (Practice management software) • BrightPropose (Proposal and pricing software) • BrightTax (Tax and accounts software for the UK only) • BrightCosec (Company secretarial software for the UK only) • BrightAccountsProduction (Accounts production software for IE only) • BrightBooks (Bookkeeping software for IE only) ## What is Bright used for? [Payroll](https://www.capterra.com/payroll-software/)[Accounting Practice Management](https://www.capterra.com/accounting-practice-management-software/)[Direct Deposit Payroll](https://www.capterra.com/direct-deposit-payroll-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 347 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 98% Neutral 2% Negative 0% Starting price £279 Per Year Free trial available Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for Bright?[Manage this product listing](https://digitalmarkets.gartner.com/get-listed/claim-bx?url=https://brightsg.com/&name=Bright) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### Bright 4.9 (347) VS. [4.9 (4,271)](https://www.capterra.com/p/205015/Deel/reviews/) Starting Price £279 Per Year Starting Price $5 Per User, Per Month Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 4.8 (347) Ease Of Use 4.8 (4,271) Value For Money 4.8 (290) Value For Money 4.7 (3,922) Customer Service 4.8 (261) Customer Service 4.7 (4,024) ## Bright alternatives Highest Rated [4.9 (4,699)](https://www.capterra.com/p/172127/Rippling/reviews/) Starting price $8.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 98% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.4 (1,242)](https://www.capterra.com/p/130949/Paycom/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 87% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.3 (3,036)](https://www.capterra.com/p/133745/Paycor-Perform/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 87% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.2 (2,009)](https://www.capterra.com/p/135757/NetSuite/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 85% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/126242/BrightPay/alternatives/) ## Features Features with the highest number of reviews are displayed first. Those that have no reviews appear next, sorted alphabetically. Payroll Management 4.9 (15) 73.33% of 15 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Manage employee salary processes, data, taxes, and records administration efficiently Document Management 4.7 (12) 66.67% of 12 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Store, manage, and track all electronic documents in a centralized location Client Portal 4.9 (10) 70.00% of 10 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Private online space that lets businesses securely share documents and provide information access to clients Payroll Reporting 4.4 (10) 80.00% of 10 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important View and track payroll metrics including tax liabilities, pay rates, working hours, deductions and more Self Service Portal 4.5 (10) 60.00% of 10 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Online portal through which end users can access the system, manage tasks, or obtain information Client Management 4.9 (9) 77.78% of 9 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Manage contact details and communication with clients Bright 69 features Define levels of authorization for access to specific files or systems Built-in accounting to manage ledger, accounts payable/receivable, financial reports, etc. Integrate with a third-party accounting system Track outstanding invoices and the money owed from clients Dashboard to view the status of ongoing processes, identify current incidents and track past activities Alerts or notifications of various types such as pop-up messages, sounds, banners, or badges Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases Manage the process of evaluating documents or requests submitted for approval Route documents and other data through one or more stakeholders for review and approval Plan, schedule, and execute organization's accounts and assets to ensure compliance with policies and laws A record of all activities within the system, including user access, changes made, etc. Compare and match accounting/financial records with corresponding bank statements Record employee's benefit plans and selections throughout career progression Create, manage, and send invoices or bills to customers Create budgets based on historical data and future projections Manage contact details and communication with clients Private online space that lets businesses securely share documents and provide information access to clients Track and manage adherence to policies for any service, product, process, or supplier Add customized logos and colors to align with company branding Alter the layout and content of reports Pre-designed layouts that can be customized to match preferences and requirements Assembly of graphs and charts for visualizing and tracking statistics/metrics Import and export data to and from software applications Digitally deposit correct payroll amounts into individual employee's bank accounts Store, manage, and track all electronic documents in a centralized location Store and organize documents in a centralized system Ability to identify, sort on and alert participating parties about the approaching date by which action has to be taken Manage, store and organize emails within the system or via third-party apps Electronic storage of staff/employee contact information and job status in a centralized repository Track employee schedules, availability, and performance across projects and tasks Online portal where employees can access and track their own information Centralized storage for employee data, records, and performance metrics Gateway through which employees can access the system Monitor and record expenses such as purchases or charges incurred Evaluate units, projects, budgets, and other finance-related data to gauge their performance and potential risk Plan, manage, and track the financial activities of an individual or organization Generate reports to assess the financial performance of an organization Software specialized for accountants and accounting firms Designed for small businesses Centralized accounting record which tracks all financial transactions Automates core HR functions such as talent management, employee evaluation and learning management Captures invoice data and maintains comprehensive records for auditing and reporting purposes Creation, processing, verification, and execution of invoices till the payment is made Communicate using messages within the system Access the system via a mobile application Process of familiarizing new clients, stakeholders or employees with the company, a new location, or a service Reconcile payments with corresponding invoices or orders for accounting purposes Manage employee salary processes, data, taxes, and records administration efficiently View and track payroll metrics including tax liabilities, pay rates, working hours, deductions and more A type of financial statement used to record and report an organization's revenues, costs, and expenses over a specific amount of time Reporting on how each user, task or process has advanced since its initiation Plan and coordinate all the resources, costs and time needed to execute assignments Automated process of charging customers at regular intervals for repeated access or use of a product or service Timed notification for any upcoming task, deadline, appointment, or activity Collection, analysis, and representation of numerical data and generation of reports to understand various patterns View and track pertinent metrics to find patterns and gain insights from data Search and filter data across systems to locate required information by entering keywords or certain criteria Online portal through which end users can access the system, manage tasks, or obtain information Track and manage sick leave time Track the status over time for a request, process, asset, or transaction Create, manage and track all task activities and progression Track tax-related transactions, tax remittance and tax reporting for various groups of employees and contractors Set up connections to third-party platforms to improve business processes Log and record hours worked and costs spent to assist in billing and invoicing Track and manage employee time-off, vacation, and sick leave requests Record of all transactions such as purchases, deposits, withdrawals and transfers within a specific period Request, track, and manage time off requests and vacation time Automatically subtract garnishments from wages Create, design and manage workflows for repetitive tasks Get Advice We can help you find the software with the features you need. Features 4.7 (347) 4.7 Based on 347 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.8 (290) Free Trial [View pricing plan details](https://www.capterra.com/p/126242/BrightPay/pricing/) Bureau £279.00 Per Year It includes: - Automatic Enrolment in Brightpay - Batch Processing Payroll - CIS in Brightpay - Integration With Accounting Software - Ip35/ Off-Payroll With Brightpay Copy of Bureau 1 £279.00 Per Year It includes: - Automatic Enrolment in Brightpay - Batch Processing Payroll - CIS in Brightpay - Integration With Accounting Software - Ip35/ Off-Payroll With Brightpay Value for money 4.8 (290) 4.8 Based on 290 reviews ## Integrations [ FreshBooks](https://www.capterra.com/p/142390/FreshBooks/)[ Xero](https://www.capterra.com/p/120109/Xero/)[ QuickBooks Online Advanced](https://www.capterra.com/p/189398/QuickBooks-Online/)[ FreeAgent](https://www.capterra.com/p/122008/FreeAgent/)[ AccountsIQ](https://www.capterra.com/p/126903/accountsIQ/)[ Clear Books](https://www.capterra.com/p/91374/Clear-Books/)[ Quick File](https://www.capterra.com/p/128961/Quick-File/)[ Modulr](https://www.capterra.com/p/196016/Modulr/) Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs. ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.8 (261) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.8 (261) 4.8 Based on 261 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.9 Based on 347 reviews Filter by rating 5(303) 4(37) 3(7) 2(0) 1(0) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent EG Emily G. Bookkeeper Accounting ### "Best payroll software" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 April 28, 2026 Always happy to use Bright and when we get new payroll clients we will put them on Bright for ease. Client support is also quick and readily available. Pros Brightpay is so simple to use and figure out where features are. The navigation is clear, and takes some of the stress out of payroll. Staff also like the ease of the employee portal, as well as being able to see their holiday allowance. The ability to link to HMRC and Nest is helpful too. Cons I like the new cloud software but it seems to have a lot of bugs. They look to be resolved quickly but when submitting time sensitive information it can add to the pressure. Switched from [Xero](https://www.capterra.com/p/120109/Xero/) Xero payroll is not as developed as Bright and it's more difficult to make changes to payroll. We mostly use Brightpay now but are trying to switch Xero payroll customers to bright Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. LA LESLEY ANN V. Accountant Accounting ### "Second to None, simply the best." 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 April 20, 2026 It's made the management of running the payroll for all my clients so much easier. I love the layout, it's not complicated and so easy to navigate. I wouldn't change to anyone else. Pros I've used Bright Payroll and CIS software for quite a few years now and it is trouble free, easy to use, easy to navigate and the help section is second to none. The support is excellent and quick and the employee management is very easy to keep up to date. It's excellent value and I qould recommend this software without hesitation. I love the layout, which makes so easy to use. Cons I've just moved over to the cloud and I didn't think I would like it but I love it. I was dreading it thinking it would be so different but they have made it so easy to change over and the support was second to none. Switched from [Sage Payroll](https://www.capterra.com/p/215768/Sage-Business-Cloud-Payroll/) Sage backup was becoming tiresome and lengthy. The product was overpriced and much more complicated to navigate. Pricing structure was rediculous for a very small company. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. MO Margaret O. Payrol Retail ### "Payrol 10/10" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 April 16, 2026 Very Good using a long time no issues fing them competitive with pricings & straight forward to use with good Help notes Pros Bright Thesaurus works very well from a payroll point of view very easy to use & great support, always helpful & knowledgeable Cons None- I dont have any issues with the passage the support team are always quick to solve any problems you might have Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Vincent C. Project Manager Printing ### "Great for smaller & simple businesses " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 February 2, 2026 Pros Easy to use with an intuitive interface, great customer support, affordable for small teams, and reliable payroll/HR features Cons A bit limited compared with bigger HR/payroll suites, setup and learning can take time, and a few features or integrations feel clunky or missing. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. FS Faizan S. Payroll Manager Accounting ### "10/10 amazing software" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 August 20, 2025 Amazing software, the best payroll software i have ever used and i have numerous clients who also love the employer portal side of things too. Pros Very easy to use and user-friendly, can be utilised by novices or experienced professionals relatively easily. Cons The change to a cloud version - i preferred the desktop version, however this isn't a deal breaker at all. Switched from [Sage Payroll](https://www.capterra.com/p/215768/Sage-Business-Cloud-Payroll/) We were not enjoying our experience as a firm with sage, luckily this was recommended to me by a friend. Alternatives considered [QuickBooks Online](https://www.capterra.com/p/190778/QuickBooks-Online/) Reasons for choosing Bright Seemed more user friendly during our demo Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. DF Darren F. Managing Director Hospital & Health Care ### "BrightPay - Best Payroll software we have used" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 February 21, 2025 We have been using BrightPay for the last 4 years. We moved over from Sage due to them increasing their prices. We are so glad we made the move, not only have we saved money, but the software is excellent. We have never had any issues and it integrates faultlessly with Xero accounts. We use it for 2 payrolls and have the bureau version. We would not hesitate to recommend BrightPay and have already done so to many of our business friends. We also take advantabe of BrightPay connect to allow our staff to view their payslips on the BrightPay app. We also use the app for bookig and monitoriin of holidays. Pros Simple, easy to use and has all the features you need plus more Cons The only thning we don't like is when sick leave spans 2 tax years. You have to do a manual adjustment. Only happened to us a couple of times over 4 years and they may have solved/addressed this quirk Switched from [Sage Payroll](https://www.capterra.com/p/215768/Sage-Business-Cloud-Payroll/) Sage pricing is ridiculous, the price kept increasing year on year and every thing is an added extra or was when we left. Alternatives considered [Sage 50 Accounting](https://www.capterra.com/p/174753/Sage-50cloud/) [Xero](https://www.capterra.com/p/120109/Xero/) Reasons for choosing Bright WE took advantage of the trial period and ran one of our payrolls side by side to get an idea of what it could do, didn't let the trial expire and purchase the full version the follwing month Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. LW Lesley W. Director Staffing and Recruiting ### "A software package that does what it says " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 February 21, 2025 Good experience the software is easy to use Pros The software is easy to use and the support team respond quickly Cons Nothing to report, the software does what it says Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. SM Samantha M. swim school owner Leisure, Travel & Tourism ### "Incredible company" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 September 27, 2024 excellent great company great customer service Pros very helpful clear instructions in a friendly way Cons N/A nothing to complain about product and service always outstanding Switched from [QuickBooks Payroll](https://www.capterra.com/p/174981/QuickBooks/) cost and how simple your system was , sage so complicated Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. DJ Daniel J. Accountant Accounting ### "Great software helping manage your practice" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 September 14, 2023 Very good software that saves lots of time. Pros It is online and linked to other software and HMRC Cons Pricing per user, it would be better to have pricing per number of clients. Also the invoicing is not linked properly with QuickBooks. Switched from [Microsoft Excel](https://www.capterra.com/p/176574/Excel/) It was getting more difficult to manage and additional time saving features convinced to change over. Reasons for choosing Bright Tailored to UK market, linked with HMRC and Companies House Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Andrew C. Inspection & Training Manager Warehousing ### "Very nice app for an employee" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 March 31, 2023 Overall I'm very pleased with the app - it is a good solution to the browser portal. Pros Brings all the functionality of the browser portal into a mobile app. It's much easier to use the app for quick access than to get on a computer to see and use the portal. Cons I have very few issues as an end-user employee. I do have some frustrations over how easily I can change my details, but I understand the importance of have this administrated by senior leadership. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Response from Vendor April 5, 2023 Thank you for your feedback and star rating Andrew. It's great to hear that you are enjoying using our BrightPay Connect app on your mobile/tablet device. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/126242/BrightPay/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. Popular comparisons [Deel vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/126242-205015/BrightPay-vs-Deel)[Rippling vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/126242-172127/BrightPay-vs-Rippling)[RUN Powered by ADP vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/126242-185859/BrightPay-vs-RUN)[Paylocity vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/86714-126242/WebPay-vs-BrightPay)[ADP Workforce Now vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/126242-155895/BrightPay-vs-WorkforceNow)[Patriot Software vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/116050-126242/Patriot-Software-vs-BrightPay)[Gusto vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/126242-131882/BrightPay-vs-Gusto)[Paychex Flex vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/119841-126242/Paychex-Flex-vs-BrightPay)[Paycor vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/126242-133745/BrightPay-vs-Paycor-Perform)[QuickBooks Online vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/126242-190778/BrightPay-vs-QuickBooks-Online) [Asure vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/126242-159581/BrightPay-vs-Payroll-Tax-Management)[PrimePay vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/126242-156904/BrightPay-vs-PrimePay)[Paycom vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/126242-130949/BrightPay-vs-Paycom)[Dayforce HCM vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/126242-205376/BrightPay-vs-Dayforce-HCM)[Proliant vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/126242-187093/BrightPay-vs-Proliant)[QuickBooks Payroll vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/126242-174981/BrightPay-vs-QuickBooks)[SurePayroll vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/126242-225706/BrightPay-vs-SurePayroll)[Xero vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/120109-126242/Xero-vs-BrightPay)[NetSuite vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/126242-135757/BrightPay-vs-NetSuite)[OnPay vs Bright](https://www.capterra.com/compare/126242-167109/BrightPay-vs-OnPay)  Independent research methodology Capterra's researchers use a mix of verified reviews, independent research and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or speak to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/proprietary-data-research/) How Capterra verifies reviews Capterra carefully verified over 2.5 million+ reviews to bring you authentic software experiences from real users. Our human moderators verify that reviewers are real people and that reviews are authentic. They use leading tech to analyze text quality and to detect plagiarism and generative AI. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-verify-reviews/) How Capterra ensures transparency Capterra lists all providers across its website—not just those that pay us—so that users can make informed purchase decisions. Capterra is free for users. Software providers pay us for sponsored profiles to receive web traffic and sales opportunities. Sponsored profiles include a link-out icon that takes users to the provider's website. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-ensure-transparency/)