QuickBooks Payroll: Small Business Payroll Made Practical

Small business owners spend more than 5 hours processing payroll per pay period alone. When you add in researching benefits providers, 401k management, and staying up to date with changing employer taxes, we’re talking about a lot of time being spent elsewhere. As a small business owner, you already have a lot on your plate managing your business. Making the switch to a payroll service gives you back more time to invest in yourself and your business. Processing payroll is easy and intuitive with QuickBooks Payroll. Keep reading to see why it’s one of our favorite payroll softwares for small businesses. 

What is QuickBooks Payroll?

QuickBooks Payroll is an all-inclusive payroll program that allows businesses to pay their employees, file taxes, and manage HR and benefits all within one intuitive platform. Whether you’re currently using another payroll provider or just starting out your business, QuickBooks makes the payroll process quick and easy. With the Payroll Premium plan, an expert will review your payroll to make sure everything is correct. Or, if you purchase the Payroll Elite plan, an expert will set up or transfer your payroll for you.

What are the key features of QuickBooks Payroll?

Full Service Payroll

As a small business owner, you don’t want to spend your time doing payroll instead of managing your business. QuickBooks calculates, files, and pays your payroll taxes for you. They make it easy to calculate and set up deductions and garnishments from each paycheck and you can create easy-to-read reports for payroll history, PTO, and contractor information.

Auto Payroll

With QuickBooks Payroll, you only have to set payroll up once and then it’ll run automatically. Salaried employees or hourly employees with default hours on direct deposit can get their pay automatically, and you can review and approve everything before pay is sent. They also make it easy to make changes or add commission and bonuses. 

Fast Direct Deposit

No one wants to wait for their paycheck to come through. With QuickBooks Payroll Core Plan, you can submit your payroll as late as 5 PM the day before payday, and employees will receive it the next day. Funds won’t be withdrawn until the day your employees get paid. The Premium and Elite plans allow you to submit payroll as late as 7 AM on the morning of payday with no additional charge, and employees will receive their paycheck the same day. 

Expert Assistance and Product Support

If numbers aren’t your thing, your QuickBooks Payroll subscription also includes expert assistance. Payroll support experts are available via phone and chat for troubleshooting and assistance. For those with the Premium plan, an expert will review your payroll for you to ensure everything is accurate. If you want a more hands-off approach, with the Elite plan, an expert will set up or transfer your payroll from another payroll provider.

Tax Penalty Protection

We all know that taxes can be complicated, especially as far as payroll is concerned. The Payroll Elite plan provides up to $25,000 in tax penalty protection if you get an IRS penalty. You’ll also receive help from the Tax Resolution team to resolve any payroll or tax issues with the IRS. 

Team Benefits

Aside from payroll management, QuickBooks Payroll also facilitates health and 401k benefits for your team members. You can get instant quotes to compare plans to find the best medical, dental, and vision coverage for your employees and yourself. 401K administration is offered through Guideline, whose experts handle contributions, compliance, and records at no additional cost. Premium and Elite plan holders can also compare plans and pricing for workers compensation programs through AP Intego.

How much is QuickBooks Payroll?

QuickBooks has three plans for just payroll, but if you already use QuickBooks, you can easily add payroll. If you’re just starting out with your business, you can also bundle with other QuickBooks software like bookkeeping and save even more. You can also try any plan free for 30 days and make sure it’s the best fit for your business. Keep reading to learn about the key features of each plan.

Payroll Core

With the Payroll Core plan, you get basic payroll and accounting services. This plan is $45 per month plus an additional $5 per employee/month. With this plan, you get full-service payroll with QuickBooks experts to calculate, file, and pay any payroll taxes for you. You can also run automatic payroll for salaried employees and review and approve before paychecks are sent out. The Payroll Core plan also allows you to submit payroll as late as 5 PM the day before payday and employees will receive payment the next day. 

Payroll Premium

Payroll Premium is QuickBooks’ most popular payroll plan. For $75/month plus $8 per employee per month, you get all the features included with the Core plan, plus the ability to track and submit employee timesheets from anywhere with mobile time tracking. A Quickbooks expert will also review your payroll setup to mitigate any common risks or issues when switching from another provider. You also get 24/7 customer support with payroll experts by phone, chat, or video.

Payroll Elite

With QuickBooks Payroll Elite plan, you get all the previously mentioned features plus an expert will set up your payroll for you to ensure that everything is accurate. You also get a personal HR advisor for professional help and custom handbooks and policies. QuickBooks will also pay up to $25,000 if you get a payroll tax penalty. This plan costs $125 a month plus $10 per employee per month.

QuickBooks Payroll vs QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks has a wide variety of software offerings for small business owners. Two of the most popular include QuickBooks Payroll and QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks Online focuses more on bookkeeping and accounting, whereas QuickBooks Payroll focuses more on payroll and tax filing. You can easily bundle both softwares to seamlessly integrate your payroll, bookkeeping, and taxes for less stress during tax season. QuickBooks Online also allows you to work on the go, sync data across devices, and integrate with more than 300 other softwares. 

Features	QuickBooks Payroll	QuickBooks Online
Payroll Management	Comprehensive payroll features and functions	Limited payroll features (payroll add-on)
Tax Calculations	Automated tax calculations and filings	Basic tax calculations (additional service)
Tax Forms	Generation and filing of tax forms	Tax forms preparation and filing
Direct Deposit	Option to offer direct deposit for employees	Option to offer direct deposit for employees
Employee Self-Service	Employee portal for access to pay stubs, W-2s	Employee portal for access to pay stubs, W-2s
Time Tracking Integration	Integration with time tracking systems	Integration with time tracking systems
HR Support	HR support center with resources and guides	Limited HR resources and guides
Mobile App	Dedicated app for payroll management	Full-featured mobile app for business
Pricing	Monthly subscription with tiered pricing	Monthly subscription with tiered pricing
Integration with QuickBooks	Seamless integration with QuickBooks Desktop	Native integration with QuickBooks Online
Multiple Users	Option for multiple user access and permissions	Option for multiple user access and permissions

QuickBooks Payroll vs ADP

ADP and QuickBooks are both popular options for payroll due to their extensive tools and easy-to-use interfaces that make running payroll a breeze. Both plans provide exceptional payroll features with expert support. However, there are some key differences between the two. QuickBooks starts at $45 per month plus $5 per employee per month, whereas ADP RUN is a little more expensive, starting at $79 per month plus $4 per month per employee. ADP has a wide variety of features included with the subscription, but there is an additional fee for benefits that QuickBooks offers for free with its plans, like time-tracking and benefit management. ADP also doesn’t allow for contractor payments, so if your business frequently relies on contracted work, it’s better to opt for QuickBooks since they offer unlimited filing and forms for 1099s.

Bottom line.

As a small business owner, you want to spend less time and money managing your payroll and more time developing your business. QuickBooks Payroll offers payroll tools that are suitable for big businesses, but at a small business price.