Every payroll service review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of small business products. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best payroll services for small businesses. When people think of working for small businesses or startups, one of the biggest concerns is often that they don’t want to lose health insurance or retirement planning account contributions. So having access to “corporate” benefits makes the platform appealing to business owners who want to offer competitive perks. TimeTrex is great for businesses looking for a payroll service that’s feature-rich and free to use. With its platform’s Community Edition, you get all the basic tools you need to manage payroll, staff attendance, PTO, schedules, and employee information.
- Paychex’s small business solutions are customized for businesses with 1–19 employees to help you save time, cut costs & comply with government regulations.
- Payroll software can be expensive, so you’ll want to find software that fits within your budget.
- Its expansive user capacity makes it a great midrange application at a small business price (depending on your configuration).
- However, Wave still allows you to export the appropriate forms, making it easy to go through the filing process manually.
- There’s an enormous amount of detail to track, especially if you try to do it all on paper.
Before you can think about deductions, you need to calculate gross pay. Multiply the number of hours worked by the hourly wage you pay them. You’ll also need to make sure that you have an employer identification number (EIN). You will also most likely need a state tax number from the state’s tax assessor. Payroll will run a lot smoother if you have the correct documentation on file for your employees.
How To Do Payroll in 8 Steps
The Medicare rate is 1.45% for the employer and 1.45% for the employee. Make sure you set aside the right amount from the employee’s gross wages and from your own business account to pay these required taxes. The first few payrolls will likely be the most difficult as you walk through the process and get used to what you need to do. It may be helpful to consult with a tax professional or accountant to make sure that you are checking everything in the process. QuickBooks Online Payroll works for small to midsize businesses—from accountants and financial experts to hospitality companies, construction companies, and truckers.
To determine the best bookkeeping and payroll services for small businesses, Forbes Advisor researched the industry and analyzed 24 different companies and plans. We then scored these contenders across six categories of features with 16 different metrics that were weighted to favor features that small business owners find valuable in a provider. We reviewed 24 payroll services using a detailed methodology to help you find the 9 best payroll services for small businesses. Our ratings consider factors, such as transparent pricing, employee self-sufficiency, compatibility with third-party integrations, access to customer support and ratings. To find the best payroll software for accountants, we looked at the most popular, best reviewed software on the market. We narrowed down the playing field by assessing each payroll provider’s accountant-specific tools, features, and perks.
Switching Providers Is Easy
Users gave TimeTrex average ratings of 4.25 out of 5 on third-party sites like Capterra and G2 (as of this writing). What they like most about it is its user-friendly tools and how it helps automate time tracking and payroll management. Others said it is difficult to set up, and some of its features aren’t intuitive. While hourly employees are typically paid weekly or biweekly, monthly payment is generally more common for salaried employees.
On the other hand, some reviewers wished for more features (such as bulk uploads and additional integration options) and less expensive higher tiers. Some payroll services offer automated payroll, so you can set worker pay and employees can track their time (if necessary) and the service runs payroll on schedule. The services let workers enter direct deposit information, and you connect a business bank account on the employer end, so payroll runs without you having to print and deliver checks. Through Wave Payroll, you can pay employees and contractors via direct deposit and automatically generate W-2 and 1099 forms for tax season. It takes care of payroll tax payment and filing in 14 states (and growing), and offers a self-service employee portal for easy access to tax documents and banking and contact updates.
Intuit QuickBooks Payroll
Papaya Global offers solid payroll services for global businesses. It handles both employee and contractor payments, plus it automates global payroll in more than 160 countries—making it our top choice for international payroll services. It also provides PEO services, offering a suite of solutions that includes full benefits management, legal and compliance support, and hiring services. Although each has a unique design with varied features, most online payroll services work basically the same way.