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Sage 50 Payroll

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Powerful desktop payroll for UK businesses that run their own pay runs in house

3.9Based on 95 reviews

Verified reviews for Sage 50 Payroll

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3.9

95 reviews

  • 5 ★
    40
  • 4 ★
    32
  • 3 ★
    6
  • 2 ★
    9
  • 1 ★
    8
Positive 76%Neutral 6%Negative 18%
Write a Review
S

Stuart F.

Finance Manager, Netherfield Logistics

Accounting51-200 employeesUnited KingdomUsed: 1-2 years
5.0
Reviewed on 26 June 2026

Handles complexity lighter tools cannot

Retail headcount swings hard with the seasons and the RTI and pension reassessment handle the constant starters and leavers better than anything else we tried.

Ease of use
5.0
Customer service
5.0
Value for money
5.0
Functionality
5.0
Pros

Compliance has been rock solid for years.

Cons

Honestly little else, it does the job properly.

Was this helpful? · 1
M

Michelle Winterbottom

Payroll Administrator, Farndale Group

Logistics & Supply Chain2-10 employeesUnited KingdomUsed: 6-12 months
4.0
Reviewed on 9 June 2026

Reliable week after week

It does everything a serious in house payroll needs and does it accurately. Marked down only for the learning curve and the desktop nature, both of which are the price of the depth.

Ease of use
4.0
Customer service
4.0
Value for money
3.0
Functionality
5.0
Pros

Statutory payments are always correct.

Cons

Backups are your own responsibility.

Was this helpful? · 8
N

Nigel N.Verified reviewer

Payroll Specialist, Marsden Group

LinkedIn verified
Hospitality51-200 employeesUnited KingdomUsed: 2+ years
5.0
Reviewed on 8 June 2026

Copes with our seasonal swings

As a bureau running a dozen client payrolls, the speed and reliability are everything, and no client scenario in years has ever caught this product out.

Ease of use
4.0
Customer service
4.0
Value for money
5.0
Functionality
5.0
Pros

April tax changes land in the software automatically.

Cons

The interface is dense until you learn it.

Was this helpful? · 21
P

Priya A.

Financial Controller, Marsden Retail

Building Materials51-200 employeesIrelandUsed: 1-2 years
4.0
Reviewed on 8 June 2026

Copes with what we throw at it

Brought payroll in house and it has paid off, both in cost and in control. A determined few weeks of setup and learning, and it has run reliably since.

Ease of use
3.0
Customer service
3.0
Value for money
3.0
Functionality
4.0
Pros

Year end is manageable rather than dreaded.

Cons

Desktop nature makes remote working less seamless.

Was this helpful? · 19
M

Michael Micklethwaite

Practice Manager

Building Materials51-200 employeesUnited KingdomUsed: 2+ years
4.0
Reviewed on 8 June 2026

Dependable if unglamorous

Weekly payroll runs reliably every week and RTI has never failed. The interface felt dated at first but you stop noticing once the workflow is second nature.

Customer service
3.0
Value for money
4.0
Pros

Reporting is detailed enough for finance and audit.

Cons

Updates need installing rather than being automatic.

Was this helpful? · 3
S

Siobhan F.

HR and Payroll Manager, Ambleforth Foods

Financial Services11-50 employeesUnited KingdomUsed: 1-2 years
4.0
Reviewed on 6 June 2026

Better than the bureau we left

It does everything a serious in house payroll needs and does it accurately. Marked down only for the learning curve and the desktop nature, both of which are the price of the depth.

Ease of use
4.0
Customer service
4.0
Value for money
4.0
Functionality
4.0
Pros

Reporting is detailed enough for finance and audit.

Cons

Configuration takes thought up front.

Was this helpful? · 1
S

Sandra KettlewellVerified reviewer

Payroll Administrator, Northgate Care Group

LinkedIn verified
Individual & Family Services201-500 employeesUnited KingdomUsed: 2+ years
5.0
Reviewed on 22 May 2026

Care payroll with hundreds of staff, handled with room to spare

We pay over three hundred care staff on varying contracts and this is the only payroll product we have used that copes without a fight. Pension auto enrolment assessment across a workforce that constantly changes is faultless.

Ease of use
4.0
Customer service
5.0
Value for money
4.0
Functionality
5.0
Pros

Auto enrolment assessment across a large, changing workforce is genuinely bulletproof. Handles our mix of contracts and frequencies. Support once talked me through a tricky year end at length rather than rushing me off the phone.

Cons

The interface is dense until you learn it. At our scale the pricing band is not cheap, but the alternative is a bureau that would cost more.

Was this helpful? · 15
D

Derek T.

HR and Payroll Manager, Brackenridge Manufacturing

Logistics & Supply Chain51-200 employeesUnited KingdomUsed: 2+ years
1.0
Reviewed on 15 May 2026

Cannot recommend for a remote team

It may suit a dedicated in house payroll professional, but for our small, flexible team the learning curve and the desktop constraints created more work than the capability was worth.

Ease of use
1.0
Value for money
1.0
Functionality
1.0
Pros

One support engineer was genuinely excellent.

Cons

Support was slow on the issues that mattered.

Was this helpful? · 1
M

Michael R.

Payroll and Accounts Manager, Wetherall Foods

Mechanical or Industrial Engineering11-50 employeesUnited KingdomUsed: 6-12 months
5.0
Reviewed on 14 May 2026

The accounts link removed our double entry

It copes with complex pay elements, multiple frequencies and the awkward scenarios that lighter payroll tools simply cannot handle, and the numbers are always right.

Ease of use
4.0
Customer service
4.0
Value for money
5.0
Functionality
4.0
Pros

The reporting depth lets us reconcile payroll against budgets by department.

Cons

Honestly little else, it does the job properly.

Was this helpful? · 0
S

Sharon F.

Practice Manager, Marsden Foods

Wholesale11-50 employeesUnited KingdomUsed: 1-2 years
5.0
Reviewed on 14 May 2026

Still the benchmark after all these years

We brought payroll in house from a bureau and it paid for itself inside the first year while giving us far more control and same day visibility of our payroll costs.

Ease of use
5.0
Customer service
5.0
Value for money
5.0
Functionality
5.0
Pros

Handles salary sacrifice and attachment of earnings properly.

Cons

The pricing band steps up as headcount grows.

Was this helpful? · 23