For small businesses, navigating payroll can be a headache. Compliance, tax deadlines, and employee satisfaction are tricked by you. You can easily reduce these burdens by using payroll services to focus on what matters most to grow your business. In my experience, using the best payroll software for small businesses can take you to a different level. To streamline the process, reduce errors, and foster business growth by choosing the right one is essential with numerous software solutions.
In this blog, we’ll help you find the best payroll software for small business and also discuss their benefits and why they are needed.
What does Payroll Software Refer to?
Payroll software is one type of tool that can automate and simplify the paying process of employees, calculating wages, withholding taxes, and making sure about compliance with tax laws. With this software, the risks of error could be reduced, saving time and providing you with a clear indication that all the payroll-related tasks are completed efficiently. With regulations, businesses stay compliant by using payroll software to help them make it easier to scale the business for growth.

Why Should Your Small Business Need Payroll Software?
To be focused on more critical aspects of your business, payroll software helps you to allow the process to automate the complex tasks, like tax calculations, direct deposits, and benefit management. In most cases, manual payroll processing leads to errors, compliance issues, and wasted time. Here, we’ve discussed the reasons why payroll software is needed by small businesses, and mentioned the following steps:
- To save time, it runs the payroll automatically, tax filing, and also deductions of your benefits by automating routine tasks.
- Ensure compliance by keeping up with payroll regulations by evolving and avoiding the premium and costly fines.
- Provide access for self-service to employees with their payroll information and benefits to increase employee satisfaction.
- Without additional administrative burden, payroll software makes it easier to manage more employees for the growth of your business, and it adapts to your changing needs.
Choose the Best Payroll Program for Small Business
Choosing the best payroll program for small business is very critical to make a decision. Not only the business efficiency, but also compliance and employee satisfaction are impacted by it. It is available with many options to focus on the features that are aligned with your company’s unique needs, which is essential.
Here, we’ve mentioned some key factors to analyze the best payroll software for small business when evaluating it, mentioned below:
Automation
Small businesses are looking for automation because it is essential to save time and reduce errors. Some repetitive tasks, like payroll processing, tax returns, and direct deposits, could be automated by the best payroll software.
Compliance
Payroll regulation is very critical to avoid fines and penalties and to stay compliant with tax laws. The built-in features, W-2 and 1099 processing, and industry-specific compliance are provided by the best payroll software for small business.
Integrations
If you really want your payroll software would work seamlessly, then integration capabilities are essential with your existing tools and processes. These are done completely through the following key integrations:
- Accounting Software
- HR and the benefits of the system
- Time Tracking
Employee Self-Management
The satisfaction of an employee can greatly improve the efficiency of a robust employee self-service portal of a payroll system for small business. Generally, payroll software provides you with access to payroll information, time-out requests, and management of direct deposits.
Personalization and Modification
In every business, payroll software has a unique skill to adapt to your specific needs. When you are trying to evaluate the solution, try to know:
- Can workflows be customized by you?
- Can your business be scaled by it?
- Specific Needs of Industry
Experience of User and Support
You can contact the training resources to take customer support if the payroll software becomes too complex to navigate or does not offer adequate support. To use, it could make powerful and easy payroll software for small business.
Benefits of Using Payroll Software Over Manual Payroll Processing
- Here are several key benefits of using the best payroll software for small business over manual payroll processing, as follows:
- During payroll processing, the chance of human errors is reduced by automated calculations.
- While processing the payroll manually, tax filing, and tracking the hours of employees, at that time, payroll software helps to reduce the time significantly to save time.
- Payroll software makes sure that the tax laws and labor regulations stay compliant by minimizing the risks of fines and penalties.
- Through self-service portals, employees can easily get access to their pay stubs and tax information by reducing HR administrative workload.
Things that You Look for in Small Business Payroll Software
Here, we’ve discussed what you look for in the best payroll software for small business, as follows:
- Easy to use
- Strength of integrations
- Scalability
- Automation
- Customer support
Top 20 Best Payroll Software for Small Business
Here, we’ve provided the top payroll software for small business, which will help you find the best one for your business needs. Their comparison chart summarizes pricing details, which are mentioned below:
| Tool | Best For | Trial Info |
| Deel | Best global payroll with free HR tools | Free trial + demo available |
| UKG | Continuous payroll accuracy | Free demo available |
| TopSource | Multi-country payroll compliance | Free demo available |
| Paycor | Payroll and benefits administration | 30-day free trial |
| Gusto | Unlimited payroll runs | Free demo available |
| RUN Powered by ADP® | Automating payroll processing | 90-day free trial |
| RemoFirst | Global payroll and EOR services | Free demo available |
| OnPay | Automated tax filings | 30-day free trial |
| Xero | Businesses looking for simple features | 30-day free trial |
| Bambee | Best with a dedicated HR manager | Free demo available |
| Patriot Payroll | US-based businesses | 30-day free trial |
| Paycom | Small businesses scaling payroll | Free demo available |
| Workday | AI-powered payroll automation | Free demo available |
| PrimePay | Remote access to payroll information | Up to 6 months free |
| TriNet | Tax filing automation | Free demo available |
| myHR Partner | Personalized payroll administration | Free consultation available |
| WAVE | Payroll reporting | Free plan available |
| Payworks | Canadian small businesses | From $44/employee/month |
| Justworks Payroll | Managing payroll, bonuses, and commissions | From $8/employee/month + $50/month base fee |
| Paychex Flex | Mobile accessibility | Free demo available |
Conclusion
In conclusion, choosing the best payroll software for small business totally depends upon your unique needs, whether it could be automation, tax compliance, employee self-service, or global capabilities. I think everything has already been discussed in the above about this topic, best payroll software for small business. If still you are facing any issues, you may talk to our ProAdvisor experts.
