Ghugi vs QuickBooks Payroll: when you need
just the delivery
QuickBooks Online + Payroll is a popular UK SME stack — accounting and payroll under one roof. But if all you actually need is to email payslips, paying for the whole stack is overkill. Ghugi is the focused alternative.
Pick QuickBooks Payroll if…
- You already use QuickBooks Online for accounting — QuickBooks Core Payroll is £9/mo + £4 per employee. If you're already on QuickBooks Online, adding payroll is the path of least resistance.
- You want accounting and payroll under one login — Shared employee data, shared GL postings, shared reports — that's QuickBooks' core pitch.
- You're growing past basic invoicing into formal payroll — QuickBooks handles HMRC RTI, pension auto-enrolment, and employee self-service — useful when you don't have any payroll setup yet.
- You want broad SME features beyond payroll — QuickBooks does invoicing, expenses, accounting, mileage, tax estimates. If you need all of that, the bundle pays off.
Pick Ghugi if…
- QuickBooks isn't your accounting tool — Migrating to QuickBooks just for payroll means moving accounting too. Big switch for no payslip-delivery benefit.
- Your accountant runs QuickBooks Payroll for you — They produce PDFs; Ghugi handles encrypted email distribution. Your accountant doesn't need to change anything.
- You want DOB-encrypted PDFs as a default — QuickBooks delivers payslips through its Workforce employee portal — staff log in to view them. Ghugi emails the payslip straight to the inbox as a DOB-encrypted PDF, with no portal login to set up.
- You want flat pricing instead of per-employee — QuickBooks Payroll's per-employee cost scales with hiring. Ghugi's tiers cap by employee count, not per-employee charges.
Plot twist: many of our customers use both. QuickBooks Payroll (or their accountant’s payroll) calculates the pay, Ghugi sends the payslips.
At a glance
Feature-by-feature comparison. We’ve tried to be fair — call us out on hello@ghugi.com if anything’s wrong.
| Feature | Ghugi | QuickBooks Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| Full UK payroll calculation (PAYE/NI/RTI) | — | ✓ |
| Submits RTI to HMRC | — | ✓ |
| Employee self-service portal | — | ✓ |
| Pension auto-enrolment workflow | — | ✓ |
| Bulk email payslips to staff | ✓ Built-in | Workforce portal (login) |
| DOB-encrypted PDF delivery (AES-256) | ✓ | Portal login instead |
| Drag-in PDFs from any payroll source | ✓ | Locked to QuickBooks output |
| Custom email templates per organisation | ✓ | Limited |
| Full audit trail of every send | ✓ | Partial |
| Cloud-first | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Flat per-org tiers | Per-employee + QB subscription |
| Approximate cost at 25 employees | £15/mo | ~£100–125/mo + VAT |
When QuickBooks Payroll is the right choice
Intuit's UK accounting product with a paid payroll add-on; popular with self-employed and small businesses already on QuickBooks Online.
You want one product for accounting + payroll
QuickBooks bundles invoicing, expenses, accounting, and payroll under one product family with a single login. If you're starting fresh, the bundle is genuinely convenient.
You're already on QuickBooks Online
Adding Core Payroll is £9/mo + £4 per employee. Easy decision if you're already in the QuickBooks ecosystem and want everything under one login.
You want broad SME features
QuickBooks does much more than payroll: invoicing, mileage tracking, tax estimates, project costing. If you need that breadth, the bundle is the right fit. Ghugi is intentionally narrow.
When Ghugi is the right choice
Ghugi isn’t trying to be QuickBooks Payroll. We do one thing: get your payslip PDFs from “produced” to “in the employee’s inbox” without any portal, login, or manual forwarding.
QuickBooks isn't your accounting tool
Switching to QuickBooks Online just to get its payroll add-on means migrating accounting, retraining, redoing integrations. If you have a working setup, that's a huge switch for no payslip-delivery benefit.
Your accountant runs QuickBooks Payroll
They produce payslip PDFs; you forward each one manually. Ghugi automates the email step with encryption — your accountant doesn't have to lift a finger.
You want default encryption
QuickBooks delivers payslips through its Workforce portal — employees log in to view them. Ghugi locks every PDF with the employee's date of birth and emails it straight to their inbox — no portal account to set up.
You want flat pricing
QuickBooks Payroll's per-employee billing means your bill grows with every hire, plus you're paying for the QuickBooks Online subscription on top. Ghugi Starter is £15/month flat for up to 25 employees.
Pricing, honestly compared
Here’s what the equivalent setup actually costs each way. They’re not apples-to-apples — QuickBooks Payroll calculates the payroll, Ghugi delivers it — but the totals are real.
QuickBooks Online + Core Payroll — 25 employees
~£100–125/mo
+ VAT · Core Payroll (£9/mo + £4 per employee) on top of a required QuickBooks Online subscription (from ~£16/mo); intro discounts often apply, and the bundle includes full accounting
- Full accounting + UK payroll
- Employee self-service portal
- Pension auto-enrolment
- Per-employee billing on top of subscription
Ghugi Starter — 25 employees
£15/mo
or £150/yr · 60%+ cheaper if you only need payslip delivery
- Bulk email payslips with DOB encryption
- Works with QuickBooks payslip PDFs
- Full audit trail of every send
- Flat per-org pricing — no per-employee creep
Common questions
Quick answers to what most QuickBooks Payroll users ask before switching.
Can I use QuickBooks and Ghugi together?
Will Ghugi work with payslip PDFs from QuickBooks?
Why use Ghugi if QuickBooks already emails payslips?
Is QuickBooks cheaper than Ghugi?
Do I have to switch from QuickBooks?
Stop emailing payslips like it’s 2005.
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