Both employers and employees can find it challenging and time-consuming to handle payroll. If you’re thinking about using payroll software for your business, it has been designed to make the payroll process easy! Let’s take you on a journey to find out the top payroll processing systems and how any of these payroll software can transform your business
What are Payroll Processing Systems?
On-premise and cloud-based payroll software are the two options available. This software is used by HR and payroll professionals to manage, maintain, and automate the payment process for employees. HR payroll software features like calculating payments, including taxes, and depositing salaries to employees’ specified bank accounts help businesses streamline the payment process.
How Does Payroll Processing Systems Work?
Nearly all HR payroll software is compatible with other business software which guarantees employees a timely, accurate, and appropriate salary.
The software is accessible to employees for personal accounts; Consequently, they are able to modify their personal information, payment reference, and other particulars.
General Payroll Software Procedures
Setting forth the policies: The first stage is to put company policies into practice. An hourly rate, pay policy, deduction, and final rate are some of these policies. Other processes also require input factors including overall attendance, absences, overtime, and holidays.
Verification: The HR payroll software double-checks the calculated salary to ensure the final paycheck is accurate.
Keep a record: Following payment processing, the system stores payroll records, including name, paid, tax, date, and other information.
Goals of Payroll Processing Systems
Payroll software focuses on calculating and processing employee pay, creating tax forms, and administering benefits. However, payroll capabilities can also be integrated into accounting and budgeting software, ERP software, or software for managing human resources.
Companies can effectively manage and monitor their payroll processes with payroll software; It ensures that workers are paid accurately and on time. It enables the HR and accounting departments to automate payroll procedures, which results in accurate bookkeeping and time savings. It can also work with time tracking software, benefits administration software, and accounting software. Software for managing payroll is mostly used by businesses with a lot of employees. Thus, a payroll system simplifies the employment procedure as a whole.
The lists are based on the number of reviews and brand value, and the data come from review platforms like Trustradius, G2, and GetApp.
List of 20 top Payroll Processing Systems.
We are going from the least to the top payroll processing systems. Let’s begin!
Due to the common practices of these software sellers not providing pricing information, we picked some of the best payroll processing systems we know will be affordable also but without a price tag for the list. Now let’s begin!
20. Paylocity:
Paylocity is a supplier of an all-inclusive cloud-based payroll solution. It is steadfastly committed to easing the range of daily HR tasks in an organization in order to develop solutions for the employee. Everything from automating employee wages to submitting quarterly or annual tax returns to tracking employee hours can be done using this platform.
Why is Paylocity on this list?
Highest rated features: Time, attendance, paid time off (PTO), wage structure, budget management, and compliance and Organisation management.
Market segment: No 2 for mid-market.
Top industries served: Hospital and healthcare administration, real estate, and nonprofit organization management.
A look into why Paylocity is the least in this list
Free plan is unavailable.
Free trial is unavailable
Price: will be available upon demo (this i tend not to like a lot).
Like: Paylocity responds quickly to the demands of businesses. They are working on it in the background whenever customers say they need the program to do something, and they will get back to you soon. The program is simple to use, and Paylocity responds quickly to assist in identifying answers for problems that are occurring in the world.
Dislike: Sometimes customers will have to wait for a text to look at sensitive data, which will not allow the customers have full satisfaction.
19. RUN Powered by ADP:
This is one of the Payroll processing systems that are affordable and made especially for small businesses is offered by RUN Powered by ADP. It is the go-to software for HR professionals wishing to manage, automate, and simplify internal staff processes because it is stocked with a variety of workforce-related capabilities. With RUN, Employer taxes may be readily calculated thanks to built-in smart tax tools that are powered by ADP. It is a user-friendly payroll management software that offers extras like third-party employee hiring, garnishment services, and other features to make the process simple.
Why is RUN on this list?
Highest rated features: Direct Deposit, tax calculation, Check/W-2 delivery.
Market segment: #1 for small business
Top industries served: Construction, Nonprofit organization management, health & fitness.
A look into why RUN takes this rank in this list
Free plan: unavailable
Free trial: unavailable
Pricing: $59/month + $4/employee/ month.
Like: it is simple to do payroll each paid month and set up payroll for new hires. The generated reports are quite beneficial for records. The software guides people through the process of adding new staff, which makes it quite simple to finish. Companies get alerts about legislation that have an impact on their payroll so they can make sure workers stay in compliance.
Dislike: Every time people log in, pop-ups that can’t be turned off also appear. Because the email subject and email address are not always apparent, employees frequently miss communications asking them to sign up for online access. Finding reports has become more challenging as a result of some changes in the most recent update, particularly information on unemployment filings and quarterly 941s.
18. ADP Workforce Now:
The cloud-based HR solution ADP Workforce Now changes how you handle your payroll. It has several integrations for payroll services, benefits administration, talent acquisition, and HR management.
Why is ADP Workforce Now on this list?
Highest-rated features: 1 on 1 consultation, public acclaim, and direct deposit
Market segment: #1 for Mid business
Top industries served: Hospital & healthcare, nonprofit organization management, information technology & services.
A look into why ADP Workforce Now takes this rank in this list
Free plan: unavailable
Free trial: unavailable
Pricing: Available on request
Like: The product feels solid and has a good human capital management (HCM) bundle that includes all most companies require. It includes every stage of the life cycle, from talent management to employee offboarding, in one convenient location. Manage payroll, benefits, and HR reporting. It is a platform that has been carefully created, and it also features a time and attendance module to make things much simpler.
Dislike: Despite being a reasonably comprehensive application, due to the volume of modules and tools it provides and the somewhat steep learning curve, it may be bulky and unwieldy. People could avoid doing a lot of manual effort if the program allowed employees to request leaves and manage their vacations.
17. Rippling:
Rippling is a thorough and secure platform for managing employees that conforms to your company’s standards. It combines all systems and data, whether they are related to HR, accounting, finance, or IT, in a matter of minutes.
You can build up a workflow for employee onboarding, benefits management, a 401(k), and health insurance with rippling in just a few short minutes! Rippling transmits data to the ERP with only one click, whether it be connectivity with third-party programs like Google Meet, Slack, or MS Teams!
Why is Rippling on this list?
Highest rated features: Organisation management, benefits administration, time, attendance, and PTO.
Top industries served: Computer software, Information Technology & Services, and Financial Services.
A look into why Rippling takes this rank in this list
Free plan: unavailable
Free trial: available
Pricing: $35/month + $8/employee/month
Like: there are a lot of likable features that ripple offers like automatic payroll approval, Easy tracking of PTO, A chat feature and an extremely helpful support center.
Dislike: Instead of just stating that a time-off request has been authorized, it will be better to use the functionality that allows users to know who approved the request.
16. Paychex Flex:
A payroll administration system with built-in security features, payroll technology, and automatic tax calculation is called Paychex Flex. Advanced analytics and data visualisation metrics can be used to tailor your reports so that you can see your workforce hierarchy and employees clearly.
Why is Paychex Flex on this list?
Highest-rated features: Direct deposit, check/W-2 printing, check/W-2 delivery
Market segments: No 2 for small businesses
Top industries represented: Construction, hospital & health care, medical practice
A look into why Paychex Flex takes this rank in this list
Free plan: Not available
Free trial: 30-day free trial
Pricing: $39/month + $5/employee
Like: It is simple for people to find what they need even if they are not tech savvy.
Dislike: When Paychex Flex and Time & Attendance aren’t integrated, certain data must be entered into those columns. Instead of individual components, it would be ideal if everything were combined into a single, cohesive system.
15. Paycom:
Paycom is an employee-driven payroll system that handles all aspects of how the HR department thinks. Along with streamlining payroll procedures, it improves the prototype’s serviceability by adding an employee-only self-service portal.
Why is Paycom on this list?
Highest-rated features: Direct deposit,check/W-2 printing, payroll, check/W-2 delivery.
Market segments: #3 for Mid-market
Top industries represented: Hospital & healthcare, information technology & services, financial services.
A look into why Paycom takes this rank in this list
Free plan: unavailable
Free trial: unavailable
Pricing: available when requested
Like: It is user-friendly. People can easily and conveniently examine their pay stubs, request time off, and make changes thanks to the app’s seamless operation in tandem with the website.
Dislike: It has been difficult to consistently receive fresh account specialists. They lack the necessary training to assist in our problem-solving or provide people with information. They appear to require additional training to be genuinely helpful.
14. Gusto:
Gusto is one of the prominent payroll processing systems in the market. A whole range of cloud-hosted HR and payroll services, including Direct Deposit, insurance administration, time and attendance monitoring, PTO management, recruitment tools, and certified helpdesks, are offered by Gusto. It’s no surprise that Gusto is regarded as one of the top payroll software choices. Additionally, it has consistently held the top spot for payroll software for many years.
Why is Gusto on this list?
Highest-rated features: Direct deposit, web portal, performance & reliability
Market segments: #3 for Small business
Top industries represented: Computer software, marketing & advertising, IT
A look into why Gusto takes this rank in this list
Free plan: unavailable
Free trial: 30 day free trial.
Pricing: $40/month + $6/employee/month.
Like: It is nearly rare these days for a firm to care enough to support you for the entirety of the relationship rather than simply helping you join up with them, but this support is amazing. The majority of businesses offer excellent sales support but little to no support once the goods has been purchased.
Dislike: The excessive email volume that is received from Gusto is what people detest the most.
13. UKG Pro:
An international human capital management tool called UKG Pro makes payroll and employee management simpler. Instead of being business-centric, UKG Pro takes pleasure in being people-centric. Delivering a connected worker experience through top-notch HR practices is the organization’s ultimate goal.
Why is UKG Pro on this list?
Highest-rated features: Performance-HR, organization management, reporting
Top industries represented: Hospital & healthcare, nonprofit, financial services.
A look into why UKG Pro takes this rank in this list
Free plan: unavailable
Free trial: unavailable
Pricing: Starting at $24 to $35/month/employee.
Like: As a user-friendly system, UKG Pro makes it simple for people to instruct our younger users on it. The system is primarily used for payroll tasks, though customers eventually want to include modules for compensation and human resources.
Dislike: The Talent and Compensation module has several restrictions, thus we have been forced to make extensive use of conventions.
12. Quickbook Desktop pro:
You may produce payrolls, invoices, and other financial operations with the aid of QuickBooks Desktop Pro. With the help of this software, you can quickly import and download large volumes of data from a csv file without encountering any compatibility or label mapping problems, and you can effortlessly calculate tax amounts. All of this is done using a month-to-month payroll calculation that runs smoothly.
Why is QuickBooks Desktop pro on this list?
Highest-rated features: Track cash flow, tax calculation, income, and expenses – accounting
Top industries represented: Performance-HR, organization management, reporting.
A look into why Quickbook Desktop pro takes this rank in this list
Free plan: unavailable
Free trial: 30-day trial
Pricing: $449 (one time)
Like: The industry benchmark for small business accounting software is QuickBooks Desktop Pro. It includes excellent reporting features, and various options to automate tasks and lessen your daily workload, and it is very user-friendly. It’s astonishing how well different software platforms may be integrated, especially with payment and payroll processors.
Dislike: the mobile syncing system is not too good.
11. Workday HCM:
A strong machine learning algorithm was used in the construction of Workday HCM, an integrated HCM suite, to better analyze your workforce environment. A genuine cloud-based system that simplifies your financial, human resources, analytics, and employee lifecycles and is generated from a single security model.
Why is Workday HCM on this list?
Highest-rated features: Time, attendance & PTO, organization management, performance, HR.
Top industries represented: Information Technology-enabled services (ITES), Computer software, internet.
A look into why Workday HCM takes this rank in this list
Free plan: unavailable
Free trial: 30-day trial
Pricing: starting at $300k annually or $40 to $60 per employee.
Like: it creates a platform where all employees in the retail, office, and manufacturing sectors can access their personal information, performance-related information, employment history, benefits, pay, recruiting, and more. Customers can properly assess their people’s makeup, produce analytics, and ultimately make wiser business decisions thanks to technology.
Dislike: It can take a lot of time to set up the connectivity with SAP and other solutions like payroll. The tool’s APIs might be made better so that they could be handled without requiring a lot of effort or assistance from outside specialists.
Our 10 Top Payroll Processing Systems
10. Patriot payroll:
Patriot Payroll is a cost-effective and effective way to improve your accounting, tax, and payroll processes. You’ll be happy to see how this program automates your tax payments, tracks attendance and employee hours, allows direct cash transactions, and structures payslips each pay period if your business now does payroll manually or uses Microsoft Excel.
Why is Patriot payroll on this list?
Highest-rated features: Tax filing, time tracking integration, automatic tax payments
Top industries represented: Accounting, retail, and construction.
A look into why Patriot payroll takes this rank in this list
Free plan: unavailable
Free trial: 30-day trial
Pricing: $10 monthly or $4 per employee per month.
Like: Patriot offers cost-effective payroll management that is simple to use.
Dislike: The navigation for the most utilized action items might be made clearer. The search feature might be enhanced. It would be beneficial to include anything like favorites, action items, or bookmarks.
9. APS:
With the help of a single service platform, APS, an all-in-one workforce management system, makes payroll operations simpler. It aims to cut down on the amount of time a business spends processing payroll and create a system that fosters success.
Why is APS on this list?
Highest-rated features: Direct deposit, check W-2 delivery, check W-2 printing.
Top industries represented: nonprofits, Hospitals & Healthcare, and religious institutions.
A look into why APS takes this rank in this list
Free plan: unavailable
Free trial: unavailable
Pricing: Starting at $50/month + $5/employee/month.
Like: The customer service response is amazing and their response is quick.
Dislike: Customers must be aware of and work around several peculiarities. For each payroll cycle, this equates to a significant amount of manual scrutiny.
8. Isolved:
A software solution for HRIS and payroll that focuses on cross-border payments is what isolved is. More than five million employees and 145,000 businesses from all 50 states are part of their HRO partner network. By recording employee metrics, it streamlines regular HR activities within a business and operates on a cloud platform. With some success, the intelligent software solution also builds relationships with staff members personally.
Why is Isolved on this list?
Highest-rated features: Direct deposit, pre-tax deduction expense reimbursements
Top industries represented: Hospital & health care, construction, nonprofit management.
A look into why Isolved takes this rank in this list
Free plan: unavailable
Free trial: unavailable
Pricing: $80/month + $4/employee/month
Like: The customer service takes on customers challenging case to verify correctness with their payroll taxes, ultimately saving them a lot of time and money!
Dislike: If you don’t stay focused on what it is that you need for your HRIS needs, there are so many features that it may get overwhelming. But you have the option to alter it as necessary.
7. Ceridian Dayforce:
Employee payroll, HR, benefits, compensation, talent management, and workforce intelligence are all included in a single application on the Ceridian Dayforce global HCM platform. “If a firm wants to nail the game, they need to place employees at the front of their priority queue,” is the guiding idea of Ceridian Dayforce.
.Why is Ceridian Dayforce on this list?
Highest-rated features: Company goals & OKRs, continuous feedback, public praise & performance management.
Top industries represented: Company goals & OKRs, continuous feedback, public praise & performance management.
A look into why Ceridian Dayforce takes this rank in this list
Free plan: unavailable
Free trial: unavailable
Pricing: $20 – $29/month
Like: having a system that handles all payroll, performance management, and HR requirements in one location is really nice. Companies using this product now have a single source of information, making it easier to manage their headcount and give managers access to precise information about their employees.
Dislike: Most frequently, it’s challenging to log in and the code takes a while to send.
6. Onpay:
OnPay is a premium all-in-one HR and payroll solution that includes best-in-class integrations pre-loaded to free up team bandwidth. It can reduce the month-over-month backlog and release up to 15 hours of payroll, HR, and accounting procedures each month. Once you’ve established employee pay runs, configure a periodic push of employee information that sends it instantly to accounting software.
Why is ADP Onpay on this list?
Highest-rated features: Performance & reliability, automatic tax payment, tax filing
Top industries represented: Nonprofit organization management, construction.
A look into why Onpay takes this rank in this list
Free plan: unavailable
Free trial: 30-day trial
Pricing: $40/month plus $6/employee
Like: Excellent technical support, a functioning UI, and cleanliness. Payroll processing only takes a few minutes to be completed. It integrates with Deputy, which companies use to manage timesheets, so they don’t have to manually enter any data or even “export” anything in advance.
Dislike: There is a wizard to guide people through setup, and people may schedule a virtual appointment with a personal agent, even though it can be a little perplexing at first. Customers have to log in multiple times to finish, but some of that is because they have to wait for the state income department to provide them the necessary paperwork. For the majority of other payroll software programs, this would probably be true.
Our top 5 Payroll Processing Systems.
5. Remote:
For your full-time or contract-based employees located in different states or countries, remote is the best compensation management solution. This program handles international payroll, benefits, taxes, stock options, and compliance in a proctored manner regardless of where your staff resides or works to ensure fluidity.
Why is Remote on this list?
Highest-rated features: Multi-country payroll, internal policies, country-specific payroll
Top industries represented: ITES, computer software, financial services.
A look into why Remote takes this rank in this list
Free plan: available
Free trial: Unavailable
Pricing: $ From $0 to $29/month
Like: The onboarding process Is quite straightforward. When their support staff is contacted, prompt and thorough responses are gotten.
Dislike: Remote ran into issues trying to act as a middleman with customers business; as a result, people were forced to make the payment without their service. Companies had to work overtime to make payroll.
4. Bamboo HR:
Bamboo HR is a powerful cloud-based HRIS that streamlines HR procedures and payroll computations. It’s ideal for companies who have outgrown Microsoft Excel PivotTables and want to upgrade their personnel and HR processes. In more than 150 countries, Bamboo serves thousands of customers.
Why is Bamboo HR on this list?
Highest-rated features: Check/W-2 delivery, direct deposit, Check/W-2 printing
Top industries represented: Computer software, ITES, Marketing & advertising
A look into why Bamboo HR takes this rank in this list
Free plan: Unavailable.
Free trial: 30-day free trial.
Pricing: $75/month plus $4.95/employee/month.
Like: At BambooHR, the customer service is excellent. These are people who genuinely care about their clients, and even when they are unable to address a matter right away, they give updates and bring it up during their biweekly and monthly product improvement meetings. Because of the way they approach and address issues relating to people, culture, and organizational development, BambooHR is always a first choice to customers HR solution.
Dislike: Accruals are subject to specific restrictions. Time off from the prior year cannot be changed. It is not possible to set up more than one notification for timesheet approvals, and there are only a maximum of five days before payday.
Our top 3 Payroll Processing Systems.
3. Oracle PeopleSoft HCM:
Oracle provides a framework for transferring PeopleSoft to the cloud for businesses. Global Core HCM, Workforce Management, Talent Management, and other features are all part of the Oracle package.
Why is Oracle on this list?
Highest-rated features: Retroactive pay, anytime pay and compliance
Top industries represented: packaging and labeling companies and fashion.
A look into why Oracle PeopleSoft HCM takes this rank in this list
Free trial: Available
Free plan: unavailable
Pricing: contact the vendor
Like: Through a voice-based user interface and a digital assistant to get rapid responses and carry out procedures from any device, interacting with the system is intended to be as simple as having a normal conversation.
Dislike: You can’t see the pricing till you subscribe.
2. WebHR:
One of the cloud-based payroll processing systems platforms called WebHR handles hiring, managing employees, paying employees, and supporting more than 15 languages. The daily operations of the HR department can be made easier with WebHR.
Why is WebHR on this list?
Highest-rated features: personnel tracking, payroll with multi-currency and multilingual support, benefits administration, applicant tracking, applicant sourcing, onboarding, and performance review.
Top industries represented: Information Technology and Services, Real Estate, Human Resources, Computer Software, Financial Services
A look into why WebHR takes this rank in this list
Free trial: Available
Free plan: Available
Pricing: from $0 to $190.99
Like: Free account to test what the software looks like. Employee move workflow provides the ability to move employees to different positions and apply pay raises.
Dislike: When loading much data, the app seems slow and needs performance improvement, Worksheet entry for employees is not as flexible.
1. TriNet:
TriNet, established in 1988, offers small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) industry-specific full-service HR and payroll solutions. TriNet provides access to real-time technology, payroll, benefits, risk mitigation, and compliance services.
Why is TriNet on this list?
Highest-rated features: Check/W-2 Delivery, Direct Deposit, User, Role, and Access Management.
Top industries represented: Computer Software, Information Technology and Services, Financial Services, Internet, Marketing and Advertising.
A look into why TriNet takes this rank in this list
Free trial: Available
Free plan: Unavailable
Pricing: contact the vendor.
Like of this payroll processing system : It minimizes employee-related risks, aligns employer and employee requirements, and offers reliable customer support service
Dislike: Medical insurance premiums were very expensive.
Conclusion
Some of the payroll processing systems we added in our top ten list may not be more popular than others but they have features that makes them must-haves, in our opinion.
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