Making the move from BrightPay Desktop

As payroll processes evolve, compliance requirements grow, and businesses demand greater efficiency, transitioning BrightPay entirely to the cloud ensures a future where you will have seamless access to the latest tools and automation. This move allows us to focus on delivering continuous innovation without disruption – helping you manage payroll more efficiently and stay ahead in an ever- evolving landscape.

To find out more information about BrightPay Cloud, please visit https://brightsg.com/en-ie/brightpay-cloud-payroll-software/ 

Yes. From the start of the 2027 BrightPay Connect will no longer be available for customers with standard and bureau desktop licences.

Yes, you should make the move for the 2027 tax year unless you have more than 300 employees per employer (including leavers).

To understand the full feature parity, please click here to view a side-by-side view of the feature comparison of BrightPay Cloud and BrightPay for Windows and BrightPay Connect. 

Yes, to book a demo of BrightPay Cloud click here.  

Click here to view a full feature comparison

BrightPay’s Cloud software is currently restricted to 300 employees (including leavers) per employer upon release. This limit will be increased in the future.

Download the migration checklist here.

Step 1: Log in using your BrightID 

Go to https://brightpay.brightsg.com and log in using your BrightID. If you have already purchased BrightPay, or used BrightPay Connect or other Bright Products, you will already have a BrightID. 

Step 2: Create your organisation 
Once logged in, you will be asked to create your organisation. Here, you need to enter your organisation name and address, choose your payment plan and add a payment method. 

Step 3: Import your employer(s) 
Select the option to ‘Import from BrightPay for Windows’. Select the employer file(s) you wish to import and BrightPay will import all of the required payroll data. Check out our migration video for step-by-step instructions on how to import your data from BrightPay’s desktop to BrightPay’s Cloud software. 

You can select the ‘Create Organisation’ button on the welcome screen or create an organisation under ‘My Organisation’ > ‘New Organisation.’ In the following screens, enter the name and address of your organisation, choose your payment plan and add your payment method. Details of the Organisation can be viewed under ‘My Organisation’ > ‘Organisation Details.’ Here, you can also manage team members and manage your billing.

Yes, on the import screen, press and hold the “Shift” key on your keyboard and select the employer files you wish to import. If the employer data files are password protected, you will need to enter the passwords to import the companies.

Yes, you can import all your companies to BrightPay Cloud or import them in batches (Please note, you can import up to 10 employer files in the same batch).

Yes, BrightPay provides a quick and seamless import utility to bring across your company and employee details from BrightPay for Windows to BrightPay Cloud.

When importing a company from BrightPay for Windows to BrightPay Cloud, your employer and employees’ details will come across, as well as pay elements, pensions, payslips and reports, along with the pay periods you’ve updated. 
Please note, each user on the Organisation will need to re-add the ROS Certificate to BrightPay Cloud.

 Yes, you can run parallel in BrightPay Cloud ensuring you feel fully confident before moving to the cloud package.

Ensure you only send the PSR from one version of the software.

 Yes, you can access the data from previous tax years on BrightPay for Windows.

With BrightPay’s Cloud software, the pricing works off your highest recorded number of employers and employees, so the pricing will be unique to each business. Use our pricing calculator to work out how much you would pay for your 2026 BrightPay Cloud. 

You have two options to choose from when paying for BrightPay. You can choose to pay annually or you can choose to be billed monthly. 

 
Monthly subscription 
Monthly payments are due and payable monthly in arrears by Direct Debit on the 4th of the following month or the next working day, based on the highest recorded number of employers and employees in that month (starters and leavers included). Payments are taken automatically each month. 

 
Annual payment 
Annual payment plans are payable on the 4th of the following month based on the highest recorded number of employers and employees you wish to pre- pay for the next 12 months. A discount will apply to annual payments. Please note your 12-month payment will be automatically renewed each year unless you cancel before the renewal date. 

*Additional usage that is higher than the annual payment plan will be charged based on monthly subscription prices with overage payments taken automatically each month. 

 If you’ve purchased a BrightPay for Windows 2026 license but want to move to BrightPay Cloud from now, you can request a pro-rata refund for your desktop license. Your BrightPay Cloud subscription will then be billed on the 4th of the following month, based on whether you choose to pay monthly or annually.

No. BrightPay’s Cloud software and BrightPay Connect are two separate products. BrightPay Connect is only designed to work with BrightPay for Windows

Yes you can use BrightPay Connect with BrightPay for Windows for 2026. In 2027 it will no longer be available. 

While almost all functionality of BrightPay Connect is available as part of BrightPay’s Cloud software, there are a few remaining features which are currently in development. 

• Employee Register (Q1 - 2026)
• Bureau Statistics Report (Q1 - 2026)
• Batch Payroll Entry Requests (2026)*
• Batch Payroll Approval Requests (2026)*

*Please note that payroll entry and approval requests are available in BrightPay Cloud; however, batch functionality is not yet supported.

BrightPay Connect will be available to standard and bureau users of BrightPay for Windows for the 2026 tax year. Employees will lose access to their Employee Self-Service portal after 1st January 2027.

Yes as this is a separate employee self-service portal than Connect you will need to send invitation emails to employees in order to access the new employee self-service portal. Click here for more information

Yes you need to add managers to access employee personal and leave information on the Manager Portal. To add a manager please  click here for more information. 

 Yes the option for two factor authentication for employees for the self-service portal is optional and can be enabled. To enable two factor authentication for employees please find information here.

The 2026 version of BrightPay for Windows will be supported for the entire tax year.

Yes, all BrightPay Cloud customers receive free phone and email support. Click here for more information. View our detailed help guides to help you get set up on BrightPay cloud or view our onboarding videos here.