PayrollOSOpen-source UK payroll

Open source · Self-hosted or managed · UK-first

Payroll for your business. A workspace for every client.

PayrollOS brings organisations, people, payroll and documents together. Use the free practice workspace or self-host the open-source application. Optional hosted subscriptions add payroll services, more capacity and enhanced integrations as your needs grow.

Open PayrollOS Explore free access and upgrades

Free foundation · Optional hosted plans · No software subscription for self-hosting

AGPL-3.0-or-laterSelf-hosted or managedScoped access & MFAEncrypted restricted data

One operational platform

Payroll work without the black box

Ordinary employers get guided actions; payroll professionals retain detailed controls, evidence and review paths.

Payroll operations

Prepare, calculate, review and close

Effective-dated staff inputs, exceptions, approvals, immutable results, payslips and period-close evidence in one controlled workflow.

People & documents

Records people can trust

Scoped employee records, self-service, communications and a quarantined, encrypted people-document vault.

Accountants & evidence

Review without over-broad access

Time-bounded assignments, separation of duties, control packs and auditable sign-offs for in-house and external accountants.

Integrations

Connect the services you use

Manage provider setup and organisation-level authorisation in one place. Each connection shows its supported capabilities and availability.

HMRC & compliance

Prepare and review payroll information

Bring submission preparation, organisation authority and supporting records into the payroll workflow. Sending is available only through an enabled, authorised service.

Operations

Recoverable work and visible health

Background-job recovery, encrypted backups, restore verification, health checks and correlation evidence support accountable operations.

Choose what works for you

Free foundations. Optional upgrades.

The free hosted practice workspace covers your team, client portfolio, tasks and reviews. Hosted payroll services, extra capacity and integrations are available through organisation plans.

Self-host

No HULO software subscription

Self-host PayrollOS under AGPL-3.0-or-later. You manage your infrastructure and connections; hosting and third-party services may have their own costs.

  • Documented bootstrap and verification
  • Private data-service networks
  • Encrypted backup and restore tooling
  • Portable AGPL source
Read the installation guide

Host with us

Enhance your hosted workspace

Optional organisation plans add hosted payroll workflows, higher limits and integrations. Prices start at £29 per month, excluding VAT where applicable, with a seven-day trial and fourteen days’ cancellation notice. Availability and billing details are confirmed before paid enrolment.

  • No payroll data needed for the first conversation
  • Security and data-residency review before provisioning
  • Acceptance and restore evidence before handover
  • Live connectors activated only after approval
Compare hosted plans

Security and accountability

Keep access controlled and work traceable.

PayrollOS combines scoped access, multi-factor authentication, protected documents and auditable workflows.

Identity & authority

Mandatory MFA, server-side sessions, scoped permissions, recent-verification gates and independent approval for consequential actions.

Data protection

Versioned authenticated encryption for restricted values, application-encrypted private documents, external key material and encrypted host, database and backup volumes for production deployments.

Service containment

Private database, cache and object networks; non-root containers; restrictive browser policies; bounded uploads; malware quarantine; and no public storage URLs.

Evidence & recovery

Append-only hash-chained audit events, immutable workflow snapshots, encrypted backups, disposable restore tests and release verification.

Service terms and availability · Privacy and data handling

Open-source foundation

Your software licence is independent of your plan.

PayrollOS is licensed under AGPL-3.0-or-later. Hosted upgrades do not replace your open-source licence rights. Contact HULO Global for source-access and self-hosting enquiries.

Source and self-hosting enquiries
Reviewed source checkoutUbuntu + Docker
cp .env.example .env
./scripts/bootstrap-secrets.sh
docker compose config --quiet
./scripts/preflight.sh --repository-only
docker compose build --pull
docker compose up -d --wait
./scripts/verify-deployment.sh --running

Plan the next step

Own the deployment. Keep the evidence.

Contact HULO HROpen the workspace