Whether you’ve been operating your business for a short time or have been around the block a few times, there may come a day when you seek a payroll service to take over for you. When you’re faced with a tremendous challenge such as payroll, it’s important to have access to the online resources that can provide thorough information on your options.
Lucky for you, we have compiled several online resources in one location so you can easily view all of them at once.
GoCo is all-in-one HR, benefits, and payroll, built for flexibility and ease-of-use. With GoCo, you can automate your HR and payroll workflow, with streamlined onboarding, PTO, Time Tracking, and benefits that seamlessly sync to payroll. GoCo is also a secure, compliant hub for sending, digitally signing, and organizing your sensitive HR documents and data.
Lots of HR and payroll solutions make you conform to their way of doing things — they make you follow their rigid workflows, use their payroll software, and work with their benefits brokers. GoCo is unique because it’s built to flexibly support your existing processes, policies, and providers. GoCo brings your workflows and policies to life digitally, and you can bring your own payroll software and benefits broker, or use GoCo’s preferred providers.
If you choose GoCo’s Embedded Payroll (by Execupay), you can run payroll inside the HRIS, seamlessly capture paystubs and automatically manage reconciliations. If you choose to bring your own payroll, GoCo offers seamless support and is happy to sync with it. GoCo’s sophisticated payroll features include effortless new hire payroll set-up, employee changes, benefit deductions, work hour & PTO tracking, and automated final paycheck calculations!
If you’re ready to level-up your HR, payroll and benefits, you can try it free or schedule a demo to see it in action.
Visit GoCo
Patriot Software is a relatively inexpensive alternative to run payroll systems. However, the lower price means you have to do a bit of manual work.
The starting price is only $10 per month, with $4 per employee per month. While it features payroll services, you won’t have HR functions like electronic signatures, onboarding, and online document storage.
The company does provide complete payroll setup services. Based on your pay stubs, you can opt for direct deposits and/or print checks.
Patriot Payroll offers unlimited payrolls and flexible payment schedules. You also get an employee self-service option so your employees can interact directly.
However, there is no integration support, meaning you may have to duplicate a lot of data. Furthermore, there is no benefits support so you can’t take care of things like health insurance with the platform.
Having said that, if you opt for their best package, Patriot Payroll will complete your tax forms and even file your year-end taxes.
Visit Patriot Software
Paychex — Best for Complex Payroll Cycles
- STARTS AT $59 PER MONTH
- TAILORED FOR BIG BUSINESSES
- 24/7 LIVE SUPPORT
- EXCELLENT MOBILE APP
Paychex offers some of the best solutions I’ve found for larger companies. That’s mainly due to their Paychex Flex offering.
Paychex Flex is their simplified online payroll solution that helps you process complex payroll on different schedules with just a few clicks. You’ll also get access to a host of HR features including HR administration, employee onboarding, background checks for new hires, and powerful analytics.
Depending on the plan you choose, employees can be paid via direct deposit, paper checks, or prepaid debit cards.
Paychex Go is the plan designed for small businesses. It starts at $59 per month plus $4 per employee. It’s easy to sign up and get started online by creating a free account. But, overall, the plan is pretty limited, and I’d look for other options as a small business owner.
Paychex Flex is the complete payroll and HR solution designed for larger companies. Pricing is customized based on your needs. Added benefits of Paychex Flex include:
- Free mobile app
- General ledger service
- Custom reports
- $1,000 in prepaid digital marketing services
- 24/7 phone and live chat support
- Dedicated payroll specialist
- Automatically deduct and remit garnished wages
The Flex plan also comes with employee services like extra payment options, onboarding essentials, HR administration, employee screening, and a financial wellness program.
I’d say the biggest downside of Paychex is that the sign up process isn’t as simple compared to some of the other options on my list. You’ll need to request a quote, so it’s not something that you can do on your own without any assistance.
Intuit QuickBooks Payroll can be considered an add-on to QuickBooks accounting software. Similar in pricing to companies like Xero and Gusto, QuickBooks payroll services are best for QuickBooks accounting system users.
QuickBooks Payroll provides many unique features like accruing PTO, multiple pay schedules, and splitting direct deposits among bank accounts.
The price ranges between $55 to $80 depending on which package you choose, with an additional $4 per employee. There are also extra charges if you want to add accounting features or if you want them to file 1099s.
QuickBooks online payroll lets you sync bank accounts and mobile apps while creating and managing estimates. You can fully automate paying employees and filing payroll taxes.
With multiple tutorials and easy navigation, the platform is easy to understand and use. The company is also available throughout the week on their phone number if you need help.
You can get real-time information on local taxes, state taxes, federal taxes, and payroll taxes, making it easier for small business owners to get the information they need.
If you’re already using QuickBooks accounting software, you should try out their payroll software, as well.
Visit Intuit QuickBook.
Gusto is widely known as the one payroll software that has it all for small business owners. It has full HR support, payroll services, and tax support.
Its interface is designed to be simple and convenient for any business owner. Especially for people wanting to handle these processes online.
The base price for Gusto’s services is $39 per month, with an additional $6 per employee. The company files your payroll taxes and new hire reports for you.
They also handle your basic payroll and tax compliance activities. Alongside payroll runs, the company also provides employee onboarding for new hires.
Gusto also provides HR and tax support services which help avoid time-consuming redundant tasks. The platform has an autopilot feature, in which once you enter your payroll data, it can automatically run payroll and tax filing processes.
The software allows employee self-service, leave management, and benefits administration. You can also generate several reports like payroll journals and employee listings.
Gusto is the one-stop solution for all things HR and anyone going for a centralized HR system should try it out.
Visit Gusto
Deluxe Payroll — Best Price for Included HR Features
- POWERFUL HR TOOLS
- MAKES ONBOARDING EASY
- GET ALL THE PAYROLL FEATURES YOU NEED
- STARTS AT $39/MONTH
Payroll and human resources are close bedfellows and the tasks you routinely handle in both departments tend to go hand-in-hand. Whereas some services don’t offer much in the way of HR and others may be overkill for your needs, Deluxe offers a simple solution for running payroll and basic HR management in one package.
With Deluxe Payroll, you get everything you need to reduce headaches and time spent on recurring actions. The platform offers full-service tax filings for all 50 states in the U.S., two-day direct deposit, time tracking, paid time off administration, and detailed reporting.
Deluxe’s HR prowess really shines, though, in its included hiring and onboarding tools. Through Deluxe Payroll, you get access to the company’s Text To Apply feature—a streamlined, fully compliant way for talented people to apply for openings at your organization.
You can take that and other job postings you have on the internet and track everything in the Deluxe dashboard. The software will even simplify the process of posting new openings to the most prominent social media platforms and job boards. It even makes pre-screening and interview scheduling a cinch.
Once you’ve found a great new hire, Deluxe keeps making things easier still. You get all sorts of onboarding tools, like new hire document management, easy federal and state documentation, and customizable onboarding forms. You even get SSN verification completely for free.
And that’s all just at the basic tier of Deluxe’s payroll and HR packages:
- Lite: $39/month + $7/employee; full-service payroll with HR reports and hiring and onboarding features
- Blended: $49/month + $7/employee; HR-centric solution with no payroll or tax features
- All-Access: $39/month + $12/employee; the best of both worlds—everything in Lite and Blended
While the Lite package may be a bit high for simple payroll needs, the All-Access tier is very competitively priced, especially considering the features you get within.
The Blended package isn’t going to work if you need payroll service. And, since you’re reading this article, that means it probably won’t fulfill your needs. But the All-Access Package adds a lot of useful HR bonuses to Deluxe Payroll.
For one, you get a lot of assistance with compliance. Like with ACA compliance, where Deluxe will help you not only handle W-2, W-4, and 1099 forms but also the 1094 and 1095 forms regarding provided healthcare options.
You also get key features like the ability to track employee performance, organizational charts, customizable and shareable HR documents, and assistance with employee terminations.
Plus, All-Access unlocks helpful workflow automations for routine HR tasks, user access customization, and single sign-on through Google, Slack, and others.
If you need a solid payroll service with included HR tools that won’t break the bank, reach out to Deluxe today.
Conclusion
There are a variety of Payroll Service solutions available on the market. This report examines best options for SMB customers by comparing key attributes of these services.