Best Payroll And HR Software (2024)

If you have just started an organization or are managing a small team, you may wonder if there is any use of bringing payroll and HR software onboard. After all, you could simply keep a database of your employees’ essential information. 

While it may not seem like a necessity early on, contemporary payroll and HR solutions offer so much more value than meets the eye. Here are some of the reasons why you should consider investing in payroll and HR software: 

• Streamline your workflows: Instead of buying two separate softwares for your core HR tasks and payroll, you would immensely benefit from buying an all-in-one payroll and HR software in a plethora of ways. Not only would a consistent user interface give you more clarity about your work, you would also be able to easily map out an employee’s compensation and PTO based on their attendance, performance, and other such metrics – all of which would be accessible in one single place, if you choose a unified HRIS.‍
• Save time: The biggest advantage of using modern HR tools is that they focus on automating redundant tasks and freeing up your bandwidth for more creative and strategic thinking initiatives. A good HR and payroll system would help you save time on recurring tasks like payroll processing, time & attendance, and applicant tracking. Once you’ve got your HRMS fully implemented, it would also help you eliminate time on editing company policy and the like. ‍
• Avail expert advice: Dealing with the nuances of payroll processing can get complicated pretty quick. Although a good payroll and HR software would have a user-friendly interface, most such softwares come with a robust support team that’s not only there with you for implementation and weekday support but also for intimating you with regulations that keep changing on a frequent basis. You could also avail the service of these payroll experts for understanding best practices and making important business decisions. ‍
• Improve employee retention: Modern Payroll and HR solutions come with tools for employee benefits ranging from retirement benefits to health, vision, and dental insurance. This not only leads to employee retention but also helps you save money and stay compliant.  ‍
• Transparency: Makers of payroll and HR software know that they have many stakeholders. So, while HR managers have access to employee records, employees can access a portal that lets them see their own time & attendance, request time off, avail benefits, and stay up-to-date with any changes. This kind of transparency builds trust, saves time, and helps employees improve their performance. ‍
• Stay Compliant: With the amount of research that risk mitigation requires, figuring out compliance measures by yourself can derail you from focusing on your core tasks. Payroll and HR software companies take compliance very seriously because they know that in today’s world of ever-changing regulations, no company wants the stress of lawsuits or fines looming over their heads. From unlimited access to expert HR advisors to law alerts and compliance resources, a good payroll and HR software would help you stay compliant and up-to-date with regulatory changes. 
• ‍Identify trends and patterns: Modern HR technology is equipped with analytics tools that give businesses a holistic overview of their company. From getting an insight into your diversity patterns to seeing your attrition trends in a visually digestible form, you can make use of a payroll and HR software’s analytics tool to formulate new strategies and bring change.

• Inability to integrate with other softwares: Most payroll and HR technologies pride themselves upon their ability to integrate with a plethora of third-party softwares. While the HRIS you’re interested in buying might have the ability to integrate with popular applications, it may not integrate with the system that your company uses regularly.
  
  If you fall prey to this common pitfall, you’ll be spending your days manually entering data from one software to another, causing an unnecessary roadblock for your core HR responsibilities.‍
• No employee self-service: One of the biggest advantages of modern HR solutions is that they come with the employee self-service option, which basically means that your employees can access, edit, and update some of their information on their own – a task that was previously reserved for the HR team.
  
  If the payroll and HR software you’re interested in doesn’t provide this feature, you’ll have to take into consideration the amount of time and labor HR will be spending on these types of tasks.  
• Inadequate data security: A payroll and HR software by its nature stores a lot of sensitive information including but not limited to your employees’ names, email IDs, phone numbers, and bank account details. You’d not only want to know how the data you’re providing is being used but also how safe it is in the hands of a company you’re ready to put your trust in. 
• Moving forward without getting an internal buy-in: You have to keep in mind that it’s not only the human resources department that’s going to use the HR software you’re eyeing, but also your employees. Moreover, different departments have different workflows and needs.
  
  You wouldn’t want to end up in a situation where you bring a new technology on board, only to later hear a complaint about the lack of a desired integration or a feature imperative to a particular team’s work. ‍
• A dearth of references from existing clients: HR tech makers flaunt testimonials and client reviews like gold medals. If you don’t find one on their website, it’s definitely ok to ask for references. You can contact their customers to get feedback, or even check among your existing contacts if anyone happens to be using the tool.
  
  Although you can give the benefit of the doubt to some companies, especially when their product is newly launched, it’s in your best interest to get references from multiple clients so you have a fairer picture of the product. ‍
• Bad user interface: Information overload affects everyone differently. Payroll and HR solutions that are not intuitive and easy to navigate will frustrate your employees, disrupt their productivity, and unnecessarily increase your HR team’s workload. Make sure you pay as much attention to a vendor’s user interface as much as its cost and features.
  
  Of course, this can be very subjective, so be sure that a good sample of the other team mates that will be using the tool also get a say on how they find the UX / UI of the product.
• ‍Getting lured by fancy features: With the kind of interesting extra features modern HR systems come with, it’s easy to lose track of your priorities. Before contacting vendors, spend some time listing down all your essential requirements and features that you absolutely can’t do without. While it’s always nice to have additional features, make sure you’re not compromising on your must-haves.

You may find yourself wondering if a payroll and HR software product is worth buying, and rightly so. 

These tools are certainly not free and the cost only escalates as the organization scales up. In the early stages of a company, tasks like time tracking and running payroll can be managed with the help of spreadsheets, although you have to consider that the opportunity cost is your precious time and sometimes even your peace of mind. 

But when your organization grows, it’s clear as day that you’re better off outsourcing menial payroll and HR tasks to a software tool. 

Consider this simple stat: The average salary of a payroll administrator in the U.S. is $50,000 per year. The average annual salary of an HR administrator is approximately the same as a payroll administrator. If you compare the amount of money you’ll spend on payroll and HR software vs. what it costs to hire a couple of administrators for such jobs, you’ll see that it’s completely worth buying a good payroll and HR software. 

Besides, unquantifiable features such as accuracy, elimination of duplicate entries, or compliance risks, however easy to overlook, can make a substantial difference at the end of the day.

For most payroll and HR software, the pricing model is such that there is a monthly base fee plus a per employee per month fee. The latter fee is usually around a quarter of the base amount. Most HRMS vendors also provide differently priced packages that you can choose from, however. This depends on the features that you require and your organization’s size. Many vendors don’t disclose pricing upfront and require you to quote a custom price. 

Pricing contracts are renewable monthly or annually, with the latter being a cost-effective choice usually. Some vendors also ask for additional charges on top of the pricing plan you choose for various purposes such as for filing W-9s and 1099s, set up, customer support, or consulting. 

Make sure you’re aware of these hidden costs before you seal the deal with a vendor. That said, below is a chart of price ranges to keep in mind before you start looking for payroll and HR vendors. Do note that it’s only an average estimate and prices may vastly vary between vendors.

After spending countless hours in the HRMS vendor universe, we’ve found that the highest-rated payroll and HR solutions are laden with features that surpass the basic requirements of HR teams. 

While some vendors go over and beyond in terms of the add-ons they provide, below is a list of features that you must look for while selecting a payroll and HR solution. 

• Automated, unlimited payroll runs: It’s always good to go with a software that aims to eliminate repetitive work. You’d want to choose an HRMS that not only lets you schedule when to pay different employees but also lets you run payroll as often as you’d like, as opposed to solutions that only allow you to run payroll a limited number of times in a month. ‍
• Tax filing and payments: Managing taxes on your own can add unnecessary risk and burden on your shoulders. Top-tier HRMS vendors withhold all your taxes each pay run and file all the necessary annual and quarterly forms on your behalf.‍
• Multiple pay rates: Vendors are aware that a lot of companies have employees who perform multiple tasks, for which they’re remunerated differently. This adds another level of complexity to payroll processing. It’s in your best interest to go with a vendor who provides such a feature, otherwise, you’ll be wasting your time matching different pay rates to the different number of hours worked; a task that’s best left for automation.‍
• Employee self-service: A feature that lets employees access their own information not only fosters a culture of transparency and trust but also frees up the HR department’s bandwidth to focus on more high-level, people-centric tasks. ‍
• Benefits administration: Vendors who have a benefits administration platform can rid you of the hassles that come with the open enrollment process in addition to enhancing your employee experience. The biggest advantage of going with a vendor that comes with a benefits tool however is that the benefit deductions automatically flow into payroll for processing, saving you potential hours of manual work.‍
• Attendance & time tracking: You’d want to choose an HRMS that has an attendance tool that’s fully integrated with the payroll. This would eliminate duplicate data entry and improve the overall accuracy of the payroll system.‍
• Automated onboarding flows: The process of onboarding usually comes with a lot of paperwork, especially if it’s done manually. Automated onboarding flows let employees onboard themselves with features that allow them to enter their own details, e-sign documents, and self-check all the tasks.
• ‍Employee database: An HRIS with an employee database lets you view all your employee records and information in one single place, making it easy to find any employee’s performance history, salary, position, training records, and more.

Most HR tech vendors either provide a live demo or a recorded one to their potential customers. Think of this as a simulation of what it’s going to be like after you get this product onboard. Lest you get carried away by the number of features or a beautiful user interface, it’s imperative that you prepare a list of questions beforehand that will address your core HR needs. 

Although not exhaustive, below are such questions that we think HR professionals should definitely ask to get the most out of a demo:

• How does this HR software integrate with other systems that we already use?
• How do you go about transferring data from our current system to your solution? 
• Do you provide training after implementing this software in our organization?
• Can you tailor your software for our specific needs? 
• How long does it typically take to resolve any issues we may face?
• What are your security measures like? How do you protect our sensitive data?
• Can you give a product walkthrough from the point of view of different kinds of users?
• Will your solution help me manage contractors and other people who are not full-time employees?
• How will our pricing change as we scale?
• Is your solution cloud-based and mobile-friendly?
• Do you have a team that would help me stay up-to-date with regulatory changes that are relevant to my organization?
• Do you handle international payroll?
• How do you go about handling benefits for employees in different states or remote workers in different countries? 
• Is there an in-built tool that helps the HR team communicate with employees?
• What kind of HR processes will be automated?
• What are your key features? What differentiates this solution from its competitors?

Depending on whether you’re buying payroll and HR software for the first time or switching to a new one, your implementation process would slightly differ. 

There are also variables such as your organization size, training requirements, and the vendor you choose that would dictate your timeline and process. Thus, implementation of a new payroll and HR software could take as little as a day to a couple of weeks. 

Most vendors start with an installation, which is followed by data migration (if you’re switching from another vendor), configuration, testing, employee training, and finally officially bringing the software onboard. Later, the vendor may follow up for feedback. 

In most cases, the implementation team would ask you for the following information:

• Basic company information such as your EIN (employee identification number)
• Basic employee information such as their name, SSN, address, compensation, etc.
• Payroll and information about already paid taxes, if you’re switching vendors mid-year

Do note that although this is the typical process, it’s best to ask the vendor you’re interested in about their implementation process and timeline before proceeding with them.

What is payroll software?

In 2022, when someone says payroll software they typically mean a SaaS solution that manages, records, organizes, and automates a company’s payments to its employees. That being said, payroll software could be cloud-based or on-premise. 

What is HR software?

HR software is a suite of tools that helps a company’s human resources department carry out everyday HR tasks in an efficient manner. 

What is an all-in-one HRMS software?

An all-in-one HRMS software enables a company’s HR department to carry out a wide range of core HR tasks such as payroll processing, onboarding, recruiting, benefits administration, applicant tracking, and more from one centralized location. 

Do companies provide both payroll and HR software together?

Yes, many vendors in the HR space provide a combined solution that takes care of payroll and core HR needs. 

What does HRIS stand for?

HRIS stands for Human Resource Information System. 

What does HCM stand for?

HCM stands for Human Capital Management.

What does HRMS stand for?

HRMS stands for Human Resource Management System. 

What’s the difference between HRIS, HCM, and HRMS?

These terms are often used interchangeably because on the surface, there isn’t a huge difference between HRIS, HCM, and HRMS. The definition varies from vendor to vendor and even among HR professionals. While all three are all people management tools, the differences lie in their features and use cases. An HRIS takes care of your core HR needs and is limited in that sense. An HRMS has the same use case as an HRIS but goes beyond the core HR needs in terms of features, especially if it adds performance management and payroll. Strategic planning is the epicenter of an HCM while having most of the HRMS features all the same. 

What are the benefits of using HR and payroll software?

There are many benefits of using an HR and payroll software, some of which are: 

• Helps you save time by automating repetitive tasks
• Improves the overall employee experience
• Increases compliance
• Better organization and everything in one place
• Analytics, reporting, and key business insights
• Workforce management

What is the best payroll and HR software?

While we’ve spent a lot of time researching and coming up with this list of best payroll and HR softwares, what is best for one company might not be for some other. Hopefully, our comprehensive yet brief vendor reviews help you shortlist what would be the best payroll and HR software for your particular case.

To wrap things up, we hope that the information on this page helped you get an overview of the best payroll and HR vendors, their features, pricing, and how to go about implementing them. 

Partnering with a top payroll and HR vendor will help you save a lot of time and money, but what would truly elevate your experience is partnering with a vendor that specifically caters to your company’s needs. 

Our advice to you is that instead of looking for a one-size-fits-all solution, you should narrow down your specific HR requirements and base all your demos around that. Dive right into demos with 2-3 vendors and ask them to show specific functionality. If a vendor checks the majority of your boxes, you can then evaluate them on other factors like ease of use and overall user experience. 

Lastly, if you're an internationally distributed team, consider coupling this guide with our roundup of the best global payroll software.