The Best Payroll Software for Small Business (2024) tested

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What works for one business might not work for another. Our ranking of the Best Payroll Software for Small Business can help you figure out how to handle some of the small business-specific factors that come into play when choosing payroll software. Top providers like Patriot, which is the cheapest for startups, and Block, which is great for companies that need to pay contractors, are on our list of the best.

Products in the Payroll category are similar in a lot of ways and help businesses of all sizes solve their problems. But features, prices, setup, and installation for small businesses are different from those for businesses of other sizes. That’s why we help buyers find the right Small Business Payroll for their needs. To be included in the Small Business Payroll Software category, a product must have at least one review from a small business.

Best Payroll Software for Small Business

OnPay

OnPay comes out on top in our list of the best payroll software for small businesses. Customer service workers at OnPay will set up your account for you. This includes adding information about your employees and helping you connect any business software that works with OnPay. The payroll software also comes with OnPay’s human resources software.

This gives you access to tools for onboarding, tracking paid time off, document storage, and HR auditing. Your company will also be able to add employee benefits and keep track of them. OnPay also helps small businesses in special situations, like when workers on H02A visas need to file Form 943 or when farm workers need to file Form 943.

Features

Patriot

On our list of the best payroll software for small businesses, Patriot comes in at number two. It has the most affordable plan in our rankings of payroll software. Small business owners may choose Patriot just because of how cheap it is, but even at such a low price, Patriot has features that are similar to those of most other payroll services.

Patriot will set up your account and let you do as many payroll runs as you want, whenever you want, in as many offices as you want. You can connect payroll to Patriot’s accounting software or to QuickBooks, and you can track your employees’ hours with Patriot Time and Attendance or TSheets.

Features

Block

Block’s payroll software is No. 3 in our rankings of software for small businesses. Another simple-to-use payroll software is Block. For $29 plus $5 per employee per month, you can use everything it has to offer. And if your business only needs to pay contractors, Block will waive the $29 monthly fee and only charge you $5 per payee per month.

Small businesses that already use one of Block’s other business products, like its point-of-sale system, will find Block to be a good fit. The payroll software works with Block’s POS and the Block Team app, which makes it easier for you to run your business. It will bring together all the information about your business, like the hours your employees work and how much money your company makes.

Features

Intuit QuickBooks

In our list of the best payroll software for small businesses, Intuit QuickBooks comes in at number four. You can automate your payroll and federal and state taxes with the help of plans from QuickBooks. You will need one of the higher-tier plans if you want things like HR support. Quick direct deposit is one of the things that makes Intuit QuickBooks stand out.

Direct deposits are made the next day with the QuickBooks Core plan. The two top plans, Premium and Elite, have direct deposits that happen on the same day. The American Payroll Association says that “49% of U.S. workers will leave a job after just two problems with their paychecks,” such as late payments.

Features

Gusto

Gusto is the best choice overall because it has three well-thought-out tiers for small to midsize businesses that need payroll with a few human resources (HR) features. Depending on the needs of the business, each plan includes full-service automated payroll that can be used by almost any business.

Gusto is like other payroll software in that it lets you pay your employees by direct deposit or by check. It also keeps track of federal, state, and local taxes and files them for you. Gusto is different from the other options because it gets better as you move up the tiers.

Features

Rippling

Rippling is HR software that comes with payroll as an add-on. However, even if you only sign up for payroll, you’ll find it cheaper and more useful than other options because it works well with other programmes. Integrations with accounting and time and attendance software make all payroll software more useful, and Rippling does that and much more.

Rippling is on this list because it makes it easy to connect almost any app you already use. Syncing all the data needed to run payroll automatically makes it much easier and faster. Most payroll software lets you run payroll as often as you need to, but it’s also important to make it go quickly.

Features

FAQs

How much is small business payroll software?

Payroll software costs an average of $30 per month for the base fee, plus $4 to $8 per employee per month. Some of the most expensive plans start at $150 a month plus $12 a month per person.

Can you use Excel for payroll?

Microsoft Excel is used by a lot of small and medium-sized businesses to do their payroll. Excel is easy to use and can help you avoid mistakes that you might make if you did payroll by hand.

Can I do my own payroll?

If you don’t know how to do payroll yourself, you can use software that makes it less likely that you’ll make mistakes or get fined. Many payroll processing services, like Square Payroll, take care of your payroll taxes, filings, and reporting of new hires. You can also do your payroll online with these services.

Can a single person run payroll?

Employer identification number (EIN) State and local tax ID numbers, if applicable. To run payroll for one employee, whether you do it yourself or work with a payroll service provider, you’ll need: State unemployment ID number.