5 Best Payroll Software for Small Businesses

By Abhinav Girdhar | Last Updated on March 9th, 2023 8:19 am | 4-min read

The payroll is the most important process in any organization. Every business, no matter what industry it belongs to needs a payroll management system. Every employee, no matter how high in the organization, work for money. Even a slight delay in processing payrolls flood the HR office with mails. It is crucial to keep the payroll process smooth and working even under dire situations.

Designing a payroll management system internally can be tedious and cause confrontations to the smooth working of a workplace. That is the exact reason it is recommended that you purchase a good payroll management system. There are a lot of options for the same in the market and today, we’re going to look at the best payroll systems you can find.

Payroll management systems have come a long way and the ones in the list below are among the best the industry has to offer. The list contains payroll software that provides free trials so there’s the added safety net of being able to use the software before integrating it in your company’s core database.

1. Xero for G Suite

   Xero is an Australian based SaaS product and is nearly 15-year-old software. Their accounting software is used in nearly every country in the world making them one of the most successful accounting software in the world. Xero has been consistently been growing and is used by nearly 2 million businesses worldwide.
   

   Xero for G Suite is the direct integration between Xero and Google’s G-Suite. This integration gives you access to both G Suite products and a payroll system. This can be an excellent solution for new businesses as they’re able to get a cloud-based storage system for their employees, with a working payroll system.

Pros of Xero for G Suite

• Ease of use.
• Integration with Google is a win-win situation for G-Suite based businesses.
• Versatility.

Cons of Xero for G Suite

• Not suited for businesses that do not need G Suite.
• Dated interface and the lack of live support.

2. OnPay

   OnPay is the best payroll software for 2019. It is suited mainly for smaller businesses. Businesses with as small as 3 employees can benefit from a payroll system like OnPay. Founded back in 2007, OnPay is a US-based business that has been around for nearly 12 years. Made with payrolls in mind, OnPay is highly customizable in the parameters involved.
   

   OnPay is the best of the year because once established makes the entire payroll process is simplified and is painless in its execution.

Pros of OnPay

• User interface.
• Versatility and Customizability.
• Sheer feel-good factor thanks to a fresh and attractive interface.

Cons of OnPay

• Certain ergonomic flaws in the interface that have overcomplicated workarounds.
• Remote access is difficult. Bad for users that constantly travel.
• Setting it up is a pain. Although it works smoothly once established.

3. Wave Payroll

   Wave Payroll will turn 10 years old in the coming year. One of the most widely used software in the industry Wave Payroll is among the few payroll management software that can be tried out for free. The costs of using it differ on the requirements of your organization.
   

   Pros of using Wave Payroll

   • Fairly easy to use.
   • Excellent customer service.
   • The app is intuitive.
   • The payroll system is straightforward and uncomplicated.

   Cons of using Wave Payroll

   • ‘Free’ Pricing on the website is a misleading claim.
   • Transfers take a significant amount of time.
   • Not suited to larger businesses.
   • Not automated so it must be begun manually every week.

4. CheckMark Payroll

   CheckMark is the oldest payroll and accounting software on this list. The first version of this software was launched for the Mac back in 1984. Ever since then CheckMark has consistently been evolving. The Colorado-based company is US and Canada’s leading payroll system.

   Pros of using CheckMark Payroll

   • System Installed Payroll system.
   • Easy to set up and use.
   • Was created with small businesses in mind.

   Cons of using CheckMark Payroll

   • Lack of cloud-based database for the payroll system.
   • Customer service could be better.
   • Expensive for businesses with less than 10 employees.

5. SurePayroll

   Established in 1999, SurePayroll is a popular payroll software that can be used to create a unique payroll system. While one might argue that there are better payroll software, SurePayroll is a stable player in the payroll management market. They have populated top payroll management software lists multiple times in the past 20 years.
   

   Pros of using SurePayroll

   • Intuitive and navigable interface.
   • A very affordable alternative.
   • It can be scaled for bigger businesses.
   • Lets employees access the reports of the payroll system.

   Cons of using SurePayroll

   • Mediocre Customer Support.
   • Since the company helps design payroll systems according to the requirements, unique issues keep propping up.
   • Complains of additional hidden fees are fairly common.

That was our list of the best payroll software for small business. These payroll software have had a good year and are excellent choices for new payroll systems for the year 2022. Good Luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

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