Content
Recent Posts
Best Payroll Software for Small Businesses
Payroll Software Top Features
Owning and running a small business is no easy feat, especially for starters and new business owners. Without payroll software to automate your operations and streamline your data, you will find yourself carrying the heavy burden of paperwork, the costs associated with HR and accounting teams, and most importantly, the risks of violating state, federal, and local laws compliance regulations. This is why we recommend for you the best payroll software for small businesses.
However, before we get into it, let us familiarize you with the features you should expect to have when committing to payroll software to help run your business.
Most, if not all, payroll software in the market is cloud-based, which means all your data is securely stored on your vendor’s servers and can be accessed from anywhere. This means you can run your payrolls from anywhere without needing to be on-site. In addition, some vendors provide a mobile application as well for their payroll software, which allows their customers to run payrolls and access their employee’s data straight from their phone at any time and from anywhere.
The merits of having payroll software for small businesses all lie in their accuracy in performing payroll tasks and automation. Many vendors offer the ability for their customers to schedule their payroll runs and have them automated, so their employees never miss their payday.
There is also some flexibility provided with payment methods; as physical checks have become obsolete more or less, employees prefer more modern ways to get paid. Some vendors offer direct deposits and pay cards for their employees so they can get their salaries on the same day or in one business day.
Tax filing is also a very desirable feature; with the aid of payroll software, you will not have to worry about any late tax filings or errors in payments and deductions. Moreover, great payroll software vendors also offer a benefits administration, where business owners have access to open enrollment and a platform for their employees to manage their benefit plans and have clear information regarding their benefits and deductions.
Moreover, many payroll software vendors bundle their payroll with HR software that provides business owners an upper hand in managing their workforce and keeping their records in one place without having to resort to third-party integrations. Some HR solutions include streamlined document management, where employees and business owners can access any document relating to an employee at any time, such as their paystubs, contract, tax forms, and many more.
HR software is not the only bundle that usually comes with payroll software, but so does time tracking and attendance software. Time tracking software provides you with a timesheet where your employees can clock in and out using the web or their phones. Some time tracking software also comes on a mobile application packed with geo-fencing, a great feature that allows employees to clock in only when they are on-site, which prevents any kind of fraud.
Now that you are all too familiar with the features you would expect to find in some of the best payroll software for small businesses, let us present you with our top three choices that pack all that we have discussed and more!
Best Payroll Software for Small Businesses
1. Gusto
Gusto is our number one pick for the best payroll software for small businesses. It packs all the necessary payroll, HR, tax filing, and time tracking features you might need to manage your small businesses the way you want to.
Gusto offers a full-service payroll where it can help you calculate and file your local, state, and federal taxes with compliance, in addition to automating payroll runs. In addition, it allows you to run an unlimited number of payroll runs, with direct deposit as an option for payment methods.
It also gifts your company and employees its Gusto Wallet app, giving you full control over your staff’s paychecks. They can set up saving goals and adjust their deductions at any time. Moreover, your staff also get debit cards that earn them 1.7x more interest than the national average, with free ATM withdrawals.
Gusto also features time tracking and attendance tools, which allow your employees to clock in using their phones quickly and request time off with a few clicks. You can also either approve or deny said requests easily as well. In addition, the time tracking mobile application is equipped with geolocation, so you can make sure your employees are on-site during working hours.
The best plans for Gusto are its Core and Complete plans, both of which come at a fixed $39 per month free, the difference being, however, is the additional cost for every employee.
- Core - $39/month + $6/month/person.
- Complete - $39/month + $12/month/person.
2. Paychex
Paychex is our second pick for the best payroll software for small businesses. It has been in the industry since 1971 and has been designing and offering great business solutions that are catered to their experience and customers’ needs.
Paychex offers all the necessary services, such as automated payroll runs and tax filing. Paychex will also keep your company in compliance with labor laws and regulations; for example, it provides you with new-hire reporting so you can meet state requirements. In addition, you get a labor compliance poster kit that provides the latest printed or electronic federal and state posters to present in your workspace.
Your employees are gifted with Pay cards for faster wage deposits and a mobile application where they can access their paystubs and any work-related documents they might need.
Paychex also provides its customers its own time and attendance software, The Paychex Flex Time. It is a cloud-based system that seamlessly integrates with its payroll software. Its time collection methods are web punch, mobile app, kiosk with facial integration, biometric iris scanners, and an interactive voice response system. It also offers a variety of administrative, scheduling, overtime, communication, and reporting tools.
Paychex offers three payment plans for its payroll tools, the first being the Paychex Flex Essentials which comes at $39/month + $5 per employee; it includes all previously mentioned features. Its second and third plans, the Flex Select and Flex Pro, are quote-based, and they offer additional services such as onboarding and screening tools.
3. OnPay
OnPay is our third choice for the best payroll software for small businesses. It has over 30 years of experience and has been rated 4.8/5 stars by several comparisons and rating websites.
Similar to the other vendors, it allows you unlimited automated payroll runs and offers debit card payments, Pay cards, and physical checks for your employees to get their salaries from. OnPay will also handle all your tax filings, including W-2s and 1099s.
OnPay provides you with a great self-onboarding platform for employees where they can set up their own accounts easily and have instant access to their tax documents and paystubs.
It can also be your insurance broker and set you up with the best insurance carriers. Your employees can adjust their voluntary payroll deductions for the 401 (k) plans and have their insurance benefits automatically deducted from their salaries.
OnPay has a fixed subscription fee of $36 per month, plus $4 per employee, and it gifts you the first month for free!