Why use Breathe?

What is Breathe?

Breathe is a simple people-management platform that's designed to help SMEs just like you to save time on tedious HR admin. 

Our intuitive system brings all of your people-data together in one secure place, while allowing your people to log sickness, request holidays, update personal information, view documents and much more.

And, with Breathe's flexible permissions settings, you can choose who has access to your team's information, making it super-easy to keep sensitive data safe. 

Key features include:

• Holiday management

• Sickness & absence tracking

• Employee database

• Document storage

• Performance monitoring

• Training management

• Expense management

• Rota scheduling

• Time & Attendance

• Applicant tracking 

• HR reporting

• Online learning

Who are Breathe?

Back in 2012, Breathe built their multi-award-winning software with one thing in mind: to set SMEs free from time-consuming HR admin so they can focus on their people, build strong company cultures & drive their organisations forward.

Owned by leading cloud-based solution provider, ELMO Software, Breathe offers simple & cost-effective software that makes it super-easy to manage up to 200 employees.

Why over 17,000 SMEs & 1,000+ HR consultants love us

So why should you ditch the spreadsheets & filing cabinets and switch to Breathe?

Here's why you won't look back:

• Save valuable time - Breathe helps you keep on top of day-to-day HR admin tasks like holiday requests, managing sickness and calculating allowances, so you can spend more time focussing on your people and growing your business. On average, our customers save up to 4 hours a week with Breathe.

• Everything in one place - Breathe centralises your people data in the cloud, so you can find exactly what you need, when you need it. 

• Improve efficiency - Breathe's easy-to-use system streamlines your everyday tasks whilst giving your people useful visibility of their holiday allowances, personal details and more - so you can wave goodbye to unnecessary admin.

• Keep your data secure - With Breathe's ISO27001-accredited software, you'll have peace of mind that your data is in safe hands and you're staying GDPR-compliant.

• Put your people first -  With self-service software that saves valuable time, you'll improve your employee experience and have more time to focus on the driving-force of your organisation: your people. 

Stay compliant with confidence

When you’re running a small business, staying on top of employment law can feel overwhelming. That’s where Breathe steps in. 

Our HR software is designed with UK employment law in mind - helping you keep compliant without the stress. 

From securely storing essential documents to tracking working hours and managing absence records, Breathe helps you meet key legal requirements - all in one central place. 

Need to share your policies with the team? No problem. With our document management features, you can upload, share, and track who’s seen what - making it easy to prove compliance when it counts. 

Plus, with Breathe Learn, it’s easy to keep on top of important training like sexual harassment prevention and health & safety - with up-to-date records that show who’s completed what and when.

And if you're looking for a deeper dive into staying compliant, we’ve got you covered. Head to our Employment Law hub for up-to-date guidance, expert insights, and helpful resources. 

Empowering managers

As a manager, your time is precious. Breathe takes the hassle out of admin so you can focus on what really matters - leading, supporting and developing your team. No more spreadsheets, chasing paperwork or digging through emails. 

Here’s how Breathe helps: 

• Quick-fire leave approvals – action requests straight from your inbox or the app. No logins, no faff. 

• Hassle-free approvals – sign off timesheets and expenses in a flash, all from one central place. 

• Real-time team visibility – see who’s in, who’s off and what your week looks like in a single view. 

• Workload and wellbeing oversight – use timesheet data to monitor hours worked and support your team’s wellbeing before burnout hits. 

• All the details you need – find contact info, job roles and more at the click of a button. 

• Celebrate wins instantly – use ‘Kudos’ to shout out great work and keep morale high. 

The result? Less time on admin, better oversight, and more time to be the kind of manager your team remembers. 

Making life easier for your people

We know traditional HR admin can be frustrating. Chasing people, filling in forms, wondering if your holiday’s been approved — it all adds up. 

Breathe gives your team more control, more clarity, and more time to focus on what they do best. 

With Breathe, employees can: 

• Book time off in seconds – view your allowance, request leave and get a countdown to your next break. 

• Track your time accurately – use the app to clock in and out. Timesheets update automatically so you’re always paid fairly — including any overtime. 

• Manage your own details – update your address, bank info or emergency contact in just a few taps. No forms, no chasing. 

• Submit expenses in a snap – upload receipts straight from your phone and submit with ease. 

• Feel recognised – send and receive ‘Kudos’ to celebrate everyday wins and great teamwork. 

Bottom line? It’s fast, empowering, and makes working life simpler for everyone. 

Cloud-based software & security

When we launched Breathe back in 2012, we chose to offer it as a cloud-based product rather than license-based.

Here's why:

• You can access your data from anywhere, rather than access being restricted to a few devices

• No need to invest in new software servers or pay to increase the capacity of existing systems.

• A subscription could be treated as an operational (rather than a capital) expense, providing major accountancy advantages.

• Cloud-based software provides much higher security due to the way the data is stored. Breathe is hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and we pride ourselves on being ISO27001 certified. 

Statistics

We asked our customers how Breathe benefits them. Here’s what we found.

Almost 70% of our customers respond to holiday requests within 1 hour, and 45% respond within just 15 minutes.

And that’s not all...

• Breathe saves our customers an average of 5 hours per week

• Breathe saves our customers an average of £177 per week - find out how much you could save with our ROI calculator

• Breathe saves each customer an average of 11 sheets of paper per day (or almost a third of a tree per year)

Clear & simple pricing

We aim to keep our pricing crystal-clear and nonsense-free.

• We charge by account size - not per employee, unlike other solutions on the HR software market.

• Dedicated UK-based technical support is included in every plan.

• You can pay monthly or annually (Paying annually will save Micro, Starter, Regular & Pro plans a handy 15% discount and Premium & Plus annual plans a 10% discount on Breathe's Core HR software (excluding additional modules).

Additional modules

You can also choose from some value-packed additional modules to add to your plan, so you can tailor your account depending on what you need. Pricing starts from just £10 extra per month.

You can choose from:

• Rota, Time & Attendance

• Learn

• Expenses

• Recruitment

Supporting charities & giving back

At Breathe, we know just how precious time and resources are for non-profits. That’s why we’ve designed our HR software to help charities spend less time on admin and more time making a difference. 

Breathe automates everyday people tasks like holiday tracking, sickness management and expenses — freeing up your team to focus on fundraising, community work, and the causes that matter most. 

✔️ Simple to use 
✔️ Built for small teams 
✔️ Packed with powerful HR tools 

And as a thank you for everything you do, we’ll make a quarterly donation back to your charity — typically around 25% of your subscription value. 

Helping the planet

At Breathe, we're dedicated to looking after the planet and giving back to our environment. 

By switching to Breathe's HR software, you'll leave spreadsheets and filing cabinets behind and enjoy a completely paperless (and more eco-friendly) HR department.

You'll benefit from a tidier and more organised office, and the planet will thank you too: our average customer saves around a third of a tree every year just by switching to our software. 

A climate positive workforce

At Breathe, giving back to our planet is really important to us. That’s why we’ve chosen to offset our carbon footprint and grow a company forest with Ecologi.

• 11,000+ trees planted

• 980+ tonnes of carbon reduction

• 3 years of positive climate action

Commitment-free trial

Choosing a new software for your organisation can be a tough decision. 

That's why, instead of a one-to-one demo, we offer a FREE 14-day trial so you can explore Breathe for yourself, however you want to. During these 2 weeks, you'll see the software in action so you can decide whether it's the right fit for your organisation.

• 100% free for 14 days

• No credit card needed

• No strings attached

• Quick to set up

• Explore the system in full - including additional modules

• Friendly & helpful support available throughout