Bright 2026: Benefits, Features & Pricing

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Overview
Pricing and Plans
Features
Integrations
User Reviews

Overview

Bright

4.9

(344)

Pricing

Starting at £279.00 per year

About Bright

Bright offers 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)

Bright Screenshots

Bright Pricing and Plans

Starting price: £279.00 per year

Free Trial

Free Version

Bureau

£279.00

per year

Plan 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

Plan includes:

Automatic Enrolment in Brightpay
Batch Processing Payroll
CIS in Brightpay
Integration With Accounting Software
Ip35/ Off-Payroll With Brightpay

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Bright Features

Popular features found in Payroll
401(k) Tracking
Benefits Management
Check Printing
Compensation Management
Compliance Management
Direct Deposit
Employee Database
Self Service Portal
Third-Party Integrations
W-2 Preparation
Wage Garnishment
More features of Bright
Access Controls/Permissions
Accounting
Accounting Integration
Accounts Receivable
Activity Dashboard
Alerts/Notifications
API
Approval Process Control
Approval Workflow
Audit Management
Audit Trail
Bank Reconciliation
Billing & Invoicing
Budgeting/Forecasting
Client Management
Client Portal
Customizable Branding
Customizable Reports
Customizable Templates
Dashboard
Data Import/Export
Document Management
Document Storage
Due Date Tracking
Email Management
Employee Management
Employee Portal
Employee Profiles
Employee Self Service
Expense Tracking
Financial Analysis
Financial Management
Financial Reporting
For Accountants
For Small Businesses
General Ledger
HR Management
Invoice Management
Invoice Processing
Messaging
Mobile App
Onboarding
Payment Reconciliation
Payroll Management
Payroll Reporting
Profit/Loss Statement
Progress Tracking
Project Management
Recurring/Subscription Billing
Reminders
Reporting/Analytics
Reporting & Statistics
Search/Filter
Sick Leave Tracking
Status Tracking
Task Management
Tax Compliance
Time & Expense Tracking
Time Off Management
Transaction History
Vacation/Leave Tracking
Workflow Management

Bright Integrations

FreeAgent

Clear Books

AccountsIQ

Xero

QuickBooks Online Advanced

FreshBooks

Bright User Reviews

Overall Rating

4.9

Ratings Breakdown

88%

10%

Secondary Ratings

Ease of Use

4.8

Value for money

4.8

Customer support

4.8

Functionality

4.7

Vincent C.

Verified reviewer

Printing

51-200 employees

Used daily for free trial

Review source

Reviewed February 2026

Great for smaller & simple businesses

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Functionality

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.

Faizan S.

Verified reviewer

Accounting

51-200 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed August 2025

10/10 amazing software

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.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

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.

Reasons for choosing Bright

Seemed more user friendly during our demo

Reasons for switching to Bright

We were not enjoying our experience as a firm with sage, luckily this was recommended to me by a friend.

Calum B.

Verified reviewer

Professional Training & Coaching

2-10 employees

Used unspecified for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed July 2019

Comprehensive but simple to use payroll software

I've been using this for several years. Support when needed has been quick and efficient.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Previously 4

Value for money

Previously 5

Customer support

Functionality

Previously 5

Pros:

Straightforward to use. Provides a basic employee overview as well.

Cons:

Not automatically backed up. Have to pay extra for cloud option.

Darren F.

Verified reviewer

Hospital & Health Care

51-200 employees

Used weekly for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed February 2025

BrightPay - Best Payroll software we have used

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.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

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

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

Reasons for switching to Bright

Sage pricing is ridiculous, the price kept increasing year on year and every thing is an added extra or was when we left.

Samantha M.

Verified reviewer

Leisure, Travel & Tourism

11-50 employees

Used monthly for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed September 2024

Incredible company

excellent great company great customer service

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

very helpful clear instructions in a friendly way

Cons:

N/A nothing to complain about product and service always outstanding

Reasons for switching to Bright

cost and how simple your system was , sage so complicated

Rasa M.

Verified reviewer

Accounting

Self-Employed

Used daily for more than 2 years

Reviewed August 2022

Superb product for accountants

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I have tried and tested quite a few software before I came across Accountancy manager. One had a client database but required extensive work to set up tasks, especially those that are requiring, preset specific templates, another had some features that were required in Practice (i.e. Letters of engagement), but not others, so in fact, my practice and tasks were managed across 3-4 CMR's and client management software, that in combination served my practice management needs. AM was revolutionary, for it had all of the features I wanted and needed in one software.

Cons:

I find filters bit cumbersome. Guess it's a very low price to pay.

Reasons for choosing Bright

Because the Accountancy manager had everything I needed and wanted in one place.

Reasons for switching to Bright

Because the Accountancy manager had everything I needed and wanted in one place.

Lisa M.

Verified reviewer

Accounting

Self-Employed

Used daily for less than 6 months

Reviewed August 2022

Best software for my practice

Its been an amazing experience with AM. Its only been about 8 weeks since I started the trial so I am relatively new and still working my way through all what it can do. AM has saved me so much time, its connectivity with HMRC was super easy and I got the information within a week. Being able to access all the information without relying on spreadsheets is a bonus.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I signed up to a trial with Accountancy Manager after a failed attempt to get another practice management software sorted for my practice. I had a 1on1 meeting to go through the software and for me to ask questions. They send you weekly tasks with short videos to complete. There are software setups and short videos in the actual software that you can rewatch if not sure and their amazing support team and my account manager have been brilliant helping me with any questions. It has saved me so much time, I am able to apply for authorisation from HMRC from within the software, I can get documents signed, clients can send me documents through a more secure means than just emails. Being able to email multiple clients at a time with news or information is a time saver. Tracking if the client has seen an email is a great addition too.

Cons:

The worse bit for me was setting up the templates or adjusting them. As i am with ICB, there are certain paragraphs that I needed in there and i had to do it manually and check each template which took its time.

Reasons for choosing Bright

I took out the trial and tested it over the 30 day period, used the support team and watched the videos. After a failed attempt with another software, I needed to make sure that it was a good fit with my practice.

Reasons for switching to Bright

I was missold the package based on information i gave them as it could'nt do what I needed it to. I got zero support from the sales team which is were it all started going wrong. 6 months later and I am still not sure that it has all been cancelled.

Fiona J.

Verified reviewer

Accounting

2-10 employees

Used daily for less than 12 months

Reviewed August 2022

Fantastic product with brilliant support

Accountancy Manager has really helped me automate my task management and client onboarding processes. I've been using it less than a year but it's really helped transform the running of my business and having one piece of software that does all these different things is fantastic! If I'm ever stuck or have a problem the support is always really quick to respond and super helpful.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I love how straightforward it was to set up and get up and running. I really like the task management functions, how I can see what deadlines are coming up and what staff are working on. The proposal emails and e-signing of LOEs and T&Cs has been so helpful and the ability to perform AML ID checks from within the software has been brilliant.

Cons:

I like the task template breakdowns but the fact they don't copy over when a new task is created can be frustrating, however, I'm hoping the new workflow functionality will sort this out.

Reasons for choosing Bright

I found the other product too overwhelming and complicated and loved how Accountancy Manager worked in comparison.

Sam W.

Verified reviewer

Accounting

Self-Employed

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed September 2022

Wouldn't use anything else

It's been essential for me to build my payroll bureau

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I love that the software is user friendly and intuitive, with a pleasant looking interface. The customer support has also been fantastic.

Cons:

I would love it to be cloud based (which is in the pipeline), and also more batch processing features.

Reasons for choosing Bright

It was recommended to me and I loved it when I downloaded the free trial

Vendor Response

Thank you for your review Sam. It's great to hear that you find the software so user-friendly and intuitive. Our fully cloud software is on the way! Thanks again.

Replied November 2022

Claire R.

Verified reviewer

Accounting

2-10 employees

Used weekly for less than 6 months

Review source

Reviewed January 2023

Brightpay - employee portal winner

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Functionality

Pros:

That employees can access their own payroll portal

Cons:

Hasn't yet adapted for the recent ruling relating to holiday pay

Reasons for switching to Bright

As wanted software that had an employee portal.

Vendor Response

Hi Claire, thank you for your review and we are delighted to hear that you are using the BrightPay Connect employee portal. Please ensure you have ran the latest upgrade, which will be prompted on the main BrightPay screen.

Replied January 2023

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