Personio vs. project b.: Which tool really fits your payroll?

They are growing quickly. New employees are joining every month. The payroll processing that the tax advisor initially did "on the side" is now becoming a bottleneck.

Now you are faced with a decision: An all-in-one HR platform like Personio? Or a specialized payroll tool like project b.?

This comparison shows you which solution actually works for growing companies – without marketing promises, with concrete facts.

Personio: The All-in-One HR Platform

Personio is the most well-known HR software for SMEs in the German-speaking region. The Munich-based company offers a wide range of features: recruiting, onboarding, absence management, time tracking – and since 2023 also its own payroll processing called "Personio Payroll".

What Personio does well

• Everything under one roof: HR data, recruiting, and payroll in a single interface

• Well-known brand: Over 14,000 customers, established processes

• Real-time synchronization: Master data flows automatically into payroll processing

• ITSG certified: Direct communication with social security carriers

Where Personio encounters limitations

Here it gets interesting. Because in payroll processing, weaknesses become apparent that are particularly relevant for fast-growing companies:

1. Limited payroll functionality

Personio Payroll cannot represent many complex payroll rules. Users report missing support for:

• Flat-rate taxation

• Bicycle leasing

• Variable payments and bonuses

• Complex hourly rates and overtime calculations

• Long-term illnesses and employment bans

A client who switched from DATEV to Personio Payroll summarizes it this way: “As simple as it is sold, it's unfortunately not.”

2. The DATEV situation

This is the elephant in the room: DATEV ended its partnership with Personio in 2024. The reason? With "Personio Payroll Expert Plan," Personio now offers payroll services itself – in direct competition to the tax advisor model.

The existing interfaces still work, but users report issues:

• Payroll types are not transferred correctly (everything ends up as payroll type 200 in DATEV)

• Manual rework by the tax advisor is often necessary

• Client takeovers lead to employee number conflicts

For startups and scale-ups working with their tax advisor, this is a real problem.

3. Price-performance under pressure

Personio Core starts at €7.60 per employee per month. That sounds fair. But:

• Payroll is a separate module with additional costs

• Companies report frequent price increases

• Complaints about unbalanced price-performance ratio are increasing among existing customers on LinkedIn

One company reports: “We currently pay about €7,000/year for a small team.”

project b.: Specialized in what matters

project b. takes a different approach. Instead of offering everything, the Munich-based company focuses on one area: preliminary payroll processing.

The concept: predecessor system instead of substitute

project b. does not replace DATEV or your tax advisor. It sits in front of them. As an intelligent layer that collects, checks, and prepares data before it flows into the payroll system.

That sounds like a small difference. In practice, it is a big one.

What project b. delivers concretely

1. Rita reads what people send

Employees send sick notes via WhatsApp. The new intern emails his tax ID as a photo. A department head reports overtime via Excel sheet.

Rita, the AI assistant from project b., recognizes and extracts the payroll-relevant information. Automatically. Regardless of the format.

The difference in everyday life: Instead of taking 30 minutes for a sick note, you take less than 5 minutes. You check and approve. The system takes care of the rest.

2. DATEV integration that works

project b. is an official DATEV interface partner. The approved changes flow directly into the payroll system – without media disruptions, without the payroll type problems that occur with Personio.

Your tax advisor continues to work with his familiar system. You provide him with clean, verified data instead of email chaos.

3. Control remains with humans

This is important: Rita makes suggestions. But the final decision always lies with you or your payroll accountant. Every change is transparent, traceable, and revisions-secured documented.

No black box. No automatic bookings that you only notice after the payroll processing is completed.

4. Security at enterprise-level

project b. is ISO 27001:2022 certified and GDPR compliant. For startups that need to be prepared for investor due diligence, this is not a nice-to-have. 

The direct comparison

Which tool is for whom?

Personio is right for you if:

• You are looking for an all-in-one HR solution and payroll is just a small part

• Your payroll processes are standardized and uncomplicated

• You do not want to involve an external tax advisor

• DATEV integration is not a priority

project b. is right for you if:

• Payroll processing is your main issue (time pressure, errors, email chaos)

• You work with a tax advisor or payroll office

• DATEV, Agenda, or SPS are your payroll systems

• You are growing quickly and need to scale processes

• Your employees provide data in various formats

The startup perspective

As a growing company, you have a specific problem: What works with 20 employees collapses at 80.

The Excel list that the founder initially maintained himself? Becomes the bottleneck. The emails to the tax advisor? Become unmanageable. The error rate? Increases with every new hire.

Personio solves the HR problem broadly. project b. solves the payroll problem deeply.

If your biggest challenge is payroll processing – the data collection, coordination with the tax advisor, the recurring inquiries – then the specialized tool is the better choice.

Concrete means:

• Less manual data entry (Rita takes over)

• Fewer inquiries from the tax advisor (data is verified)

• Less stress during payroll week (cockpit instead of email search)

• More time for what drives your company forward

What investors see

project b. is supported by Lakestar (known for Spotify, Delivery Hero), QED Investors (Klarna, Credit Karma), and other well-known VCs.

This is not a quality feature in itself. But it shows: Experienced investors see payroll processing as a problem that is big enough – and in project b. a solution that is promising enough.

For your own investor communication, this can be relevant. ISO certification, GDPR compliance, and a scalable payroll solution are points that come up in every due diligence.

The switch: easier than expected

Many startups hesitate to switch tools. "We have other priorities right now." That's understandable.

But project b. does not require a big-bang switch. As a predecessor system, it complements your existing infrastructure. You keep DATEV, you keep your tax advisor. You add an intelligent layer.

The setup takes no months. And the ROI shows in the first payroll processing when the sick note is processed in 5 instead of 30 minutes.

Conclusion: Depth beats breadth

Personio is a solid HR platform. For companies looking for a broad solution and whose payroll processing is uncomplicated, it can work.

But if payroll processing is your pain point – the time pressure, data quality, coordination with the tax advisor – then you need a tool that specifically addresses this problem.

project b. is deeper specialized in payroll than Personio. The DATEV integration works. The AI assistant Rita takes care of routine work. And your tax advisor gets clean data instead of email chaos.

For startups and scale-ups that are growing quickly and need to scale their processes, this is the crucial difference.

Want to know how project b. would specifically work in your company? Book a non-binding conversation – 30 minutes, no sales event, real answers to your questions.

Sources

• DATEV ends partnership with Personio – DATEV magazine

• Personio experiences – Capterra Germany

• Personio Community – Experiences with Payroll

• Personio alternatives – Ordio comparison