For a UK employer the cloud question is settled and the interesting ones are local: whether the system fits UK payroll, whether the data protection arrangements stand up, and whether it produces the reports the business actually asks for.
UK payroll fit is a specific question, not a tick box
Real time reporting to HMRC, PAYE codes, statutory payments, pensions auto-enrolment and the assessment that goes with it are UK specifics. A product built elsewhere may connect to a UK payroll rather than run one, which is fine if you know it. Ask whether payroll is native in the UK, connected, or delivered by a partner, and get the answer in writing.
Data protection duties sit with you, not the vendor
You remain the controller for your employees' data. That means a written processor agreement, a subprocessor list, a clear position on where data is stored and processed, and the ability to answer a subject access request with what the system holds. Check you can extract one person's whole record without asking the supplier, because the clock on those requests is short.
Absence and leave need to match UK practice
Statutory sick pay, family leave, bank holidays handled properly for part-time staff, and holiday entitlement for irregular hours all catch out systems designed for other markets. Test your awkward cases during evaluation: a part-time worker with variable days, a long sickness absence, and a return part way through a leave year.
Buy for the reports the board asks for
Headcount by department, turnover, absence rate, gender pay data where you are in scope, and pay change history for audit. Take the last three requests you received into the demo and make the vendor produce them from sample data. It separates products faster than any feature list and it predicts your first year.
Questions people ask about cloud based hr management software
Does the software need to be UK based?
Not necessarily, but you should know where data is stored and processed and have that in the contract.
Will it handle auto-enrolment?
Only if payroll is native or the pension integration is real. Ask specifically about assessment and re-enrolment, not just contributions.
What about subject access requests?
Make sure you can export one employee's full record yourself. Depending on the vendor to do it is a risk against a statutory deadline.