MHR Payroll Review UK 2026: iTrent, People First & Managed Payroll Quick answer
MHR is a UK HR and payroll technology provider offering both payroll software and managed payroll services and their main payroll options include:
iTrent: configurable HR and payroll software designed for organisations with more complex workforce requirementsPeople First: MHR’s integrated HR, payroll, workforce and finance platformManaged Payroll: partially or fully outsourced payroll delivered by MHR’s payroll specialists
MHR doesn’t publish one simple universal payroll price. Businesses generally need a personalised quote based on workforce size, complexity, products and service level.
Our view: MHR is particularly interesting for organisations where payroll has become more complicated than simply calculating PAYE each month.
Its stronger use cases include complex payroll + pensions + multiple payrolls + HR integration + workforce data + managed payroll.
For a very small company with a simple monthly payroll, we’d compare lighter and potentially simpler alternatives too.
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Key Takeaways
MHR offers both payroll software and managed payroll services.
iTrent combines HR and payroll in a highly configurable platform.
People First provides integrated HR, payroll, workforce management, talent, learning and analytics.
Businesses can retain payroll internally or partly/fully outsource it to MHR.
iTrent is HMRC recognised and supports BACS.
iTrent supports UK, Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey and Isle of Man legislation.
MHR says more than 1,400 organisations currently use its technology.
MHR has a particularly strong presence in sectors including education, local government and policing.
Pricing isn’t published as a simple standard tariff, so businesses need a tailored quote.
We think MHR is strongest where payroll complexity makes automation, integration and specialist support more valuable than simply finding the cheapest per-employee price.
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How do we work?
Our comparisons are researched and reviewed by the Compare Your Business Costs editorial team using provider information, official UK guidance and business buying criteria. See how Compare Your Business Costs works .
Authored by: Ally Cox – Business Technology & B2B Services Specialist, 10+ years’ experience
Last updated: October 2026
Contents
What Does MHR Offer? MHR provides HR, payroll and workforce-management technology alongside managed payroll services so for payroll buyers, there are three particularly important parts of its proposition.
iTrent
A configurable HR and payroll platform aimed at organisations needing automation, reporting and support for more complex workforce requirements.
People First
MHR’s newer integrated platform bringing HR, payroll, workforce management, talent, learning and analytics together.
Managed Payroll
For organisations that want to partly or fully outsource payroll processing to MHR.
Our take: this creates a useful distinction.
You can use MHR to improve the technology your payroll team uses
or reduce how much payroll work your team performs.
Those aren’t the same buying decision.
How Much Does MHR Payroll Cost? MHR doesn’t currently publish one universal UK payroll tariff and we therefore wouldn’t rely on generic online claims about MHR costing a particular amount per employee.
Your quote can depend on factors such as:
Employee numbers
Number of payrolls
Pay frequency
Workforce complexity
Pension schemes
HR functionality
Reporting
Integrations
Managed payroll requirements
Implementation and migration
How should you compare an MHR quote?
For software, ask “What is our complete first-year platform and implementation cost?”
For managed payroll, ask “What is our complete first-year cost and exactly which payroll tasks will MHR perform?”
That distinction matters – a lower-priced payroll service can still leave your internal team responsible for significant administration.
What Is MHR iTrent Payroll? iTrent is MHR’s established HR and payroll platform and MHR describes it as highly configurable and designed to support organisations regardless of the size and complexity of their payroll.
The platform combines areas including:
Payroll
HR
Workforce management
Talent
Learning
Reporting and analytics
iTrent is HMRC recognised and BACS supported and it supports payroll legislation for:
UK
Ireland
Guernsey
Jersey
Isle of Man
Payroll Automation MHR has continued adding automation to iTrent around processes such as:
Pension enrolment
Holiday allowance
Expenses
P60 distribution
Payroll submissions
It can also automate Employer Payment Summary submissions across multiple PAYE references.
Our view: this is where iTrent makes more sense for complex employers.
Saving two minutes on a payroll process isn’t particularly valuable when you have 20 employees.
When the same manual process needs to be repeated across thousands of employees + multiple payrolls + several PAYE references automation becomes much more commercially meaningful.
Interactive Payslips iTrent offers interactive payslips that can show employees how deductions such as tax and National Insurance have been calculated which could reduce basic payroll queries.
Rather than an employee simply seeing “£X tax deducted” they can get greater visibility into how their pay has been calculated.
What we like: employee self-service isn’t unusual in modern payroll.
The more interesting measure is does it actually reduce payroll-team administration?
That’s something we’d ask MHR to demonstrate during the buying process.
What Is MHR People First? People First is MHR’s integrated people platform and it combines areas including:
HR
Payroll
Workforce management
Talent management
Learning
Analytics
The objective is to maintain a more consistent source of employee data rather than operating completely separate HR and payroll records.
Why does that matter?
Consider a salary change – in disconnected systems, HR might update one employee record and then notify payroll to make the same change elsewhere.
That creates another manual process + another opportunity for error.
Connected HR and payroll can reduce duplicated administration.
Our take: MHR’s proposition becomes more compelling when you’re replacing both HR and payroll infrastructure.
If your HR system works perfectly and you only want a basic payroll replacement, some of the wider value may disappear.
iTrent vs People First: What’s the Difference? Both sit within MHR’s wider HR and payroll portfolio, but they’re not simply two differently named versions of exactly the same product.
iTrent
is MHR’s established, highly configurable HR and payroll platform and has a significant installed base across complex organisations.
People First
is MHR’s newer unified platform built around connected HR, payroll and workforce data.
Which is more appropriate can depend on:
Organisation size
Existing MHR products
Payroll complexity
HR requirements
Required integrations
Migration plans
We wouldn’t choose between them from a feature checklist alone.
Ask MHR “Which platform are you recommending for our organisation over the next five years, and why?”
That’s a much more useful procurement question.
MHR Managed Payroll Services MHR also offers managed payroll for organisations that want to partly or fully outsource payroll processing.
This changes the buying decision considerably.
With payroll software your team uses the technology to run payroll.
With managed payroll MHR’s specialists perform agreed payroll processes for you.
This can reduce:
Reliance on internal payroll specialists
Day-to-day payroll administration
Key-person dependency
Pressure around payroll deadlines
The need to maintain all payroll expertise internally
MHR’s managed services can work alongside its payroll technology.
Our take
This flexibility is one of MHR’s stronger selling points.
An organisation doesn’t necessarily have to choose between “do everything internally” and “outsource everything”.
A partially managed model can make sense where the business wants to retain certain approvals or processes internally while handing more operational work to MHR.
Compare Outsourced Payroll Services →
What Should MHR Managed Payroll Actually Take Off Your Team? This is more important than the phrase “fully managed”.
Before comparing quotes, establish who is responsible for:
Collecting payroll inputs
Processing starters and leavers
Checking variable pay
Running calculations
Reviewing payroll
HMRC submissions
Pension files
Payments
Employee payroll queries
Corrections
Off-cycle runs
Year-end processes
Then compare that responsibility matrix across providers.
Our view: two services described as “managed payroll” can leave dramatically different amounts of work with the customer.
So we’d ask MHR:
“After implementation, what payroll work will our team still perform every month?”
MHR for Complex Payroll & Pensions This is an area where MHR appears particularly strong.
Its customer base includes organisations with more complicated workforce and pension arrangements, particularly in sectors such as:
Education
Local government
Public services
Charities
Large multi-site organisations
For example, in 2026 Rainbow Education Multi-Academy Trust selected iTrent partly because of automation around:
Teachers’ Pension Scheme + Local Government Pension Scheme + occupational pay + absence calculations.
That’s a much more meaningful example of MHR’s capabilities than simply saying it “does auto-enrolment”.
Our take: if your payroll has multiple pension schemes, complex absence rules or occupational-pay requirements, ask providers to demonstrate those exact workflows.
Generic payroll demonstrations won’t tell you enough.
How Established Is MHR? MHR says more than:
1,400 organisations
currently use its technology.
Its customer base includes a substantial presence in the UK public and education sectors.
MHR says its systems serve:
48% of UK university staff
53% of local authority workers
38% of UK police forces
150,000 charity workers
What does that tell us?
Not that MHR is automatically the best provider.
But it does suggest its technology is accustomed to:
large + regulated + operationally complex workforces.
That is useful context when comparing it with payroll products designed primarily for smaller employers.
Who Is MHR Payroll Best For? We think MHR deserves particular consideration from:
Mid-sized and larger employers
Especially where payroll processes become harder to manage as workforce size and complexity increase.
Education organisations
MHR has extensive experience across universities, colleges and multi-academy trusts.
Public-sector organisations
Its customer base includes local authorities and police organisations.
Employers with complex pensions
Automation around multiple pension schemes can be commercially valuable.
Businesses wanting integrated HR and payroll
Both iTrent and People First extend beyond standalone payroll.
Businesses considering payroll outsourcing
MHR can provide partially or fully managed payroll.
Organisations with multiple payrolls or complex workforce rules
This is where configurability and automation can deliver more value.
Who might be better elsewhere?
If you have:
five employees + one monthly payroll + fixed salaries + straightforward pensions
you may not need MHR’s breadth.
We’d compare simpler payroll software and smaller managed payroll services too.
MHR Payroll Pros & Cons Advantages
Payroll software and managed payroll available
Highly configurable iTrent platform
Integrated People First platform
HMRC recognised payroll technology
BACS support
HR and payroll integration
Payroll automation
Interactive employee payslips
Support for complex pension arrangements
Strong presence in education and the public sector
1,400+ organisations use MHR technology
Security certifications including ISO/IEC 27001, Cyber Essentials Plus and SOC 2
Potential Disadvantages
No simple public payroll tariff
Businesses need a tailored quote to establish total cost
A configurable enterprise-style platform can require more implementation planning than basic payroll software
Very small businesses may not need MHR’s wider HR and workforce functionality
Buyers need to understand the distinction between iTrent, People First and managed payroll before comparing costs
What Should You Compare Before Choosing MHR? Ask MHR and competing providers to price the same requirements so include:
Employee numbers
Payroll frequencies
Number of PAYE references
Pension schemes
Variable pay
Occupational pay rules
HR requirements
Reporting
Employee self-service
Integrations
Managed payroll requirements
Implementation
Training
Support
Then ask “What is our complete first-year cost?”
For managed payroll, also ask “Exactly which payroll tasks remain with us?”
For software, ask “Which manual processes will this genuinely automate?”
And for MHR specifically “Why are you recommending iTrent or People First for our organisation?”
Those questions are much more useful than simply comparing the number of features on a product page.
Compare Payroll Providers →
Our View: Is MHR Payroll Worth It? We think MHR is strongest where payroll is large + complex + closely connected to HR.
The company has considerable experience in environments where payroll needs to accommodate multiple payrolls + pensions + occupational pay + workforce rules + reporting + large employee populations.
That’s more interesting than simply saying MHR can calculate PAYE and the other advantage is choice.
A business can use iTrent for a configurable established HR/payroll environment;
People First
for a broader unified people platform; or Managed Payroll when the priority is reducing internal payroll workload.
That breadth does create an extra procurement question which MHR model do you actually need?
For a small employer with a simple monthly payroll, we’d probably begin with lighter alternatives.
For a larger employer trying to reduce manual payroll processes, integrate HR data or manage complex pensions MHR deserves a serious shortlist place.
The key question we’d use to judge the investment is “How much manual payroll and HR administration will disappear after implementation?”
If the answer is substantial, the business case becomes much stronger than simply comparing cost per employee.
Compare MHR & Other Payroll Providers →
Free quotes • No obligation • Compare UK payroll services
MHR Payroll FAQs What is MHR payroll?
MHR provides payroll software and managed payroll services. Its main platforms include iTrent and People First, while businesses can also partly or fully outsource payroll processing to MHR.
What is MHR iTrent?
iTrent is MHR’s highly configurable HR and payroll platform. It combines payroll with HR, workforce management, talent, learning, analytics and other people-management functionality.
What is MHR People First?
People First is MHR’s integrated people platform covering HR, payroll, workforce management, talent, learning and analytics.
Does MHR offer outsourced payroll?
Yes. MHR offers managed payroll services for organisations that want to partly or fully outsource payroll processing.
How much does MHR Payroll cost?
MHR doesn’t currently publish one standard payroll tariff. Businesses need a tailored quote based on their workforce, products, payroll complexity and service requirements.
Is iTrent HMRC recognised?
Yes. MHR states that iTrent is HMRC recognised and BACS supported.
Does MHR support workplace pensions?
Yes. MHR payroll supports pension processes, and iTrent is used by organisations with complex arrangements including Teachers’ Pension Scheme and Local Government Pension Scheme requirements.
What countries does iTrent payroll support?
MHR currently lists UK, Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey and Isle of Man legislation for iTrent.
Does MHR integrate HR and payroll?
Yes. Both iTrent and People First are designed to connect payroll with wider employee and HR information.
Is MHR suitable for small businesses?
It can be, but MHR’s configurability and wider HR functionality are likely to deliver greater value as workforce complexity increases. Very small employers should compare simpler alternatives too.
Is MHR suitable for schools and universities?
MHR has a significant education customer base and supports payroll requirements including complex education pension arrangements.
Is MHR suitable for public-sector payroll?
Potentially. MHR has substantial experience with local authorities, police organisations and other public-sector employers.
Should I choose iTrent or managed payroll?
Choose software such as iTrent when you want to retain more payroll processing internally. Managed payroll is more appropriate when the objective is to transfer more payroll administration to MHR’s specialists.
Compare MHR With Other Payroll Providers Before choosing MHR, establish whether you need payroll software + integrated HR
or managed payroll + reduced internal administration.
Then compare providers using exactly the same payroll requirements and service scope.
Compare Payroll Providers →
Free quotes • No obligation • Compare UK payroll services and software
Related Payroll Guides Hi, I’m Ally Cox , a senior copywriter and blogger at CompareYourBusinessCosts.co.uk, the UK’s trusted platform for comparing business services.over a decade of experience in the B2B sector, I specialise in simplifying complex topics like leased lines, VoIP, business energy, HR and payroll solutions, accounting software, and EPOS systems .HR, copywriting, and business operations- from clocking-in systems to card machines and office technology .informed, confident decisions when choosing products and services that improve efficiency and save money.
