According to research, a good standing business should spend between 15% and 30% of its gross revenue on the payroll. For the firms spending $82.6 billion on payroll and bookkeeping in 2020, the investment is significant.
With the options available today for payroll automation, the question is not if you should use payroll software but rather what payroll software can best work for you.
Here’s a closer look at four essential payroll software for accountants to help you run your business.
- Gusto: Nimble Choice for Small Business Payroll
Gusto is payroll software developed with small businesses in mind to help them manage payroll for independent contractors and employees.
The software offers an unlimited number of pay runs at no extra cost, which is useful if you need to run payroll several times.
Additionally, you can have a support team at hand to help you set up via live chat. That’s in addition to a searchable support center as well as video guides.
Some of the benefits Gusto can help you process include:
- 401(K) retirement
- Health insurance
- Commuter benefits
- Flexible spending accounts
- Health savings accounts
- 529 savings plans
When it comes to payment options, Gusto allows you to use checks and 2-day direct deposits. You can also decide to use payroll available on-demand or a cashout feature (that facilities payroll as your workers earn it).
What about time off? Gusto allows you to set a paid time off (PTO) policy within its system. That way, you can manage the time each employee takes and, at any time, tell how much each employee has.
Gusto boasts several integrations with:
- Receipt Bank
- When I Work
- QuickBooks
- Homebase
- FreshBooks
- Xero
- Ximble
The complete Gusto package starts at $39, with an additional $6 for every employee or contractor.
Keep in mind that Gusto does not offer insurance in 24 out of the 50 states.
- Patriot Software: Full-Service Payroll for the Budget-Conscious
If you are looking for a cost-conscious payroll option, then Patriot is right up your alley.
You can run full-service payroll with the free software at $30 a month plus $4 per employee or contractor.
If you are more of a do-it-yourself (DIY) kind of person, then for $10, Patriot will let you run payroll (even though filing and paying of payroll taxes will be up to you).
The option to test it out with DIY payroll before taking on the full service is a feature you don’t find with other payroll software in the big leagues.
Setting up Patriot is easy as fewer features, meaning you have fewer things to figure out. If you run into any issues, support over email, live chat, or the phone can sort you out. There’s also a searchable Help Center to enable you to resolve any issues you may have.
You also get an unlimited payroll run at no additional cost.
When you need to make payments, you can do so via checks or direct deposits. For direct deposits, Patriot software requires a lead time of four days.
One thing you ought to weigh is the software’s lack of capability to process benefits or insurance.
- PayStubCreator: Affordable Pay Stubs for Small Businesses and Freelancers
In recent history, the pay stub market has been hit with scammers. The group that’s taken the biggest hit has been small businesses and freelancers who can’t afford more expensive services.
PayStubCreator is created by accountants to enable these small businesses and freelancers to find an affordable and convenient way to generate pay stubs.
There’s no need to take up for a subscription or download any software when using PayStubCreator. You simply land on the website, and you’re good to go.
Furthermore, the pay stub generator helps users create accurate W-2 forms at the end of the year.
All pay stubs you create are generated within two minutes and sent to your mail. You only need to fill in the employer’s details.
If you are worried about the accuracy of the information, it will be reassuring to know that a professional accountant verifies every calculation.
The website is secured using Let’s Encrypt SSL to ensure your information is kept private and safe.
PayStubCreator comes with round-the-clock customer service and a 30-day money-back guarantee for unsatisfied customers.
- ADP: Payroll Flexibility for Startups and Growing Businesses
Do you plan to scale up your operations in the next five years? ADP is payroll software built to cater to that exact need.
ADP offers different payroll options for large businesses, medium and small firms. As such, you can start with the software and still stick to it as your business expands.
There will be no need to migrate to another software whenever you enter a new level of growth.
There is assistance from the company when setting up ADP, but the process can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to set up.
The extensive feature range means there’s a learning curve. Once you figure things out, though, you have a wide variety of options.
ADP enables you to handle a wide range of benefits and insurance such as:
- Health, dental, vision, disability and life insurance for your employees
- The employer’s business insurance which includes workers’ comp, business owner’s policy (BOP), commercial auto and disability insurance among others
You can find integration with most general ledger software services like Xero and QuickBooks. ADP also syncs with banks, timekeeping systems, and benefits providers.
If you need to share a file with a third-party provider, ADP can output a generic file for you.
To purchase ADP, you need to contact a representative. You’ll also have to pay $200 for a setup fee though some representatives can waive this.
Nonprofits stand to receive a 25% discount when signing up to ADP depending on the availability of the offer.
Pick the Right Payroll Software for Accountants
Payroll is a significant expense for every business, and running it comes with operational tasks that can complicate things. To avoid unnecessary complexity, pick the most suitable payroll software for accountants to ensure your payroll is automated.
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