Here we enlist and compare the Best Payroll Services to make it easy for you to select the top online Payroll Company for your business:
Payroll is the record of payments or salaries you give to your employees, along with the information about the employees and the date of payments. It is a crucial part of the accounts section of an enterprise.
Some people get confused about the difference between a salary and a payroll. To remove their confusion, here is a brief description: Salary is the fixed amount of money that an employee gets in return for his work, commonly on a weekly or monthly basis, while Payroll is a record of salaries of employees of an enterprise.
Table of Contents:
Understanding Payroll Services
The payroll system helps the enterprises in calculating the total work hours of the employees with the help of automatic synchronization. It helps in filing employment taxes and calculating the net salary of the employees by subtracting the taxes and other deductions and then lets you transfer the salaries of the permanent or the contract-based employees with the help of a few clicks, within minutes.
Payroll keeps a record of the attendance of the employees, their total work hours, how much and when payments are to be made while calculating the employment tax at the same time.
There are several companies that provide payroll services and help to keep an eye on employees’ leaves and work hours, save the cost of operations, save time and give you more transparency and efficiency.
In this article, we will enlist the top 11 best payroll companies, compare them based on several grounds, and will study each of them in detail so that you can make your mind on which one suits you the most.
Our TOP Recommendations:
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| Paychex | Papaya Global | Bambee | OysterHR |
| • Tax automation • Payroll management • 24/7 Support | • Tax Management • Payroll Automation • Report Generation | • HR management • Payroll Processing • Tax filing | • Payroll Management • EOR • Contractor Hiring |
| Price: Quote-based Trial version: Available | Price: $20 Monthly Trial version: Available | Price: $99 monthly Free Trial: No | Price: $25 monthly Free Trial: Demo available |
| Visit Site >> | Visit Site >> | Visit Site >> | Visit Site >> |
Also Read =>> Accounting Software for small businesses
List of the Best Online Payroll Services
Here is a list of the most popular payroll companies:
- Paychex
- ADP Payroll
- Bambee
- Papaya Global
- OysterHR
- Rippling
- Gusto
- OnPay
- Patriot
- PeopleWorx Payroll Services
- Namely
- Intuit QuickBooks
- SurePayroll
- Square Payroll
- Paycor
Comparing Some of the Top Payroll Service Providers
| Tool Name | Year Founded | Suitable for | Benefits | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paychex | 1971 | Small businesses (1-49 employees) | • Self service technology for administrative procedures • Offers multiple retirement plans and investment options | Contact for a price quote |
| ADP Payroll | 1949 | Any business size | • Automatic time tracking, tax calculation and filing • Report a suspicious email at abuse@adp.com | Contact for a price quote |
| Bambee | 2016 | Small and Mid-Sized businesses | • Automatic tax filing • ensuring compliance • full HR management | Starts at $99/month |
| Papaya Global | 2016 | Any business size | Compliant Payroll Processing, Generate customizable reports, payroll data verification. | Payroll Plan: $20 per employee per month, Employer of Record Plan: $650 per employee per month. |
| OysterHR | 2020 | Any business size | EOR, Run payroll globally, invoice processing, tax assistance | Starts at $29/contractor per month and $500 / employee per month. |
| Rippling | 2016 | Medium-size businesses (1-1000 employees) | Global Payroll and Payroll integrations – Powerful reporting | It starts at $8 per user per month. |
| Gusto | 2011 | Small businesses | • Easier compliance • Automatic tracking of work hours • Health and financial benefits | Core: $6/month/person Complete: $12/month/person Concierge: $12/month/person Contractor: $6/month/person |
| OnPay | 2007 | Small businesses | • Processes payrolls, automate tax filing process. • Lets you pay through direct deposit or debit card or through cheque. • Pay-as-you-go facility for your workers. | Price: $36 (+ $4 per person) per month. |
| Patriot | 2002 | All businesses | Quick payroll processing, tax filing, employee portal, accounting software integration. | Starts at $ 17 /month. Full-Service Plan: $37/month |
| PeopleWorx Payroll Services | 1986 | Small businesses | • Employee benefits including retirement plans or health insurance • Self service attendance system | Contact for a price quote |
| Namely | 2012 | Mid sized businesses | • Reduces administrative burden • Manages employee data, files payroll tax, and helps in the onboarding of new employees | Contact for a price quote |
| Intuit QuickBooks | 1983 | Business of any size | • HR and employee benefits management from one account • Provides tax penalty protection up to $25,000 | Self-employed: $7.50/month Simple start: $12.50/month Essentials: $20/month Plus: $35/month Advanced: $75/month |
Reviews about Payroll service providers:
#1) Paychex
Best for being less time-consuming can be accessed through mobile and provides a handsome variety of features for a small to medium-sized business.
Paychex is one of the best payroll services providers for small-sized businesses. Paychex lets you process your payrolls through a desktop or even your mobile. You can pay for multiple types of workers differently, like salaried people, people on contract, or those who get hourly payment in return for their work.
Year of Establishment: 1971
Revenue for the fiscal year 2020: More than $4.1 billion (Has over 680,000 clients in US and Europe)
Number of Employees: 15,600
Services offered by Paychex:
- Automatically looks after your payroll tax, thus saving your time and cost
- Lets you process your payrolls through a desktop or even your mobile
- Provides a free mobile application that can be used by you and your employees
- Provides 24/7 customer support and technical assistance
- Allows wage garnishments
Technical Specifications:
- Deployment: On cloud, SaaS, Web, Mac/Windows desktop, Android/iPhone mobile, or an iPad
- Memory Requirements: 32 MB RAM
- Time taken for payment processing: Next day or same day
Price charged for the service: Price quote can be received on direct request to the company.
#2) ADP Payroll
Best for Access to dedicated experts and powerful payroll technology.
ADP essentially serves as an extension of your existing HR staff, tasked with the responsibility of managing your hiring, employee engagement, compensation, and payroll-related issues.
You can enjoy the benefits of complete outsourcing by joining ADP as a professional employer organization (PEO). This way you get access to dedicated experts and powerful payroll software that assist you in a wide variety of ways.
Founded in the Year: 1949
Revenue earned for the fiscal year 2020: $14.2 billion (over 860,000 clients all over the world)
Number of Employees: 58000
Services Offered By ADP:
- Manage talent, HR, benefits, and risk with an all-in-one technology.
- Improve turnover rate
- Help prevent costly compliance mistakes.
- Prevent employee lawsuits
- Access benefits such as 401 (k) and health insurance.
Technical Specifications:
- Deployment: On Cloud, SaaS, Web.
- ISO 9001:2015 and ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certified, which ensures safeguarding your important information and high service level to the clients.
- Time taken for payment processing: 3, 5, 10, or 30 business days.
Price charged for the service: Contact directly for a price quote.
#3) Bambee
Best for Ensuring compliance with wage and hour regulations.
Bambee offers an affordable HR solution that is ideal for small businesses. Besides handling various aspects of HR, the company also excels at payroll management. Bambee offers a guided payroll solution that encompasses everything from payroll processing to automatic tax filing.
The company helps you pay your employees quickly via direct deposits. They also automatically assist with the filing of local, state, and federal taxes. They also go out of their way to make sure you are complying with the necessary wage and hour regulations and thus help you avoid costly penalties.
Founded In: 2016
Revenue: $7.8 MILLION Approx
No. Of Employees: 51-200
Services Offered:
- Ensuring Wage and Hourly Regulation Compliance
- Payroll Processing
- Automatic filing of federal, state, and local taxes
- Customized HR Policies
Technical Specifications:
Deployment: Web-Based, SaaS
Only serves businesses with less than 500 employees.
Price: Starts at $99/month
#4) Papaya Global
Best for Organization-Wide Payroll Coordination.
There are many things that make Papaya Global click a payroll processing tool. First and foremost, it allows you to process payrolls of workers globally from over 160 countries while staying compliant with specific country labor laws. Secondly, the software consolidates workforce data from across the entire organizations in a single platform.
This allows you to process the payroll for EOR, patrolled, and contracted workers without a hassle. Another thing that truly sets the tool apart is its accuracy and compliance engine. This engine lets the platform verify payroll data for accuracy before it is processed.
Founded in Year: 2016
Revenue for the Fiscal Year 2020: $14 million
Number of employees: 500- 1000
Services Offered:
- Globally Compliant Payroll Process
- Generate customizable reports after consolidating workforce data
- Verify payroll data automatically for accuracy
- Generate preventative reports
- HR and Payroll Analytics
Technical Specifications:
- Deployment: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web
- Self-Service Employee Portal
- Mobile Friendly
Price: Payroll Plan: $20 per employee per month, Employer of Record Plan: $650 per employee per month.
#5) OysterHR
Best for Run payroll in 180+ countries.
Oyster HR arms you with an end-to-end employee management system that can help you hire employees from across the globe and streamline elements associated with the process. One of those aspects, of course, involves payroll. The platform can help you run payroll in over 180+ countries.
It can also help you stay up-to-speed with country-specific laws to ensure you aren’t violating rules that could land your business in trouble. The software lets you pay your team worldwide in 120+ currencies. All you have to do is pay a lump sum, Oyster HR will make sure the payment is divided and each team member is paid what they are owed as soon as possible.
Founded in the Year: 2020
Revenue: $56.3 Million
No. Of Employees: 101-250
Services Offered:
- Hire Employees and Contractors Globally
- Run payroll in more than 120 currencies and 180+ countries worldwide
- Assure compliance with country-specific laws
- Automate hiring and payment workflows
Technical Specifications:
- Deployment: Cloud, SaaS, Mac, Windows, Linux, Chromebook.
Price: Starts at $29/contractor per month and $500 / employee per month.
#6) Rippling
Best for onboarding process; from sending the offer letter to shipping work PC and setting up G Suite, Slack, Office 365.
Rippling is a payroll service that offers you services regarding payroll, employee benefits, onboarding, offboarding, time tracking, finding the best available talent for your company, and much more.
Founded in the Year: 2016
Estimated revenue for the fiscal year 2020: $16.8 million (Has around 2000 customers)
Number of Employees: 323
Services offered by Rippling:
- Lets you pay your employees globally, within minutes
- Provides health and retirement plans and manages benefit deductions
- Manage employee apps from one place, disable apps for those who off-board automatically synchronizes employees’ HR data
- Helps you find the best talent for your company
- Time tracking features to calculate total work hours
Technical Specifications:
- Deployment: On Cloud, SaaS, Web, Windows/Mac desktop, iPhone/Android mobile, or iPad
- One dashboard to manage benefits
- Can be set up with much ease
Price charged for the service: Starts at $8 per month per user.
#7) Gusto
Best for easy-to-use operations and automatic work hours synchronization.
Gusto provides an easy-to-use online payroll service, which automates tax filing on its own, connects you directly to certified HR professionals, offers a smart application named Gusto Wallet which helps you in budgeting, and much more.
Established in the year: 2011 (Formerly known as ZenPayroll)
Average Revenue: $176.4 million per year
Number of Employees: 1400+
Core services offered by Gusto:
- Lets you pay your employees within seconds with easy-to-use operations
- Automatic tax filing saves your time and cost
- Automatically synchronizes and tracks your employees’ work hours
- Affordable health and financial benefits to avail, for your employees
- No limits on the number of payrolls
- Lets you earn an official People Advisory Certificate
Technical Specifications:
- Deployment: On cloud
- Time taken to process the payments: Payment within one business day for customers with Complete or Concierge price plans, others can opt for a 2-day or 4-day process.
Price charged for the service:
- Core: $6 per month per person, plus $39 per month base price
- Complete: $12 per month per person plus $39 per month base price
- Concierge: $12 per month per person plus $149 per month base price
- Contractor: $6 per month per person (no base price)
#8) OnPay
Best for being a flexible system that fits your business needs.
OnPay provides online payroll services for small businesses. It offers a mobile-friendly application with features including paying your permanent employees and contractors in minutes, automatic tax calculation and filing, and employees’ benefits management.
Year of Establishment: 2007
Estimated Annual Revenue: $11.1 million
Services provided by OnPay include:
- Processes payrolls, automate tax filing process
- Lets you pay through direct deposit or debit card or through cheque
- Benefits management based on your budget lets you choose from the best available insurance providers
- Pay-as-you-go facility for your workers
Technical Specifications:
- Deployment: On cloud, SaaS, Web
- Maintains employee database
- One unified dashboard for users to interact with
Price: There is a free trial for one month. Prices that follow are $36 (+ $4 per person) per month.
#9) Patriot
Best for Expert support, comprehensive employee portal, and easy set-up.
Patriot makes it to the top of our list because of how easy it is to operate and how fast it is when it comes to payroll processing. The platform allows you to run an average payroll in a matter of a few minutes. There are 3 simple steps involved with processing payrolls in Patriot.
You first plug-in employee hours using Patriot’s Time and Attendance software, then approve the payroll with just one click and eventually print the paycheck, stubs, or a combination of both. It is that simple.
Founded in the Year: 2002
Revenue for the Fiscal Year 2020: $19.1 million
Number of Employees: 101-250
Services Offered by Patriot:
- Unlimited Payroll processing
- Customizable hours, deductions, money
- Pay contractors in payroll
- Time and attendance integration
- File and deposit local, state, and federal payroll taxes.
Technical Specifications:
- Deployment: On Cloud, On Web, SaaS, Mobile, Desktop.
- Mobile friendly
- Free employee portal
Price: $17 per month for the basic plan, $37 per month for Full Service.
#10) PeopleWorx Payroll Services
Best for employee benefits.
PeopleWorx Payroll Services is one of the top best online payroll services which offers a variety of services that you need in the administration department of your enterprise. The services offered by PeopleWorx Payroll Services range from paying your employees to expert HR consultancy for various industry types.
Year of establishment: 1986
Revenue: $1-5 million
Services offered by PeopleWorx Payroll Services:
- Payroll solutions ranging from paying your employees to filing the taxes
- Time tracking facility to calculate attendance accurate work hours of your employees
- Services based on different industry types, for example, for restaurants and hospitality, for the medical industry, and many more
- Lets you offer employee benefits in the form of health insurance or retirement planning so that you can attract the best available talent for your company
- Expert HR support to look after your employees
Technical specifications:
- iSolved technology, which offers single sign-on capabilities, scalable operations, a built-in report writer, ensures data security, and much more.
Price charged for the service: Contact directly to get a price quote.
#11) Namely
Best for being a complete package for mid-size enterprises
Namely is a SaaS-based HR software made for medium-sized businesses which let you pay your employees accurately and on time, offers you expert HR advice for your organization, on different topics.
Year of Establishment: 2012
Estimated Revenue: $65 million
Number of Employees: 400+
Services offered by Namely:
- Manages your data about employees’ information, including their names, addresses, promotions, etc and lets you access it on a single platform
- Provides customizable templates for onboarding forms so that you can address your requirements
- Automated review cycles collect answers from the employees and the managers so that performance can be improved if needed
- Payroll featured ranging from automatic data synchronization to benefit deduction
- Files your local, state, and federal payroll taxes on its own
Technical Specifications:
- Deployment: On Cloud, SaaS, Web, Android/iPhone mobile
- e-signature facility
Price charged for the service: Contact directly for a price quote.
#12) Intuit QuickBooks
Best for being one platform for almost all your accounting needs.
Intuit QuickBooks is a big name in the business software industry, which offers in one solution from accounts management to order management and payroll processing.
Year of Establishment: 1983
Estimated Annual Revenue: $16.7 million (1.4 million clients)
Solutions offered by Intuit QuickBooks:
- Accounting solutions ranging from calculating income to sending invoices
- Payroll solutions including time tracking, tax filing, and benefits management
- Order management features that help you fulfill orders and track inventories and much more
- Financial reporting features that help you improve your performance
Technical specifications:
- Deployment: On Cloud, SaaS, Web, Android/iPhone mobile, or iPad
- Time taken for processing payments: Two bank days
Price charged for the service: There is a free trial for 30 days.
The prices that follow are as under:
- Self-employed: $7.50 per month
- Simple start: $12.50 per month
- Essentials: $20 per month
- Plus: $35 per month
- Advanced: $75 per month
*Additional charges for add-ons
#13) SurePayroll
Best for mobile-friendly and easy-to-use services.
SurePayroll is one of the top best payroll service providers for small businesses. This payroll company looks after your payroll process and tax filing and even guarantees to compensate on its own if they are found to be responsible for any mistake done while filing for the taxes.
Year of establishment: 2000
Estimated annual revenue: $70.1 million
Services offered by SurePayroll:
- Provides support to W-2 employees and 1099 contractors
- Manages wage garnishments
- Affordable insurance and retirement plans to suit your budget
- Pre-employment screening services help you check the background and behavioral aspects of the candidates so that you hire the best people
- You can process payrolls easily, anytime, from anywhere, online, or through your mobile or tablet
- Lets you pay your nanny or caregiver in minutes and saves your time by paying the necessary taxes to various agencies
Technical Specifications:
- Deployment: On Cloud, SaaS, Web, Android/iPhone mobile
- Maintains employee database
Price charged for the services: Contact directly for a price quote.
#14) Square Payroll
Best for being a simple and easy-to-use mobile-friendly application.
Square payroll is a simple payroll service provider which makes the payroll process easy and simplified, files your taxes, and manages employee benefits.
Year of Establishment: 2009
Services offered by Square Payroll include:
- Automatically files your quarterly or annual taxes on time and with accuracy
- Payroll tools that integrate with other platforms with ease and track working hours
- Expert support for your payrolls
- Pay using cheques, direct deposit, or Cash App, with no extra charges
- Square Payroll application lets you run payrolls through mobile
- Employee benefits that sync with the payrolls automatically
Technical Specifications:
- Deployment: On Cloud, SaaS, Web, iPhone/Android mobile, iPad
- Time taken for payments processing: Five business days or next day (if the employees have the traditional bank account linked) or at that very instant, if done by using the Cash App
Price charged for the service:
- For employees and contractors: $29 monthly subscription fee + $5 monthly fee per person paid
- For contractors only: $5 monthly fee per person paid
#15) Paycor
Best for features ranging from simplified payroll to business forecasting and data interpretation.
Paycor is one of the best payroll services you would ever want for your business. Paycor offers you plenty of features that range from simple and easy payroll processing to reporting and forecasting. The wide range of features provided by the payroll company makes it a center of attraction for business clients seeking a platform to perform all their tasks in one system.
Founded In: 1990
Number of Clients: 40000+
Estimated annual revenue: $302 million
Services rendered by Paycor:
- Automatic data synchronization, time tracking
- A simplified payroll process can be done online from anywhere you are
- Plenty of payroll options including W-2 payments, benefits management, and much more
- Analytical services including data interpretation and forecasting that help you in building your business
Technical Specifications:
- Deployment: On Cloud, SaaS, Web, Windows/Mac desktop, iPhone/Android mobile
Prices charged for the services by Paycor:
| For small businesses (1 to 39 employees) | Mid market (40 to 1000+ employees) |
|---|---|
| Basic plan: Starts at $99 per month Essential plan: Starts at $149 per month Complete plan: Starts at $199 per month | Contact directly for a price quote |
Frequently Asked Questions
How is payroll defined?
It is the record of details about your employees and payments or salaries you give to them.
Why is the payroll process important?
The Payroll process is a very important part of the accounts section of an enterprise because it takes care of paying the employees accurately and on time and also provides employee benefits and helps you calculate and file your taxes.
How long does payroll take to process?
Most of the payroll services provide you options to choose from 2-day processing, 3-day processing, or something like that. It typically takes at least 2 days for the payroll process to take place.
Which is the best payroll service for small businesses?
There are a number of payroll services for small businesses that are available in the online market. You can choose from Paycor, SurePayroll, Gusto, or Namely.
Conclusion
On the basis of our study about the top best payroll service providers, we can now say that out of the best payroll companies, Gusto, Paychex and ADP are the overall best ones with high rated customer reviews.
Also read =>> Best Payroll Software review and comparison
Paycor, SurePayroll, Gusto, and Namely are meant for small businesses. SurePayroll even offers you compensation in case they make a mistake in your tax filing procedure.
Paycor and Intuit QuickBooks offer you more solutions besides payroll, tax, and benefits management processes. These are suitable if you want an all-in-one platform for your business needs. Rippling and SurePayroll offer talent management services so that you hire the best employees for your company, they also assist you in the onboarding process of the new hires.
Suggested Reading =>> QuickBooks Alternatives For Small Businesses