These programs simplify everything from calculating employee payments to drafting tax forms, making them essential small-business tools. The only question is: Which one is most worthy of your investment?

The days of manually calculating payments and signing checks to employees are long gone. When the time comes to compensate your team members for their labor, modern payroll software can streamline the task and free you up to tackle your other responsibilities. Whether you’re kick-starting a brandnew venture or looking to upgrade from your current system, the following four products represent some of the best options for small-business owners thanks to their user-friendly tools and added conveniences beyond simple payout.

Gusto

Reduce lengthy payroll tasks to just a few clicks with the help of this smart technology designed to solve common compensating woes. For instance, Gusto enables you to pay domestic and international contractors alike, and it provides resources for brokering employee benefits like health insurance and retirement funds. On the staff side, the program offers an app with a digital wallet that helps them apportion funds from their paychecks, set personalized financial goals, and more. This feature alone may make Gusto ideal for companies seeking to build a familial culture of mutual support.

The online platform offers flexible plans based on each organization’s needs, ranging from a basic model for $49 per month—plus $6 per employee— to a premium one starting at $180 monthly. For the latter, you’ll also receive guided onboarding for uploading all your relevant employee and business data and setting up your first round of payments. Additionally, it grants you access to a Dedicated Customer Success Manager to assist you in utilizing Gusto optimally, providing strategic support for better aligning the platform with your company’s goals.

For more info, visit gusto.com

Justworks

Among the most convenient and simplified options for employees, this program wraps payroll into Justworks’ highly esteemed human resources information system. These tools allow team members to conduct self-guided onboarding, shop a selection of benefits, and conveniently review valuable documents such as performance records. The payroll services, in particular, offer perks like a self-serve employee portal, automated tax filings, and expert support for everything from learning the features to troubleshooting. Although it doesn’t offer accounting services, the platform can be incorporated with other such programs nicely.

Pricing begins at $50 a month and $8 per employee, making it somewhat costlier for a base-level plan. However, organizations seeking payroll paired with other HR tools may find that Justworks more than does the job. And, like with every option on this list, the company offers resources for comparing plans and weighing your selections so you can arrive at the most cost-effective solution.

For more info, visit justworks.com

OnPay

This software was born out of founder Jesse Burgess’s own experience working for a family payroll company, where he discovered that moving the process online could slash its time investment for its clients. Naturally, then, OnPay bills itself as “integrated and uncomplicated,” aiming to help busy small businesses ease their accounting tasks, particularly those with complex tax needs like restaurants and nonprofits. Given its glowing reviews from various top business publications, including Forbes Advisor and PCMag, it’s safe to say it has pulled off this objective.

All you have to do to enable faster future payments and compile essential tax forms is access the OnPay website and enter your employees’ or contractors’ info via easy-to-navigate tools. A company representative even states that the service allows small-business owners to run payroll in as little as five minutes. On top of that, OnPay charges only a $49 base fee per month with a free first month along with a $6 surcharge per employee or contractor— with no extra fees or caveats.

For more info, visit onpay.com

QuickBooks

Payroll It’s hard to go wrong with this product—the widely known software suite is a popular go-to that is often sold alongside essential hardware like laptops and printers. In fact, its parent company, Intuit, advertises that 75 percent of accountants recommend it to small businesses. That may be because QuickBooks Payroll is straightforward to install, set up, and utilize for ongoing payroll tasks. To begin processing payments, just enter each employee’s or contractor’s details, including their demographics, bank information, earning type (salary or hourly), deductions, and rates for accruing benefits like paid time off, and the program will take it from there.

Best of all, QuickBooks Payroll integrates seamlessly with other Intuit products, including QuickBooks Time; marrying the two will automatically feed employees’ shift punches into the payroll system. Meanwhile, combining it with QuickBooks Online empowers you to store all your accounting records in one place—no need to manually import your payroll responsibilities to see how it affects your bottom line. The Core version starts at $50 a month plus $6 for each employee, though that jumps to $85 if you want to add in bookkeeping. And the Premium + Plus bundle, offering features such as same-day direct deposit and the ability to track inventory, more than doubles that base price. But it will certainly take the sweat out of payroll, making it earn its check.

For more info, visit quickbooks.intuit.com/payroll

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