How to Choose Between Payroll Services for Your Business

Every business with employees must run payroll to ensure they get paid, whether you’re a start-up with just three workers or a massive company with staff into the thousands. There are now many different options for businesses to run payroll, which can make choosing the right solution for yours harder. A few things to look out for when choosing a payroll solution include cost, ease of use, reputation and support, and the following options offer a good option for different types of business.

Traditional Payroll Software

Best for: Small businesses

One of the most popular choices is to go with traditional payroll software. This offers an easy solution to all payroll issues and to ensure that compliance is met, as they are designed for such a purpose. Businesses with multiple offices and mixes of hourly or salaried employees will find this an incredibly useful option. The main downside is that it only focuses on payroll capabilities, so can be quite narrow in its applications.

Accounting Software

Best for: Businesses with fewer than five employees

For companies that already have and use accounting software, it can be simple to transition payroll capabilities into this. It provides a much more affordable solution rather than paying for additional software and the two go together well. However, compliance factors need to be taken care of as well and cannot be incorporated into accounting software.

An Accountant

Best for: Businesses with fewer than five employees

Your company may already use an accountant for tax purposes, so it can make sense to get them to cover payroll too. Knowing and trusting them means there shouldn’t be any issues but again you will need to check compliance yourself and it can work out a lot costlier. This can be less than ideal for start-ups.

Online Payroll Service

Best for: Growing small businesses with more than one location

Operating in the cloud means no software needs to be installed or maintained, while payroll services can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection. For businesses with freelance, part-time and more flexible workers this is useful, while taxes can be filed, mobile access is available along with detailed payroll reports. More features can mean it costs more than software, but it can work out to be more cost-effective over time.

Business Bank

Best for: A quick solution

A lot of business banks will offer payroll, usually as an add-on service for a monthly fee. This is useful if you need a last-minute option but will likely be one of the costliest choices and won’t include compliance coverage. Only use in an emergency.

Try out a couple of options if you’re still unsure to discover the best payroll solution for your business.