Best Payroll Services For Small Businesses in 2024

QuickBooks’s parent company, Intuit, is well-known for various products and services like taxes, accounting and payroll. If your company already uses Intuit products for other financial needs, incorporating QuickBooks for payroll might be a good choice. QuickBooks payroll offers features like next-day deposit and automatic tax filing for state and federal taxes. Some plans also include bookkeeping features that are convenient if you also need to keep track of employee expenses like mileage and other reimbursements.

• Unlimited payroll runs
• Automatic calculation, filing and payment of federal and state taxes
• Robust reporting

• More expensive than some other competitors
• Time-tracking is only available in top-tier plans
• Not suitable for companies with employees abroad

Gusto is designed to provide seamless payroll for start-ups and small businesses. Potential users can expect full-service, automated payroll services that work for both employees and contractors. Gusto also offers a lower-priced contractors-only plan for businesses that run on independent contractors.

Gusto also allows employers to administer benefits through the system, including healthcare and retirement plans for those who want to keep payroll and benefits administration in one system.

• Provides employee and contractor automated payroll with a contract-only plan option
• Automatic tax filing
• Compliance guidance

• Per-person pricing can be costly
• No free trial
• Unable to support payroll outside of the U.S.

Rippling is a dynamic and versatile payroll service known for its exceptional ability to integrate with many other business systems and applications.

Rippling’s standout feature is its powerful integration with over 400 apps, enabling seamless syncs of employee data across different systems.

The software offers a modular approach in terms of pricing, allowing businesses to select and pay for only the features they need. This system might feel more complex and overwhelming to new business owners who aren’t familiar with running payroll operations, making Rippling more suitable for experienced employers who know exactly what they need from payroll software.

• Seamlessly connects with a wide range of business applications

• Reduces manual administrative tasks and errors

• Offers the flexibility to choose and pay for only needed features

• Extensive features and integrations might be complex for some users

• Price can escalate as more features and integrations are added

Paychex Flex offers simplified payroll with customizable plans. It’s specifically designed for small businesses with a max of 49 employees. While the platform offers many payroll features, benefits administration is not included. However, Paychex Flex can easily integrate with other Paychex products to take care of all HR and benefits administration needs if you want to keep everything within the same company.

• Simple employee and contractor payroll
• Customizable plans
• Tax filing and garnishment payment services included

• Additional platforms or products needed for HR and benefits services
• Extra costs for W-2 and 1099 tax filing
• Not ideal for businesses with 50 or more employees

Paycor stands out in the payroll services market with its robust and comprehensive feature set, designed to cater to the needs of small to medium-sized businesses.

A key distinctive feature of Paycor is its analytics and reporting capabilities, which allow businesses to generate detailed reports for payroll, labor costs and payroll tax compliance, aiding in strategic planning and decision-making. For companies that want payroll software that can also act as a full-service HR platform to handle everything from hiring and payroll to termination, Paycor has inclusive plans that might fit your business employee payroll and management needs.

Paycor offers a tiered pricing model, allowing businesses to select and pay for only the needed services.

• Streamlines various HR processes in one platform

• Flexible pricing and features that grow with your business

• May offer more features than needed for small businesses
• Detailed pricing not readily available without a custom quote
• Adding on features often costs extra

OnPay offers a payroll system for those who prefer to be more involved in the payroll process by doing it manually but still want it to be simple and efficient. A key benefit to OnPay is that it offers one plan that includes all features: payroll, tax filing, employee portal access, PTO tracking and onboarding. It also integrates with popular benefits administration providers, allowing you and your employees the ability to manage employee benefits through the platform as well.

• Straightforward payroll
• All-in-one plan with competitive pricing
• Easy employee self-service portal

• No customizable plans
• No free trial
• No built-in time tracking feature

Justworks can be a good option to consider for small businesses that want payroll handled efficiently. The platform handles all of your payroll needs and duties, so you don’t have to hire a payroll manager, which is especially helpful if you have a tight business budget. The Justworks payroll system can also benefit businesses with complex hiring and want a payroll service that will help cut costs while also managing the potential legal liabilities that can come with payroll. You can turn over your payroll duties to Justworks for efficient, accurate payroll and peace of mind.

• Handles payroll duties for small businesses
• Easy employee self-service portal

• Can be more costly than some competitors
• No global payroll processing capabilities

TriNet is a professional employer organization (PEO) for outsourcing HR and payroll needs. TriNet takes care of payroll for you, as well as other HR needs, which eliminates the need for a payroll manager or other in-house HR hires. Even though this means that you’ll agree to release some control over HR and payroll and follow TriNet policies, having another company manage payroll can take much time and liability off your plate. TriNet also provides 24/7 live chat customer support, so you can receive payroll assistance at any time.

• Hands-off payroll
• Reduced employer liability
• 24/7 live customer support

• No free trial
• Reduced HR and payroll control
• Payroll only included in the top-tier plan

SurePayroll provides small businesses with an online payroll platform. Key features include unlimited, automated payroll and tax filing, making it potentially easy to run payroll as a small business. SurePayroll supports payroll and tax filing for W-2 employees and 1099 contractors, and it also comes with benefits management for 401(k) retirement plans, health insurance and health savings accounts. The platform is also easy to set up, and you can get running with automated payroll processing within minutes. SurePayroll also offers a six-month free trial so you can be certain it’s the right payroll software for your business before committing to a paid plan.

• Affordable pricing
• Six-month free trial
• Mobile app access

• Must put in information to access pricing
• Customer service availability limited
• May be limiting for growing small businesses that need more

Workday is a prominent player in the payroll and HR management space, particularly favored by large organizations for its comprehensive and scalable solutions.

It integrates payroll management with a suite of financial and human capital management features, offering a robust platform that supports global businesses with complex payroll requirements.

Workday stands out for its ability to handle multi-country payroll and compliance, advanced analytics and a user-friendly interface, making it a top choice for multinational corporations.

• Excellently manages payroll across multiple countries

• Offers deep insights into workforce and financial data

• Well-suited for large organizations and can grow with the company

• May be too intricate for the needs of smaller companies

• Typically more expensive, reflecting its enterprise-level capabilities
• No free trial

ADP is a highly respected name in the payroll and HR management name. Its payroll software, ADP Run, is specifically designed for small businesses that are on the path to growth and need a payroll provider that can scale with their growing needs.

The platform is known for its excellent customer support and compliance expertise, making it a preferred choice for businesses that require a high degree of regulatory adherence and support.

• Ideal for growing businesses with changing needs

• Offers a wide range of HR and payroll services

• Provides valuable support in navigating legal and regulatory requirements

• May require a learning curve for new users

• Can be on the higher side, especially with added features
• Lack of pricing transparency

Wave Payroll is designed for small businesses and freelancers, giving them a possible simple and affordable option for easy payroll. It meets the unique needs of freelancers by providing payroll, invoicing, accounting and payment processing all in one solution. You can pay all contractors and employees through direct deposit and set up automated tax filing for W-2s and 1099s.

While Wave Payroll currently only handles tax filing in 14 states, the number is growing. However, if you’re looking for benefits administration, you must find another provider for those features.

• Inclusive features for freelancers
• Easy user interface
• Simplified payroll

• No benefits administration
• Doesn’t offer automated tax filing and payment in all 50 states
• No mobile app