Recommended Payroll Services Reviews

Founded in 2011 as ZenPayRoll by Edward Kim, Joshua Reeves, and Tomer London, Gusto is a complete human resource management platform for small and medium businesses. It’s an end-to-end ecosystem that takes care of payroll and compliance, benefits administration, time tracking, and even onboarding. Together, these tools save businesses countless hours and money through automation and easier regulatory compliance. Gusto has also earned recognition as a TrustRadius inaugural Buyer’s Choice Award Winner, demonstrating its popularity and trust among real customers. In addition to its core offerings, Gusto recently launched Gusto Global, enabling SMBs to hire, onboard, pay, and support international employees, expanding their reach and capabilities.

SurePayroll, an online payroll and tax-filing tool established in 2000, is designed for small businesses and has been a subsidiary of Paychex, Inc. since 2011. It includes unlimited payroll runs and payroll tax calculations to streamline business operations. While SurePayroll ensures timely payments and offers HR-targeted features mainly geared toward HR professionals.

Paychex was founded in 1971 by Tom Golisano and is one of the oldest companies of its type in the country. It’s a modern payroll and HR solution that works with over 740,000 small and medium business clients to help them stay compliant with the law while ensuring all of their staff get paid on time.

NetSuite SuitePeople is an offering that aims to simplify important HR and payroll processes. The company is owned by global cloud software giant Oracle, showcasing its trustworthiness and quality. NetSuite provides a wide range of different useful cloud-based business applications, covering everything from payroll to accounting, CRMs, and ERPs. It has been in business since 1998 and it currently serves over 24,000 customers of varying shapes and sizes. This review will focus on NetSuite’s payroll offering.

Paycor was founded back in 1990 when the internet was still in the nascent stages. Its mission since inception has been to help small and medium businesses manage payroll and human resources tasks in house. Today, 30 years on, it has developed an end-to-end solution to help businesses spend less time on payroll and more time growing. 

Square was founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey to give small businesses a simple way to accept card payments using a mobile device. Since then, it has evolved into a comprehensive suite of business tools covering everything from point of sale and eCommerce to banking, payroll, and team management. Today, Square serves millions of businesses around the world, offering cloud-based software, hardware, and services designed to streamline operations, improve cash flow, and help business owners grow. Whether you’re a retailer, restaurateur, service provider, or freelancer, Square offers solutions built to meet your needs at every stage of your business.

Striven is a cloud-based ERP solution designed for businesses of all sizes, offering powerful tools for accounting, manufacturing, CRM, HR, and more—all in one platform. Backed by over 20 years of expertise from Miles IT, Striven centralizes billing, purchasing, and collections while providing GAAP-compliant financial data for accuracy and reliability. With real-time insights, robust reporting, and no need for add-ons, Striven empowers businesses to streamline operations, save time, and make smarter decisions—all from one accessible, cloud-based system.

Xero is a cloud-based accounting software designed to simplify financial management for small businesses, accountants, and bookkeepers worldwide. Founded in New Zealand, Xero has grown into a global leader with over 4.2 million subscribers, trusted for its modern approach to managing finances. Packed with features like automated invoicing, real-time bank reconciliations, and seamless integration with over 21,000 financial institutions, Xero helps businesses stay on top of their numbers with ease. Its collaboration tools make it simple to connect with your accountant, while intuitive expense management, payroll powered by Gusto, and automated sales tax calculation streamline everyday tasks. With Xero, you can centralize your finances, gain valuable insights from smart reports, and focus more on growing your business—all from the comfort of your desktop or mobile app. It’s the all-in-one accounting solution for businesses that want to save time and make smarter decisions.

OnPay Payroll is a cloud-based application service that provides a comprehensive package of features designed to make time-consuming payroll and bookkeeping tasks easier.  A good deal of the core of OnPay’s options is designed for small businesses but even for medium-sized firms, there are plenty of advantages.