What Every does

Every (legally Sandgate Systems Ltd) is a UK-based software company that develops cloud-based HR, payroll, and compliance management platforms purpose-built for the UK education sector. Its product portfolio comprises three core SaaS platforms — Every HR (covering employee management, absence management, recruitment/ATS, training & CPD, performance management, single central record, expenses, case management, and a self-service employee portal), Every Compliance (business management, risk management, incident reporting, asset management, condition management, project management, and documents/policies), and Every Payroll (education-specific payroll and pensions, operated under the sub-brand "Every Payroll By IRIS"). The platforms are delivered as cloud SaaS hosted in ISO 27001-certified UK data centres, with native integrations to IRIS Central (consolidated reporting), IRIS Payroll Services (formerly Dataplan Education), IRIS Financials, IRIS ParentMail, and school MIS systems to support single-data-entry between HR and payroll.

Every sells exclusively to UK schools, multi-academy trusts (MATs), and education charities through a direct enterprise sales motion with quote-based pricing (phone, email, demo/quote forms). Revenue is generated primarily through 12-month recurring SaaS subscriptions (licence fees plus compulsory annual support and maintenance), supplemented by professional services for implementation, training, data conversion, and consultancy. The legal entity operates from a single Leeds headquarters (4th Floor, 76 Wellington Street, LS1 2AY), has 101–250 employees, and has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of IRIS Software Group since the acquisition completed at the end of 2021. The company is ICO-registered (Z3435366) and acts as both Data Controller and Data Processor under GDPR.

The business model is a classic niche vertical SaaS play: deep education-sector specialisation (teacher pension schemes, weeks-worked pay calculations, School Workforce Census reporting, SCR maintenance) drives stickiness with school business managers and HR leads, while the IRIS parent ownership provides distribution leverage across the UK education technology market. No information has been disclosed regarding the company's annual revenue, funding history, or capital structure beyond the 2021 acquisition.

Name

Every

Legal name

Sandgate Systems Ltd

Website

https://weareevery.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Every (Sandgate Systems Ltd) provides cloud-based HR, payroll, and compliance SaaS for UK schools and multi-academy trusts, with native integration to the IRIS Software Group education ecosystem. Headquartered in Leeds with 101–250 employees, it operates as an IRIS-owned subsidiary selling via direct enterprise sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education HR & Compliance Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services (54121)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Payroll Software & Payroll-as-a-Service (SaaS) (BPACAIAB)

Keywords

• Education HR software
• School compliance management
• Payroll software schools
• Multi-academy trust software
• SaaS education platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Leeds

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Subscriptions: Every generates revenue primarily through subscription-based licensing of its HR, Compliance, and Payroll software products. The company offers cloud-based SaaS subscriptions with licences allocated per user or per institution. Pricing is quote-based and varies by school size, number of users, and modules selected. The Minimum Commitment period is typically 12 months per the IRIS General Terms.
2. Support and Maintenance: Annual support fees are charged separately from licence fees, covering technical support, maintenance releases, and current releases of the software. Support is compulsory as part of the software supply.
3. Professional Services: Implementation, training, data conversion, and consultancy services are available as additional chargeable services, including installation and setup support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Every provides cloud-based HR, compliance, and payroll management software designed specifically for UK schools and multi-academy trusts (MATs). Its platform comprises three core products — Every HR, Every Compliance, and Every Payroll (by IRIS) — covering employee management, absence tracking, recruitment, training, performance management, single central record (SCR), workforce census reporting, risk and incident management, and integrated payroll with pension management. The software is sold as a SaaS subscription, integrating seamlessly with the wider IRIS education ecosystem including IRIS Central, IRIS Financials, IRIS Cascade, and IRIS ParentMail.

Product overview

Every provides a cloud-based compliance and HR management platform specifically designed for the UK education sector (schools and multi-academy trusts). The product portfolio consists of three core platforms: Every HR (HR management with 11 modules including Employee Management, Absence Management, Recruitment & ATS, Training & CPD, Performance Management, SCR, Expenses & Additional Hours, Case Management, Self-Service Employee Portal, and Payroll Integration), Every Compliance (compliance management with 7 modules including Business Management, Risk Management, Incident Reporting, Asset Management, Condition Management, Project Management, and Documents & Policies), and Every Payroll (stand-alone payroll and pensions software). Documents & Policies is a shared module available within both Every HR and Every Compliance. The platforms integrate with each other and with IRIS Central for reporting, IRIS Financials for financial management, and IRIS Payroll Services for schools requiring managed payroll. All solutions are delivered as cloud-based SaaS from the UK.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Every HR: Cloud-based HR software for schools and trusts providing employee management, absence management, recruitment, training, performance management, and self-service employee portal functionality.
• Every Payroll
• Every Compliance

Products and services

• Every HR Cloud-based HR management software for schools and trusts, providing employee management, absence tracking, recruitment, training and CPD, performance management, single central record (SCR), expenses, case management, and a self-service employee portal.
• Every Compliance Compliance management software for schools providing modules for business management, risk management, incident reporting, asset management, condition management, project management, and documents & policies.
• Every Payroll By IRIS Cloud payroll and pensions software designed specifically for schools and trusts, integrated with Every HR for seamless payroll processing and education-specific payroll features.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduction in data entry errors through integrated HR and payroll single-entry system
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• IRIS Software GroupcoreOthers · 1 December 2021Every joined the IRIS Software Group family at the end of 2021. IRIS is a leading provider of mission-critical software and services in the UK, with a vision to strengthen critical services in schools and MATs. Every's software seamlessly integrates with an array of IRIS solutions including IRIS Payroll Services, IRIS Cascade, IRIS Financials, IRIS Central, and IRIS ParentMail, providing end-to-end HR and compliance management systems for the education sector.
• IRIS Payroll Services (formerly Dataplan Education)coreTechnology or IntegrationIRIS Payroll Services (formerly Dataplan Education) is a payroll solution that integrates with Every HR software. Schools using Every HR can integrate with IRIS Payroll Services for complete payroll processing, enabling single-data-entry across both systems. This integration is cited as a key benefit by customers like Prince Albert Community Trust.
• IRIS CentralsupportingTechnology or IntegrationIRIS Central provides combined reporting across systems for schools and trusts, enabling integrated data analytics and consolidated reporting when used alongside Every software.
• IRIS FinancialssupportingTechnology or IntegrationIRIS Financials is a financial management system for trusts that integrates with Every's HR and compliance software, providing end-to-end management solutions for education organisations.
• IRIS ParentMailsupportingTechnology or IntegrationIRIS ParentMail is school communication software for parent engagement that can be used alongside Every's HR and compliance solutions within the IRIS Education ecosystem.
• IRIS CascadesupportingTechnology or IntegrationIRIS Cascade is an all-in-one cloud HR system that is part of the broader IRIS HR portfolio. While Every targets education specifically, both products are part of the IRIS ecosystem.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• IRIS Software Group: Parent company and broader UK education-and-payroll software portfolio. IRIS owns Every and operates overlapping HR, payroll (IRIS Payroll Services, formerly Dataplan), and finance (IRIS Financials) products, making it the most directly comparable platform and the primary bundling partner for Every.
• Access Group (Education): Large UK software group with an education division offering HR, payroll, finance, and MIS products for schools and trusts. Comparable as a broader incumbent bundling HR and payroll functionality that overlaps with Every's core proposition.
• Sage Group: Major UK-headquartered HR and payroll software vendor (Sage HR, Sage Payroll) used by SMBs and mid-market organizations including schools. Comparable on the HR/payroll SaaS dimension and represents an alternative incumbent schools may consider.
• Civica UK Limited: UK software vendor with a sizeable education division supplying back-office, HR, and finance systems to schools, MATs, and local authorities. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the UK school back-office software market.

Direct peers

• Arbor Education: UK-focused education software provider offering an MIS with HR, attendance, and reporting functionality for schools and MATs. Directly comparable because it competes for the same UK school buyer with overlapping HR and operational functionality, often in a single platform.
• Bromcom Computers plc: UK MIS vendor for schools and MATs providing student information, finance, and increasingly HR-style functionality. Comparable as a direct competitor to Every for UK school/MAT back-office software purchasing decisions.
• ScholarPack: Cloud-based MIS and school management system used by UK primary schools, with modules covering pupils, parents, and increasingly operations. Comparable as a UK primary-school software competitor that bundles school management functions Every also targets.
• SIMS (ESS): Long-established UK school MIS from ESS, used by a large share of UK schools for student and increasingly operational data. Comparable because SIMS is the incumbent MIS in many schools where Every sells HR and compliance add-ons.

Emerging players

• MLL Telecom / Weduc: Emerging UK EdTech platforms targeting schools with parent communication, MIS, and back-office workflows. Comparable as an emerging competitor encroaching on the same school software buyer with overlapping modules.
• Personio: European HR SaaS platform with growing UK presence among mid-market employers. Comparable as an emerging generalist HR platform that could be evaluated by larger MATs seeking a non-vertical alternative to Every.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/weareevery
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/weareevery.com

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Every