You’ve probably heard of Payroll. After all, almost every business needs to hire and pay its employees. From the little sandwich shop down the street to an insurance provider, we’re all familiar with this function. Thankfully, there’s a solution and it takes the form of payroll software.
Payroll software helps to automate and simplify the process of payroll management for companies of any size. Payroll software makes it easy to manage multiple employees’ payroll information, such as their name, Social Security number, birth date, work history and address. This information is often needed when calculating daily, monthly and annual wages.
What to look for in payroll services
Before looking for payroll processing services, you first must determine what features are the most important to you. Here are a few things to consider:
1. Features offered
While most payroll providers offer similar services, in some cases those services may be included in the base price, while in other cases, they are available at an additional cost.
HR features can be beneficial to a smaller business with no dedicated HR staff person, but are HR features included in the pricing, or do you have to pay extra for them?
Some payroll companies offer numerous plans, with some features only found in the more expensive plans, so be sure to keep that in mind when looking for a payroll service provider.
2. Ease of use
Small business owners have to wear many hats, and often don’t have the time or desire to learn a complicated software application.
Before purchasing a payroll application for your business, be sure that the product is easy to use and can be up and running in a short period of time.
3. Affordability
What can your business afford to pay? We know that affordability is subjective. While the majority of the payroll service providers included in this list come in at around the same price, some of the applications include all features, while others offer a basic plan, with the option to add additional features at an additional cost.
Another thing to keep in mind is that while the base fee may be higher in some applications, it can actually cost you less if all of the features are included in that base price.
4. Access to benefit management
If you offer benefits to your employees, you’ll also want to have access to benefit management features. These can include standard benefit management, as well as access to affordable health, life, and disability insurance plans.
In addition, if you currently offer benefits such as group term life insurance over $50,000, personal use of a vehicle, dependent care assistance, or a gym membership, you may need to add the value of these benefits as imputed income. Make sure your payroll service offers that option.
Paychex
Paychex recognizes that payroll solutions for small businesses are different from those with over 1,000 employees. That’s why Paychex tailors its payroll plans by business size: it offers solutions for 1 to 9 employees, 10 to 49 employees, and 50 to 1,000+ employees.
Every plan includes payroll processing and payroll tax help, and most plans include some HR basics too:
- Benefits administration
- Retirement management
- Health insurance
- Time tracking
Since most midsize businesses need payroll and at least one of the HR perks listed above, it makes sense to pick a provider that offers two for the price of one—why go through the hassle of integrating one brand’s HR software with another brand’s payroll software when you can easily purchase them both through the same experienced company? Additionally, Paychex has a few PEO plans for midsize to large businesses.
Like ADP, though, Paychex’s plans (both software and PEO) are more expensive than software-only competitors like Gusto, OnPay, and QuickBooks Payroll. And even if you choose Paychex’s payroll software, you’ll pay more for the same services than you would with the competitors listed above: Paychex charges an additional fee for payroll tax filing, insurance add-ons, accounting software integration, and more.
Strengths
- HR basics and digital marketing help included with each plan
- Flexible payroll software and PEO solutions
Weaknesses
- Limited online pricing
- Pricier plans than software competitors
OnPay
OnPay doesn’t have all the tools and add-ons that Intuit offers, but in exchange, it provides a simple pricing model with the straightforward payroll necessities that especially small small businesses need.
For $47.95 per month, you get up to 10 employees’ worth of unlimited pay runs, tax filings and deposits in one state (with additional states running you extra), and check printing. It’s an easy, quick, mobile-friendly system that doesn’t require a steep learning curve.
If you’re in need of a payroll service that can handle bigger businesses, OnPay could still manage—for $1 per month for each extra employee, starting with your 11th. Plus, direct deposit functionality is an additional $8 per month.
Patriot Payroll
Patriot Payroll may not be as well known as some of the other payroll applications highlighted here, but they offer many of the same features. Patriot Payroll is designed for small businesses and currently offers two plans, both offering free direct deposit, an employee portal, and free payroll setup.
Keep in mind that the Basic plan does not include tax filing and remittance.
Patriot Payroll offers easy, intuitive navigation, and the cost includes complete program setup. The software works on any device, so no mobile app is needed. The application also includes an excellent accrual rule option, for easy tracking of employee PTO.
Optional Time and Attendance and HR modules are also available, both integrating with the payroll application.
While Patriot Payroll doesn’t include a lot of extras, small businesses that are looking for an easy way to pay employees and payroll taxes will appreciate its simplicity.
Patriot Payroll offers two plans, Basic which is $10/month and Full-Service, which is $30/month, with a $4 per employee fee added to the base price. The add-on Time and Attendance module is $5/month, with the Human Resources module running $4/month, with each adding an additional $1 per employee fee.
Rippling
Rippling’s online payroll software has a user-friendly interface that requires little to no training for new users. Payroll processing is so simple that it can be run in 90 seconds – a testament to the many different sources from which Rippling pulls data. It works with more than 400 applications to improve your payroll processing, payroll tax preparation and accounting.
Neatly organized on the dashboard are key metrics, like time worked by employee, paid time off and total labor expenses. You can manage direct deposits directly in Rippling, or you can use paper checks – whichever method your employees prefer. Rippling automatically deducts tax withholdings according to an employee’s filing status.
Plans start at $8 per user per month, but custom quotes are available for businesses with unique needs. Rippling requires all payroll customers to be on its employee management platform, which includes other HR tools that cover areas like onboarding, benefits administration, promotions, offboarding, time and attendance, and device management capabilities.
Rippling automatically compiles the necessary data for payroll tax preparation. The system automatically identifies applicable local, state, and federal forms, pulling in relevant data to fill much of them out automatically. You can then file and remit payments directly through Rippling. If your business operates across national borders, Rippling offers international payment support.
You can also use Rippling to track employee paid time off and create a PTO policy for its accrual and use. In Rippling, a PTO request automatically generates when payroll is run, requiring no additional action from the approving manager.
Reporting is critical in payroll software, and Rippling delivers on this as well. With easily understandable visualizations like donut charts and bar graphs, the software allows you to customize your reports and review virtually any metric you choose. Rippling’s data-reporting ability is particularly powerful because it integrates with so many other software platforms.
For companies that want an even closer partner, Rippling offers a PEO service in addition to its employee management platform.
Conclusion
In this post, we have written about what is payroll and how payroll software helps in saving time and money. And if you are looking for free payroll software for small business, then you can read here about payroll software for small business.