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While calculating employee's hours and cutting paychecks, are you certain you're calculating the payroll taxes appropriately? Are you in compliance with the state and federal employment guidelines?

Working out this incorrectly can lead to penalties or lawsuits. You're on a budget and might not afford to pay a full-time bookkeeper. Luckily, many payroll software's can help you do the work for you at little bookkeeping costs. Productive team is the key to a profitable business and ensuring them they're being paid on time is the fundamental element of their performance. This is why having the best payroll software for your small business is essential.

Whether you're looking for a free payroll software, or paid full-service payroll software, there are many distinctive options available for you. Check out our top picks for the best small business payroll software to choose one that works for you.

Best Overall: Gusto

Gusto is a beautifully designed, full-service cloud-based payroll software that makes it easy to hire, pay, insure, and support your team with numerous features and a positive reputation.

Gusto has three different plans: Concierge ($12/mo per person plus $149/mo base price), Complete ($12/mo per person plus $39/mo base price), and Core ($6/mo per person plus $39/mo base price). Every plan includes the following features:

Automated payroll, taxes, and filings (Automated taxes, Payroll on AutoPilot, W-2s and 1099s, New hire reporting, Child-support garnishments, and Tip credits: minimum wage adjustment)
Filing of all federal, state, and local payroll tax forms (Form W-2, Form 940, Form 1099, Form 941, Form 8974)
Flexible payroll features (Multiple states, Unlimited payrolls, Contractor payments, Unlimited bonus and off-cycle payrolls, Easy cancellations, Flexible payment schedules, Net-to-gross calculations, Multiple pay schedules Deductions, Hourly and salaried employees¸ Multiple pay rates, Garnishments, Reimbursements)
Advanced payroll features (Payroll reports. Accounting integrations, Integrated pre-tax benefits¸ Federal R&D Tax Credit, Time-tracking integrations, Expense integration, FICA Tip Credit for restaurants)
Employee management (Direct deposit, Paperless employee onboarding, Digital paystubs, Charitable donations, Lifetime accounts, Teams, Vacation and sick policies)
Online and on the go (No payroll setup fees, Mobile, Digital signatures, Calendar sync, Collaboration)

Most software providers charge extra fees for automatic tax filing, wage garnishment, and workers compensation features, making Gusto overall the best payroll software for small business owners.

Gusto also offers extra benefits like 401(k)s, FSAs, HR and administration services, setting up tax-advantaged spending team accounts, that other providers don't offer.

PROS

Automatic local, state, and federal payroll tax filing
Unlimited payroll runs in every state
Remarkably great online review and ratings

CONS

Limited PTO and holiday pay features in Core plan
Support is only available to daytime hours on weekdays (8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific standard time)
Email requests response time is around 48 hours

GET STARTED WITH GUSTO

Best Interface: QuickBooks Payroll

QuickBooks, is a well-known high-quality accounting software, making it a solid choice for small business payroll. Whether you just starting or moving your existing books, there are many QuickBooks® Online subscription options to fit your business needs. The overview and features of QuickBooks five different subscription plans are as follows:

QuickBooks Online Self-Employed

This plan is specifically for independent contractors and freelancers who file a Schedule C form with their 1040 at year-end.
The cost of QuickBooks Self-Employed is $15 per month.
This allows you to separately import and categorize your business and personal transactions from your bank accounts and credit cards.
It also helps estimate quarterly tax payments to avoid late fees.
Automatic track mileage via mobile app.
Use QuickBooks' receipt capture tool to record your expenses and maximize tax deductions.
Use QuickBooks Payments option to create and send invoices to track sales, and accept credit cards and bank transfers from customers within the invoice at additional fees.
Invite your accountant to evaluate your booksat no extra cost
Connect to TurboTax to file your state and federal returns at additional fees.
24/7 customer Support via live chat and email.

QuickBooks Online Simple Start

The plan is best suited for sole proprietors, LLCs, partnerships, and other types of small businesses with configuration of 250 chart of accounts.
The cost of QuickBooks Simple Start is $25 per month.
Track income, expenses, accounts receivable, sales, and monitor cash flow.
Import and categorize transactions from your bank accounts and credit card accounts
Lower data entry and keep books current by connecting with thousands of financial institutions.
Unlimited estimates, invoices, and sales receipts.You can also use sales form templates to create custom invoices, with three custom fields.
Automatic calculations and filing of sales tax
Use QuickBooks' receipt capture tool to upload, email, or take photos of your receipts
Use mobile app to create and track sales transactions
The subscription is for one user, but you can invite two accounting firms to assess your books at no extra cost.
Run 20+ reports to monitor your business health. You can also email your scheduled reports automatically, even to non-QuickBooks users.

QuickBooks Online Essentials

You can manage multiple users, add three users, and configure their access. You can also invite employees and contractors to enter their hours with time tracking-only access.
Easily run reports to see billable time by customer and review time entries.
Add, review and pay vendor bills and track accounts payable with detailed reports.
Automatic vendor bill payments with Bill Pay at extra
Create recurring transactions, invoices, sales receipts, bills, on a schedule, as a template, and with reminders.
Track income and expenses in multiple currencies for international transactions.
Run 40+ reports to monitor your business health.
Review detailed financial reports and share customer reports with other users.

QuickBooks Online Plus

Multiple user management with addition up to five users.
Review specific business segments with classes and location tracking
Track inventoryusing first-in, first out (FIFO) valuation and easily review quantity on hand.
Create PO, receive products via payment or bill, and monitor stock status.
Run reports for stock counts and create inventory adjustments, as needed.
Mark expenses as billable to pass through to customers and projects.
Budgets creation and monitor income and expenses.
Run budget vs. actual reports to measure performance.
Run 65+ reports to monitor your business health.
Detailed reporting, transactions tracking, inventory management, budgeting, and more.

QuickBooks Online Advanced

Combines the features of Simple Start, Essentials, and Plus, with more additional features
Multiple user management with addition up to 25 users and up to three accounting firms.
Create multiple invoices at once for batch processing with Accelerated invoicing.
Unlimited classes and location tracking, track transactions across business segments.
A subscription to Fathom—a $468 per year value.
Priority Circle support including a dedicated support manager
Five online QuickBooks courses at $2,000 value to learn QuickBooks Online.