Find the best payroll services for accountants

Basic payroll processing

Every provider should allow you to enter hours or wage information, calculate state, federal, and local payroll taxes, and keep track of all the deductions and withholding. But getting from gross pay (what the employees earn) to net pay (what’s in their paychecks) is only one thing to look for. When comparing payroll services, make sure completing a pay run is easy and intuitive. And also check the reviews to make sure you choose the most accurate service.

Level of customer service

While it may be a routine business activity, payroll isn’t easy. Good payroll software simplifies a lot of the work, but tax laws change, humans make mistakes, and even the best payroll providers experience a hiccup every now and then. From onboarding your clients to answering questions to dealing with issues if they ever come up, it’s critical to choose a service with outstanding support and a dedicated team to take care of you and your clients.

Good payroll software simplifies a lot of the work, but tax laws change, humans make mistakes, and even the best payroll providers experience a hiccup every now and then. From setting up your employees to answering questions to dealing with issues if they ever come up, it’s critical to choose a service with outstanding support.

Reporting, access, and integrations

For most accountants and bookkeepers, payroll is just part of the services you provide to clients. From analyzing labor costs to getting data synced with your accounting software, there’s still a lot of heavy lifting to do after running payroll. Does the service you’re looking at allow you to delegate responsibilities, manage team access, and seamlessly integrate with your accounting software? And does it offer customizable reporting capabilities to give you the information you need? While all of these solutions offer some form of payroll reports and integrations with software like QuickBooks and Xero, a few allow a lot more flexibility. Be on the lookout for add-on fees for access to these services — especially from better-known traditional providers.

Payroll tax processing and automation

Among the premium providers on this page, automated state and federal taxes are par for the course. No matter who you choose, having all your clients’ tax forms and payments filed for you will save a lot of time during tax season.

These services all offer at least some help with year-end W-2s and 1099s, too. However, it is important to double check and understand any fees for W-2s and 1099s. Traditional providers often add on annual and per-employee fees, while newer cloud-based systems like OnPay and Gusto process employees’ tax forms for free.

Paychecks, direct deposit, and debit card payments

Can you accommodate the payment preferences of your clients? And how much work will go into it on your end? Most small businesses (and their employees) prefer direct deposit payroll because transactions happen automatically, but some opt to print checks — or to have a provider do it for them. Make sure the payroll company you choose aligns with your clients’ payment preferences.

All the best payroll solutions receive great ratings for direct deposit, but some charge extra fees for the service.

Employee self-service and onboarding

Once you’ve got payroll and taxes covered, it’s a good idea to look at the other ways the services you consider can save you time. Employee self-onboarding lets you and your clients move all the paperwork for new hires into the cloud. Just enter a few employee or contractor details, and many providers will work with your new hire to get everything set up online. Self-service features will help down the road by letting employees pull their own paystubs and update information — freeing up you and your clients to focus on more important activities. Make sure your provider offers lifetime employee accounts so former employees can retrieve their own records after they’ve left the company.

Benefits, HR, and workers’ comp

HR and benefits services can play a pivotal role in contributing to your clients’ overall success. From ADP to QuickBooks, all of the top five payroll companies offer some form of integrated employee benefits and workers’ comp coverage — as well as HR features ranging from org charts to time off management and time tracking. For some providers, like OnPay, most or all of these HR services are automated and included for a single fee. Others, like Gusto and Paychex, require an upgrade.

When researching solutions, it’s a good idea to ask specifically how workers’ comp or 401(k)- related expenses are deducted and remitted, and what additional administration or integration fees are required to access broader HR and benefits admin capabilities.