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HollyHR
HollyHR · 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, United Kingdom, WC2H 9JQ
What it is
HollyHR is core HR software for small UK teams, available on the web and through an API. It keeps people records, working patterns, leave, documents, starter processes, and standard reports together. Teams can handle leave requests and approvals, balances, sickness records, UK public holidays, and a shared Who’s Away calendar. Reusable onboarding packs create employee-specific journeys with owners and due dates, while private files, right-to-work evidence, and policy acknowledgements remain with each record. Headcount, turnover, and time-off reports export as CSV or PDF; organization export includes CSV data, available files, and a manifest. Integrations include Zapier, Make, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Claude, Google Calendar, Outlook, Xero Payroll UK, and a Staffology Payroll private preview. HollyHR offers a free plan for up to 10 active employees, Standard at £2 per month, and a 30-day trial. Native payroll, rota, time tracking, recruitment, and mobile apps are not shipped.
For and against
For
- Free plan for up to 10 active employees
- Leave, sickness, holidays, and shared calendar
- Reusable onboarding packs with due dates
- CSV and PDF reporting exports
- API reads and signed webhooks on every plan
Against
- No native payroll, rota, or time tracking
- No native mobile app
- Plus plan is not currently available to buy
- Not certified to ISO 27001, SOC 2, or Cyber Essentials
The verdict
HollyHR focuses on practical core HR for small UK organizations, with records, leave, onboarding, documents, and exports. Its free tier is approachable, while teams needing payroll or workforce modules must use other tools.
Who it suits
HollyHR is aimed at founders, HR, office, finance, and people managers in small UK teams. It suits organizations wanting core HR records, leave, onboarding, documents, and reports.
Plans and prices
Standard
Unlimited employees · Ask Holly · priority support · custom domain
Read 15 Oct 2026 · hollyhr.com
Plus
Rotas · attendance · timesheets · expenses
Read 15 Oct 2026 · hollyhr.com
Free
Up to 10 active employees · core HR · API/MCP reads · signed webhooks
Read 15 Oct 2026 · hollyhr.com
Charity Standard
Eligible charities and approved non-profits · Standard features
Read 15 Oct 2026 · hollyhr.com
Charity Plus
Eligible charities and approved non-profits · Plus features
Read 15 Oct 2026 · hollyhr.com
Standard annual
Unlimited employees · two months free compared with monthly billing
Read 15 Oct 2026 · hollyhr.com
Plus (coming soon)
Not available to buy today · rotas, attendance, timesheets, expenses, hiring, training management, goals, reviews, safety, surveys, employee cases and benefit administration
Read 30 Sep 2026 · hollyhr.com
Enterprise
For procurement or multi-organisation needs
Read 30 Sep 2026 · hollyhr.com
On the record
- API
- The developer platform provides scoped REST API access, generated OpenAPI contracts, webhooks and a TypeScript SDK.hollyhr.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- API and MCP
- API reads and signed webhooks are available on every plan, while creating records through Zapier, Make or the API requires Standard and System Admin permission.hollyhr.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- API availability
- API and MCP reads are included on every plan, while governed writes require Standard, explicit scopes and administrator approval.hollyhr.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Calendar integration
- Google Calendar and Outlook receive one-way subscriptions of approved time away without private absence reasons.hollyhr.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Data locations
- The security page lists primary HR records in the EU and uploaded documents and database backup copies in the UK, and notes that supporting providers have their own locations and transfer terms.hollyhr.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Documentation depth
- Public developer documentation includes quickstarts, authentication and scopes, endpoint reference, OpenAPI schema, webhook verification, examples, recipes, changelog and service status links.hollyhr.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Documents
- Private employee files, compliance requirements, expiry visibility and policy acknowledgements are attached to records.hollyhr.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Hosting locations
- Primary HR records run in AWS eu-central-1, while uploaded documents and database backups use AWS eu-west-2 in London.hollyhr.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Import and export
- CSV and Excel imports support field mapping and preview, while organisation export includes CSV data, eligible files and a manifest.hollyhr.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Independent description
- The HR Review describes HollyHR as a founder-led UK platform combining employee records, leave, sickness, documents and onboarding for small teams.thehrreview.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Independent feature listing
- Software Advice lists access controls, onboarding, employee management, sick-leave tracking, time-off management, reporting, API and data import/export among HollyHR capabilities.softwareadvice.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Independent pricing listing
- Software Advice lists a free plan, Standard at £2 per user per month and eligible charity Standard at £1 per user per month.softwareadvice.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Official connection options include Zapier, Make, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Claude, Google Calendar, Outlook, Xero Payroll UK and a Staffology Payroll preview.hollyhr.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Intended customers
- HollyHR describes its product as core HR software for small UK teams and provides pages for founders, HR managers, office managers, finance managers, managers and employees.hollyhr.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Leave management
- Employees can request leave while managers review balances, overlaps and approvals through a shared absence calendar.hollyhr.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Legal entity
- HollyHR trades as Holly Software Limited, a private company registered in England and Wales under number 17312193.hollyhr.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: young product
- The HR Review reports that HollyHR has limited customer history and lacks the assurance certifications of established HR suppliers.thehrreview.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Maker
- HollyHR says founder-operator Paul Gould started it after more than 25 years running small businesses; its about page names Holly Software Limited.hollyhr.com · read 30 Sep 2026
