10 Best Payroll Services for Startups

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Whether you're an entrepreneur with your own startup, or have worked with a startup at some point in your career, I think you'll agree: anything you can do to lighten the workload and save valuable time is essential.

That's why I recommend looking into a payroll service for your startup - there are so many reasons to do so, and a lot of great tools out there.

Table of Contents

• What Is a Payroll Service?
• The Benefits of Using a Payroll Service for Your Startup
• 10 Best Payroll Services for Startups

What Is a Payroll Service?

A payroll service is software that can assist you in processing payroll for your business by distributing paychecks, creating pay stubs, documenting W-2s, and more.

Some payroll services can replace your need to hire someone to do payroll full-time, while others will be basic in their product offerings.

The Benefits of Using a Payroll Service for Your Startup

As a startup business owner or employee, you likely wear a lot of different hats. Startups have less time than traditional businesses to make a profit and grow, meaning you need to have more tricks up your sleeve to succeed.

Using a payroll service instead of processing all of your employee's pay by yourself can be an excellent way to save time and money so you can focus on growing your business.

Here are some benefits of using a payroll service.

1. Payroll services simplify filing taxes by doing most (and sometimes all) of the paperwork for you.
2. Payroll services can increase the accuracy of your pay runs and increase employee satisfaction.
3. Some payroll software options can be bundled with other features such as HR management, employee onboarding, recruitment, and more.

Did you know that the average time it takes a third of all small business owners to do their taxes is more than 80 hours? That's time you could be spending interviewing and hiring candidates, making deals, and more. Payroll services simplify tax season by keeping track of all your employee's contributions, bonuses, and other tax related items. This limits how long it will take you to submit your taxes by tax day.

As an employee, nothing is worse than working hard at your job just to get the wrong paycheck amount, or no paycheck at all. However, combining automated timekeeping and payroll helps to reduce error rates by nearly 67%. A payroll service can help you automate your timekeeping and pay runs so you don't even have to think about employee paychecks, they just get sent out.

In 2024, the average business uses 371 SaaS applications. That means your startup is likely juggling hundreds of different software services, taking a considerable amount of time.

Bundling services is a great way to reduce that number, save money in your budget, and spend less time on multiple applications. Often, payroll services will offer different features to reduce the amount of software subscriptions you need.

Check out these different picks for the best payroll services for your startup business.

1. Gusto

Best for: Startups that need a lot of features in one software.

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Pros:

1. More than just payroll, you can track time and attendance, hiring, project tracking, PTO policies, and more.
2. Get projected insights, like workforce costs, tax credits, and employee trends.
3. Sync your team's earnings automatically, making payday a breeze.
4. Customize your admin permissions so you can make sure no one.

Cons:

1. Features like HR support, next-day direct deposit, and a lot of management tools are only included in the more expensive Plus option.
2. No free trial is currently offered.
3. Onboarding can be time-consuming, with a lot of manual entry required.

Pricing:

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2. Intuit

Best for: Startups that want tax season to be a breeze.

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Pros:

1. This software is best for a hands-off approach to end-of-the-year taxes, as Intuit is already merged with TurboTax and can file your taxes in a few easy steps.
2. Intuit offers a $25,000 tax penalty protection benefit, so you can feel secure in your filing.
3. Access to the QuickBooks workforce app lets your employees easily view and download documents such as paystubs and W-2s.

Cons:

1. Even the basic plan is steeper than other payroll services.
2. QuickBooks doesn't scale as easily as other payroll software.
3. Lacks some of the extra features of other software, such as hiring and onboarding tools.

Pricing:

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3. Rippling

Best for: Startups that are scaling quickly with remote employees around the world.

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Pros:

1. Pay employees all over the world in the currency they use.
2. It is easy to set up payroll garnishments for employees and pay the agencies that require the garnishment.
3. Set up recurring reimbursements or one-time reimbursements.
4. Features that let you do a pay run on whatever schedule works for you, including off-cycle runs at no additional cost.
5. HR and payroll are included; all other services are a la carte, so you don't pay for features you don't need.

Cons:

1. PEO (professional employer organization) starts at 5+ people instead of 2+ people like other software.
2. The pricing model is not transparent; you will need to get a custom quote for your startup business.

Pricing: As mentioned above, you will need to get a custom quote from Rippling for pricing. Their website does say that pricing begins at $8 per person per month.

4. Oracle's NetSuite SuitePeople

Best for: Startups that want to automate and customize as much as possible.

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Pros:

1. SuitePeople payroll has a lot of features you can automate, including payroll processing, reporting and end-of-year tax filings for employees or contractors.
2. Reduce your risk of noncompliance because NetSuite manages and files payroll taxes.
3. Spend less time and money on internal/external time entry and corresponding payrolls.

Cons:

1. Some customer reviews state that getting support from NetSuite can be difficult to reach, but this is on a person-by-person basis.
2. Because NetSuite offers a lot of options for automation and customization, it could potentially be more complex than some startups require.

Pricing: The pricing model for NetSuite is not transparent; you will need to contact them directly for a customized quote.

5. Bamboo HR

Best for: Startups that want really intuitive and easy payroll software.

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Pros:

1. The interface of BambooHR's payroll portal is super easy to navigate and aesthetically simple and clean.
2. A dedicated offboarding module allows you to offboard employees easily.
3. Easy-to-contact customer service for specialized questions and support.
4. BambooHR has more hiring and vetting of new employee features than other software options on this list.
5. Integrated cybersecurity and payment compliance features so you can protect payment card data.

Cons:

1. Initially, getting started on the software can be time-consuming and tricky, but this can be circumvented by following the software's step-by-step onboarding process in the top menu.
2. It's not a good option for international payroll.

Pricing: BambooHR does not have transparent pricing on its website; you will need to contact sales to get a quote.

6. Square

Best for: Startups that don't want to break the bank with their payroll service and don't need a lot of customization.

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Pros:

1. At only $35/month with a $6/per person add-on fee, this software is one of the most affordable on my list.
2. Square doesn't require a contract or long-term commitment, so you can try out the software and see if it works for your startup needs.
3. Calculates and submits multi-state taxes.
4. Instant deposits if employees connect their cash app.

Cons:

1. Not a lot of customization or detailed reporting options compared to other software on my list.
2. Square isn't the ideal choice if your startup is scaling quickly, as it works better for smaller businesses.

Pricing:

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7. Patriot

Best for: Startups that need solid customer support but don't have a big budget.

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Pros:

1. Patriot offers a 30-day free trial, so you can see for yourself if it's a good fit. They are also on the affordable side.
2. Accounting software can be added on, limiting your need for an extra subscription.
3. Customer reviews rave about customer support's friendliness and helpfulness.

Cons:

1. No added discount for startups with lots of employees, you will still need to pay $4/month per employee.
2. Additional fees for multi-state tax filings.
3. Startup can be difficult as onboarding requires a lot of information and manual entry.

Pricing:

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8. SurePayroll

Best for: Smaller startups that need a user-friendly portal, great customer service, and easy tax filings.

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Pros:

1. SurePayroll's interface is intuitive and easy-to-navigate, with features like online clock integration.
2. Employee taxes are easy to manage, with SurePayroll taking care of W-2s and filing for you.
3. Competitive pricing, with plans based on startup needs (payroll only, taxes, reporting, and more).

Cons:

1. Customers claim that switching business locations (i.e., states or countries) creates problems in the software.
2. Customization is limited, and reports may lack features that meet your startup's needs.

Pricing:

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9. Paychex

Best for: Startups that are scaling quickly and need a dedicated payroll expert.

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Pros:

1. Paychex integrates with dozens of business applications (think Intuit, Indeed, etc.) to share data, saving you time on manual entry.
2. Easy for companies to scale quickly with Paychex, as your dedicated representative can suggest new products and adjust your plan as needed.
3. Simple to switch over from another payroll software, with Paychex taking care of paperwork, data collection, and the first couple of payroll processing for you.

Cons:

1. The pricing may not be worth it to your business unless you need a dedicated payroll assistant.
2. Mixed customer reviews on how accurate/easy the Paychex tax filing feature is.
3. With a lack of transparent pricing, you must contact Paychex to get a customized quote.

Pricing: Paychex requires you to contact them to get a customized quote, although they do say they have packages "as low as $39 + $5 per employee per month."

10. Paycor

Best For: Startups that need add-on products, simple navigation, and software that frequently updates with new features.

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Pros:

1. Client success managers can keep you updated on the newest features in Paycor.
2. Bonus features like career and performance management, pulse surveys, Learning Management System, and more.
3. Paycore offers other add-on products like benefits, HR administration, and workforce training.

Cons:

1. Implementation with Paycor is thorough, which might be tricky for startups that have unique ways of doing things.
2. There are mixed reviews regarding Paycor's customer service, with some customers raving about how helpful support is and some wishing it was easier to contact exactly who they need.
3. The mobile app needs some work and optimization.
4. No transparent pricing, and Paycor does not include information about how much packages start at.

Pricing: Paycor is not transparent about its pricing; you will need to contact sales to get a customized quote.

Choosing the Right Payroll Software for Your Startup Business

There are lots of different questions you will want to consider when choosing payroll software for your startup business, including:

1. What features do you need (benefits, performance management, reporting, etc.)?
2. What is your budget, and can you get more products for one bundled price?
3. How hands-on or hands-free do you want your payroll software to be?
4. Do you plan on scaling your startup in the next year, and how quickly will your payroll need to change accordingly?

After watching demos for these payroll software options and reading countless reviews, my overall pick is the first one on this list: Gusto. If you're a startup with typical payroll needs, Gusto will be a great option for you, but if you need more features than it offers, check out the other software options mentioned.

Whichever payroll software you choose, be sure to ask for your own demo, how they can help meet your payroll needs, what package fits you the best, and what (if any) contracts they require. By doing your homework, you should be able to choose software that makes payroll an easier task at your busy startup.

In addition to choosing your payroll software, be sure to check out these free financial templates that make scaling your startup easier.

Topics:Startups

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