Bright Reviews 725

We have been forced to use the online version of BrightPay.... 2 weeks in and what a nightmare. Very slow, looks like the front end has had a makeover by a small child. Functionality is reduced. Only kept on using because I thought the familiarity would be a benefit.... but so many things aren't familiar. Constant annoying calls from the company. If it wasn't broken then why 'fix' it!

Ciaran was extremely helpful. My query of transferring an employee was resolved more or less immediately. Ciaran was very confident and knew exactly what I needed to do. I was worried about doing it wrong because it was very important we protected our employees rights (ie their start date was a long time ago) and he explained the TUPE to me which was amazing! 10 out of 10 👏

I have been a customer of Bright Pay for approx. 6 years on their desktop version. Being forced to move to their cloud offering was the worst mistake I ever made. Too expensive, billing of the cloud offering ABSOLUTELY UNCLEAR. Support that is not fit for purpose. I will never use their software again following this appalling experience I have had.

I have been a BrightPay customer for approximately four years. During that time, I have found the software itself to be reliable and well-designed, and it generally meets our payroll processing needs.

However, my experience with their accounts and billing processes has been consistently disappointing. A refund due to incorrect billing took a full month to process; invoices have been unclear and, at times, inaccurate, requiring follow-up to clarify basic details such as the actual amount charged. This creates unnecessary administrative effort and undermines confidence in their billing practices.

More concerning is the quality of customer support. Responses have been slow, vague, and often fail to address the specific query raised. Rather than resolving issues efficiently, communication tends to prolong them, which is frustrating for a long-standing customer.

In summary, while the core software is strong, the overall customer experience is significantly undermined by poor billing administration and ineffective support. I would recommend the product cautiously, with the caveat that customers should be prepared for potential difficulties when dealing with accounts and customer service.

I was subscribing to Sage Payroll for YEARS until I came across BrightPay. Couldn’t believe how much cheaper they were but thought I’d give them a try. This is my third year with BrightPay, far better payroll program & support than Sage and far cheaper. Had a wee issue with my Year End this week as I was away last week so I called BrightPay Support, the lady was so kind & helpful, warm & friendly. Had my issue sorted in minutes. 100% delighted with BrightPay and their support 👌🏻👍🏻

This company has gone from an excellent, value for money, efficient, small company with fantastic customer support to what feels like a multinational corporate organisation that passes you on from one person to another who doesn't know how to answer simple enquiries with lengthy waits on the phone in between.
I've had a very frustrating experience this past week just trying to renew my subscription for another year. I can only select pay-as-you-go monthly instead of the more economical annual subscription - which is visible, but I can't select.
I've given up trying to get through on the phone and my email wasn't replied to.

Hi,

It was a great experience, and Karen Dunphy was incredibly helpful throughout the entire process of transitioning from the desktop to the cloud version. She has been a fantastic supporter.

I truly appreciate all her efforts.

I would also like to thank Ciaran Mooney for her assistance in obtaining the desktop version, with Karen’s support.

Thank you both! 😊😊

Due to cessation of payroll and trading because of retirement, increased caring duties and bereavement, I stopped using Brightpay in June 2024 and informed them of this. I asked for all my details to be removed from all their mailing lists at that point and have repeated that request numerous times in the 21 months since cessation. I have received repeated assurances that this has been done and that I will receive no further communications, but I still keep receiving emails (and even a recent letter) from them. I have already received 2 emails this week, despite being told - again - on 25/03/26 that my details had been removed. After 21 months of struggle and so many false assurances, I no longer believe anything they say and have submitted a complain to the ICO. I would never again use or recommend any Bright software.

Most expensive payroll software on the market.

The New Cloud (No Desktop version) has so many issues , and lacks so many of the features of the old Desktop.

1) It is Slow - have to wait for 1 submission to complete before you are able to start the next function, Otherwise the submission is Cancelled
2) Cannot open multiple Employers
3) Reports cannot be downloaded in CSV
4) Importing Data creates unneccassary tabs
5) Pension submission - take ages to respond
6) Unlike before - No Prompt for missing data (eg Employee email address)
7) New Pay Period - When file is opened, the next open pay period is not automatically selected - Opens on the finalised pay period
8) Imported Data - Email "CC"'s have not been bought forward on Imported files
9) Dashboard Useless - Dashboard is not sorting by "Outstanding RTI' / Pensions
10) Unable to paste Analysis data in legible format when data is "copied to clipboard" - We were advised to download in PDF, when we needed it in CSV

We had a very disappointing experience with BrightPay.

The service was sold to us at €120 per month for up to 50 businesses, which was the key reason we signed up. However, immediately after activation, we discovered that the actual charge applied was €144 per month — a clear discrepancy from what was communicated during the sales process.

We cancelled the subscription within one day, as soon as this pricing issue became apparent. No meaningful use of the platform was made, and no benefit was derived.

Despite this, BrightPay attempted to enforce an 18-month contract, which was never clearly disclosed or explicitly agreed to. When asked to provide evidence of this agreement (signed contract or recorded confirmation), none was provided.

From our perspective, this raises serious concerns around:

Transparency in pricing
Clarity of contract terms
Fairness in enforcing long-term commitments

We made every effort to resolve the matter amicably and promptly, requesting cancellation and confirmation that no charges would apply. Unfortunately, the response we received did not reflect a customer-first approach.

We would strongly advise other businesses to:

Carefully review all terms before signing up
Request written confirmation of pricing and contract duration
Clarify cancellation terms upfront

Overall, this experience has been frustrating and disappointing, particularly given how straightforward the issue could have been to resolve.

Amazing support straight from the start. I’m a complete novice with payroll, so to have help at the end of the line has been gratefully received. Would highly recommend

Emailed Twice - No reply.
Make up your own mind after that !

Ciaran Was really helpful and very patient with me that took a lot of stress out of the set up.. so thank you Ciaran.

I very rarely write reviews but I just wanted to share my positive experience using BrightPay's telephone support. Being IT illiterate, Stuart from the support team has helped to guide me through the transition from BrightPay Desktop to BrightPay Cloud, explaining everything along the way whilst showing tremendous patience. Thank you Stuart for all your help in making a daunting task a simple process.

Ciaran sorted both of my problems out straight away and was a joy to deal with from start to finish.

I switched to BrightPay Cloud this year and I haven't looked back.

I particularly like the following features:

1. No more worrying about backups as everything is backed up in the cloud.
2. The AI Support Assistant means I don't have to spend time queuing for telephone support.
3. If I do need telephone support, the support assistant can log in to my BrightPay in the cloud and directly resolve the issue.
4. The support assistants I’ve dealt with so far were Irish, so communication has been very efficient.

It may be more expensive than the desktop version but it's worth it for the peace of mind.

All in all, it's been a very positive experience.

Ciaran was extremely helpful with clarifying some issues we were having with our payroll schedule. He patiently went through our information and we were able to rectify the queries we had.

The new interface appears well designed; however, there are significant practical limitations for firms managing a large number of employers. For organisations with hundreds of employers and multiple users requiring access to the new Connect version of the software, user access must currently be granted manually on each individual client file.

Unlike the previous BrightPay Connect system, where a user could be invited once and then granted access across all employers in bulk, the new process requires access to be configured separately for every employer. For larger firms, this creates a considerable administrative burden and represents a substantial increase in manual work.

Despite the apparent software upgrade, this aspect of the system feels like a significant step backwards. The absence of bulk user management functionality is particularly problematic for larger practices, where efficient automation and scalable access management are essential. In its current form, the functionality does not adequately support these operational needs.

I was upset & stressed when I called yesterday, my Brightpay had been wiped off my laptop. Ciaran was so kind & patient with me. He calmed me down & explained in the nicest way the worse case scenario, he advised me to to talk to my IT person to see if the file could be retrieved & gave me the info on how to do this.
His people skills are excellent & his kindness was greatly appreciated. I felt much happier at the end of the conversation.