Robie Ann Ferrer

The best international payroll services can help you take advantage of global markets and workforces by letting you process payroll for workers located in other countries. Using these services, you can be assured that your company complies with local tax and hiring laws. Some even let you pay contractors, while others offer employer of record (EoR) solutions—allowing them to handle your international employment needs. Most also provide or connect companies with professional employer organizations (PEOs) to hire, onboard, and manage foreign employees on-site. In this guide, we evaluated 14 of the most popular international payroll providers and narrowed our list down to the six best. : Best overall for businesses planning to expand internationally : Best all-in-one global HR, payroll, and IT solution : Best international payroll solution with multiple payment options : Best international payroll service with stock option tracking tools : Best budget-friendly tool for paying global contractors : Best for compliance support and digital assets protection Best International Payroll Services Compared All of the global payroll providers we reviewed offer EoR services, international tax support, online onboarding, payments for global employees and contractors, and access to localized benefits packages. They also have in-country experts who can guide you through the complexities of managing local laws and regulations. Here are some of each provider’s key features. *Pricing is based on a quote we received Papaya Global: Best Overall International Payroll Service is a fast-growing, well-funded international payroll service that touts a 99% customer retention rate. It offers complete payroll services in over 160 countries and serves companies such as Microsoft, Toyota, Intel, and Wix. This multicountry payroll service scored 4.59 out of 5 in our evaluation, with perfect scores in many of our criteria. Transparent pricing, solid HR features, in-country and onboarding support, and advanced reporting options contributed to its high ratings. While it also provides nearly any type of foreign payroll services your business may need, including tax filings, it didn’t get a perfect score in payroll features since it lacks local entities in the countries that it services and a tax penalty guarantee. It also scored lower on our popularity measure because it has very few reviews (fewer than 100) compared to Rippling’s 1,000+ reviews. Papaya Global Key Features Rippling: Best All-in-One HR, Payroll & IT Platform for Global Workers offers payroll services, as well as HR and IT support, in 50 countries. Its strength lies in its ease of use and supreme ability to work with other applications. Similar to Papaya Global and Remote, Rippling publishes some of its pricing on its website, earning it some points for transparency. Businesses that don’t have a full overseas workforce find it more useful, as they can usually hire and pay workers as contractors, which leaves the taxes up to each individual. Scoring 4.44 out of 5, Rippling earned high ratings (4+) in most of our evaluation criteria. While it has efficient payroll processing tools, its paid time tracking add-on and tax penalty guarantee that only covers mistakes its representatives make prevented Rippling from getting a higher score. It also lost points because Rippling’s pricing isn’t fully transparent for all of its products and services. You have to contact the provider to get pricing information. In terms of user feedback, many reviewers said that Rippling is easy to implement and navigate. However, some others commented that it lacks live phone support to address issues immediately. Rippling Key Features Deel: Best International Payroll Service With Multiple Payment Options Similar to Papaya Global, Remote, Oyster, and Globalization Partners, offers separate plans for its EoR services and contractor management tools to help you hire and pay global employees and contract workers, respectively. It also offers localized contracts, compliance support, online onboarding, benefits plans, tax filing assistance, and automated invoicing. What sets Deel apart from the other international payroll services we reviewed is its 15 contractor payment options, which include payouts via bank transfers, cryptocurrency and digital payment processors, and a Deel contractor card. Scoring 4.41 out of 5 in our evaluation, it earned ratings of 4 and up in HR features, pricing, reporting, and ease of use. Deel would have ranked higher on our list if it offered time tracking tools and dedicated support for all clients (this is only available for large businesses). In terms of user reviews, many reviewers commended its helpful support team, easy-to-use contract generation tools, and user-friendly interface. Others, on the other hand, wished for additional reporting options and a more straightforward onboarding process that only requires a few steps to complete. Deel Key Features Remote: Best for Businesses Looking for Global Payroll With Stock Option Tracking Tools is an international HR and payroll service that can provide global payroll and a full EoR service. Like Papaya Global, Remote has solid payroll functions plus provides compliance tools and assistance, customizable reports, and benefits options for international employees. If you want to provide stock options as an incentive to your international employees, Remote can help you track stock option plans and manage the applicable tax requirements that come with granting, vesting, exercising, holding, and selling stocks. It even offers free EoR services if you plan to hire refugees. It offers affordable contractor payroll tools, transparent per-employee pricing for its EoR services, and quote-based pricing for global payroll—features that contributed to its overall score of 4.36 out of 5. Its discounts for startup and Series A businesses, social purpose organizations, and companies that hire refugees make Remote stand out from the rest on our list. However, its online support features are not as good as those of Deel and Papaya Global, as it doesn’t provide dedicated support to its clients. Remote Key Features Oyster: Best Budget-friendly Global Contractor Payroll Solution With , you can hire, onboard, pay, and provide benefits to employees in more than 180 countries. It supports more than 120 currencies, offers invoicing and expense management tools, and provides access to locally-compliant contracts. Onboarding employees is a breeze with Oyster’s easy-to-use platform, although new clients also get system setup and initial onboarding assistance from a dedicated customer success manager. For small to medium-sized businesses that need budget-friendly global payroll tools, Oyster’s starter contractor package is free to use, provided you have up to two workers only (none of the international payroll services we reviewed offer a free payroll plan). If you have more than two contract workers or need EoR services, Oyster’s Lite and Business plans come with all the essential tools you need to manage a global team, at price points that are more affordable than the other providers in this guide. In our evaluation, Oyster earned an overall rating of 4.23 out of 5 with perfect marks in pricing and high scores (4+) in ease of use, payroll functionalities, HR tools, and in our expert review. It lost points due to the lack of time tracking capabilities and limited report customizations. It also received a low score in our popularity criterion because the average number of user reviews in third-party sites like G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot is fewer than 500. Oyster Key Features Globalization Partners: Best for Compliance Support & Digital Assets Protection provides payroll services in almost 190 countries, which is more than the other providers on our list cover. It is also one of the best services for General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance, digital asset and personal information protection, and legal support. While Globalization Partners offers a payroll platform with administrative and employee features, its most valuable offer is its local partners. This service can find local candidates, interview and hire international employees, onboard new hires, manage payroll compliance issues, and assist with tax filing. Scoring 4.03 out of 5 in our evaluation, Globalization Partners earned perfect marks in HR features and reporting, given its solid HR and compliance support and robust report options. It scored the lowest in pricing and popularity among users because it doesn’t publish its pricing online and has limited user reviews on third-party review sites like G2 and Capterra. Reviewers said that its setup and onboarding processes, including its customer service, are excellent; however, there was a lot of paperwork to accomplish, and it was quite expensive compared to other providers. Globalization Partners Key Features Not sure how to choose the best international payroll service for your business? Check out our guide on finding the right payroll solution. How We Chose the Top International Payroll Services We started our research by comparing 14 reputable international payroll providers for criteria such as transparency in pricing, PEO services, HR support, customer support, and payment options. After thoroughly exploring each provider’s offerings, we scored and ranked the services to narrow our list to the six best international payroll services. Click through the tabs below for our full evaluation criteria: International Payroll Services Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Bottom Line International payroll services can help businesses that are expanding their global workforce. These service providers also help keep companies out of legal trouble by ensuring that local tax and employment laws are followed. If needed, they will also provide PEO, EoR, and outsourced HR services locally. If you are looking to expand your business beyond the US, consider partnering with Papaya Global. It is affordable, offers an EoR solution, and has solid international payroll services. In addition to providing local tax filing assistance and compliance support, it can help you manage and administer benefits plans for your global workforce. You May Also Like... Best Small Business Online Payroll Services Best Payroll Software How to Hire Employees in the Philippines How to Hire Employees in India How to Hire Employees in China

(HWS) offers household payroll and nanny tax compliance services. It handles tax calculations, including tax payments and filings in all 50 states and across all levels (federal, state, and local). It also manages new hire reporting and helps new household employers set up their tax accounts with the IRS. For its full-service nanny payroll package, pricing starts at $220 per quarter for biweekly pay runs. In our evaluation of the best nanny payroll services, HomeWork Solutions earned an overall score of 3.96 out of 5. HomeWork Solutions Deciding Factors Top HomeWork Solutions Alternatives If you’ve narrowed your list down to a few providers but still need help deciding which is the best payroll software for you, follow our step-by-step guide on choosing the right payroll solution. HomeWork Solutions offers two plans: Complete Payroll and Essential Payroll. With Complete Payroll, you can choose to run payroll weekly or biweekly, and HWS will handle the entire process—from calculating earnings/deductions to filing tax forms and paying your employees. On the other hand, Essential Payroll includes only nanny payroll tax payment and filing services, and you have to issue employee payments yourself. Both plans require you to pay a $110 one-time setup fee and a $110 year-end tax report fee per employee. Note that HomeWork Solutions’ pricing for its Complete Payroll plan is based on a single-employee household. You have to pay an extra $65 per additional employee for every quarter. For example, if you have four employees, you will pay an additional $195 per quarter (the first employee is included in the base pricing). If you already paid household employees before signing up for an HWS plan and were unable to remit tax payments, the provider can help with back taxes. For $225 per quarter, it can calculate the previous quarter’s taxes so that you know how much you need to pay. HomeWork Solutions Pricing Calculator Not sure which HomeWork Solutions plan will fit your budget? Use our online calculator to compute the estimated quarterly and annual fees. The provider nearly earned a perfect score in this criterion given its solid nanny payroll tools with automatic pay runs and multiple payment options. It lost points because it charges extra for year-end tax report preparation. Here are some of its payroll features. In our evaluation of HomeWork Solutions’ HR functionalities, this provider scored 3.25 out of 5. It would have received a higher score if it provides access to benefit plan options. As of this writing, it only offers workers’ compensation insurance through its insurance partner. Here are some of its key HR features. HomeWork Solutions received a 3.88 out of 5 score in this criterion because of its solid nanny payroll and compliance support, including its tax services and ID setup assistance for new household employers. However, its limited how-to guides and dedicated payroll support that’s available only in its Complete Payroll package cost this provider some points. New household employer tax account set up Free HR consultations Employer and employee online portal Dedicated payroll representative Online blog and other resources that tackle common household employment issues Customer support via phone, email, and online form Registering for a HomeWork Solutions account is easy. Simply choose a plan from the HomeWork Solutions website to start the process. It has an online wizard to guide new clients through registration—although there’s also an option for downloading a paper registration form. Keep in mind, however, that account setup takes anywhere from five to seven days to complete from the time HomeWork Solutions receives all of the necessary employer information. As soon as initial enrollment is complete, HomeWork Solutions handles employer account setup with the IRS and relevant state tax authorities. It will even help you manage all correspondence to and from tax agencies. You also get a dedicated payroll specialist if you subscribe to its Complete Payroll package. Even if you don’t, HomeWork Solutions offers free HR consultations if you have nanny payroll questions and queries about your household employer obligations. It even provides unlimited support, and you can contact customer service (as well as a nanny payroll tax and labor law expert) Mondays through Fridays, from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern time. However, its online “Knowledge Center” has limited how-to guides. While most of the help articles tackle nanny payroll and tax basics, there aren’t a lot of online guides about the provider’s payroll services and tools. In our expert assessment, HomeWork Solutions earned a perfect score for its robust tax support for household employers. It provides access to a household tax and labor law expert should you need help navigating the complexities of nanny payroll. Signing up for its services is also easy. Plus, its payroll plans are reasonably priced. However, if you need a more budget-friendly option, consider SurePayroll. Unlike HomeWork Solutions, it doesn’t charge on a per-pay run basis. Its nanny payroll service only costs $49.99 per month for one employee and comes with unlimited pay runs and tax filing services. You also don’t have to pay extra for year-end tax form preparation as you would with HomeWork Solutions. There are very few up-to-date HomeWork Solutions reviews online as of this writing. Those who left feedback on third-party review sites said that its service simplifies the nanny payroll process, making it easy for them to meet state and federal tax requirements. Many commended its support team for excellent service, although some complained about having experienced occasional tax errors, especially when there are tax law updates. At the time of publication, HomeWork Solutions reviews earned the following scores on these popular user review sites: Trustpilot: 4.2 out of 5 stars based on 185+ reviews Facebook: 4.4 out of 5 stars based on nearly 20 reviews How We Evaluated HomeWork Solutions For this HomeWork Solutions review article, we used the evaluation criteria in our best nanny payroll services guide. We looked at the payroll and HR features that we believe are crucial in managing payments for nannies and household employees. We also considered transparency in pricing, affordability, compliance tools, and customer support. Ease of use is another area that we checked, including the feedback that actual users posted on third-party review sites. Click through the tabs below for our full evaluation criteria. Bottom Line Households with employees like nannies, housekeepers, and senior care providers are often faced with challenging and time-consuming tax and payroll requirements. HomeWork Solutions helps these employers by handling nanny payroll and taxes and keeping track of state and federal reporting and filing requirements. If you’re ready to get started, enroll online or contact HomeWork Solutions for a one-on-one consultation.

The best human resource information system (HRIS) should ensure that you have a single source of employee information to help prevent manual data entries as you use HR and payroll tools. It should also be capable of taking on the tasks of onboarding, payroll, performance reviews tracking, and more—saving money and time in managing essential HR processes. To find the best HRIS for small business owners, we evaluated 15 solutions and narrowed the list down to our top eight recommendations. : Best overall, especially for companies needing robust workflows to automate HR processes : Best for businesses looking for an all-in-one HRIS system : Best small business HRIS for payroll features : Best for solopreneurs and employers wanting a customizable HRIS system : Best for small businesses needing HR functions only : Best HRIS for performance and employee management : Best for fast-growing companies planning to go global : Best for budget-minded businesses needing a basic HRIS Best HRIS Software Compared All of the top HRIS for small business on our list offer new hire onboarding, staff information management, and employee self-service tools. Here are some of the standout features. See fullscreen table × Best HRIS System for Small Businesses Quiz Rippling: Best HRIS for Small Businesses has a suite of cloud-based solutions for managing HR, payroll, and IT processes. It has a modular system, allowing you to select only the tools you need—provided you get its core workforce management platform. This HRIS works for businesses of any size and can grow with you, even offering professional employer organization (PEO) services and global payroll services for international contractors. What makes it stand out from the rest is how easy it is to assign hardware and software access to employees. It integrates with more than 500 software and apps, making it a great choice for tech companies and businesses that use a lot of different programs. Scoring 4.56 out of 5 in our evaluation, Rippling tops our list of best HRIS systems because of its wide range of features, stellar user reviews, and solid HR, payroll, and IT tools. While it earned high ratings (3.75 and up) in all of our criteria, the categories it scored lowest in are reporting, mainly due to its limited selection of basic reports (fewer than 60 options), and ease of use, primarily because of a lack of live phone support and a non-customizable interface. Rippling Key Features Paycor: Best for Businesses Needing an All-in-One HRIS System offers a strong payroll program and flexible set of integrated HR tools (including scheduling, compensation planning, learning management, and engagement surveys), which makes it a good option for businesses needing an all-in-one HR system. Its plans run from $99 to $199 per month for up to 49 employees, with per-employee fees that cost anywhere from $5 to $14 monthly. This makes it one of the more expensive options we reviewed—check out Zoho People if your business is very small and budget-conscious. With an overall rating of 4.48, Paycor earned 4 and up scores in all of our criteria, with perfect marks in user popularity. While it provides the essential tools you need to manage employee information, staff attendance, payroll, training programs, and performance reviews, it didn’t take the top spot on our list of best HRIS systems because it doesn’t file state new hire reports for you and lacks a PEO option—something Rippling, ADP, and Paychex offer. Paycor Key Features Gusto: Best HRIS Software for Payroll is an extremely popular payroll software with good HR functionality. We often compare it to other small business HR software, and it always does well. It’s reasonably priced, easy to use, and has most of the essential HR features a small business needs, including managing employee information. If you need health benefits, however, then ensure to check that Gusto provides them for the state/s you need before purchasing. Note that its health insurance coverage is limited in 39 states as of this writing. The others on our list provide benefits in all 50 states, except for Zoho People and BambooHR, which do not provide benefits. Scoring 4.41 out of 5 in our evaluation, Gusto earned perfect marks in pricing, reporting, and popularity among users. It would have ranked higher on our list of the top HRIS for small businesses if not for its basic job postings and lack of learning management tools. Gusto Key Features Paychex: Best Customizable HRIS If you have specific HR and payroll needs, can create a highly customized plan for you. It offers dozens of functions in HR, payroll, and compliance support, as well as a wide variety of benefits. Its Paychex Flex solution even comes with payroll, learning management, and onboarding tools. It’s an excellent choice for those wanting a full-service HRIS that can fit the needs of small startups (even solopreneurs), including midsize to large businesses. Just be warned that the pricing is not completely transparent and is subject to change each year. Paychex earned an overall rating of 4.11 out of 5 in our rubric. It received perfect marks in HR features, reporting, and popularity among users. However, the limited transparency of its pricing plans and lack of unlimited pay runs cost it some points. Paychex Key Features TriNet Zenefits: Best HRIS System for HR Functionality can get pricey as you add more features, and payroll is a separate add-on, but it integrates with around 40 business applications. Thus, we recommend it for businesses that may already have a payroll system they like and simply want to add HR functionality. Its mid-tier Growth plan offers the most important functions to help you onboard new hires, manage employee information, track performance reviews, and plan your company’s compensation strategies. In our evaluation, TriNet Zenefits earned an overall score of 4.09 out of 5. Its transparent pricing, efficient HR tools, user-friendly interface, and popularity among users contributed to its high ratings (4 and up). However, it lost points since it lacks the learning management tools that the other platforms (except Gusto and BambooHR) on our list provide. TriNet Zenefits Key Features BambooHR: Best HRIS for Employee Management offers hire-to-retire functionality at a reasonable per-employee price. It has all the essential tools you need to manage employees, store staff information, and run workforce analytics reports. We were most impressed by its employee engagement (part of the Advantage Plan) and performance management (an add-on) solutions. Both tools come with ready-made questions based on research (Paychex and ADP also offer employee culture management as add-on programs). However, unlike the other HRISes on our list, it does payroll through a separate pay processing solution, TRAXPayroll. BambooHR scored 3.85 out of 5 in our evaluation, with perfect marks in popularity among users and in our expert review. It also received ratings of 4 and up in ease of use and reporting due to its intuitive platform and customizable reports. However, it took hits because it lacks transparent pricing, employee benefits plans (only manages benefits packages), learning management tools, and a PEO option (Rippling, ADP, and Paychex offer this). BambooHR Key Features ADP Run: Best for Businesses Going Global is just one of the many offerings ADP has for its clients. With over 70 years of experience in HR and payroll, it can handle the simple payroll needs of small businesses. With ADP Global, you get a more robust set of international payroll and HR features than any of the HRIS systems in this guide (Gusto and Rippling also have global payroll capabilities, but only for processing payments of international contractors). What’s more, its ADP Workforce Now solution provides flexible options and solid HR and payroll tools for midsize to large businesses. You can even opt to get its complete PEO service if you want expert assistance in handling HR and payroll administration tasks. With an overall score of 3.59 out of 5, ADP Run received marks of 4 and up in nearly all of our criteria. While it has an excellent range of HR and payroll features, it does not provide pricing information online—which pulled its overall rating down. In addition, the software is not as easy to use as providers like Gusto or Zenefits, although the mobile app is top-rate. ADP Run Key Features Zoho People: Best HRIS for Budget-minded Businesses & Shiftwork is an excellent choice for businesses on a shoestring budget that are willing to put some time into learning software. It offers a free plan for under five employees, which comes with basic employee data management and PTO monitoring solutions. The other systems we reviewed don’t have a free option. What we also like about Zoho People is the affordability of its paid options—you only spend around $1.50–$10 per employee monthly. Unfortunately, you can’t get payroll outside of India, and none of the plans offer HR advisers on staff. However, if you need to manage shift workers or bill clients for jobs, this software has a lot of built-in tools to make it easy. Scoring 3.51 out of 5 in our rubric, Zoho People earned ratings of 4 and up in reporting, pricing, and our expert review. What pulled its scores down is its lack of a PEO option, HR advisory services, and benefits options (Rippling, ADP, and Paychex offer this). It also doesn’t have payroll features that work in the US—a functionality that many of the software we reviewed provide either as paid add-ons or in their core platforms. Zoho People Key Features How We Chose the Best HRIS Systems We looked for complete HRIS solutions that can support you from the time you start hiring employees—some even help before that with recruiting tools—to the time their employment is terminated. We also considered pricing, ease of use, and HR support. Click through the tabs below for our full evaluation criteria. HRIS for Small Business Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Bottom Line Most HRIS for small businesses cover the basics: employee communication, onboarding, performance management, and the handling of benefits and PTO. Others include payroll, and many have strong learning management systems. In choosing the best HRIS, you need to consider price vs features, and whether its solutions cover your current needs while also having the ability to grow with you. For most small businesses, we recommend . Its modular system lets you build your HRIS with the tools you need. It is user-friendly and highly rated, plus it has PEO and international contractor payroll services. Get started with Rippling today.

The best contractor payroll services help you pay and onboard independent contractors and collect the forms you’ll need for end-of-year tax reporting. Many even offer direct deposit at no additional cost. Before deciding, it’s important to evaluate pricing because some providers have low-cost plans that you only have to pay for during the months you process a contractor paycheck. Given that one of the benefits of using independent contractors is the savings from not having to pay taxes on their income, it makes sense to consider a service that’s priced affordably. We evaluated 12 independent contractor payroll software for small businesses and narrowed it down to our top eight. : Best overall contractor payroll software : Best contractor payroll services with new hire reporting : Best for companies that hire contractors who only have individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs) : Best for tech-heavy businesses looking for human resources (HR), payroll, and information technology (IT) tools to manage the entire contractor lifecycle : Best contractor payroll services for QuickBooks users that need fast direct deposits : Best for global contractor payroll tool with robust payment options that include payments via cryptocurrency and a contractor card : Best for small companies that want an affordable contractor payroll with do-it-yourself (DIY) tax filings, although it also has a full-service package : Best for businesses looking for an affordable way to pay international contractors Best Contractor Payroll Services Compared All the payroll systems we reviewed can handle pay processing for both employees and contractors. These software providers also offer unlimited pay runs, compliance support, and 1099 tax forms (except SurePayroll, unless you sign for its full-service payroll plan). Here are some of the standout features. *Square allows you to pay instantly with Square Payments if paying both contractors and employees. **Pricing is based on a quote we received. ***SurePayroll also offers a full-service plan priced at $29.99 plus $5 per employee monthly. Top Contractor Payroll Software Quiz If you’re unsure which contractor payroll service is best for your business, answer a few questions in our free quiz, and we will help you decide. Square Payroll: Best Overall Contractor Payroll Software is our top-recommended contractor payroll software because it offers solid pay processing tools and a low-cost solution ($5 per person monthly) for paying contractors. Similar to Gusto, you don’t have to pay during months your workers aren’t paid. It also prepares 1099s for each contractor and delivers them electronically. You get even more value if you already use Square POS since it integrates with the payroll software and provides free time tracking. This is great if you’re paying contractors by the hour. Overall, Square Payroll earned a score of 4.47 out of 5 in our evaluation. While it offers low-cost and efficient contractor payroll services, what pulled the scores down includes its four-day direct deposits, lack of new hire reporting for contractors, and the additional customer code requirement needed to contact phone support. This is unlike most of the other software on this list, where you call its support team without having to provide a special code. Square Payroll Key Features Direct integration with Square POS: Given its direct integration with Square POS, you don’t have to purchase a separate time tracking solution if you want to capture your contractors’ actual work hours. Your staff can clock-in/out via the Square POS. Best of all, this functionality is free. Gusto doesn’t have a similar tool that you can access for free. QuickBooks has a point-of-sale (POS)-based time clock, but it doesn’t send tip and commission details to its payroll solution for processing like Square Payroll does. Seamless time data imports: With Square Payroll connecting seamlessly with Square POS, you don’t need to upload time data manually to pay contractors and employees. It lets you import actual work hours with one click. Efficient pay processing: You can run payroll as many times as you need—Square won’t charge you additional fees for it. It even files 1099-MISC forms at year-end and mails these to your contractors (remote only generates 1099 forms). You can pay contractors through checks and direct deposits, although its standard direct deposit turnaround time is four days. While it offers next-day and instant payments, you need a Square Payments account—plus this option is available only if you process both employee and contractor payroll. If you’re not a Square user and want fast payouts, QuickBooks Payroll offers same-day direct deposits with its Premium plan. Self-service portal: Aside from receiving pay notifications, contractors can see their payment histories online. They can also update their personal information and download the tax forms that Square Payroll generates, prepares, and files for them. Read our Square Payroll review Gusto: Best Contractor Payroll Service With New Hire Reporting scored second highest in our independent contractor payroll software evaluation since it provides all the essential tools you need to manage contractor payments. It prepares and files 1099 reports and lets your new contractors onboard themselves. It even has a special pricing plan for contractors and can handle international payments if you have global contractors. Scoring 4.44 out of 5, it would have earned perfect marks had it not been for its limited customizability and tax penalty guarantee, which only includes tax errors that the provider makes (QuickBooks Payroll’s penalty guarantee includes even your tax mistakes in its highest plan). You also have to upgrade to its highest tier to get expert advice from certified HR professionals. Plus, its contractor-only plan is pricier than Square Payroll’s ($35 plus $6 per worker monthly vs $5 per contractor monthly) Gusto Key Features Efficient pay processing: With Gusto, you don’t have to worry about handling payroll yourself. Even if you’re processing contractor payments, it provides you with automatic and unlimited pay runs. You can pay contractors via manual checks and direct deposits. While Gusto has two-, four-, and next-day direct deposit options, it only offers four-day payments for contractors. So, if you require fast payments, we recommend QuickBooks Payroll because of its standard next-day direct deposits. You may also consider Square Payroll, as it provides instant payouts through its Square Payments solution (if you use Square to pay both employees and contractors). International payroll capabilities: Gusto can help you pay contractors in more than 90 countries—provided you get its international contractor payments add-on and subscribe to either its full-service payroll packages or have one domestic worker under its “contractor-only” plan. However, if you only need to pay international contractors, consider Remote instead. It has an affordable global contractor management solution that lets you pay contract workers in 170-plus countries (Gusto’s global payroll tool only covers more than 90 countries). Automatic tax reporting: Automated filings of 1099 forms are included in Gusto’s standard contractor payroll services. It will even send your contractors’ 1099-MISC forms and payday notifications via email. Self-service portal for contractors: Contractors can access their pay information and tax forms online through Gusto’s self-service portal. It also offers self-onboarding tools for new contractors, including state new hire reporting—a functionality that the other providers in this list, except Rippling, Deel, and Square Payroll, don’t offer. Custom report builder: You are granted access to a report builder that allows you to create custom payroll and employee reports. Read our Gusto review OnPay: Best for Companies Hiring Contractors Who Only Have ITINs makes paying and hiring contractors easy for business owners. Apart from full-service payroll, automated filings—including 1099-NEC forms—and onboarding tools, it allows you to add independent contractors who don’t have federal tax or Social Security numbers into its system—provided they have ITINs (individual tax ID numbers). None of the contractor payroll services we reviewed have this feature. Scoring 4.08 out of 5 in our evaluation, OnPay received perfect marks in reporting and ratings of 4 and up in payroll, HR functionalities, and in our expert review. It lost points because it doesn’t offer a contractor-only plan like Gusto, Deel, Remote, and Square Payroll do, plus it has limited software integration options. OnPay Key Features Easy contractor system enrollments: Most independent contractor payroll software requires you to collect the worker’s name, address, and tax number like Social Security to verify an individual’s right to work in the US and then add their details to their systems. With OnPay, you can use the contractor’s ITIN to start system enrollment processes and file 1099 forms. While you can encourage the contract worker to get a Social Security number, you do need to have your contractor complete and submit an affidavit or IRS-approved document for failing to get a valid tax ID. Full-service payroll: OnPay can run unlimited payroll and process multistate payments at no extra cost. Similar to Gusto, it lets you pay employees by direct deposits, pay cards, and manual checks. However, you have to undergo OnPay’s risk assessment to determine eligibility for two- and four-day direct deposits. This is unlike the other providers in this guide, which don’t have assessment protocols for direct deposits. Automated taxes: Regardless of whether you’re processing payments for employees or contractors, OnPay will withhold the applicable payroll taxes per pay run, remit tax payments, and generate the required tax forms, including 1099-NEC, at year’s end. Employee self-service tools: Employees and contractors you’ve hired can do self-onboarding and complete their information online—although, you may also opt to input all of their details directly into OnPay. Aside from new hire onboarding, your workers can also access their pay slips, employment documents, and tax forms through OnPay’s self-service portal. Read our OnPay review Rippling: Best for Tech-heavy Businesses Needing HR, Payroll & IT Tools to Manage the Contractor Lifecycle is great for managing the entire contractor lifecycle given its feature-rich platform, which automates onboarding and offboarding processes as well as HR and payroll tasks. To set up contractors’ online profiles on the platform, you can have them electronically sign documents and complete required forms, like the W-9. If you need to assign computers with company-approved apps to contractors, its IT tools can help you set up and deploy devices. When your contractors have ended their contracts with you, it can send offboarding documents, revoke app access, and remotely lock company-assigned computers. Scoring 3.99 out of 5 in our evaluation, it received ratings of 4 and up in nearly all criteria—except pricing and payroll functionalities. While Rippling efficiently handles payments for all types of contractors, including those working internationally, it lacks the contractor-only plan that both Square Payroll and Gusto offer. It also only supports payments via direct deposits and manual checks. This is unlike Gusto, Square, Deel, and OnPay, which have multiple payment options that even include either pay cards or a pay-on-demand feature. Rippling Key Features Modular solutions: What’s great about Rippling is its modular solutions that allow you to select modules that you need. This may seem ideal for those who only need pay processing tools to handle contractor payments. However, its payroll module isn’t available as a standalone product—you have to purchase its core employee management platform first. Plus, Rippling can get a bit pricey if you add other features like app and device management (an additional $5 per worker monthly). For a more budget-friendly option, we recommend Square Payroll as its “contractor-only” plan is priced at only $5 per contractor monthly. Automatic payroll: Pay contractors either by the hour or at a set rate and then send payments through two-day direct deposits and manual checks. You can also add other earning types, such as expense reimbursements. If you want to capture your contractors’ actual hours worked, Rippling offers free access to its time tracking tool, wherein all approved hours automatically sync to payroll. Similar to Gusto, Deel, and Remote, Rippling can even handle international payments in case you have contractors working in your global offices. Apps and device management: Rippling offers IT tools to help you manage the entire contractor lifecycle. It lets you create online accounts and passwords for company apps that your contractors will use. If you need to assign computers, Rippling can help with the provisioning processes. It even has robust deprovisioning tools to help retrieve and reassign devices, disable app access, and remotely lock and wipe data from company-assigned computers when your contractors leave. Integrates with more than 500 apps: With an extensive network of third-party software partners, you can connect Rippling to a wide variety of solutions, such as accounting, legal, advertising, sales, analytics, customer relationship management, and collaboration tools. Read our Rippling review QuickBooks Payroll: Best for QuickBooks Users Who Need Fast Direct Deposits is a good option for companies using QuickBooks for accounting because payroll information flows seamlessly to the general ledger. It’s even better if you employ both W-2 and 1099 employees since it offers full-service payroll plans that include tax filing services and fast direct deposits (next- and same-day options). Like Rippling, this provider earned an overall rating of 3.99 out of 5 in our evaluation. QuickBooks Payroll didn’t get a higher ranking on our list because it lacks a contractor-only plan (Gusto, Deel, Square Payroll, and Remote offer this) and it has limited third-party software integrations as its payroll module integrates mostly with other QuickBooks products. It is also pricier compared to the other services we reviewed, with monthly fees that start at $45 plus $5 per contractor/employee. QuickBooks Payroll Key Features Payroll tax filing while on the go: In addition to running payroll, QuickBooks Payroll lets you file taxes through its mobile apps for iOS and Android devices. Out of all the contractor payroll services we reviewed, only QuickBooks Payroll has this functionality. Fast direct deposits: Unlike Gusto’s two-day direct deposits (four days for paying contractors), QuickBooks Payroll has a same-day option if you require fast employee and contractor payments. However, this feature is available only for Premium subscribers. While Square Payroll’s standard direct deposit timeline is four days, it has an option that lets you remit employee payments instantly (if employees use Cash App) or the next day—both provided you subscribe to its Square Payments solution. Efficient pay processing and payroll tax filings: Unlimited pay runs, automatic payrolls, and check payment options are just some of the features that you get with QuickBooks Payroll. It also automatically calculates, pays, and files payroll taxes, including year-end reporting (W-2s and 1099s), but it only automates federal and state taxes. If you want robust filing services that include local taxes, Gusto and Square Payroll are better alternatives. Read our QuickBooks Payroll review Deel: Best Global Contractor Payroll With Robust Payment Options While can handle payments for US-based contractors, its online solutions and services are best for companies that plan to expand business operations in other countries. Its EoR services can help you find, hire, and pay global employees and contractors in 150-plus countries. What sets Deel apart from similar international payroll solutions and the other contractor payroll services on our list is its robust payment options. Apart from bank transfers, you can pay workers via digital payment processors, such as Wise and PayPal, and in bitcoin or cryptocurrency. In our evaluation, Deel earned an overall rating of 3.79 out of 5 with high marks (4 and up) in HR features, reporting, and in our expert review. However, its lack of new hire reporting for contractors, limited integration options, and pricey contractor-only payroll plan (it's more expensive than Remote, Gusto, and Square Payroll) prevented Deel from ranking higher on our list. Deel Key Features Multiple payment options: Deel has robust payment options—offering up to 15 ways to pay global contractors. It can send payroll payments via bank transfer, Revolut, PayPal, Wise, Payoneer, Coinbase, and Binance. None of the other contractor payroll services on our list have this many payment methods. Deel contractor card: With the “Deel card” contractors can spend their earnings securely through in-store or online transactions. It's similar to a debit card, and your workers can opt to keep the funds on their Deel card for as long as they want. However, it only accepts the USD currency and, as of this writing, is available only in Argentina, Colombia, Georgia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Serbia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the US. Dedicated support: Deel’s new clients get dedicated CSMs to help them with the initial system setup and serve as the point person whenever they have problems with their accounts. However, this is only offered to large businesses. Read our Deel review SurePayroll: Best Affordable Contractor Payroll With DIY Tax Filings is one of the most reasonably priced contractor payroll services on our list, providing a full-service package with unlimited pay runs and tax filing solutions for only $29.99 plus $5 per employee monthly. This is lower than Gusto, Remote, and Deel. For small business owners who only have a handful of contract workers and prefer managing payroll taxes themselves, SurePayroll’s “No Tax Filing” plan ($19.99 plus $4 per employee monthly) has all the tools you need to calculate salaries, taxes, and other deductions as well as pay contractors via direct deposits. It scored 3.59 out of 5 in our evaluation, with ratings of 4 and up in payroll functionalities, reporting, and in our expert review. The limited HR features and payment options that it offers, along with its lack of a contractor-only payroll option cost this provider several points. SurePayroll Key Features Automatic pay runs: You can set SurePayroll to process your regular pay runs automatically. This helps you save time from having to go through its online platform to run payroll, especially if you expect no changes to it. However, it allows you to make payroll revisions should you need to. You can also turn its automatic pay runs on and off at any time. Tax calculation and filing guarantee: SurePayroll offers a tax penalty guarantee for its Full Service and No Tax Filing plans, wherein it will cover the associated penalties and fines if its representatives make payroll tax filing or calculation mistakes. However, if you want more robust coverage, consider QuickBooks Payroll as its tax penalty guarantee covers mistakes that you and the provider may make (provided you sign up for its highest payroll plan). Customer support: If you have questions about SurePayroll’s services and online solutions, you can easily contact its support team via chat, phone, or email. It even offers extended weekday and weekend hours. Read our SurePayroll review Remote: Best for Businesses Looking for Affordable International Contractor Payments provides international HR and payroll services, including a full-service EoR option to help you hire international employees, process local and global payroll, offer competitive benefits packages, and more. For those with global contractors, it has a free contractor management solution to help simplify onboarding and payment processes (Rippling charges for international contractor payments). It also has contractor invoicing capabilities that allow both local and international contract workers to create and send invoices for payment. They can even set up online profiles on Remote to help you easily manage contractors, build agreements that comply with local laws, and review and approve invoices. Scoring 3.56 out of 5 in our evaluation, Remote earned ratings for 4 and up in reporting, HR features, pricing, and in our expert review. While it has efficient contractor payroll tools and supports direct deposits, it scored the lowest in payroll functionalities because it doesn’t file 1099 forms at year-end and payments made via credit cards have a 3% service fee. Remote also lacks phone and chat support—if you need assistance, you can either check its online help center or contact its support team via email. Remote Key Features Affordable contractor management tools: Remote has the lowest global contractor management plan in this guide, costing only $29 per worker monthly (Deel’s global contractor plan is priced at $49 per contract monthly). This solution comes with contractor invoicing, localized contracts, automated approvals, and built-in security to protect your invention and intellectual property rights. One-click contractor payments: Invoices that contractors send will appear automatically in your Remote dashboard. You can approve invoices with one click and even set up automatic approvals for specific transactions. Remote then distributes the approved payments to the contractors’ accounts either through direct deposit (processing timelines range from two to nine days) or via credit card (this comes with a 3% service charge). Local currency payouts but with simplified billing: Remote supports payments in more than 170 countries, given its financial network that allows it to pay contractors in their local currencies. Note, however, that Remote’s billing statements to you to cover actual contractor payouts won’t be in different currencies. You need only to pay in the currency that both you and Remote agreed on, which is also indicated in your agreement with the provider. Customizable localized contracts: Remote offers customizable contracts localized to comply with each country’s local labor regulations. You can even send the completed contracts to contractors and have them sign these electronically. Remote also provides access to online guides that have been created by its team of legal experts to help you understand each country’s laws that pertain to contract employment. Read our Remote review How We Evaluated the Best Contractor Payroll Services We started our search with 12 reputable payroll companies that process payroll for contractors. Using a 5-star scale that we designed specifically to evaluate contractor payroll services, we looked for essential features like automatic pay runs, direct deposits, and year-end reporting. We also compared each system’s ease of use, pricing, customer support, and online user reviews. To see our full evaluation criteria, click through the tabs on the box below. Bottom Line When finding the right solution for paying contractors, consider a company with a special pricing plan for contractors. You’ll also want to evaluate how it handles W-9 forms and 1099s—does it help prepare and file them? Contractor payroll services with online processes that are streamlined can make your life much easier. We found that offers the best features with a budget-friendly price for small businesses using contract help. It is easy to learn and use and ensures you stay compliant with tax reporting regulations. It even seamlessly integrates with Square POS, making it a good payroll option for small restaurant and retail shop owners who primarily hire contractors. Sign up for a Square Payroll plan today.

Paychex, ADP, and Gusto are all popular payroll software, but for different reasons. ADP and Paychex are established providers that offer comprehensive HR and payroll services for businesses of all sizes, while Gusto is a newer provider that gives small businesses an affordable full-service payroll option with features that users would pay extra for with other services. ADP and Paychex are very similar overall but have some different products that might make one a better fit for certain businesses over the other. : Best for one person to midsize businesses looking for strong HR and payroll support : Best for growing companies that plan to scale quickly and need a flexible plan option that changes with their growth : Best for small businesses with 100 or fewer employees looking for an affordable payroll and HR software Paychex vs ADP vs Gusto Compared ADP, Paychex, and Gusto all offer automatic pay runs, payroll tax payments and filings, employee self-service tools, and access to benefits plans (although Gusto’s health insurance plans are available only in 39 states). These three providers have online onboarding solutions and even handle state new hire reporting for you. Below are some of the standout features. *This may change at any time. Visit the provider’s website to check the latest promos on offer. **Pricing is based on a quote we received. Paychex vs ADP vs Gusto Quiz If you’re unsure about which payroll provider is best for your business, take our online quiz. Why Paychex Is Best for One Person to Midsize Businesses Paychex is the only provider of the three that has a self-employed product that comes with payroll, a retirement plan, and business incorporation services. Solopreneurs can start with its Paychex Solo solution and transition to Paychex Flex once they start managing employees and need more HR, payroll, and compliance support. Its robust suite of HR tools, which includes new hire reporting, onboarding, background checks, and time and attendance, is well-suited for midsize businesses. Why ADP Is Best for Quickly Scaling Companies While Paychex also offers multiple tiers that cater to different business sizes, ADP has a wider selection of products and plans that help companies scale their HR operations quickly. Its packages are targeted toward companies with fewer than 50 employees to those with 1,000+ employees; its midsize to large business offerings even include hands-on implementation assistance and expert support from certified payroll and HR professionals. Why Gusto Is Best for Small Businesses At a reasonable cost, Gusto provides all the basics—like unlimited and automatic pay runs, payroll tax payment and filing services, year-end tax reporting, and employee benefits. Aside from payroll, it offers basic hiring and onboarding tools, as well as performance reviews and simple time tracking tools. What’s more, Gusto doesn’t charge extra for payroll tax administration services—both ADP and Paychex have add-on fees for year-end tax reporting. Alternatives to Paychex, ADP, and Gusto *Pricing is based on a quote we received Best for Value: Gusto Paychex, ADP, and Gusto all have multiple plans with month-to-month billing. However, only Gusto offers fully transparent pricing and pay processing tools that let you run payroll and off-cycle payments as many times as you need and want. Plus, it doesn’t charge add-on fees for year-end reporting. *This may change at any time. Visit the provider’s website to check the latest promos on offer. **Pricing is for Paychex Flex’s starter plan. Its other tiers (Select and Pro) are custom-priced. ***Pricing is based on a quote we received; rates can vary depending on the payroll frequency—the more often you pay employees, the greater the base cost fee. Paychex vs ADP vs Gusto Pricing Calculator Need a quick way to compare costs? Use our online calculator to compute the estimated monthly and annual fees. Why We Recommend Gusto Subscribing to Gusto makes more sense if your company needs to do payroll for fewer than 100 employees. All of its plans come with full-service payroll, unlimited and automatic pay runs, tax filings, and year-end reporting. Plus, its basic tier has features that you only get in Paychex’s and ADP’s higher plans. However, while it has a feature-rich platform with solid pay processing tools, Gusto lacks the advanced HR functionalities (such as robust hiring and learning management tools) that businesses with large teams need. When comparing Paychex vs ADP vs Gusto for pricing transparency, Gusto wins because its plans are fully transparent. You can easily do cost comparisons between its options to see which one fits your budget and payroll needs. Paychex may publish the monthly fees of its Paychex Flex’s basic plan on its website, but the pricing details of its higher packages and other products (like hiring services) follow a call-for-a-quote scheme. ADP also requires you to contact its sales team to get pricing information and it charges fees based on the number of pay runs. Even with its basic Simple plan, Gusto offers features (such as PTO policies and State unemployment insurance management) that Paychex and ADP either include in its higher tiers or as part of a paid add-on solution. With Gusto, you only have to pay $40 plus $6 per employee monthly for both features. The starter per-employee fees of Paychex’s payroll solution, Paychex Flex, may be slightly lower than Gusto’s but you end up paying more with Paychex. This is because of the add-on fees it collects for handling your end-of year tax reporting. ADP also charges extra for generating, delivering, and filing W-2/1099 tax forms at year-end. However, if you’re a midsize business with over 100 employees and need advanced HR solutions for managing workers, Paychex (monthly fees start at $39 plus $5 per employee) would be a more cost-effective option than Gusto—provided you don’t mind paying extra for payroll tax filings. Gusto is also great for small businesses that mostly employ contract workers because it has a reasonably priced contractor-only payroll plan ($35 plus $6 per contractor monthly). When to Consider ADP & Paychex It’s difficult to compare Gusto vs Paychex and Gusto vs ADP for affordability because many, if not all, of ADP’s and Paychex’s products and plans are custom-priced. However, there are a few instances where either ADP or Paychex may be a more suitable option for you. Best for Payroll Features: Gusto *May require additional fees **Some solutions and services are available only in higher tiers Why We Recommend Gusto for Payroll Features Gusto is our top-recommended payroll software for small businesses because it has the best value for the payroll features it offers. Plus, some of its pay processing functionalities are slightly better than those from Paychex and ADP. Paychex and ADP have automatic payroll capabilities but don’t offer unlimited pay runs—Gusto offers automatic payroll with unlimited pay runs and off-cycle payments. While you get standard two-day direct deposits with Paychex and ADP, Gusto has two- and four-day options, but provides next-day direct deposits in its higher tiers. Paychex and ADP charge extra for its year-end reporting services—you get this for free with Gusto. Best for HR Features: ADP and Paychex *Some tools are paid add-ons or available only in higher tiers **Some plans may require participation fees or premium payments. ***Premium-only plans help you and your employees to save on certain payroll taxes by allowing your staff to prepay a portion of health insurance premiums using pretax dollars. Why We Recommend Paychex & ADP for HR When comparing Paychex vs ADP vs Gusto just on HR features and health benefits options, ADP and Paychex offer a wider range of HR tools and better health insurance coverage. Their health insurance options are available across the US, while Gusto’s plans are limited to 39 states (unavailable in Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming). Paychex and ADP are also our top picks for employee benefits because they have helpful perks (like discounts and financial wellness tools) that your staff will appreciate. Paychex offers a better selection of financial wellness tools on top of the typical benefits options (such as workers’ comp, medical, dental, vision, and retirement plans). Aside from short-term loans, your employees are granted advanced access to their earned salaries between paydays in case of emergencies. Educational resources are also available to help your workers manage their finances and meet their savings goals. ADP also provides employee benefits that companies usually offer to their workers, such as health, retirement, FSA/HSA, and disability insurance plans. While it lacks Paychex’s financial wellness tools, it makes up for it by providing an employee perk that allows your staff to get discounts from popular brands and retail shops. ADP’s partnership with ZipRecruiter allows it to post your job listings to more than 25,000 job sites. Gusto and Paychex only post to 100+ and 10+ job boards, respectively. Unlike Gusto, Paychex and ADP provide access to online training for you and your employees, such as workplace harassment prevention, HR recordkeeping, and sales courses. Paychex’s learning management module even contains training sessions designed to enhance your employees’ business acumen, soft skills, and functional competencies. This is essential for fostering a company culture of continuous improvement and boosting employee retention. Best for Reporting: Tie Paychex, ADP, and Gusto all received perfect marks in this criterion given the basic reports it provides and the customization options it offers. However, if you plan to create or update your company handbook, consider either ADP or Paychex. Both have an online employee handbook wizard. ADP even provides additional employee handbook support if you need help creating your own. Best for Ease of Use & Customer Support: Tie *Available in higher tiers In our evaluation of Paychex vs ADP vs Gusto for ease of use, these providers earned a 4 out of 5 rating in this criterion. All three have intuitive interfaces with tools that are cloud-based and generally easy to use. Online how-to guides and FAQs are available, as well as integration options with third-party software. Best for User Popularity: ADP *Data from third-party review sites (such as G2 and Capterra) To compare ADP vs Paychex vs Gusto on user popularity, we looked at each providers’ average overall ratings and the number of reviews on third-party review sites like G2 and Capterra. Paychex and Gusto received perfect marks in this criterion, but in terms of ratings from actual users, ADP’s average score is higher than Gusto and Paychex (4.5 vs 4.4 and 4.15 out of 5). What Users Think: Paychex vs ADP vs Gusto How We Evaluated Paychex vs ADP vs Gusto We evaluated Paychex vs ADP vs Gusto by looking at each provider’s pricing structures, features, and ease of use. We also checked whether HR professionals are available to give expert advice. Customer support was also an important factor, since small business owners may need help navigating through the software. Bottom Line Deciding between ADP vs Paychex vs Gusto can be challenging since they have a lot of similar payroll and HR tools. However, we recommend you choose the best HR payroll software based on both your current and expected future business needs. can support large growth plans given its multiple yet flexible payroll tiers. If you need a special solopreneur package, or you’re planning to stay a midsize employer, then can provide you with a more personalized payroll experience and service. If your business has a simple structure with fewer than 100 employees, full-service plans would likely be a better fit.

offers a suite of online solutions for hiring, paying, and managing a global workforce. Its services cover more than 180 countries, allowing small to midsize businesses (SMBs) to handle global human resources (HR) processes and local benefits easily. In our evaluation of the best international payroll services, Oyster earned an overall score of 4.23 out of 5. In addition to employer of record (EoR) services that enable you to find and recruit global employees, Oyster provides compliance solutions and support to ensure that you remain up to date with local labor, payroll, and tax regulations. You’re also granted access to a cloud-based global employment platform with expense management, time-off tracking, and intellectual property (IP) protection tools. Monthly fees for its EoR services start at $599 per employee (if paid month to month; $499 per employee if paid annually upfront). If you plan to only hire and pay international contractors, Oyster offers two packages that cost $0 (for up to two contractors) and $29 per worker (for more than two contractors). Oyster Deciding Factors Are you looking for something different? If you only want online tools to pay US-based employees, check out our list of the best payroll services. If you need help deciding which payroll software to get, read our guide to finding the right payroll solution. Top Oyster Alternatives Oyster earned perfect ratings in our evaluation given its multiple plan options, transparent pricing, and reasonable fees. For companies that only want to hire and pay international contractors, Oyster has a free starter package (for up to two contractors) and a Lite plan (for more than two contractors) with monthly fees that start at $29 per worker. Meanwhile, Oyster’s pricing for hiring and paying global employees is based on the country to which you plan to expand. Monthly fees start at $599 per employee if you pay month to month, or $499 per employee if you pay annually (paid in a lump sum). For large businesses, Oyster offers a custom-priced Enterprise tier that comes with additional global compliance and hiring support. Global payroll processing with Oyster is easy given its user-friendly platform that can handle fully compliant salary payments, including expense reimbursements and bonus payouts. In our evaluation of its payroll functionalities, Oyster earned a 4.13 out of 5 score. It didn’t get a perfect rating in this criterion because it lacks time tracking features (only offers time-off management tools). Here are some of its payroll functionalities.   Two things you’ll notice highlighted in our OysterHR reviews article are its solid self-onboarding tools and locally compliant contracts. These functionalities, coupled with Oyster’s robust compliance support, contributed to this provider getting nearly perfect marks (4.75 out of 5) for HR features. It lost points because while it provides competitive local benefits plans, you have to pay extra to access “Oyster Health”—a global health insurance plan (through SafetyWing) that covers more than 175 countries. Here are some of its HR features.   In our evaluation of Oyster’s reporting features, the provider only received a 2.5 out of 5 rating. While it has locally compliant contracts, built-in agreement templates, and reports you can download either as a PDF or Excel file, its reporting options are limited. Plus, its inability to customize the report by country cost it some points. As of this writing, Oyster can generate four reports: Payroll report: A report containing all of your full-time employees’ payroll, from the date that you set up your Oyster account (this doesn’t include data before March 2022; you have to get this separately from Oyster’s payroll module) Team member report: A report that shows your employees’ and contractors’ personal and employment details Invoice report: A report of all invoices for both employees and contractors Expense report: A report of all expenses for both employees and contractors Oyster scored 4.5 out 5 in this criterion because of its intuitive platform and easy-to-use online tools. Its solid compliance solutions, comprehensive hiring guides, and dedicated support also contributed to its high score. It didn’t get perfect marks because it lacks phone support—you can only contact customer support via email, chat, and help tickets raised through its platform. User-friendly and intuitive platform Automated hiring and onboarding processes In-app virtual hiring assistant (Pearl) Access to local hiring and compliance experts Dedicated customer success manager Online global hiring guides and tools Locally compliant contracts FAQs and how-to guides Email and chat support Oyster makes global hiring easy with its user-friendly platform, compliance support, and automated online tools. I’m impressed with its virtual hiring assistant, Pearl, as it provides not only the basic hiring requirements but also recommends employment terms and options to help you build a strong and competitive package. In addition, it handles international payments with ease, and you don’t have to worry about keeping track of deductions and tax payments—Oyster will handle these for you. It even lets your global employees file expense reimbursement requests online. If you need to provide allowances or bonuses, you can input these details directly into Oyster for pay processing. Tasks that require your attention are added to your Oyster dashboard automatically. This includes notifications for invoices, expenses, and time-off requests that require your approval. Links to some of Oyster’s online tools can also be found on the dashboard, enabling you to access country guides, manage invoices, and raise hiring requests quickly. If you use third-party business software, Oyster integrates popular accounting, expense management, applicant tracking, and HR information management solutions. However, its network isn’t robust. Here are some of its partner systems. Xero QuickBooks Online NetSuite Expensify Greenhouse BambooHR HiBob Workday Oyster earned a 4.38 out of 5 rating in our expert assessment given its reasonably priced plans, efficient EoR and payroll services, compliance support, and automated solutions for hiring and onboarding international workers. However, its limited HR features prevented this provider from getting a perfect score in this criterion. It doesn’t have the wide range of HR solutions that similar providers offer, such as Rippling. Note that with Rippling, you get time tracking, learning management, and employee survey functionalities in addition to hiring, onboarding, and pay processing tools. Oyster’s low score in this criteria is due mainly to the small number of user reviews on third-party review sites like G2 and Capterra. Those who left positive OysterHR reviews highlighted its responsive support team and efficient global hiring tools as its best features. Several users also like its easy-to-use platform and automated solutions that help streamline processes. Meanwhile, there are only a handful of negative OysterHR reviews online. One user disliked having to pay the required security deposit while a few others wished for more features like additional time-off types, better health coverage, and a more robust expense claim tool. At the time of publication, Oyster software reviews earned the following scores on popular user review sites: G2: 4.4 out of 5 based on around 70 reviews Capterra: 3 out of 5 based on 1 review How We Evaluated Oyster We looked at the provider’s features (both HR and payroll) and payment options. We also considered ease of use, transparency in pricing, HR and compliance support, and customer support. Access to third-party integrations, employee benefits plans, and onboarding tools is also important. We even check the feedback that actual users posted on popular user review sites. Click through the tabs below for our full evaluation criteria: Bottom Line Expanding your business in other countries most likely means hiring either contract workers to handle special projects or local employees who can manage your company’s day-to-day operations. With Oyster, you can find, hire, and pay both international contractors and employees with ease. Its EoR services cover more than 180 countries and include compliance support to ensure that you remain compliant with local labor laws and regulations. You also get an online platform that’s intuitive, simple to learn, and easy to navigate through. What’s also great about Oyster is that it has an in-app virtual hiring assistant and an online benefits tool to help you understand country-specific hiring requirements and determine the best employment terms and benefits options for recruiting global employees. Sign up for an Oyster plan today.

Aside from being affordably priced, the best payroll software for small business users calculates employee wages and deductions accurately and pays and files payroll taxes automatically. Most offer unlimited pay runs, two-day direct deposits, employee self-service portals, and access to employee benefits. To find the ideal payroll systems for small businesses, we evaluated more than a dozen solutions and narrowed the list down to our top 10 recommendations: : Best overall small business payroll software : Best for QuickBooks accounting users : Best for solopreneurs and small companies needing a dedicated payroll specialist : Best for restaurateurs, retailers, and Square POS users : Best for small companies needing to delegate payroll duties : Best for its modular HR, payroll, and IT platform : Best for businesses wanting an all-in-one HR payroll solution : Best for rapidly scaling startups : Best for mom-and-pops looking for a low-cost do-it-yourself (DIY) payroll service : Best for businesses with hourly workers Best Payroll Software for Small Businesses Compared See fullscreen table × *Pricing is based on a quote we received; includes time tracking, payroll, and access to Rippling’s core workforce management platform. **Patriot Payroll also offers a full-service payroll option with tax filing services that costs $37 plus $4 per employee monthly. ***You have to get Homebase’s main time tracking and scheduling platform (which is free for one-location businesses) before you can purchase Homebase Payroll. Best Payroll Software Quiz Gusto: Best Overall Payroll Software for Small Business Users ranks high among its competitors as its payroll and HR features enable small businesses to operate with the amenities that some larger companies offer. Apart from running payroll automatically as scheduled, it notifies each new hire so that they can complete the required paperwork. If you’re in one of the 11 states―Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming―where it doesn’t offer insurance, consider any of the providers in this guide except Patriot Payroll and Homebase Payroll as neither offers benefits. Scoring 4.71 out of 5 in our evaluation, Gusto earned perfect marks in pricing, reporting, and popularity among users. However, the limited coverage of its health insurance and having to subscribe to one of its higher tiers to access HR tools, such as time tracking and online PTO requests, prevented Gusto from getting a higher score. In terms of user feedback, many find it a valuable payroll software given its intuitive interface and efficient tools. However, several reviewers are unhappy about the long hold times when contacting customer support. Gusto Key Features Automatic and unlimited payroll runs in all 50 states: Unlike ADP and Paychex, Gusto allows you to process unlimited payroll runs, including bonus and off-cycle payments, at no extra cost. On top of that, you can even set payroll to run on autopilot. Automated tax payment and year-end report filing: Gusto withholds, pays, and files taxes on federal, state, and local levels automatically. It handles year-end tax reporting (W-2s and 1099s) for free, unlike ADP Run and Paychex, which charge a fee for this service. International contractor payments: Businesses can pay their contractors in more than 90 countries such as India, Canada, the UK, and the Philippines. Employee benefits: Gusto offers both standard and nonstandard benefits options, like 529 college savings accounts and Gusto Wallet—a free financial management app that even has time tracking tools. It also provides employee benefits plans in all 50 states, but its health insurance is available only in 39 (as of this writing). Multiple pay options: With Gusto, employees are paid through manual checks, pay cards, or direct deposits. The standard direct deposit timelines are two and four days but subscribing to Gusto’s higher tiers gets you a next-day option. Efficient time tracking and workforce management tools: Aside from project tracking and workforce costing tools, you can monitor your employees’ and contractors’ time through Gusto or via the Gusto Wallet. You can even create custom PTO policies and send/approve time-off requests online. However, these features are available only in Gusto’s higher tiers. QuickBooks Payroll: Best for QuickBooks Accounting Software Users is the best option for most QuickBooks accounting users. It integrates seamlessly—you access it within the same system with the click of a button—and all information flows throughout both systems (you don’t have to enter twice). As with Gusto, it offers full-service payroll with automated tax filings (federal and state, local taxes if subscribed to the Elite plan), year-end reporting (W-2s and 1099s), and an online portal where employees can access their pay stubs, tax forms, and PTO balances. It also has fast direct deposits; its standard timeline is next-day, but it has same-day options if you get one of its higher tiers. In our evaluation, the platform earned a 4.54 out of 5, with perfect scores in ease of use, pricing, and reporting. While all of its other ratings are 4 and above, it scored the lowest in popularity, given the limited number of user reviews (less than 500) on third-party review sites like G2 and Capterra. However, many users still appreciate its ease of use, especially its seamless integration with QuickBooks accounting. A few others complained about having experienced occasional software glitches while some said that it can be pricey for small businesses. QuickBooks Payroll Key Features Automatic and unlimited payroll: You can approve and set payroll to run automatically with QuickBooks. It also lets you process payroll as many times as your business requires. Automated payroll tax services: Like most of the payroll providers on this list, QuickBooks Payroll handles all tax calculations, payments, and filings, including year-end reporting, for you. However, its tax filing services only cover federal and state taxes. You have to be on an Elite plan if you want automated local tax filings; otherwise, you’ll have to file local tax forms yourself. Fast direct deposits: Apart from next-day direct deposits, you can pay employees through same-day direct deposit at no extra cost, provided you subscribe to QuickBooks Payroll’s higher tiers. Note that most of the providers on this list have a standard two-day processing time, although Square Payroll offers instant payments if you have a Square Payments account. Tax penalty protection: QuickBooks will cover the penalty and interest for any payroll tax error for up to $25,000 a year, regardless of who made the mistake. Note that you must purchase its Elite plan to have your errors covered. Experts will also represent you before the IRS and concerned agencies and will assist you to resolve the problem. No other providers on our list will offer to represent you to help fix tax issues or cover mistakes you make under any circumstance. Paychex: Best for Solopreneurs & Companies That Need Dedicated Payroll Support has solutions suited for different business sizes. Its Paychex Solo package includes payroll, startup/incorporation services, and access to retirement plan options, making it a suitable solution for one-person businesses. It also offers Paychex Flex as its main payroll platform, which comes with several tiers flexible enough to cater to companies of different sizes (its higher plans include a dedicated payroll specialist). Unlike Gusto, which provides health insurance only in 39 states, Paychex lets you offer health insurance in all states in the United States. The platform earned a 4.33 out of 5 in our evaluation. It scored perfect marks on HR, reporting, user popularity, and expert review criteria. However, it doesn’t have transparent pricing for all of its plans and charges extra for payroll tax administration and W-2/1099 filings, which are services that most of the providers in this guide include without additional fees. Paychex Key Features Flexible plan options: Paychex offers flexible HR and payroll subscriptions that target businesses of all sizes. Its Paychex Solo plan is perfect for solopreneurs and the self-employed. Aside from running payroll, Paychex can help them set up their business as an employer and select a retirement plan. None of the other providers in this guide have this package. PEO services: If you ever go through a growth period in which you need an HR expert but aren’t ready to hire, Paychex has a professional employer organization (PEO) service to help you manage essential day-to-day HR processes. Multiple payment options: Aside from direct deposits, Paychex supports employee payments made through pay cards and paper checks. It even offers check logo and signing services. Similar to Square Payroll and QuickBooks Payroll, Paychex also has a same-day payment option but via automated clearing house (ACH) transfers—provided you get its Select plan. HR tools: Paychex Flex’s higher tiers not only come with payroll tools but several HR solutions as well. In addition to a library of HR documents and an online employee handbook builder, you are granted access to a learning management module to help you run e-training courses for your staff. Screening applicants and welcoming new hires will also be easy with its background checks and online onboarding solutions. Experienced customer service: During implementation, Paychex will assign you a representative to help you set up. Once its system is up and running, you get access to US-based support with experienced professionals you can contact 24/7 in case you need assistance. You even have the option to submit payroll via phone to your designated payroll specialist. Live chat features, in-app help options, and how-to guides are also available. Square Payroll: Best for Restaurants & Small Retailers Using Square POS is the best choice for restaurants and small retailers that are already using Square’s POS system. It enables you to pay both employees and contractors and import online timecards from Square POS and other third-party software partners into its system. It also has tip reporting features that allow you to record tip amounts, deduct taxes, and report them on your tax forms. You can run payroll as often as you need to at no extra cost (unlike some plans under big-name providers like ADP and Paychex), file quarterly and annual taxes, and sign up for pay-as-you-go workers’ compensation insurance. In our evaluation, Square Payroll earned an overall rating of 4.28 out of 5, with a perfect score in reporting and high marks in nearly all of our criteria. It took a hit in ease of use and popularity among users because while it is easy to use, it doesn’t have a customizable interface. It also didn’t meet our subcriteria of having more than 1,000 average user reviews online. Plus, several reviewers complained of having experienced difficulties contacting its support team. Square Payroll Key Features Low-cost contractor-only plan: Square Payroll has the lowest contractor-only plan among all the providers on this list. Priced at only $5 per contractor monthly, it comes with all the features of its “pay employees and contractors” plan, including unlimited pay runs. Square POS integration: Square Payroll seamlessly integrates with Square POS, making it easy for you to track and import employee time cards, including tips and commission data for pay processing. Multiple employee payment options: Aside from direct deposit, employees and contractors can be paid through manual checks or via Square’s Cash App. Square Payroll also offers next-day and instant payment options through its Instant Payments feature. You can even use its On-Demand Pay tool to allow eligible employees to get a portion of their earned salary before the pay period is over. Online tax filing and reporting: Square Payroll will file your quarterly and annual taxes automatically as well as prepare and file your W-2s or 1099s, whether workers are paid an hourly, salary, or custom amount. This is unlike Patriot Payroll (if you’re on the self-service plan), Paychex, and ADP, which charge fees for some of its payroll tax services. QuickBooks Payroll may not have add-on fees to file taxes for you, but you have to get its highest tier if you want automated local tax filings. Employee benefits: Square Payroll will provide your employees access to health insurance, pay-as-you-go workers’ compensation plans, and even retirement packages that will automatically sync with your payroll. OnPay: Best for Small Companies That Need to Delegate Payroll Duties If you have a limited budget, provides a reasonably priced payroll solution that comes with basic HR tools for managing PTO, employee benefits, and onboarding. While it only has a single plan ($40 plus $6 per employee monthly), it’s one of the lowest-priced full-service payroll packages on our list excluding Patriot with its DIY option. Plus, you get complete access to all of OnPay’s tools as other providers require you to upgrade to higher plans to unlock additional features. Its six-level system permissions even provide you with enough flexibility to control who has access to and visibility into payroll and HR. For agricultural companies, OnPay handles Form 943 filings and processes payments and taxes for workers on H-2A visas. It can also handle the payroll needs of businesses in other industries such as healthcare and restaurant industries—from filing tax forms, such as forms 941, 1099, and W-2, to withholding your employees’ state and federal unemployment insurance payments and other contributions. The platform received an overall score of 4.19 out of 5 in our evaluation. Similar to Square Payroll, it received ratings of 4 and up in almost all criteria. It didn’t rank higher on our list because while OnPay provides payroll services for different business types, it has limited third-party software integrations, customization options, and user reviews on G2 and Capterra. Those who left feedback complained about the occasional software and integration glitches. However, many users still find its online tools efficient as it helps them simplify and automate employee pay processing. OnPay Key Features Unlimited payroll runs: OnPay lets you run payroll for both employees and contractors as many times as you need and want without having to pay extra. You can also generate year-end W-2s and 1099s without paying a per-employee rate (Paychex and ADP Run charge extra). For those with special tax requirements like agricultural businesses, OnPay offers automated tax payments and filings of Form 943. Essential HR tools: Streamline onboarding processes with OnPay’s in-app offer letters, online I-9 and W-4 forms, e-signature tool, and automated onboarding workflows. It handles state new hire reporting, plus you can create custom checklists to ensure that incoming employees complete all the new hire requirements. If you need HR guides and legal templates, OnPay has an online HR resource library that you can access. Employee benefits: Unlike Gusto’s health insurance, which covers only 39 states (as of this writing), OnPay’s health plans are available in all US states. Your employees are also granted access to dental, vision, disability, and retirement plans. Furthermore, OnPay can generate employee census data reports that you can use when requesting insurance quotes from carriers and benefits providers. Payroll support: Aside from phone, chat, and email support, OnPay can guide you through pay processing if you need help. However, if you require payroll assistance from OnPay’s support team on a weekend, you won’t be able to contact them via phone. It only offers email support on Saturdays and Sundays. ADP Run and Paychex are great choices if you require 24/7 support. Paychex even offers a dedicated payroll specialist, although this service is available only in its higher tiers. Rippling: Best for Businesses Looking for a Modular HR, Payroll & IT Solution What makes a good payroll option for businesses is its modular HR, payroll, and IT tools that allow you to choose only the solutions you need. While its workforce management platform is a must-purchase, the cost of adding full-service payroll is still reasonable—Rippling can even create a custom plan based on your needs. However, it isn’t as cost-effective as most of the payroll software for small business users in this guide such as Square Payroll and Patriot Payroll. It still made our list because it is the only HR and payroll software that we reviewed that can help you manage essential IT processes such as assigning and deploying computers and business apps that employees can use. It earned a 4.13 out of 5 in our evaluation, scoring high (4 and up) in nearly all of our criteria. It posted the lowest ratings in ease of use, primarily because it lacks free phone support—you have to purchase its HR help desk add-on that includes phone and email support from HR experts. In terms of user feedback, many appreciate its user-friendly platform and efficient payroll and HR tools. It has solid payroll analytic tools to ensure you don’t make any mistakes before running. However, some said that it can be glitchy at times with occasional login issues. Rippling Key Features Modular solutions: Rippling has a flexible workforce management platform that lets you choose the payroll, HR, and IT features that you need. You can start with its workforce management (a necessity) and full-service payroll tools, and then add more solutions like employee benefits and applicant tracking as you grow your business. Payroll analytics: Rippling automatically pulls your last payroll numbers when you begin processing a new payroll so you can easily compare the two. It helps you identify any obvious errors quickly to prevent you from having to backtrack to correct them later. Full-service payroll: With Rippling, you can run payroll with just three clicks. It automatically calculates all employee payments, taxes, and deductions. Payroll tax filings are also automatically done by Rippling. If you have employees and contractors based in satellite offices outside of the US, Rippling can help you manage international payroll processes so you can pay your workers accurately and on time. Robust HR tools: Rippling offers more than payroll and employee information management solutions; it also has applicant tracking, benefits administration, time and attendance, and learning management tools. However, these modules are paid add-ons to Rippling’s core workforce management platform. IT solutions: Rippling’s IT tools are designed to streamline and automate device and apps management processes. If you have new hires, Rippling can help you assign the computer units and identify business apps that employees have access to. For resigning employees, you can easily disable access to business apps and lock their computers on their last day. Rippling even stores your unassigned computer units in its warehouse, and you can check the inventory through its system. None of the providers we reviewed have robust IT solutions. Flexible PEO: Rippling offers PEO services to businesses that need help managing payroll and day-to-day HR operations. And, unlike ADP and Paychex, if you decide that you no longer need a PEO, then you can simply turn Rippling’s PEO services off from your account. Paycor: Best for Businesses Needing an HR Payroll Solution for Handling Simple to Complex Pay Runs For businesses looking for a cloud-based platform that comes with all of the essential tools to manage the entire employee lifecycle, is a good option. It offers a robust suite of solutions for handling basic to the most complex payroll and HR tasks. It has recruiting, onboarding, time and attendance, benefits, learning, and employee information management tools in addition to payroll and automated tax services. However, Paycor isn’t the most affordable payroll system for small businesses as its starter Basic plan costs $99 plus $5 per employee monthly, which is pricier than big-name payroll and HR providers like ADP and Paychex. Scoring 3.86 out of 5 in our evaluation, Paycor received high marks in nearly all of our criteria with perfect scores in reporting, HR features, and popularity among users. However, its expensive pricing and limited interface customizability prevented it from ranking higher on our list. Several users said that not being able to fully customize some of its features, such as creating special vacation accrual rules, is one of the things they like least about Paycor. Others commented that while it offers solid payroll and HR tools, its support team isn’t always responsive and can be difficult to reach at times. Paycor Key Features Time and attendance: Paycor enables you to collect and monitor employee work hours, helping manage attendance and labor costs through automated and accurate processes. Its system is much more robust than Gusto’s simple time tracking tool. Employees can clock in and out, and you can use it to schedule shifts. All-in-one HR platform: Paycor offers an all-in-one platform that combines its payroll software with onboarding, time tracking, scheduling, performance management, employee surveys, and recruiting tools. You won’t get these robust HR features with traditional payroll software for small businesslike OnPay, Patriot Payroll, and Homebase Payroll. Customizable pay grids: Paycor’s payroll solution is flexible, allowing you to create intuitive workflows and build an online pay grid to fit your unique pay processing needs. You can select the pay data columns you want, remove those you don’t need, and choose whether you want the system to display the applicable hours or amount (or both) for each data type. You can even create a customized pay stub. Accurate payroll and tax filing: Aside from calculating employee payments and deductions, Paycor handles your quarterly tax payments and filings, including year-end reports. It also pays and files your taxes automatically at the federal and state levels on time. You can pay employees via direct deposits and manual checks. Paycor even offers check stuffing services. ADP Run: Best for Scaling Startups That Need Flexible Plans is ADP’s payroll system for small businesses with up to 49 employees. It comes with all of the essential payroll and payroll tax management tools you need, plus new hire reporting, onboarding, background checks, and access to job postings (via ZipRecruiter). Its higher tiers even come with extra HR support and handholding that you don’t get with your typical small business payroll software like Square Payroll. ADP also makes it easy to transition from one plan to the next if your company scales and you need additional HR tools. In our evaluation, ADP Run earned an overall score of 3.71 out of 5. It was rated highly in ease of use, payroll and HR features, reporting, and popularity among users. However, its setup costs and nontransparent fees contributed to its very low rating in our pricing criteria—and users even commented that it can be expensive for small businesses. However, many reviewers said they do appreciate its easy-to-use platform, adding that its payroll solution helps simplify employee pay processes. ADP Run Key Features Fast and accurate payroll and tax filing: In addition to its solid payroll tools, ADP Run offers automated payroll tax payments and filings. While it also handles year-end reporting (W-2s and 1099s), ADP charges extra for this. Its built-in compliance tools also notify you of payroll errors. Multiple employee payment options: With ADP Run, you can pay your employees via direct deposit and paychecks and through the Wisely Direct Debit Card. It also offers secure paychecks with check signing and stuffing services. ADP will even deliver the sealed envelopes containing employee paychecks to your office so that you can distribute these to your staff. Flexible plan options: In addition to ADP Run’s multiple tiers with full-service payroll and access to essential HR tools, ADP has a wide range of products that can cater to midsize and large businesses. It offers a PEO option, ADP TotalSource, for companies that need to completely outsource their payroll and HR administration. Certified, experienced payroll professionals available 24/7: Similar to Paychex, ADP Run allows you to get in touch with payroll and HR experts whenever you need them. You also receive legal assistance on employment matters from Upnetic Legal Services—provided you subscribe to its highest tier. Recruitment and HR tools: ADP’s partnership with ZipRecruiter makes it possible for you to post open jobs to leading job boards. It also offers background checks, state new hire reporting, and onboarding, in addition to training tools and an online library of HR forms and documents. You won’t get this level of HR support with any other provider on our list except Paychex and Paycor. However, if you need time tracking, pay-as-you-go workers’ compensation, and benefits, these solutions are paid add-ons to ADP Run’s payroll plan. Patriot Payroll: Best for Mom-and-Pop Businesses That Want a Low-cost DIY Option offers a flexible option that others in this guide don’t: a choice between full-service payroll and a more affordable DIY version. Both come with unlimited payroll runs, multiple pay rates, automated PTO accrual calculations, and customizable deductions and contributions. You can pay employees through direct deposit or manual checks, and if you choose its full-service plan, Patriot will pay and file all federal, state, and local taxes. It even has payroll packages that include access to time tracking tools and an HR solution for managing employee information. Scoring 3.69 out of 5 in our evaluation, Patriot Payroll received perfect marks in reporting, pricing, and popularity among users. It posted the lowest score in HR functionalities because it doesn’t offer new hire onboarding and employee benefits that most of the payroll software in this list provides. However, users still appreciate its reasonably priced plans and helpful support team. Others said that while it has user-friendly and efficient payroll tools, they wished Patriot Payroll offered faster direct deposits and additional integration options. Patriot Payroll Key Features Self-service plan: You can save the most money if you have a couple of employees and are willing to file payroll taxes on your own using Patriot’s Basic Payroll plan. Priced at only $17 plus $4 per employee monthly, this is the most cost-efficient option among all the payroll providers in this guide. Flexible payroll system: In addition to unlimited pay runs, Patriot Payroll supports multiple pay rates, plus you can either use its standard deduction and contribution types or create your own to capture payroll details for garnishments, health insurance options, and retirement plans. Employees and contractor payments are made through direct deposits, but the processing time is four days. If you want fast direct deposits, consider QuickBooks Payroll (its basic Core plan comes with next-day options) and Square Payroll (its Instant Payments feature lets you pay employees instantly). Multiple full-service payroll packages: Aside from its standard Full Service option, Patriot has payroll packages that include time tracking and employee information management tools. All plans include one state filing, but if you need to file taxes in multiple states, each additional filing costs $12 monthly. Tax penalty guarantee: If you subscribe to one of its Full Payroll plans, Patriot ensures that your taxes will be calculated and filed on time. Any disputes will be resolved and paid for by Patriot for tax filing mistakes that its representatives commit. Compare this to QuickBooks—under its Elite plan, it covers the penalty and interest for any payroll tax error for up to $25,000 a year, regardless of who made the mistake. Homebase Payroll: Best for Businesses Employing Hourly Workers is an add-on module to Homebase, which has a suite of time tracking, hiring, and scheduling solutions. Similar to Square Payroll, it offers flat pricing for its easy-to-use pay processing solution that includes automated payroll tax payment and filing services. Its payroll platform is designed specifically for hourly teams as it comes with scheduling and time tracking solutions for managing your hourly workforce. It even offers job postings, applicant tracking, PTO management, new hire onboarding, and time clock apps. Homebase Payroll earned an overall score of 3.64 in our rubric. Its reasonably priced plan with flat pricing and efficient HR tools contributed to its high scores (4 and up) while the lack of online reviews resulted in it getting a zero rating in our popularity criteria. Homebase Payroll Key Features Robust payroll plan: Homebase Payroll is one of the payroll systems for small businesses that we reviewed that’s reasonably priced and comes with several HR features. For only $39 plus $6 per employee monthly, you get hiring, onboarding, time tracking, and scheduling tools in addition to full-service payroll and automatic tax filing services. Paycor, ADP, Paychex, and Rippling may offer similar functionalities, but you either have to pay extra or subscribe to its higher tiers to get these solutions. Full-service payroll: Unlike Paychex and ADP Run, Homebase Payroll offers unlimited pay runs so that you can process employee and contractor payments as many times as you need in a month. Salaries are sent to the employees’ accounts via direct deposits, although Homebase Payroll also supports payments made through printable checks. In addition to W-2 and 1099 reporting, Homebase provides automated payroll tax payments and filings. Early access to wages: Similar to Gusto and Square Payroll, Homebase Payroll offers an employee perk that grants your staff early access to wages. Your workers can transfer a portion of their salary to their bank account before payday to help pay for emergency expenses. How We Chose the Top Payroll Software We checked and compared the best payroll software for small businesses across industries; most of them offer many of the same basic payroll tools with certain nuances in features such as same-day vs two-day direct deposit or unlimited pay runs vs limited pay runs. Generally, the top payroll software offers direct deposit, tax filing, and year-end tax report preparation. Some even provide benefits and HR support. Click through the tabs below for a more detailed breakdown of our evaluation criteria: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Bottom Line Small businesses need reliable payroll software to save time and money. Most providers calculate wages, offer direct deposit, and pay taxes. However, you should consider your business needs and budget limitations. Small businesses can benefit from features such as automated tax payments, year-end report filing, and unlimited payroll runs. We found that offers all of the features that most small businesses need at a very competitive price. Users find it very easy to use and navigate, and the software is widely used in different industries. Sign up for a Gusto plan today. You May Also Like … For more payroll software options, check out our buyer’s guide on the best payroll services to help you find a payroll software or service that fits your business’s needs. You can also check out our top picks for payroll solutions by industry and use case. Best Restaurant Payroll for Small Eateries Best Payroll Software for Accountants Best Construction Payroll Software Best International Payroll Services for Global Companies Best Human Resources Payroll Software Best Free Payroll Software Best Payroll Apps Best Payroll Software for Mac Users Best Nanny Payroll Software for Household Employers Best Payroll Software for Paying Contractors Best Church Payroll Software Best Payroll Software for Trucking Companies Best Human Resource Apps Best Payroll Software for Nonprofits

Unlike hourly and salaried employees, truckers may have pay rates based on miles driven or truckloads carried. The best payroll for trucking companies can support these unique scenarios and fulfill trucking-specific requirements while simplifying salary calculations, driver payment processing, and International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) reporting. To find the top trucking payroll software, we looked at 18 options—from general payroll solutions to transportation management systems (TMS) that include payroll. We narrowed it down to our four best. : Best overall payroll software for trucking companies : Best for QuickBooks users : Best for growing trucking companies needing strong human resources (HR) tools : Best for trucking companies wanting a full TMS with driver settlement tools to pay contractors Best Trucking Payroll Software Compared All the trucking payroll software on our list can handle driver payments, direct deposits, and manual check payouts. Below are some of the standout features. *Contractor-only plan is for businesses without W-2 employees Payroll for Trucking Companies Quiz Gusto: Best Overall Payroll Software for Trucking Companies ranks No. 1 on our lists of the best online payroll software and leading payroll solutions. It is also our top-recommended payroll for trucking companies because it can manage pay processes for both driver and non-driver staff at reasonable rates. For a monthly fee of $40 plus $6 per person, it can calculate employee and contractor pay, handle PTO and time tracking, and file federal, state, and local taxes for you. It also offers essential HR tools like onboarding and new hire reporting and a variety of benefits options, from retirement plans to workers’ compensation and commuter benefits. However, its health insurance coverage isn’t as wide as those of QuickBooks Payroll and ADP Run—both have benefits plans that cover all 50 states, while Gusto’s is available only in 39 states as of this writing. TruckLogics doesn’t have this feature. Scoring 4.23 out of 5 in our evaluation, Gusto received perfect marks in pricing, reporting, and user popularity. Many users find its interface intuitive and its support team helpful. It also scored well in several of our other criteria, given its ease of use, efficient HR features, and solid payroll tools. It would have gotten a higher overall rating if not for the limited coverage of its health benefits and lack of TMS features, like IFTA information tracking. Gusto Key Features QuickBooks Payroll: Best for Trucking Companies Using QuickBooks Accounting is another popular system that has made our payroll best-of lists. When used with QuickBooks accounting software, it can integrate with TMSes, making it a great payroll option for trucking companies. Its pay processing tools are efficient and robust, letting you run unlimited payrolls with next- and same-day direct deposit options. It doesn’t charge for setup, plus it works with SimplyInsured for employee health benefits and Mammoth for expert HR support. This is in contrast to TruckLogics, which doesn’t offer benefits plans and lacks HR features. It earned 4.19 out of 5 in our evaluation, with perfect marks in pricing, HR features, and reporting. It scored the lowest in trucking-specific tools because QuickBooks Payroll doesn’t have a direct way to pay by miles—you have to manually calculate and input the applicable rates when you run payroll. However, with QuickBooks Online, you can set up vendor profiles for employees, so you can track and reimburse mileage per driver or import the information from your TMS. In terms of user feedback, many left positive comments on third-party review sites like G2 and Capterra. They commended QuickBooks Payroll’s ease of use and efficient pay processing tools. QuickBooks Payroll Key Features ADP Run: Best for Growing Trucking Companies Needing Strong HR Tools is a versatile payroll program that can meet the needs of small to large businesses in a variety of industries, including trucking. It has multiple payroll packages with a wide range of payroll and HR features to support trucking companies as they grow. It even offers professional employer organization (PEO) services if you need expert assistance in handling HR administrative tasks without expanding your in-house HR team. With an overall score of 3.52 out of 5 in our evaluation, it earned perfect ratings in HR features and reporting and high marks (4 and up) in user popularity and payroll functionalities. Compared to Gusto, ADP Run offers a wider range of payroll tools for truckers as it supports nondriver staff designations and integrates with trucking software. It also has background checks, which is useful when hiring drivers. However, nontransparent pricing, additional fees for year-end tax reporting, and the lack of IFTA tracking features prevented ADP Run from ranking higher on our list. In terms of user reviews, many reviewers said ADP Run is generally easy to use with efficient payroll tools that help save them time. Meanwhile, some users complained about pricing, adding that many of the features they need are paid add-ons or require a plan upgrade. ADP Run Key Features TruckLogics: Best for Trucking Companies Needing a Full TMS With Driver Settlement Tools to Pay Contractors is a comprehensive TMS that includes everything from truck dispatch and IFTA tracking to maintenance scheduling and driver management. It also has business intelligence tools and online document management, plus it can handle driver settlements and manage your accounts. It doesn’t have payroll tax filing capabilities and HR features like the other providers on our list. And if you want payroll for your nondriver staff, you have to integrate with third-party software solutions like PayWow, which can handle payments for contractors and hourly and salaried employees. PayWow is designed by the same company that made TruckLogics, so the two integrate seamlessly. However, you need a paid PayWow subscription to access its platform. Plus, PayWow’s complete payroll plan is available only in North and South Carolina as of this writing. With 3.5 out of 5 on our evaluation, TruckLogics earned high marks (3 and up) in most of our criteria with perfect scores in pricing and trucking-specific features. It lost points due to its lack of employee benefits options and HR solutions (like online onboarding) and the low number of average user reviews on third-party sites like G2 and Capterra. However, users still find TruckLogics easy to learn and use. They also appreciate its breadth of trucking management tools and good customer support. TruckLogics Key Features How We Chose the Best Payroll Software for Trucking Companies In our evaluation of the best trucking payroll software, we compared a mix of trucking software with payroll functionalities and payroll software that would allow payment by miles or loads. We chose solutions that offered the best combination of payroll processing and trucking-specific features, giving priority to the latter. Trucking-specific systems (like TMSes) usually scored high for trucking-related features but low for essential HR and payroll functionalities. Similarly, payroll software providers offer solid pay processing and HR solutions but limited trucking features. You’ll need to decide your priorities when selecting. To see our full evaluation criteria for the best payroll software for trucking companies, click through the tabs in the box below: Bottom Line Trucking companies have many moving parts to keep track of—and we’re not just talking about the trucks themselves. With the best trucking payroll software, especially one that is part of a TMS or can integrate with one, your office staff can keep your drivers paid on time and accurately. Although it’s not TMS software, we chose Gusto as the best payroll software for trucking companies. It has an excellent range of payroll and HR features, including benefits. In addition, you can set it to pay according to mileage or load rather than by hour or salary. It has a cheaper plan for contractors, too. Sign up for Gusto today.