Built for UK Statutory Rules

Know what every hire actually costs

UK workforce cost planner for Founders and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Employer National Insurance (NI), Pension, Employment Allowance, Apprenticeship Levy — calculated correctly, not guessed in a spreadsheet.

✓ Works instantly in your browser
✓ No login required
✓ Data stays on your machine
Avg FTE
14.5
18 records
Base Salary
£892k
Pro-rated
On-Costs
£284k
NI · Pension · Benefits
Total Loaded
£1.18m
1.32x multiplier
Job Title
Type
Base Salary
Total Cost
Engineering Manager
Perm
£95,000
£128,640
4× Software Engineers
Perm
£72,000
£381,120
Project Manager
FTC
£58,000
£74,820
2× DevOps Contractors
Agency
£78,000
£156,000

Your spreadsheet is lying to you

😰

Hardcoded NI rates that nobody updates

The rate changed to 15% in April 2025 and the Secondary Threshold dropped to £5,000. Is your sheet current?

🤷

No pro-rata for starters and leavers

Someone joining in September costs 7/12ths of a full year — not full whack. Most sheets do not account for this.

📊

"What if" means copying tabs and hoping for the best

Want to compare hiring 3 engineers vs 2 engineers + 1 contractor? That is a scenario, not another broken tab.

Built-in UK statutory accuracy

  • Employer NI calculated correctly — 15% above £5,000 threshold, pro-rated for part-year employees
  • Employment Allowance — £10,500 deducted from your NI pool automatically
  • Apprenticeship Levy — 0.5% with £15,000 annual allowance for qualifying employers
  • Pension auto-enrolment — Employer contribution on full salary with Salary Sacrifice NI savings
  • Multi-year projections — FY26 through FY29 with configurable salary increases per employee

Built for the people who actually plan headcount

If you are budgeting workforce costs in a spreadsheet, this replaces it.

🚀

Founders and CEOs

5–30 employees · Pre-Series A to Series B

You are hiring fast and need to know what each role actually costs before you commit. You do not have an FP&A team — you are the FP&A team. You need a quick answer to "can we afford 3 more engineers this quarter?" without spending half a day in Excel.

📊

Heads of Finance

30–200 employees · SME / Scale-up

You own the headcount budget and report to the board. You need scenario comparisons, multi-year projections, and PowerPoint-ready exports. You know the statutory rules but you are tired of maintaining the formulas. You want the NI, Pension, and Employment Allowance to just work.

Current statutory rates, always

The tool uses 2025/26 tax year rates, updated for 2026/27. Every calculation is transparent — click any employee to see the full working.

15%
Employer NI Rate
Above £5,000 threshold
£10.5k
Employment Allowance
Deducted from NI pool
0.5%
Apprenticeship Levy
Pay bill over £3m
1.3×
Typical Multiplier
True cost vs base salary

Your roster, your costs, one screen

Every employee's loaded cost calculated in real time. Click any row to see the full NI, Pension, and Levy working.

headcountagent.co.uk
⚙️ Settings
FY Start: April 2026
Employer NI: 15%
EA: ✓ Applied
Levy: Not applied
Scenarios
Base Case
Growth Plan
Conservative
Roster
Multi-Year
Scenarios
Analytics
Monthly
Dashboard
Avg FTE
14.5
Base Salary
£892,400
On-Costs
£284,120
Total Loaded
£1,176,520
Multiplier
1.32×
Job TitleNameBUTypeFTE Base SalaryPensionNI Total CostMult.
Engineering ManagerSarah ChenEngineering Perm 1.0£95,000£7,600£13,650 £128,6401.35× 💰
Head of SalesJames PatelSales Perm 1.0£88,000£4,400£16,050 £135,8501.54× 💰
4× Software EngineersEngineering Perm 4.0£72,000£3,600£10,050 £381,1201.32× 💰
Project ManagerAlex MartinezOperations FTC 1.0£58,000£2,900£7,950 £74,8201.29× 💰
UX ContractorLisa JohnsonDesign Agency 1.0£65,000 £65,0001.00× 💰
⚡ Employment Allowance: -£10,500 off Employer NI
💰 Sarah Chen — Cost Breakdown
Annual Salary£95,000
Pro-rated 12/12£95,000
Bonus (15%)£14,250
Pension (8%)£7,600
Employer NI (15%)£13,650
Benefits£2,800
Total per FTE£128,640
Multiplier: 1.35× base salary

Everything you need — and nothing more

Six tabs that take you from roster to boardroom. No training required — but we offer it if you want it.

📋

Smart Roster

Full employee list with sort, filter, search, bulk actions. Handles permanent staff, fixed-term contracts, and agency workers differently — because the costs are different.

📥

Excel Import

Import directly from .xlsx files. Multi-sheet workbooks supported — pick your sheet, columns auto-map. No more "save as CSV" nonsense.

⚖️

Scenario Comparison

Create "Growth", "Conservative", and "Hiring Freeze" scenarios. Driver-based analysis shows exactly what is causing the cost difference.

🔢

Multi-Year Projections

See FY26 through FY29 with per-employee salary increases. Filter by business unit, grade, type, or salary band.

📈

Dashboard & Analytics

FTE-by-month charts, KPI strips, monthly financials tables. Export to PowerPoint for board-ready presentations.

🔒

Complete Privacy

Runs entirely in your browser. No server, no account, no data leaves your machine. Salary data stays where it should — with you.

From purchase to planning in minutes

Purchase

Choose your plan. Download the tool instantly — a single file that runs in any modern browser.

Import

Import your team from Excel or add employees manually. Columns auto-map from any HR export.

Configure

Set your FY start month, NI rate, Pension percentage, Employment Allowance, and overhead costs.

Plan

Create scenarios, compare costs, export to Excel or PowerPoint. Share with your board or investors.

One-time purchase. Yours forever.

No subscription, no per-seat fees, no hidden costs. Pay once and use it for as long as you need it.

Starter
£95
One-time payment + VAT (20%)
The full tool, ready to use. Perfect if you are comfortable finding your way around software.
  • Full Headcount Agent tool
  • All 6 tabs — Roster, Multi-Year, Scenarios, Analytics, Monthly Analysis, Dashboard
  • Excel and PowerPoint export
  • Excel import with auto-mapping
  • UK statutory calculations (NI, Employment Allowance, Levy, Pension)
  • Version history and snapshots
  • Email support for technical issues (30 days, 3-day response)
Buy Now — £95 +VAT
Complete
£595
One-time payment + VAT (20%)
Full onboarding for growing teams. We will set up your scenarios and train your Finance lead.
  • Everything in Professional
  • 4 hours of live training & setup
  • We import and validate your data
  • Build your first 2–3 scenarios together
  • Board-ready export review
  • Ongoing support for 3 months — includes scenario review and sense-checking (1-day response, up to 20 queries)
Buy Now — £595 +VAT

We were budgeting hires in a Google Sheet with hardcoded NI. The first time we used Headcount Agent we found we had been underestimating costs by 18%.

Rachel Thornton · Head of Finance, Series A SaaS (42 employees)

30s
To add your first employee
6
Tabs of analysis
0
Data sent to any server
4yr
Forward projections

Common questions

How does it work technically?
It is a single HTML file that runs entirely in your web browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox). No installation, no server, no account. Open the file and start planning. Your data is stored in your browser's local storage.
Is my salary data secure?
Yes — completely. The tool never connects to any server. Your data stays on your machine and is never transmitted anywhere. This is by design — salary data is sensitive and we believe it should stay with you.
What happens if I clear my browser data?
Your plan would be lost — which is why the tool has Excel export (your backup) and a snapshot/version history feature. We recommend exporting to Excel regularly. You can re-import from that Excel file at any time.
Are the UK tax calculations up to date?
Yes — the tool uses 2025/26 tax year rates, updated for 2026/27: 15% Employer NI above £5,000 Secondary Threshold, £10,500 Employment Allowance, and 0.5% Apprenticeship Levy. The NI rate is configurable if HMRC changes it.
Can I import from our existing spreadsheet?
Yes — directly from Excel (.xlsx). The import wizard auto-detects your column names (Salary, Department, Start Date, etc.) and maps them. Multi-sheet workbooks are supported. CSV also works.
How many employees can it handle?
It has been tested with up to 100+ employees across multiple scenarios. For most SMEs (5–80 people), performance is instant. The import wizard handles up to 500 rows.
What does the training cover?
We use your actual company data. In the session we will import your team, configure your settings (FY, NI, Pension, overheads), build your first scenarios, and walk through the analysis tabs. You will leave with a working plan. To book, email support@headcountagent.co.uk.
Can multiple people use it?
Each purchase includes one copy of the tool. Since it is a file, you could share it — but the data is stored per-browser, so each person would have their own separate data. For team use, the Complete plan is best.
Can I use this for HMRC submissions?
No — Headcount Agent is a planning and scenario modelling tool, not a payroll system. It produces estimates to help you budget and forecast workforce costs. You should not use these figures for HMRC submissions, RTI filings, or any statutory reporting. Always use a qualified payroll provider or accountant for official submissions.
What is included in email support?
Support covers help with the Headcount Agent tool itself — not general HR, payroll, or financial advice.

Starter (£95): Technical support only — if the tool will not load, import fails, or exports are not working. Response within 3 business days. Available for 30 days from purchase.

Professional (£245): Technical issues plus usage questions — "how do I model a mid-year starter?", "why do my NI numbers differ from payroll?" Response within 1 business day. Available for 2 months, up to 10 support queries.

Complete (£595): Everything in Professional, plus we will review your scenarios, sense-check your outputs, and advise on best practice. Response within 1 business day. Available for 3 months, up to 20 support queries. After your support period ends, additional support hours can be purchased separately.

Stop guessing. Start planning.

Replace your spreadsheet with a tool that calculates UK employment costs correctly.

See Pricing →