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Guide

Getting started with BMS Prime

From sign-up to your first payroll in eight steps. Most businesses finish the basics in an afternoon.

Last updated: 22 October 2026

Before you begin. Have these to hand: your company logo, your staff list (a spreadsheet is fine), your bank account balances, and the attendance report from your time clock if you use one. Everything can be changed later, so do not wait for perfect data.

  1. Start your free trial

    bmsprime.com → Start free trial

    Create your company workspace in a few minutes. You will be asked for:

    • your name, work email and a password;
    • your business details: legal name, industry, country, state and city, phone, number of employees, website and, if you have one, your tax ID;
    • whether you plan to use inventory and accounting, so that we can recommend the plan that fits.

    We email you a 6-digit code to confirm your address. Enter it and your workspace opens straight away, with every module switched on for the trial (currently 14 days). We verify the details of every business to keep the platform safe; you can keep working in the trial while we do.

  2. Set up your company

    Settings → Company

    Make the workspace yours. These settings appear on every payslip, invoice and report:

    • Logo and details: upload your logo (PNG or JPG, under 1.5 MB) and add your address, phone and email.
    • Currency: the currency your books are kept in.
    • Fiscal year: the month your financial year starts.
    • Pay cycle: weekly, bi-weekly, 4-weekly or monthly, with the date your cycle starts.
    • Working hours and payroll rules: shift times, overtime, holiday pay, provident fund, leave and probation. Pick the preset closest to how you pay, then adjust.

    Running more than one company? Each company is its own workspace with its own settings, and one login can switch between them.

  3. Add your staff

    HR → Staff Members

    Add people one by one with Add staff, or bring your whole team in at once with Bulk Import: save your staff list as a CSV file with a header row (the import screen lists the columns, and only the name is required), then upload it or paste it in. BMS Prime tells you how many rows were imported and which need fixing.

    Then complete each profile: position, department, joining date, pay rate, bank details for salary transfers, and documents such as IDs and contracts. Add expiry dates to documents and BMS Prime reminds you before they expire.

  4. Connect attendance

    HR → Attendance

    Choose the way that suits your workplace:

    • Connect your device: if your time clock offers an online connection, link it with Connect Device and punches sync automatically.
    • Upload a report: export the attendance report from your time clock and upload it for the pay cycle.

    BMS Prime turns punches into working hours and flags late arrivals, overtime and missing punches. Leave requests and approvals sit alongside, so absences are already accounted for when payroll runs.

  5. Run your first payroll

    HR → Payroll

    1. Open the current pay cycle. Draft payslips are built from attendance, leave and your payroll rules.
    2. Review the register: hours, overtime, allowances, deductions and net pay for each person.
    3. Issue the payslips. Issued payslips are locked for good, so pay history never changes; any correction goes into a later payslip.
    4. Download the bank transfer file to pay salaries, and let staff see their payslips in self-service.

    When Finance is on, salary expense and payments post to your books automatically.

  6. Set up finance

    Finance Center → Banks · Customers · Vendors

    • Banks and cash: add each bank account, credit card and petty-cash box with its opening balance on your start date.
    • Chart of accounts: start from the standard accounts already in place and add the ones your business needs.
    • Opening balances: record what customers owe you and what you owe vendors on your start date, as opening invoices and bills or one opening journal entry, so your reports are right from day one.
    • Daily work: raise invoices, record customer payments, enter vendor bills and expenses. Each one posts to the double-entry ledger as it is saved.
    • Inventory: on plans that include it, add warehouses and items, then buy through purchase orders so stock and cost follow automatically.

  7. Invite your team

    Settings → Users & Access

    Create a login for each person who needs one and give them exactly the access their job needs: which modules they see, and what they can do in each, such as view, enter or approve. Employees who only need their own payslips, leave and documents can use self-service, on the web or in the Android app.

    Turn on two-step sign-in for everyone with administrative rights. When someone leaves, block their login straight away.

  8. Choose a plan and pay

    Billing

    Before the trial ends, open Billing. BMS Prime recommends the plan that fits your company size and the modules you use, and you can compare every plan there or on our pricing page.

    1. Choose the plan and the period: one, three, six or twelve months.
    2. Pay by bank transfer to the account shown on the Billing page.
    3. Upload a screenshot or receipt of the transfer.
    4. We review it as soon as possible, and at most within 24 hours. Once it is approved, your plan is active and you receive a receipt in Billing.

    Nothing is ever charged automatically. Payments are prepaid and non-refundable, so please use the trial to make sure BMS Prime fits; see the refund policy.

Need a hand?

Email info@bmsprime.com or request a demo, and we will walk you through any step. We reply within 1 business day.