Business is often unpredictable. You think you have everything covered each month, but then something happens to throw a wrench in the whole thing. But you know what isn’t unpredictable? Payroll. Paying your employees on time this month will help keep your business running smoothly – which is why it’s important that you find a good payroll service for small business.
Small business payroll services are an essential part of any small business. The payroll costs for small businesses are often more than you would think. They need to be calculated accurately so that you have enough to pay your employees yet nothing is being taken from the company that could be used to grow the company.
OnPay
OnPay offers arguably the best mobile experience for businesses that need features for eCommerce as well as in-person customer experiences. OnPay’s features such as unlimited payroll run, employee self-service portals, and time management options are all available through a sole service plan that costs $36/mo with a $4 monthly per-person fee. OnPay organizes payroll processing for small businesses with its core set of multi-state payroll services that come at no extra cost to business owners and offers QuickBooks/OnPay integrations to further consolidate accounting and payroll tasks on multiple devices.
OnPay’s online platform complements its availability on different devices with a high level of usability and easily navigable custom fields and forms that are backed up by industry-standard SSL high-grade encryption connected to a 24/7 data facility. The high praise that Onpay receives for its mobile experience, intuitive online platform, and strong customer support contribute to its average score of 4.8/5 on Capterra (based on 300+ reviews) and is why OnPay made it into our article, The Best Payroll Software For Small Businesses. OnPay’s rating is slightly brought down by complaints from businesses about the single service plan option and lack of scalability for larger businesses. The pros and cons of OnPay include:
Pros
- Strong online and mobile platform
- A single service plan offers a relatively high amount of features
- Good customer support
Cons
- Poor scalability for larger businesses
- Mobile version is limited compared to desktop version
Intuit
QuickBooks, an online payroll and tax service for businesses of all kinds, is provided by Intuit, a global technology platform.
QuickBooks is a cloud-hosted service, so you don’t need to buy any software to use it. To process payroll, examine and pay payroll taxes, and read full labor reports, simply log in to the system.
It’s also beneficial to your employees. Employees can also log in to QuickBooks online payroll to examine their pay stubs, salary history, and earned paid time off (PTO).
In addition to payroll, Intuit gives access to QuickBooks accounting services.
Core, Premium, and Elite are the three options that handle payroll processing and payroll tax preparation in QuickBooks Online Payroll.
TimeTrex
This application offers a feature-rich free plan that includes payroll, time tracking, scheduling, and HR management capabilities, as well as integrations with other payroll programs like QuickBooks, ADP, and Paychex.
TimeTrex also calculates federal, state, and local taxes and creates tax forms (such as W-2s and 1099s). It does not, however, file your taxes for you. If you need tax filing services, Payroll4Free.com is a good option, but it isn’t free it costs $15 each month.
Sage
Depending on the size of your company, Sage can provide you with simple payroll services. However, Sage’s enhanced package has fewer capabilities than Intuit’s payroll services for one employee.
The cost of this payroll service is determined by how frequently you use it. Its full-service plan includes a payroll representative, unlimited deductions, check delivery, supplementary benefits information, and the creation of personalized reports.
Sage will ensure that your payroll services are kept up to date. After all, in the payroll service market, they have the highest customer retention rate.
Square Payroll
Best for: Square POS users
If you’re looking for a fast, easy, intuitive, and tech-friendly solution to payroll processing, it’s hard to beat Square Payroll, available in all 50 states.
Without a doubt, this is one of the best payroll services for retail businesses that already use Square point of sale and hire contractors or hourly employees. Your hourly employees can clock in and out from the Square app, wherever they are, and taxes are taken care of for you.
All in all, Square Payroll is much less expensive than many competitors, especially given that it integrates with a full suite of benefits providers so you and your employees can access health insurance, 401(k), and more.
Pricing: $35 per month, plus $5 per person per month—or $5 per month per person paid for contractors only plan.
Pros:
- Full-service payroll with flat-rate, all-inclusive pricing
- Seamlessly syncs with Square POS, as well as other Square tools
- Allows you to connect to Square, or other tools, for time tracking and team management
Cons:
- Limited HR-specific features and reporting tools
- Many of Square’s other tools require monthly fees
- Reviews suggest software can be buggy
Patriot Payroll
Best for: Businesses with 100 employees or less
This small business-oriented option has a completely online experience, transparent monthly pricing, pre-printed checks for customers, free setup and support, and a free 30-day trial.
One of the most affordable options on our list, Patriot Payroll’s focus is on simplicity and usability—no need to waste time learning a complicated program just to manage a few employees (although they service businesses with up to 100).
Pricing: Starts at $10 per month, plus $4 per person per month
Pros:
- Option for self-service or full-service payroll with low fees
- Both plans include free payroll setup, free expert support, direct deposit, and employee access
- Integrations with accounting software and workers comp tools; additional software available for monthly fees
- Very highly reviewed across customer review sites
Cons:
- Limited in scope of features compared to competitors
- Limited third-party integrations—most are Patriot add-ons
- Not designed for businesses with more than 100 employees
Gusto Payroll
Best for: Well-rounded, scalable payroll service
A popular all-in-one payroll/HR/benefits system, Gusto Payroll (previously known as ZenPayroll) is a user-friendly, intuitive package that automates many of the boring, repetitive, and error-prone tasks that HR and payroll management often come with.
From basic payroll to 401(k) and workers’ compensation, Gusto gives you everything in one—plus, they probably integrate with the software you already use for accounting, time tracking, and benefits administration.
Pricing: The Gusto Core plan starts at a flat rate of $39, plus $6 per employee per month. Gusto also has an option for contractor-only employers, who simply pay the $6/employee rate and no base price.
Pros:
- Full-service payroll included with all plans
- Employee self-service and profiles available with all plans
- All plans offer health benefits and workers comp administration
Cons:
- Time management tools and some HR features require higher-level plans
- Per employee cost is more expensive than some competitors
Conclusion
Payroll is a complex function that involves processing tax forms, issuing W-2s and filing your payroll. If your company’s payroll is handled in-house it can be a complicated and arduous task for a small business owner. It’s one of the most tedious administrative tasks out there, so it makes complete sense why a number of business owners decide to pay a dedicated payroll service provider to do this for them.