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The 5 Best Payroll Apps for Small Business 2021

Published on November 03, 2021

Last Updated: 4 weeks ago

We updated this page to reflect that Square no longer offers a free option. Meanwhile, Paychex Flex lowered its starting base price but increased its per-employee cost. We also verified other important information and refreshed some sections for clarity.

Updated: 4 months ago

Square is currently running a three-months-off promotion for Business.org users only. Visit Square's site to get your first three months of Square Payroll completely free.

Updated: several months ago

We recently reviewed this page to make sure our pricing and plan information was up to date and that we had the most current app user reviews and ratings. Our top picks didn't change their plans too much, so we didn't change our rankings much either, except to bump QuickBooks Payroll further down our list. Its app might be great, but the company's lack of a tax filing guarantee makes its payroll software hard to recommend.

View all updates

While most payroll service providers offer mobile apps for employees, software lags on the small-business employer side. Only a handful of payroll software companies have employer-focused apps for small-business owners who value paying employees anywhere, anytime. Luckily, the few brands that do offer employer-facing payroll apps have put in the time, energy, and labor to make absolutely stellar products. Here are our picks for the best small-business payroll apps of 2021.

The best payroll apps for small business in 2021

• : Best overall
• : Most affordable
• : Best notifications
• : Best HR
• : Most user-friendly
• : Mobile-friendly honorable mention
• : Mobile-friendly honorable mention

Best payroll apps plans and pricing

Payroll provider	Starting base price	Additional cost per employee	iOS or Android	Payroll type	Learn more
Paychex Flex	$39.99	$5.00/payee	Both	Full service	View Plans
Square Payroll	$5.00/mo.	$5.00/payee	Both	Full service**	View Plans
SurePayroll	$19.99/mo.	$5.00/payee	Both	Self service and full service	View Plans
ADP	Contact for quote	Contact for quote	Both	Full service	View Plans
QuickBooks Payroll	$45.00/mo.	$4.00/payee	Both	Full service	View Plans

Data as of 11/3/21. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*$0 base price for contractor plan only. Base price for employees and contractors starts at $29.00.

**Full service not available on contractor-only plan.

Paychex Flex: Best overall

App Store rating: 4.8 stars¹
Google Play rating: 4.5 stars²

Paychex Flex's app is far and away the most popular payroll app for small businesses. So what makes it so great? For one thing, it does basically everything Paychex's stellar cloud-based payroll software can do—and it does quite a lot. Paychex's plans include standout HR support, including dedicated HR specialists with pricier plans. Accessing all that info on the go on a fantastic app that nixes bugs and app crashes is a bargain.

Speaking of bug- and crash-free apps, Paychex's software and app also sync effortlessly with each other. If you start entering payroll data on your office laptop but have to take off early to make a meeting, you can pick up right where you left off on your phone after you're through. Employees can use the employee-facing version of the app to access their payroll data, check out their W-2 forms and paystubs, and even tweak their 401(k) contributions.

Fantastic mobile app for employers and employees

Robust plans featuring dedicated HR solutions

Three full-service plans starting at $39 flat plus $5/payee, monthly

Pricier plans than many competitors

Extra fee for accounting software integration and multiple employee pay options

Square Payroll: Most affordable

App Store rating: 4.8 stars³
Google Play rating: 4.4 stars⁴

The Square Payroll app is super versatile—it's just as easy to pay your W-2 hourly and salaried employees as it is to pay your contractors.

Plus, Square's payroll app syncs easily with its point-of-sale app; you can import employee and contractor hours and then pay them in just a few clicks.

Want to take payroll off your plate entirely? Square Payroll's app includes an automatic payroll option. If your salaried workers get paid on a consistent pay schedule and make a consistent rate, automatic payroll keeps things simple and ensures employees are paid—even if you forget about payday completely.

Finally, along with running payroll, you can use Square's app to track employees' paid time off (PTO), sick leave, and overtime. That's not bad for a straightforward, completely affordable app.

Syncs easily with other popular Square products, including Square Point of Sale

No monthly base fee for contractor-only plan

Intuitive, user-friendly app

Less scalable than competitors like Paychex and ADP

Fewer reports than competitors

SurePayroll: Best notifications

App Store rating: 4.8 stars¹¹
Google Play rating: 2.5 stars¹²

SurePayroll is owned by Paychex, our top pick—which goes to show that Paychex's team is absolutely committed to making user-friendly, accessible apps.

With the SurePayroll app, you can record your employees' hours worked as well as their vacation days, sick leave, and other PTO accruals. Access customer service right from your phone or tablet, pull up payroll reports on individual employee earnings and tax deductions, and pay both W-2 employees and 1099 contractors.

SurePayroll also proactively addresses some of the key concerns users have with payroll apps—namely accuracy and security. Most importantly, it protects your data with industry-leading encryption and never sends account information via the app.

Want a little extra help staying on top of payroll? SurePayroll sends mobile alerts that let you know when your payroll has been submitted and approved. You can also see compliance changes and payroll deadlines with the app.

Affordable pricing starting at $19.99/mo.

Solid mobile app with excellent security and notifications

Workers compensation and health insurance add-ons

Less impressive Android app

Extra fee for two-day payroll processing and accounting software integration

RUN Powered by ADP: Best HR

App Store rating: 2.2 stars⁷
Google Play rating: 2.6 stars⁸

We know you're looking at those user reviews and thinking, this app? Really? But hear us out: while ADP's app isn't the strongest, its software is one of our absolute favorites. Like Paychex, ADP offers a slew of HR features, which makes it a great fit for midsize and large businesses. With multiple plans and price points, it's also a scalable choice for businesses planning on growth.

But the app? Well, the app leaves a little to be desired. Customers report problems with forced logouts, and many are frustrated with the app's lack of features—for the most part, it works for payroll runs only and doesn't offer the support of ADP's software.

Still, the app does offer some payroll features alongside its HR assistance:

• Access to employees' contact information and pay rates
• HR tips and alerts
• HR document access
• Report sharing

We know that's vague, but bear in mind that ADP is still one of the few payroll providers to even have an employer-facing app. And we've got our fingers crossed that they bring the app up to par with the software sooner than later.

Comprehensive plans with thorough HR features

Time and attendance integration

Versatile plans to accommodate small businesses (1 employee) to big businesses (1,000+ employees)

Poorly reviewed app

Expensive plans with no transparent pricing on site

Poor customer reviews

QuickBooks Payroll: Most user-friendly

App Store rating: 4.3 stars⁹
Google Play rating: 4.2 stars¹⁰

QuickBooks' payroll app is a little less robust than the others we've reviewed so far. But that doesn't mean it skimps on features: you can use the app for payroll runs and reminders, direct deposit, bank-grade security, and even e-filing your taxes.

Like QuickBooks Online's accounting app, its payroll app has a low learning curve. With a sleek dashboard and few glitches, we'd say it's the most user friendly of all our app options listed here. In fact, QuickBooks Payroll's app is much better than ADP's—so why'd we give it a lower rating?

Unfortunately, while QuickBooks Payroll's app is great, the software itself isn't. It's pricier than similar providers without adding more features, but most importantly, QuickBooks Payroll only includes an industry standard tax filing guarantee with its most expensive plan. Without that guarantee, you're on the hook for any payroll errors QuickBooks makes when it files your taxes for you—and yes, that's as ridiculous as it sounds. So while we like the app, we can't recommend QuickBooks' payroll solution over ADP's.

Syncs flawlessly with QuickBooks Online

User-friendly app with low learning curve

On-the-go tax e-filing

Tax filing guarantee with most expensive plan only

Fewer mobile features than competitors

Delivering Business Advice Directly to You

Mobile-friendly honorable mentions

Using an app is often the most convenient way to run payroll on the go, but it isn't the only way. In fact, a company can optimize its software to work just as well on a full-width laptop screen as on a small mobile screen, and that's just what Gusto and Patriot Software—two of our favorite payroll providers—have done.

Comparing honorably mentioned payroll apps plans and pricing

Payroll provider	Starting base price	Additional cost per employee	iOS or Android	Payroll type	Learn more
Gusto	$39.00/mo.	$6.00/payee	Both	Full service	View Plans
Patriot Software	$30.00/mo.	$4.00/payee	Neither (accessible via internet browser	Full service	View Plans

Data as of 11/3/21. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*$0 base price for contractor plan only. Base price for employees and contractors starts at $29.00.

Gusto: Most comprehensive plans

Gusto offers three plans: Core, Complete, and Concierge. Each full-service payroll plan includes health benefit add-ons, workers compensation administration, and PTO policy creation. At $39 a month with a $6 additional fee per employee, it's reasonably priced (more so than QuickBooks), and like we said above, you can access all of Gusto's features online on your mobile device, app-free.

Patriot Software: Most affordable self service

Patriot's plans are cheaper than Gusto's at $30 a month for full-service payroll with a $4 add-on cost per employee. It also offers a self-service plan, meaning a plan without automatic payroll tax filing, at just $10 a month with the same per employee cost. If you have only a handful of employees and aren't too stressed about taxes, Patriot's reliable self-service software could be a good choice. Both the self- and full-service plans include free direct deposit, employee self-service payroll portals, workers compensation integration, and unlimited payroll runs.

Payroll app FAQ

What's the best small-business payroll app?

We ranked Paychex Flex as the best small business payroll mobile app due to its power and user-friendliness. Nearly everything available on the desktop version of Paychex is also offered on the mobile app. For comparison, many other payroll mobile apps, like Gusto's Wallet app, only offer a small fraction of functions, making it difficult to tackle paycheck cutting on the go.

Ultimately, the best small business payroll app depends on your business's size and growth plans. Some services, like Patriot Software and Gusto, target smaller businesses needing simplicity. Other contenders, like ADP and QuickBooks Payroll, offer up more complex, richly featured platforms suitable for long-term expansion.

Are payroll apps free?

The apps listed here are free with the purchase of the associated software. For example, Paychex Flex's app is included at no additional cost with your Paychex Flex payroll subscription.

None of the payroll software we listed here is free, but you can hop over to our piece on the best free payroll software to learn more.

Methodology

We examined each software title's full-service payroll availability, suitability for mobile devices, small-business appeal, user-friendliness, and ability to perform unlimited payroll runs, among other factors.

Disclaimer

At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.

Sources
1. App Store, "Paychex Flex." Accessed November 3, 2021.
2. Google Play, "Paychex Flex." Accessed November 3, 2021.
3. App Store, "Square Payroll." Accessed November 3, 2021.
4. Google Play, "Square Payroll." Accessed November 3, 2021.
5. App Store, "SurePayroll for Employers." Accessed November 3, 2021.
6. Google Play, "SurePayroll for Employers." Accessed November 3, 2021.
7. App Store, "RUN Powered by ADP." Accessed November 3, 2021.
8. Google Play, "RUN Powered by ADP Mobile Payroll for Employers." Accessed November 3, 2021.
9. App Store, "QuickBooks Payroll." Accessed November 3, 2021.
10. Google Play, "QuickBooks Payroll for Employers." Accessed November 3, 2021.

Written by

Kylie McQuarrie

Kylie McQuarrie has been writing for and about small businesses since 2014. Prior to writing full-time, she worked with a variety of small-business owners (from freelance writers to real-estate solopreneurs), which gave her a front-row look at small-business owners' struggles, frustrations, and successes. Currently, she's Business.org's accounting and payroll staff writer. Her work has been featured on SCORE.org, G2, and Fairygodboss, among others.

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What App Can I Use To Pay Employees Today

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