Home / Switch to KivoHR
Switch HR software in an afternoon, without losing a record.
Upload what your old system exports, from BrightHR, Breathe, CharlieHR, Personio or a spreadsheet. KivoHR matches the columns, shows you every change before saving a thing, and checks that what it brought over matches your file. If you change your mind, undo it within 30 days.
14 days free · no card needed
Bringing your data over
ExamplePeople412 of 412
Holiday balances412 of 412
Absence history (3 years)6,208 of 6,208
Right-to-work checks398 of 398
Everything matches your file. Undo is available for 30 days.
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1
Upload your files
Your old system’s exports as CSV, Excel, XML or a ZIP, documents included.
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2
Check every change
Columns matched, values translated, people paired up. Nothing is saved until you’ve seen what will be.
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Import, and prove it
Each kind of record is counted against your file, and undo stays open for 30 days.
AI Matching
Your columns, matched to ours, and shown to you first.
A file from a system we know is matched from a template; others from names you’ve used before, common aliases and a close spelling. Switch AI on and it suggests the rest from the headings, the pattern of the values and short labels such as contract types, never a name, an email, bank details or an NI number; every suggestion, and anything left over, is yours to decide.
AI Matching columns with AI uses none of your Kivo Credits, up to the limit on the credits page. AI in KivoHR
Columns · team-members.csv
From CharlieHR · 412 rows · nothing saved yet
Employee Name First and last nameTemplate
NI No National Insurance numberTemplate
Hol Left (days) Holiday balance AI
Reports To (email) Line manager AI
Shoe size Your choice: a custom field, or leave it
What comes over
People, balances, absence, checks and documents.
People and their employment, sites and departments, NI and bank details, pay, holiday balances, absence history, emergency contacts, right-to-work checks, training and documents. After the import, each is counted against your file: “412 of 412 holiday balances match”.
Checked against your file
Import · 2 Nov, 14:20
People 412 of 412
Holiday balances 412 of 412
Absence records 6,208 of 6,208
Documents 1,140 of 1,140
Help, free
Our team matches your files with you, free.
Give our team access for seven days and they propose how your columns and values match. They see headings and patterns, never your staff’s details, and nothing is imported until you accept their suggestions and press Import yourself.
Help with your import
Access for 7 days · headings only
Column matches proposed 24
Values matched 6
Access ends In 5 days
Your decision Accept and import
Why teams switch to KivoHR.
What you get here that BrightHR, Breathe, CharlieHR and Employment Hero leave out, put on a long contract, or charge extra for.
- Sponsor licence duties, built in Reports to the Home Office drafted for you, each with its deadline counted in working days. We found none in BrightHR, Breathe, CharlieHR or Employment Hero.
- A mock audit every night Your records checked against the law while you sleep, and “Are we legal today?” answered each morning.
- Monthly, cancel any time Never the 24, 36 or 60-month term BrightHR sells. Monthly plans stop at the end of the month.
- Rota and clocking, no add-on On every plan. Breathe and Employment Hero charge extra for them, and CharlieHR has no rota.
- A rota that knows the law Daily and weekly rest, the 48-hour week and under-18 limits checked as you plan: warnings for adults, shifts held back for under-18s.
- Follow-up dates worked out From the kind of permission someone holds, not typed in by hand, and contractors are checked too.
From each product’s own pricing, feature and help pages, checked on 31 October 2026. Specialist sponsor tools such as SponsorFort and SponsorPro also help with Home Office reports. Side by side, with sources: BrightHR alternative, Breathe alternative, CharlieHR alternative, Employment Hero alternative.
What switching costs you: nothing.
No fee to move your records, no card to start, and no paying twice while an old contract runs out.
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Free for 14 days, no card Import your real team and try everything before you pay.
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Help matching your files, free Our team has 7 days’ access to your file headings, never your staff’s details.
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Undo for 30 days Changed your mind after an import? Undo it while nothing it brought in has changed.
- Half price until your contract ends Still tied to another provider? Ask our support team, and you won’t pay twice.
- Every feature, monthly terms No modules to add and no long contract. Cancel any time.
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Leave as easily as you came Export your records any time, and for 90 days after you leave.
Switch in a day, guaranteed.
Send us your old system's export, and within one working day everyone is in KivoHR, with their holiday balances set side by side with your old system's. If we miss that, you get your first month's plan price back.
What “in a day” covers
- Every current employee in your export, with their job, start date, manager and work email
- Their holiday balances for this holiday year
- Your old system’s figures beside ours, each difference shown, for you to sign off
What we need from you
- Your people and holiday exports, as CSV or Excel, or your spreadsheet
- Your holiday year and allowance, or a few minutes to tell us
- Someone who can answer our questions that day
- Up to 250 current employees; above that, we agree a date with you
How to claim
- In KivoHR, Help and support, within 14 days of the switch
- We check it against the import’s own record and answer within 5 working days
- Missed? Your first month’s plan price comes off your next bill (a twelfth of a yearly plan)
- A working day is Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:30 UK time, not a bank holiday in England.
- The day starts when the last of what we need arrives, and pauses while we wait for an answer from you.
- Documents, pay history, training and absence history come over too, but outside the promise.
- One credit per organisation, for its first switch into KivoHR; not add-ons, Kivo Credits or a separate database, and not cash.
Moving from a system you use now?
What to export, how it comes in, and your first day, step by step.
Coming from one of these?
A fair comparison, with sources and the date we last checked.
- BrightHR alternative No fixed-term contract, sponsor duties built in
- Breathe alternative Rotas, clocking and right to work included
- CharlieHR alternative For teams that work shifts
- Employment Hero alternative Rotas and right to work on every plan
- RotaCloud alternative The rota, with HR and right to work
- Sage HR alternative Every module in one price
- Personio alternative Published UK prices, monthly terms
Switching: common questions
How long does switching take?
Often an afternoon, depending on how much you bring. You see every change before it’s saved, and each kind of record is counted against your file afterwards.
Can we undo an import?
Yes, within 30 days, as long as nothing it brought in has been changed since.
Will your team do the switch for us?
Our team will match your files with you, free. They see headings and patterns, never your staff’s details. You check the result and press Import.
Which systems can we switch from?
Any that lets you export to CSV, Excel or XML, including BrightHR, Breathe, CharlieHR, Personio and spreadsheets.
Bring your team over this afternoon.
14 days free, no card needed.