It’s stripped down for businesses that just need easy payroll, with flexibility to add on services as you grow. Paychex is a payroll and HR service provider for businesses of all sizes. Paychex Flex is its simplified payroll platform designed for small businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Payroll information is front and center on your dashboard when you log in to your account. I like the easy, three-step process to run payroll but found it difficult to get around the warnings. Also, time off data doesn’t necessarily sync with payroll or an employee’s time off information in their profile.
- The software automatically prepares necessary tax forms based on the information that’s already in your system, filing local and state taxes on your behalf.
- Finally, we examined user reviews from real customers to get a sense of how well each payroll platform worked in a growing business’s day-to-day operations.
- PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering lab-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services.
- We’ll help collect any necessary information and process your first few payrolls for a smooth payroll management transition.
- Learn how to get set up, pay your team, find HRsupport and benefits, and sync with accounting soyou can manage everything in one place.
- In numerous buyer’s guides across our site, we evaluated these payroll companies using a 5-star scale with criteria specific to the type of payroll services they provide and the businesses they cater to.
1,000+ Employees
It facilitates employee benefits including health care, employee financial wellness, retirement plans and more. Not all types of payroll software can meet the complex needs of international businesses. Some, like ADP, are also capable of unifying data into a single system of record, which helps make managing global payroll easier.
How Do I Choose the Best Payroll Software for My Small Business?
- IRS fines range from 2% of the missing deposit to 15%, depending on the number of days the business is behind.
- Frank’s Auto Repair uses technology to stay current and keep its customers’ cars on the road and running smoothly.
- This process can be arduous and may require assistance from the site’s onboarding specialists because absolute accuracy is critical.
- What features can you live without, and which are absolute necessities?
- Its attention to detail makes it a good choice for organizations that need deep recordkeeping, payroll processing, and reporting capabilities.
- The company is compliant in more than 60 countries and even offers country-specific benefits packages, with payments made in employees’ local currencies.
We attended live demonstrations and asked representative tough questions about their pricing and plans, setup and installation, and how they stack up in a competitive field. We also tested payroll software ourselves, taking note of the overall user experience and how effective the features were. Finally, we examined user reviews from real customers to get a sense of how well each payroll platform worked in a growing business’s day-to-day operations. Small business owners may choose payroll services instead of hiring additional HR or accounting employees to manage tax filings and payments. This route can cut costs while guaranteeing timely employee paychecks and tax compliance. Paychex is a payroll service that’s a great option for businesses of all sizes.
Automated taxes and filings
What features can you live without, and which are absolute necessities? The company facilitates payroll for small, midsize and large businesses, with dedicated plans for companies employing over 1,000 people. If you have fewer than 50 employees, there are four different plans available, but ADP customizes pricing and does not reveal costs upfront. We liked ADP’s additional features, such as the employee self-service portal, direct deposit payments and onboarding tools.
Advantages of Payroll Software
Most of the payroll services we review offer basic HR components, such as online W-4 and W-9 forms, new-hire reporting, document templates, and document storage. We look primarily at each site’s payroll processing capabilities, with additional HR support being considered a bonus. Everyone loves payday when money shows up in their bank account or they get a check. For payroll managers, though, payday can be the culmination of a lot of calculations and sweating of deadlines. Paying employees and contractors is the most complex part of small business accounting. You have to pay people 100% accurately, with the underlying math for taxes, benefits, and other types of withholding, correct to the penny.
With its platform’s Community Edition, you get all the basic tools you need to manage payroll, staff attendance, PTO, schedules, and employee information. However, its interface looks outdated and is an open-sourced platform that needs to be downloaded (a cloud-hosted option is available only to paid plan holders). Plus, its payroll tax functionalities don’t include automated tax filings. Square Payroll comes with several essential solutions that make managing employee payments easy for administrators.
It helps strengthen client relationships and increases client retention within the organization. Of the many types of payroll software on the market today, some are easier to use than others. To make things even easier, payroll bookkeeping and payroll services software may also be capable of integrating with timekeeping, insurance and retirement solutions, and other HR programs. Organizations of all sizes use payroll software, but what works for one may not be suitable for another.
- How your team uses an online payroll system will vary depending on the size of your team, the expertise of your employees and the system you use.
- QuickBooks Payroll helps users manage their payroll entirely online and has pay processing products for specific niches like accounting firms.
- Look at prices, features, and add-ons that support your small business needs today and in the future.
- Remember that sales reps will talk up positives and gloss over negatives, so be probing in your questions and don’t let them distract you from getting the answers you need.
- The information it shows you is, for the most part, easily scannable, though its simplicity is deceptive.