Payroll is one of the many tasks which can be extremely time consuming. It’s important to get it done right, so you don’t pay someone too much, or too little. There are various kinds of payroll software out there, but did you know that free payroll software for small business is also an option?
If you’re just starting out, you need to know the basics of doing payroll. If you plan to incorporate or hire employees in the near future, you will need to learn about payroll software. Here are some tips that will help you with your small business payroll.
Gusto
Best Overall Payroll Software for Mac Users
PROS
- Affordable plans with an inexpensive contractor-only payroll tier
- Variety of payment options, including payroll card and on-demand pay
- HR and payroll support in all plans with a highly rated customer service
CONS
- Not ideal for businesses planning to scale to enterprise level
- Insurance benefits not offered in all US states
Overall Score4.60OUT OF5
| RATING CRITERIA | PRICING | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 |
| HR FEATURES | 4.13 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| POPULARITY | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| PAYROLL FEATURES | 4.75 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| EASE OF USE | 4.00 | OUT OF | 5 |
Gusto is a cloud-based payroll software that works well for both Mac and Windows computers. Given its affordability and efficient online payroll tools, Gusto is an ideal pay processing solution for small business Mac users. In our evaluation, it earned an overall score of 4.60 out of 5, with high marks for pricing, payroll features, and reporting.
Its tools are easy to use, allowing you to compute employee salaries and remit payments with just a few clicks. Many users who left feedback online commended its ease of use and intuitive interface. However, some complained about its limited benefits coverage and occasional system glitches.
In addition to ranking high on our Mac payroll software list, Gusto topped our best payroll software list for small businesses. If you want to learn more about its full-service payroll features and other functionalities, read our full Gusto review.
ADP Run
Best Mac OS Payroll for Companies Needing Flexible Plans That Scale With Their Business
PROS
- Feature-rich with strong HR tools; includes tax payments and filing
- Flexible product plans
- 24/7 customer support
CONS
- Pricing for full-service payroll isn’t transparent
- ADP is feature-heavy for those wanting simple payroll
- Inconsistent customer support quality
Overall Score3.66OUT OF5
| RATING CRITERIA | PRICING | 1.00 | OUT OF | 5 |
| HR FEATURES | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| POPULARITY | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| REPORTING | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| PAYROLL FEATURES | 4.25 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| EASE OF USE | 4.38 | OUT OF | 5 |
ADP Run has a suite of cloud-based payroll and human capital management solutions, providing you with a wide selection of products to fit your company’s growing HR and payroll software needs. Earning 3.66 out of 5 stars, it’s great for businesses that plan to scale. It has payroll packages for small businesses to large enterprises, plus a PEO option. This enables businesses to easily upgrade their ADP plan without having to change providers and get extra HR support if the need for a team of HR professionals and experts arises.
Its HR features, payroll tools, ease of use, and reporting capabilities are some of the criteria that ADP ranks highest. In terms of user reviews, several reviewers noted that while the system is generally easy to use, its after-sales support is less than ideal in which some users complained of having experienced long wait times.
If you want to learn more about ADP Run’s payroll and HR functionalities, read our full review.
SurePayroll
Best Mac OS Payroll for Small and Microbusinesses Needing a Simple Solution
PROS
- Unlimited and automatic pay runs
- Affordable and transparent pricing
- Offers extended weekday evening and weekend support
CONS
- Charges add-on fees for multiple state filing
- Software integration costs extra; with limited options
- Lacks online onboarding
Overall Score3.56OUT OF5
| RATING CRITERIA | PRICING | 4.00 | OUT OF | 5 |
| HR FEATURES | 2.75 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| POPULARITY | 1.25 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| REPORTING | 3.25 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| PAYROLL FEATURES | 4.25 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| EASE OF USE | 3.75 | OUT OF | 5 |
SurePayroll is an ideal payroll solution for small and microbusinesses, including household employers (check our nanny payroll buyer’s guide if you have a household employee) that want to pay their housekeeping staff and nannies. Scoring 3.56 out of 5 stars, it has simple and affordable online tools for calculating salaries (including deductions and taxes). You also have the option to save money filing payroll taxes yourself or have SurePayroll manage this for you.
While it received low scores due to limited payment options, third-party software integration, and interface customizability, its ease of use, helpful reports, and affordable pricing helped boost its ratings. Many user reviews commended it on how cost-effective it is, the user-friendly tools available, and solid customer support. However, some said it lacks basic features that similar software typically offer, like time tracking and onboarding.
If you want to learn more about SurePayroll’s functionalities, check our full review.
Xero
Founded in 2006 in New Zealand where it’s still headquartered, Xero is very well known for its cloud-based accounting software. Xero Payroll “not only manages the tasks you have to do, it automatically updates your accounts and creates HMRC submissions, too”. It’s marketed as payroll software that offers “all the tools you need”.
Cost:
Free for your first three months with any Business Edition plan. Thereafter, £5 for up to five payroll employees per month, + £1 for each additional employee a month, to a max of 200.
Key selling points:
- “Makes it easy to track employee time and leave, process pay and pensions and report the right information to HMRC”.
- Easy to make adjustments.
- Automatic tax and leave calculations, with accounts also updated.
- Simple RTI submissions to HMRC.
- Securely accessible from any device.
- Easy to customise and designed to save business owners time.
- Employees can use the app to provide timesheets or request holiday leave.
- 30-day free trial.
Support:
Xero has an extensive portal called Central that features guidance on a wide range of accounting and payroll subjects. Xero also provides unlimited free 24/7 online support to subscribers.
Customer review:
“Having our payroll and accounting in one system is priceless.”
Clemi Hardie – Founder of Noodle Live
Find out more about Xero Payroll.
Paychex Flex
Paychex is one of the most popular payroll software for small businesses but also one of the more expensive solutions, mostly due to public demand. Rumor around the accounting department’s water cooler is that Paychex is robust but not simple, easy to use, or set up.
That can be a huge factor for small businesses when they’re looking for the best payroll software. Paychex requires a lot of personal information to get started and running reports comes with its share of red tape and added costs.
Key Features:
Check printing
Benefits management
Compensation management
Direct deposit
Employee database
Pros & Cons
Great import and export capabilities
Desktop, mobile, kiosk access
Difficult to implement
Poor customer service
Pricing:
You must speak to a sales representative in order to receive a price quote.
Free trial: No
Free plan: No
QuickBooks
Developed and marketed by Intuit, the company founded in California in 1983, cloud-based accounting software QuickBooks is used by millions of small businesses throughout the world.
With the Quickbooks’ payroll add-on you can: “Save time with our smart payroll software and focus on what matters most”. You can “Sort payslips, pensions and statutory pay, then make real-time submissions to HMRC from any location.”
Price:
Payroll is an add-on to QuickBooks. There is a standard version priced at
£4 a month +£1 per paid employee or an advanced solution for £8 a month + £1 per paid employee a month. Both must be combined with a QuickBooks subscription (£5-£12 per month for a six-month subscription).
Key selling points:
- Simple to use. Mac or Windows.
- Free QuickBooks app available.
- You can make multiple pay schedules, weekly and monthly.
- Easy to make statutory maternity, paternity and sick leave payments.
- Net pay, taxes and NICs and pension contributions are all calculated.
- Simple to easy to enter and make overtime/bonus payments.
- Payslips can be printed or emailed to staff.
- RTI data sent automatically to HMRC.
- Workplace pension/auto-enrolment assessment and calculation of pension contributions.
- Automatic update of tax codes at the start of the tax year.
- “Journals automatically created and posted to your QuickBooks account”.
Support:
Intuit publishes much user information online. Free technical support is also available via Intuit’s messaging or call-me-back facility.
Customer review:
“The tech support is as good as ever and second to none.”
Mike McNulty
Find out more about QuickBooks Payroll.
Conclusion
With all the complicated and expensive payroll computation and preparation software available to us, you might not know that many options exist for creating your own free payroll software. Many businesses – including businesses owned by non-accountants and non-bookkeepers – already use some form of simple, free, spreadsheet or other computerized software to manage their paychecks and expense tracking.