Bright

Review of Bright Software: system overview, features, price and cost information. Get free demos and compare to similar programs.

Overview

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 Features

Features of Bright
401(k) Tracking
Benefits Management
Check Printing
Compensation Management
Compliance Management
Direct Deposit
Employee Database
Self Service Portal
Third-Party Integrations
W-2 Preparation

Bright Integrations

FreeAgent logo
FreeAgent
Clear Books logo
Clear Books
AccountsIQ logo
AccountsIQ
Xero logo
Xero
QuickBooks Online Advanced logo
QuickBooks Online Advanced
FreshBooks logo
FreshBooks

Customer Reviews

See why people love Bright

5 Star
90%
4 Star
10%
3 Star
0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
Claire R.

Claire R.

Verified User

Accounting · 2-10 employees

Used weekly for less than 6 months
Dec 22, 2025

Brightpay - employee portal winner

Verified reviewer

What they liked
  • That employees can access their own payroll portal
Room for improvement
  • Hasn't yet adapted for the recent ruling relating to holiday pay
Switched From

As wanted software that had an employee portal.

Faizan S.

Verified User

Accounting · 51-200 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years
Dec 22, 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.

What they liked

Very easy to use and user-friendly, can be utilised by novices or experienced professionals relatively easily

Room for improvement

The change to a cloud version - i preferred the desktop version, however this isn't a deal breaker at all

Switched From

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

Why they chose it

"Seemed more user friendly during our demo"

Calum B.

Verified User

Professional Training & Coaching · 2-10 employees

Used unspecified for more than 2 years
Dec 22, 2025

Comprehensive but simple to use payroll software

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

What they liked
  • Straightforward to use
  • Provides a basic employee overview as well
Room for improvement
  • Not automatically backed up
  • Have to pay extra for cloud option

Darren F.

Verified User

Hospital & Health Care · 51-200 employees

Used weekly for more than 2 years
Dec 22, 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.

What they liked
  • Simple, easy to use and has all the features you need plus more
Room for improvement
  • 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 pricing is ridiculous, the price kept increasing year on year and every thing is an added extra or was when we left.

Why they chose it

"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"

Samantha M.

Verified User

Leisure, Travel & Tourism · 11-50 employees

Used monthly for more than 2 years
Dec 22, 2025

Incredible company

excellent great company great customer service

What they liked
  • very helpful clear instructions in a friendly way
Room for improvement
  • N/A nothing to complain about product and service always outstanding
Switched From

cost and how simple your system was , sage so complicated

Rasa M.

Verified User

Accounting · Self-Employed

Used daily for more than 2 years
May 28, 2026

Superb product for accountants

Verified reviewer

What they liked
  • 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
Room for improvement
  • I find filters bit cumbersome
  • Guess it's a very low price to pay
Switched From

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

Why they chose it

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

Lisa M.

Verified User

Accounting · Self-Employed

Used daily for less than 6 months
May 28, 2026

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.

What they liked
  • 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
Room for improvement
  • 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
Switched From

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.

Why they chose it

"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."

Fiona J.

Verified User

Accounting · 2-10 employees

Used daily for less than 12 months
May 28, 2026

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.

What they liked
  • 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
Room for improvement

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

Why they chose it

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

Sam W.

Verified User

Accounting · Self-Employed

Used daily for more than 2 years
May 28, 2026

Wouldn't use anything else

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

What they liked
  • I love that the software is user friendly and intuitive, with a pleasant looking interface
  • The customer support has also been fantastic
Room for improvement

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

Why they chose it

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

Leigh C.

Verified User

Accounting · 2-10 employees

Used daily for less than 2 years
May 28, 2026

Im so glad we found AM

Before AM we used spreadsheets to keep track of tasks and clients. Deadlines are so very important that it used to keep us awake at night worring that we might miss something. These days we sleep like a baby....

What they liked
  • We love the the culture at AM, they are so full of personality
  • We feel valued and very much part of the family
  • We love the way AM tracks tasks and organises them in to "work to lists" giving us a clear jobs list for the day, week, month etc
Room for improvement
  • Invoicing
  • We are looking forward to this developing
Why they chose it

"We much prefered the feel of the software and the sales experiance. It gave us confidence that we would be supported and valued."

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