Host installed payroll software on a Windows server in France
Move the payroll software off the office PC: an always-on Windows machine in France, reachable over RDP by the right people.
Starting at €13/mo
Introduction
One useful clarification before anything else: if your payroll runs as SaaS, on a web platform of the Silae kind, you need no server at all — the vendor already hosts everything, and renting a machine would buy you nothing. This page addresses the opposite and still very common case: installed payroll software, with its own licence and a local database, sitting on a workstation or on the ageing tower in the office, that you want to reach remotely.
The configuration we recommend for this is Windows - Plus at €13/month incl. VAT: 8 vCores, 16 GB of RAM, 200 GB of SSD and 500 Mbps. Our published rule of thumb is 8 GB as soon as business software is added, and payroll rarely arrives alone: there is the database behind it, often SQL Server, then an RDP session open all day. The server is delivered in 10 minutes, dedicated IPv4 address and Administrator account included.
One last point, and it matters: payroll handles sensitive personal data. What we can tell you is where that data sits — our single DC-FR_NA(01) datacenter in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, under French jurisdiction, with no transfer outside the European Union — and remind you that the GDPR applies. We certify nothing beyond that: you remain the data controller, and we claim neither sector certification nor any compliance assistance.
What the server includes, and what it does not
16 GB of RAM on the Plus plan
Windows - Plus at €13/month: 8 vCores, 16 GB of RAM, 200 GB of SSD, 500 Mbps. It is the most popular configuration. Our rule of thumb is 8 GB as soon as business software is added; payroll software and its database breathe far better with 16 GB.
2 administrative RDP sessions
Windows Server allows 2 concurrent administrative RDP sessions: enough for the payroll manager and the accountant to work at the same time. Beyond that, Microsoft requires RDS CAL licences, which you buy yourself. We neither supply nor resell them.
A snapshot before every update
Before applying a parameter update published by your software vendor, trigger a snapshot from the client area. If the result is not what you expected, roll back to the previous state. A full reinstall is also available on your own, without opening a ticket.
Data in France, and nothing more promised
A single datacenter, DC-FR_NA(01), in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, operated directly by the technical team. KVM virtualisation with Proxmox, French jurisdiction, no transfer outside the European Union. No certification claimed, no GDPR assistance, no DPO: you remain the data controller.
What a dedicated payroll server is for
The payroll manager works from anywhere
The software is no longer tied to one workstation. The RDP session opens from the office, from home or from a second location, with the same screen and the same files. Access is tuned up to 60 FPS, which keeps data entry comfortable.
Giving your accountant access
Create a dedicated Windows user account rather than emailing exports around. The scope of that access, what it exposes and what your engagement letter says remain entirely your call: we give no advice on that ground.
Applying a parameter update calmly
Snapshot, update, check on a test payslip, roll back if the figures do not add up. This is not an off-site backup — only snapshots are included — but it is exactly the safety net a desktop machine never had.
Replacing the office tower
No more machine to watch in a cupboard, no drive to swap on a Friday evening, no room to lock up for the weekend. The server lives in a French datacenter and you only manage what is on it.
Software and database in one place
The database engine runs on the same machine as payroll, without crossing the office network. SQL Server still needs its own licence: Express is free but capped at 10 GB per database, Standard and Enterprise are paid.
Adding users without buying hardware
Start on Windows - Plus at €13/month and move up to Max (32 GB) or Titan (64 GB) as the team grows. No commitment, 10% off with annual billing, and a 48-hour money-back guarantee.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, provided it is installed software. You get a complete Windows machine with administrator access: you install your payroll application on it exactly as you would on a physical server, and you connect over RDP. By-Hoster supplies and stands behind the machine, its operating system and its network. Installation, configuration and the correct behaviour of the software are down to you or your integrator: we provide no support on the business application itself.
No, and we would rather say so straight away. If your payroll opens in a browser and the vendor already hosts everything, a VPS brings you nothing: you would be paying for a machine nobody uses. This page is for installed payroll software, with its licence and local database, currently sitting on a workstation or an office server. If you are weighing the two models, that question is settled with your software vendor, not with a hosting provider.
Four configurations, monthly prices incl. VAT: Core at €8 (4 vCores, 8 GB, 50 GB SSD), Plus at €13 (8 vCores, 16 GB, 200 GB), Max at €26 (16 vCores, 32 GB, 500 GB) and Titan at €49.99 (24 vCores, 64 GB, 800 GB, 1000 Mbps). Annual billing takes 10% off. The price covers the machine, the network and human 24/7 support; it does not include the Microsoft licence, your payroll licence, RDS CALs or SQL Server.
No, on both counts. We do not resell business-software licences — Sage, EBP, Cegid, Ciel or any other — and we do not support the application itself. Your payroll licence stays yours, and the installation is done by you or your usual integrator, over RDP on the server. The Microsoft licence is not supplied either: By-Hoster installs the operating system, it does not resell it. Our 24/7 support covers the machine: system, network, RDP access, snapshots, reinstallation.
Windows Server allows 2 concurrent administrative RDP sessions. In practice that covers the most common case: the payroll manager on one side, the accountant or the integrator on the other. To open application RDP access to more colleagues, Microsoft requires RDS CAL licences that you buy yourself — we do not supply them. Budget the matching RAM as well: every open session takes its share, one more argument for 16 GB.
You create a dedicated Windows user account on the server and hand over the credentials: they connect over RDP just as you do, on the same files, with no documents travelling by email. Two honest caveats. The included technical limit remains 2 administrative sessions. And the scope of that access — what it exposes, what your contract provides for, the audit trail you have to keep — is entirely yours: we give no legal or employment advice.
The method the machine allows: trigger a snapshot from the client area right before applying the update published by your vendor, run it, check the result on a test payslip, and roll back to the previous state if something does not add up. To be clear: only snapshots are included, there is no automatic off-site backup of your payroll files. Keep your own archiving policy outside the server.
In our single DC-FR_NA(01) datacenter in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, operated directly by the association's technical team. Virtualisation runs on KVM with Proxmox. The data stays under French jurisdiction, within the GDPR framework, with no transfer outside the European Union. By-Hoster is a French non-profit association (RNA W162005815, SIRET 92395660100010) founded in 2023. We claim no certification, provide neither GDPR assistance nor a DPO, and you remain the data controller.
The principle is simple, even if it takes some method. You order the machine, delivered in 10 minutes with its IP address and Administrator password. You open an RDP session, install your payroll software and its database following the vendor's procedure, then transfer your files. You test on a closed period before switching over. We do not carry out the application migration: that is you or your integrator. The 48-hour money-back guarantee leaves time to check the machine suits you.
Three systems are offered at checkout, at no extra cost: Windows Server 2025 (security updates until 14 November 2034), Windows Server 2022 (security until 14 October 2031) if your vendor only certifies that one, and Windows 11, which belongs on a personal workstation because it is a client operating system, not designed for a multi-user service. On the database side: SQL Server needs its own licence. Express is free but capped at 10 GB per database, 1 socket or 4 cores and 1.4 GB of RAM; Standard and Enterprise are paid.