SD Worx Ireland, the leading payroll and HR solutions provider, has announced that it is investing €3 million to expand its payroll offering and roll the service out to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ireland. Historically servicing medium and large enterprises of over 250 employees, SD Worx’s innovative payroll solution is now available to SMEs across all industries.
The investment will span five years across technology, services, and people within SD Worx Ireland. During this timeframe, the company forecasts that 20% of its business will stem from SMEs and expects revenue growth from the SME sector of 60% per year.
Driving the demand for the service among SMEs in Ireland are new reporting regulations, such as gender pay gap reporting. This requires increased payroll visibility and accuracy and applies to SMEs with over 150 employees for the first time this year, and those with more than 50 employees in 2025. Meanwhile, legislation relating to statutory sick pay and upcoming auto-enrolment for pensions brings additional administration, meaning smaller businesses may not have the necessary internal resources to keep pace with the rate of change.
In addition to these challenges, according to SD Worx’s Payroll Proficiency in Ireland report, the movement of personnel within organisations, such as joiners or leavers, is making payroll handling more difficult for a quarter (25%) of businesses in Ireland. Meanwhile, the administration of employee presence and absence (cited by 56%) was ranked as the process that complicates payroll the most. Data collection and access to, or integration of, data sources was also signalled as a challenge by 51% of organisations.
SD Worx’s €3M investment will ensure that all organisations, no matter their size, have access to the same resources as larger enterprises in overcoming these challenges. The company’s investment covers the establishment of a dedicated team to support SMEs in Ireland, customisation of operational design, and technology upgrades. With these enhanced capabilities, within the next 12 months, the company expects to grow its customer base by up to 50 SMEs in sectors such as retail, hospitality, and construction, as well as customers in financial and professional services.
The establishment of its SME service comes at a time when SD Worx is on an aggressive growth path in Ireland and will support its strategy in this area. In February, SD Worx announced that it will create 40 new jobs in Ireland in the next two years, growing its team to 115 as part of a €2.9M investment in its workforce. Ireland’s fastest-growing payroll technology company, SD Worx has been operating in Ireland for nearly 30 years, previously as Intelligo until it was acquired by SD Worx in 2022. Its enterprise-grade payroll solution pays one in five employees in Ireland’s corporate sector.
Eimear Byrne, Country Lead, SD Worx Ireland, said: “We have scaled up our own capabilities so that businesses who may lack the necessary internal resources can keep pace with evolving payroll trends and requirements. SD Worx aims to empower SMEs to focus on their core business activities while leaving the complexities of payroll management to trusted professionals. Our new offering means that amid intense competition for top talent, increasing regulations and rising costs, SMEs can continue to grow and thrive with on-hand payroll support and cost certainty.
“SMEs can often be stretched in terms of resources and this enhanced service will provide peace of mind for those who seek the reliability we offer by never missing a pay date or Revenue submission. The service will also guarantee that SMEs are compliant with regulations and effectively safeguarding confidential company and employee data. We are looking forward to working closely with organisations in the SME space to drive value and underpin their continued success.”
SD Worx’s flexible and scalable managed payroll service relieves pressure on businesses, reduces administrative burdens, and frees up resources that can be refocused elsewhere in the organisation. SD Worx’s outsourced payroll solution is updated in line with the latest legislation, ensuring customers remain compliant. SD Worx also has a dedicated expert team in place to support growing organisations.
SD Worx’s managed payroll offering is built on highly secure MegaPay software and protects customers’ sensitive information, with all data securely hosted in Ireland. In addition, a fixed monthly cost provides price transparency for businesses.
