When evaluating payroll options, there’s a lot to consider to make sure you choose a provider that gets everything right for your business. In addition to helping you pay and manage your team, a great payroll service should also go the extra mile to simplify compliance, reporting, and more.
OnPay and QuickBooks Payroll are both popular options. Take a closer look to see everything you need to know to compare these two and make a great choice.
Jump ahead to compare OnPay and QuickBooks Payroll by:
Start off by looking at how business owners and industry experts rate QuickBooks and OnPay. When you look at them head to head, one may stand out.
OnPay
Ease of Setup
Ease of Admin
Quality of Support
Performance
Reliability
Customization
Reporting
QuickBooks Payroll
Ease of Setup
Ease of Admin
Quality of Support
Performance
Reliability
Customization
Reporting
Curious about specific features? Check out our payroll product breakdown to see how functionality and prices compare between QuickBooks Payroll and OnPay.
| OnPay | QuickBooks Payroll | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Base price | $40 per month | Starts at $45 per month Tiered pricing |
| Per worker cost | $6 per person | Starts at $4 per person Tiered pricing |
| Full-service payroll | ||
| Automated federal, state, and local tax filings and payments | Included | Included |
| Local tax filings and payments | Included | Not available |
| Unlimited pay runs | Included | Included |
| Multi-state payroll | Included | Additional fees |
| Edit or cancel a pay run | Included | Included |
| Multiple pay rates and schedules | Included | Included |
| Garnishments | Included | Included |
| Accounting and time tracking integrations | Included | Included |
| New hire reporting | Included | Additional fees |
| Year-end filings, W-2s, and 1099s | Included | |
| Onboarding and Employee Self-Service | ||
| Employee self-onboarding | Included | Included |
| Employee self-service portal | Included | Included |
| Document e-sign for I-9s and W-4s | Included | Additional fees |
| Send and sign offer letters electronically | Included | Not available |
| Employee lifetime account access | Included | Not available |
| HR and Team Management | ||
| Manage and track time off | Included | Not available |
| Org charts | Included | Not available |
| Document storage and audits | Included | Not available |
| Custom onboarding workflows | Included | Not available |
| Benefits and Compliance | ||
| Medical, dental, and vision plans | Pay premiums only | Via SimplyInsured |
| Integrated workers’ comp plans | Pay premiums only | Additional fees |
| Integrated 401(k) plan | Pay premiums only | Pay premiums only |
| Reporting and Usability | ||
| Payroll and employee reports | Included | Included |
| Real-time reporting filters | Included | Included |
| Custom report designer | Included | Not available |
Payroll can be complicated. That’s why providers for small businesses should offer reliable, expert support. Learn more about how much support you can expect from OnPay and Intuit’s QuickBooks.
| OnPay | QuickBooks Payroll | |
| Setup and data migration | Included | Additional fees for customized setup |
| Expert phone support | Included | Additional fees for extended support hours |
| Chat support | Included | Included |
| Accuracy guarantee | Included | Included |
Choosing a payroll provider with the right features and functionality can have a huge impact on the amount of time (and money) your business spends on payroll. It’s a good idea to review the feature list carefully before selecting a provider — and to make sure that it all comes at a reasonable price, without hidden fees.
Payroll calculations and tax filings: Whether your team consists of W-2 employees, 1099 independent contractors, or both, your payroll service should make it easy to pay everybody fast. A good payroll provider will calculate and automate all of the tax filings and payments: federal, state, and local taxes.
OnPay automates all the taxes for you and guarantees the accuracy of both its calculations and filings. Some providers — like QuickBooks — leave the local taxes for employers to handle on their own. OnPay takes care of federal, state, and local tax requirements to keep everything compliant and save you time. Plus, you can pay W-2 and 1099 workers in the same payrun.
Year-end filings and forms: When year-end rolls around, your payroll provider should take a few things off of your plate, like preparing and filing year-end W-2s and 1099s for employees, and processing all your year-end IRS payroll tax forms. They should also make it easy for you to distribute required forms to your workers.
OnPay will handle all of your year-end filings, including 1099s, at no extra cost. The option to self-print year-end forms are also included. And with employee self-service and lifetime accounts, your workers can even log in and download their W-2 or 1099 themselves. QuickBooks charges a fee for 1099 forms.
Onboarding and new hire paperwork: Adding new workers to your team can help your business get more done. With the right payroll service, it can also mean growing without adding more paperwork to your to-do’s. Check to make sure that the payroll provider you’re considering includes e-signatures for required new hire paperwork, new hire reporting, and the ability to create and send digital offer letters.
OnPay comes with everything you need to make onboarding a breeze — for you and the your new hires alike. Create and send offer letters electronically, and have workers e-sign required I-9s and W-4s for digital storage right in the app. You can even assign tasks and customize onboarding workflows to delegate responsibilities across your team.
API integrations and reporting: Your payroll software should play nicely with all the other accounting and time tracking tools in your tech stack. An API integration means data can be transferred automatically from one app to another, eliminating both errors and double data entry in the process. And double check that you’ll be able to set up customized data mapping to get the general ledger looking just the way you want it to. You should also be able to run reports that break down expenses to show what you care about most.
OnPay has the most advanced integrations you’ll find. Period. When it comes to accounting software, custom item mapping means you can sync every detail to your general ledger. For QuickBooks Desktop users, no IIF files are even required: OnPay’s integration utilizes Autofy to give you a cloud-like experience. And for QuickBooks Online or Xero, OnPay syncs data automatically with each pay run. OnPay’s custom report designer also gives you the power to create and save custom payroll reports for easy access to financial insights.
HR, benefits, and compliance: A good payroll service will help you take care of your team, too. Some providers give you the ability to handle PTO accrual policies and time off requests right in the app. You should also have the option to offer integrated health benefits, 401(k), and workers’ comp to keep everyone healthy and protected. If you offer health benefits or have a workers’ comp policy, check to make sure that there are no extra fees tacked on by the payroll provider.
OnPay comes with deep HR functionality included — at no extra cost. From time off management and org charts, to document template builders and compliance audits, it includes everything you need to stay organized and keep your team in the loop. Select a great benefits plan through OnPay’s in-house team of licensed team of experts, and you’ll only pay the plan premium. Plus, integrate a 401(k) plan or workers’ comp policy without any additional fees.
QuickBooks Payroll may be more of a household name, but many small businesses prefer OnPay for its more robust set of features, better ratings from both experts and customers, advanced QB integrations, and its lower price. Check it out:
We’ll even migrate all your employee info and prior wages for you.
