How to run a starter-and-leaver script on payroll software tools before you shortlist

What to take away

Run one written script in each supplier's own system. A prepared slide proves little about how your payroll will behave.
The script covers a starter with no P45, variable pay, statutory pay, a leaver, a corrected FPS and a rejected pension file.
HMRC Basic PAYE Tools can only be tested on the tax and filing steps, because pension work sits outside it.
Record who performed each action and whether an operator could repeat it unaided.

Why a script beats a demo

A supplier demo shows the path the supplier chose. A script shows the paths your payroll will actually take. Ask every shortlisted supplier to run the same steps in their own system, then compare what each one recorded and how much help it needed.

Six tools are worth testing for an employer in England: HMRC Basic PAYE Tools, BrightPay, Sage, Xero Payroll, QuickBooks Payroll and FreeAgent Payroll. Every name appeared in HMRC's recognised software directory, or is HMRC's own tool, at the time of writing. That directory lists the products HMRC accepts for Real Time Information reporting.

Name the exact edition before the trial starts. Sage sells several payroll products, so a Sage 50 feature does not describe every edition. Xero and QuickBooks place some functions on a higher tier. A test on the wrong edition proves nothing about the one you will buy.

Set up one test employer

Build one fictional employer before you contact anyone. Use the same employees, pay dates and pension scheme details for every supplier, so any difference in the results comes from the software and not from the data you typed in.

Keep the setup sheet to a single page, so that a supplier can follow it without asking for extra detail. The wider scenario-testing approach to choosing suppliers explains how to build the employer facts that the sheet summarises. Tick each line before the first run:

One employer, with the same pay dates for every supplier
The exact edition and its tax-year status written down
A starter with no P45 and a week 1 code
A leaver who is paid after the final pay date
A pension scheme reference that you can break on purpose
A named person who performs each action

The six runs

Each run has one job and one piece of evidence to keep. Treat a run as failed if only the supplier's own staff can complete it. Take a screenshot or export at the end of every step, and date it.

Enter the starter on week 1 and check the first full-period tax.
Run a period with variable hours, overtime or a bonus.
Apply statutory sick pay or maternity pay and confirm the recovery figure.
Pay the leaver and check the P45 totals against the payroll record.
Correct the previous FPS with a revised figure and resubmit it.
Force a pension file rejection with a wrong scheme reference, then restore it.

Run / Evidence to keep

1 Starter: The tax code entered and the first period's calculation
2 Variable pay: The payslip and the pay run total
3 Statutory pay: The recovery figure and where the system shows it
4 Leaver: The P45 totals beside the payroll record
5 Correction: The revised FPS and the HMRC response
6 Pension: The rejection message and the restored file

Where the free HMRC tool stops

HMRC's own Basic PAYE Tools page describes free software for employers with fewer than ten employees. It calculates tax and National Insurance and sends returns to HMRC. Pensions, payslips, collaboration and backup sit outside it.

For that tool, score run 6 as not applicable and test pension handling in whatever product you pair with it. The free tool is also not designed for agents or bookkeepers, so a bureau should not use it as a baseline for client work.

Is Basic PAYE Tools suitable?

Employer has fewer than ten employees?

Yes

Investigate free HMRC tool

Consider other software

Give the pension run the hardest test

Pension work deserves the hardest test. It follows duties set by the Pensions Act 2008, and a rejected file is a realistic failure. Check how each product reports the rejection, how clearly it names the cause and how much effort the restore takes.

Run 6 also shows whether the operator can fix the scheme reference without calling support. Compare the result with the automatic enrolment checks that your own scheme needs, so the test reflects your real duties and not a generic example.

Who performs each run

Ask the supplier to drive the first pass so you see the route they intended. Then ask your own payroll operator to repeat it unaided. The gap between the two passes shows how much training the product will need.

Record who performed each action and what an operator could repeat unaided. That evidence, rather than the sales demo, is what a shortlist should rest on.

Narrowing the six payroll tools

Remove tools lacking essential pay frequency
Choose exact edition and build 12-month cost
Run same scripted demo with every supplier
Investigate data roles and contract exit
Test complete export for history
Publish best for tested scenario

Reading the results

Result	Next move
Every run passes unaided	Ask for a written quote that names the edition
Runs pass only with supplier staff	Ask what training the quote includes, or drop the tool
A run fails on the tested edition	Ask whether a higher tier handles it, then retest that edition
The pension run cannot be restored	Remove the tool from the shortlist

None of the subscription tools quotes one national price, because headcount, scheme count or plan tier sets the rate. Our payroll software cost guide prices one fixed employer scenario from live supplier pages, so use it to compare pricing bases once the script has narrowed the list.

Multiply the quoted monthly rate by twelve and add every per-scheme charge. The payroll software budget template shows the lines to carry into that twelve-month figure.

Common questions

Can I run the script in HMRC Basic PAYE Tools?

Only the parts it covers. It calculates tax and National Insurance and sends returns to HMRC, but pensions, payslips, collaboration and backup sit outside it. Score the pension run as not applicable and test it separately.

Who should perform the script?

The supplier first, so you see the intended route, and then your own operator without help. If only the supplier can complete a run, record that as a failed run.

What if a supplier refuses to run it?

Treat the refusal as a result. A trial in the supplier's own system is the evidence a demo cannot give, so without it you hold only a quote and an edition name.

Does the script replace supplier checks?

No. After the script, check data roles, administrator access, service incidents, restoration and contract exit. The vendor due diligence checks cover those, and parallel runs belong to implementation once a tool is chosen.