Personio, the Munich-based HR and payroll platform, announced on October 6, 2026, that it has acquired Circula, a European provider of expense and benefits management. The acquisition positions Personio as the only European provider that can manage all employee-related business expenses within a single software platform. The two companies have worked closely for several years and already support a large shared customer base across Europe.
Strategic Rationale
Hanno Renner, CEO and co-founder of Personio, said expense management is one of the most frequently requested features from customers. He noted that European rules differ from country to country, just as they do for payroll, and that Circula has solved this complexity over the past nine years. The move converts an established partnership into a permanent and more deeply integrated customer offering.
Expense management in Europe is complex because tax and reimbursement rules vary by country. Personio's existing payroll platform already handles country-specific payroll requirements, and the addition of Circula extends that approach to expenses and benefits. The combined offering aims to cover salary, benefits, expenses, and corporate cards in one place.
A Proven Partnership
Personio and Circula have already built integrations that connect expenses, payroll, and accounting workflows. Their shared technology supports many of Personio's 16,000 European customers, and expenses flow through both DATEV and Personio Payroll directly into payroll runs. Personio contributes payroll expertise while Circula adds expense and benefits compliance, creating a stronger combined platform for small and midsize businesses.
Compliance and Accountant-Focused Tools
The companies also share a commitment to simplifying work for tax advisors. Both have built communities of several hundred tax advisors and developed tools that improve collaboration between advisors and their clients. A central part of this strategy is deep DATEV integration, which transfers data directly into DATEV payroll and financial accounting systems and will be expanded over time.
Nikolai Skatchkov, CEO and co-founder of Circula, said the company has already solved employee data reconciliation between expense management and HR platforms. Hundreds of shared customers use this integration today. Previously, he noted, tax logic for expenses and payroll had been built by two separate companies, and the acquisition unifies that responsibility.
Customer Perspective
Veronika von Heise-Rotenburg, CFO of Everphone, said the two systems have operated in parallel for more than six years. She described the choice as a deliberate decision for the strongest solutions in each category, seamlessly connected. Payroll, cost centers, and approvers have been synchronized from the beginning, so the platforms have never felt like separate systems.
Product and Customer Continuity
Circula will now operate as Circula by Personio, and its team will join Personio. For shared customers, the existing integration will be expanded into a fully connected experience across HR, payroll, and expenses. Circula customers who do not use Personio will continue to receive the product, which will remain available and be developed independently.
With this acquisition, Personio extends its reach from payroll into the full spectrum of employee expenses and benefits. The combination is designed to reduce manual work for HR teams, improve financial accuracy, and speed up closing processes for finance departments. It also signals a broader trend in European business software toward unified platforms that reduce complexity for growing companies.