Best Payroll Software: 9 Top Small Business Picks 2025 5 februari 2024 – Posted in: Bookkeeping

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Even though 80% of reviews are positive, the negative experiences are serious enough that they should give you pause. Pilot earns impressive ratings averaging between 4.0 and 4.9 across independent review platforms, with clients particularly praising their responsive, professional team. As one finance professional noted, “Whenever I post questions in our Pilot portal, I hear back quickly, typically within one day”.

• Plus, it’s part of the broader Homebase platform with hiring, messaging, and labor law compliance.
• One user’s nightmare scenario involved weeks of runaround for a refund, unanswered support tickets, and arduous “solutions” like “try editing your bank connections 1-2 times per day for 5 days”.
• You’ll handle everything from expense entry to bank reconciliation to generating basic financial reports.
• Paying the referral bonus becomes part of the onboarding process for the new hire by using a recipe template that triggers the payment automatically.
• The wallet in Paycor’s mobile app lets employees access up to half of their earned wages before payday.

Best for Payment and Expense Management Integrations

You’ll find Fincent delivers a refreshingly human touch to bookkeeping, earning an impressive 4.7-star average rating from users. The interface is streamlined and functional, with secure Plaid integration for your financial institutions, and you’ll get your books within 3-5 days after month-end. There may be some crossover between bookkeeping and payroll software, particularly if the bookkeeper manages payroll.

If you’re serious about building a business that scales, Pilot is our top recommendation for bookkeeping services. Their expert team delivers accrual-based bookkeeping from day one, backed by QuickBooks integration and excellent support. While the onboarding process isn’t perfect, the quality of service more than makes up for it – especially at a competitive starting price of $259/month for small businesses. What truly sets Pilot apart is its ability to grow with you, offering everything from basic bookkeeping to comprehensive CFO services. (And with clients like OpenAI and Airtable, they’ve proven they can handle that journey.) Whether you’re a small startup or a scaling business, Pilot offers the sophisticated financial partnership you need.

• Ultimately, the price depends on the business’s size and the breadth of bookkeeping services it requires.
• Many payroll services offer a guarantee that their customers’ payroll will be 100% accurate and that they will comply with all payroll tax, filling, withholding and other regulatory obligations.
• Combined with the cost of Plus, that breaks down to roughly $224/month – not terrible compared to rivals, but not as cheap as it seemed on the surface.
• You might get lucky with friendly, responsive support, but some reviews suggest the quality has declined significantly over time.
• Keep financial data organized and up-to-date for better decision-making.

Bookkeeping Service FAQ

Want to manage multiple financial tools without juggling a dozen tabs? While users frequently praise FreshBooks for being easier to use than QuickBooks, it isn’t without its own frustrations. There were several complaints that the software’s frequent UI changes and feature removals can make it feel like you’re constantly adapting to a moving target. The platform handles basic tasks like invoicing and estimates well, but banking connections and transaction imports have been particularly problematic for some users. You’ll get a risk-free start with FreshBooks through their 30-day free trial that doesn’t require bookkeeping payroll services a credit card. They often run deals, like 70% off your first 4 months or 60% off your first 6, and you can always save an additional 10% by opting for annual billing.

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The platform also integrates with Patriot’s accounting software for bookkeeping. It offers unlimited pay runs (included with most plans) and next-day direct deposit. Gusto automates federal, state, and local payroll tax filings and payments, including forms W-2, 1099, 941, and 940.

Owned by Jason Barth and Jennifer Grim, Integrity Books & Payroll was established in 2006. Integrity is a small business serving small businesses in over 30 states including Texas, Colorado, Iowa, South Dakota, Oregon, Ohio, Louisiana, Missouri, and Massachusetts. We manage multiple accounts for a diverse clientele, including , non-profit organizations, consultants, fitness studios, and lash salons just to name a few.

Payroll service vs. payroll software

For a clear picture of what you’ll receive for your investment, OnPay is the more straightforward choice. Paychex Flex operates on a tiered pricing model that requires negotiating with sales and comes with extra fees for integrations and premium support levels. For example, businesses that need to process garnishments must upgrade to the middle-tier ‘Pro’ plan and pay additional fees, while OnPay’s base plan includes garnishment processing. You’ve got a business to run, and managing your finances shouldn’t get in the way. To that end, Bookkeeper360 offers accounting, tax, and CFO services through their platform that integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, and Gusto. Let’s examine how well this bookkeeping service delivers on those promises.

Do you want someone to handle your business’s books but aren’t sure where to start? You might have heard of QuickBooks Live, a service designed to complement Intuit’s popular accounting software. Despite the complaints, FreshBooks maintains a 3.9-star average on independent customer review platforms, with long-term users praising its reliability for basic bookkeeping, estimates, and invoices. If you’re prepared for some potential hurdles, you could still find value here, especially at those low price points. However, it’s crucial to remember that this is primarily a self-service platform, so success depends heavily on your comfort level with managing your own books. Those seeking more hands-on support or advanced features might want to explore other options or budget for FreshBooks’ premium add-ons via Bench.

Best for Payroll Reports

Basic bookkeeping tasks include categorizing transactions, reconciling accounts and running reports at the end of each month. Upwork lists the average rate for bookkeeping services as $43 per hour. But you’ll find bookkeepers there who charge anywhere from that amount to $80 or more. We offer scalable bookkeeping services to match your business’s growth trajectory.

What’s the difference between payroll and bookkeeping services?

The data can be filtered in more than a dozen ways, including net pay, special payments and payroll tax category. When you outsource your payroll operations to Justworks PEO, you can give your accountant and other third parties access to your payroll data and set the permissions each will have for accessing your payroll data. The options include managing expenses, making payments, processing timecards, and handling invoices and reports. It’s a great option for growing businesses that need advanced HR tools, multi-state compliance, and strong customer support. However, it may be more complex and costly than some small businesses need. OnPay vs Paychex FlexPaychex Flex is designed for businesses looking for comprehensive HCM solutions.

But after that initial rush, you should settle into a consistent bookkeeping routine. If that doesn’t happen and you find yourself falling months behind, you should consider hiring it out. As businesses grow, their bookkeeping needs will likely become more complex. On the upside, this lets them become familiar with your business’s ins and outs. And if they work on site, you can consult them in person when you have questions.