QuickBooks Payroll Review 2024: Features, Pros & Cons

QuickBooks Payroll is an excellent app from Intuit for managing employee payroll for a small business. If you are already using QuickBooks Online for accounting, the two integrate seamlessly, enabling you to manage both accounting and payroll from a common platform. QuickBooks Payroll also made it to our list of best payroll software for small businesses.

QuickBooks Payroll is a full-service payroll app that includes automated tax calculation, filing and payment for state and federal taxes. To file local taxes, you need to print and manually upload the appropriate forms to the necessary local sites. Alternatively, QuickBooks can help file it for users.

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1

OnPay

Benefits administration

Yes

Contractor payments

Yes

Base monthly price

$40 per month + $6 per user

1

OnPay

Learn More

On OnPay's Website

2

SurePayroll

Benefits Administration

Yes

Contractor Payments

Yes

Base Price

$29.99/mo plus $5 per employee

2

SurePayroll

Learn More

On SurePayroll's Website

3

Gusto

Benefits administration

Yes

Contractor payments

Yes

Base monthly price

$40 per month plus $6 per user

3

Gusto

Learn More

On Gusto's Website

4

Rippling

Benefits administration

Yes

Contractor Payments

Yes

Base Price

$35 per month + $8 per user

4

Rippling

Learn More

On Rippling's Website

QuickBooks Payroll automatically calculates payroll so you don’t need to worry about how to calculate payroll every month. All you need to do is enter the details of all your employees, set up payment rules and fix the day their payroll must run. It also manages independent contractor payroll for you.

QuickBooks Payroll is a full-service payroll for small businesses that need to get started quickly. Its live expert guidance, expert review and support, 24/7 chat service and robust knowledge database are perfect even for first-time users.

If price is not a constraint for you, Intuit has a wide range of products that integrate seamlessly with each other to build an ecosystem to run your business. However, if price is a constraint for you, it’s better to look for cheaper options and you can get many that are equally good.

Ease of Use

QuickBooks Payroll has an intuitive and easy-to-use interface. You can access payroll data, list of banks, next payroll run date and more from a single dashboard. Adding new employees is as simple as adding a row of spreadsheet data. Whether you wish to set up paid time off or maximum allowed overtime or a pay cycle, it’s as simple as selecting the given option.

Compliance

QuickBooks Payroll enables you to track time, run payroll accurately, fill and submit forms, file and pay taxes in time and more to stay compliant. A single easy-to-use and intuitive interface provides all pertinent information about payroll compliance, applicable labor laws, Social Security, exemptions, workers’ compensation management, health benefits administration, 401(k) plan administration and more.

Of course, you need to sign up with QuickBooks partners that administer these plans. For instance, workers’ compensation is powered by AP Intego and health benefits are provided in partnership with SimplyInsured.

Onboarding

QuickBooks Payroll provides expert review with its top-tier plan. Recently, it has added live support to its QuickBooks Online plans. If you do not opt for a 30-day free trial, you can access one-time live setup support within the first 30 days. A QuickBooks expert guides you through the complete setup including connecting bank accounts and credit cards, setting up automations and learning best practices. And 24/7 chat is available if you get stuck in any step later.

Tax Filing

QuickBooks Payroll calculates, files and pays all federal and state payroll. Year-end filings are also done automatically. All the relevant tax forms for regular employees as well as contractors are generated automatically.

QuickBooks Payroll is available in all 50 states, but the Core and Premium services include free tax filing for one state only. Each additional state costs $12. QuickBooks Payroll Elite plan services include free multi-tax state and federal tax filing.

Time Tracking

Intuit has a time tracking app called QuickBooks Time. It is included in QuickBooks ayroll Premium and Elite. For other plans, you need to integrate payroll with Facebook’s Time Meter or any other time tracking app.

Benefits Administration

QuickBooks Payroll enables you to offer competitive benefits to your employees. It provides workers’ compensation via AP Intego and health benefits, affordable medical, dental and vision insurance packages by SimplyInsured.

Analytics and Reporting

QuickBooks Payroll has some 20 reports, such as payroll billing summary, payroll deductions and contributions, payroll tax liability, total pay, workers’ compensation, etc. You can customize to add or delete the columns that you want in the reports before running them. If you mark a report as a favorite, you can access it in a single click the next time. You can either export the reports to Microsoft Excel or print them directly.

Accessibility

QuickBooks Payroll comes with free mobile apps for Android, iOS and iPad platforms.

Here is how the monthly fees for QuickBooks Payroll break down:

• Core + QuickBooks Simple Start: $45 per month plus $5 per employee per month
• Core + QuickBooks Essentials: $75 per month plus $8 per employee per month
• Premium + QuickBooks Plus: $125 per month plus $10 per employee per month

You can take advantage of QuickBooks offers, where you can either get a 30-day free trial or a 50% discount on base fees for three months of service.

	Core + QuickBooks Simple Start	Core + QuickBooks Essentials	Premium + QuickBooks Plus
Introductory Pricing (First Three Months)	$37.50 per month plus $5 per employee per month	$50 per month plus $8 per employee per month	$80 per month plus $10 per employee per month
Standard Pricing	$75 per month plus $5 per employee per month	$100 per month plus $5 per employee per month	$160 per month plus $5 per employee per month
U.S. Payroll	Yes	Yes	Yes
Global Payroll	No	No	No
Onboarding	No	Expert review	Expert review and expert support
Tax Filing	Automatic filing for state and federal taxes	Automatic filing for state and federal taxes	Automatic filing for state and federal taxes
Benefits Administration	Yes	Yes	Yes
Time Tracking	No	Yes	Yes
Expense Management	No	Yes	Yes
Workflow Automations	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mobile Apps	Yes	Yes	Yes
Reporting and Analytics	Yes	Yes	Yes
Third-Party Integrations	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tax Penalty Guarantee	Up to $25K	Up to $25K	Up to $25K
Customer Support	24/7 chat, U.S.-based phone support is available Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT	24/7 chat, U.S.-based phone support is available Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT	24/7 chat, U.S.-based phone support is available Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT

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QuickBooks Payroll Core + Quickbooks Simple Start

It is perfect for small teams that have very basic payroll requirements. The plan includes:

• One user
• Full-service payroll
• Unlimited payroll runs
• 1099 E-file and pay
• Track income and expenses
• Send estimates
• Track sales and sales tax
• Next-day direct deposit
• Connect one sales channel

QuickBooks Payroll Core + Quickbooks Essentials

If you have a larger team, and you want to give more benefits to employees while also making payroll easier on your administrative teams, you can choose the QuickBooks Payroll Premium plan. Besides everything that QuickBooks Payroll Core has, this plan also includes:

• Three users
• Connect three sales channels
• Manage bills
• Enter time

QuickBooks Payroll Premium + Quickbooks Plus

If you need more support with your payroll needs and wish to provide your employees with an awesome experience, you can choose the Elite plan. Besides everything that Premium offers, the Elite plan includes:

• Five users
• Same-day direct deposit
• Track time on the go
• Workers’ comp administration
• Connect all sales channels
• Track project profitability
• Track inventory

If you are a QuickBooks Payroll Elite user, you are eligible for tax penalty protection. If you receive a tax notice and send it to QuickBooks within 15 days of the tax notice, QuickBooks covers up to $25,000 of the payroll tax penalty.

QuickBooks has a robust collection of help articles, community discussions with other QuickBooks users, video tutorials, webinars, etc. on its Learn and Support portal. Its collection of getting started videos guides you through all initial steps from adding an employee to updating tax info.

QuickBooks Payroll is not just for employers. Employees with an Intuit account have access to the workforce portal, which makes all payroll data available at their fingertips.

Workforce Portal

Intuit workforce portal is an employee self-service platform that enables employees to view their paychecks and W-2s. They can also apply for leave, view leave balances and enter time sheets on the portal. You can choose whether you want your employees to have access to the workforce portal or not while adding their names to the payroll database.

Independent Contractor Payroll

QuickBooks Payroll supports independent contractor payroll and keeps track of when, what and how much for each contractor payment. It automatically imports necessary data and prepares 1099s that you just need to download and email to the contractors. Please note that this is available as a separate QuickBooks feature.

	Quickbooks Payroll	OnPay	Gusto	Paychex Flex
Forbes Advisor Rating
Free Trial	Yes	Yes	No	No
Free Version	No	No	No	No
Starting Price	$45 per month plus $5 per employee per month (current promotion offers 50% off the base price for the first three months)	$40 per month plus $6 per person per month	$40 per month plus $6 per person per month	$39 per month plus $5 per employee per month
Same-Day Direct Deposit	Only for Premium and Elite plans	No	Only if employees opt for Gusto Wallet	Yes
Automatic Tax Filing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Benefits Administration	Workers’ compensation insurance, health benefits, 401(k)	Workers’ compensation insurance, health insurance, 401(k) or other retirement plans	Health, wellness, retirement, transportation and custom benefits	Add-on
Customer Support	24/7 chat and U.S.-based phone support	24/7 email and phone support	24/7 online support center, email, and chat	Online and by phone
Learn More	—	On Onpay’s Website	On Gusto’s Website	On Paychex Flex’s Website
Read Reviews	—	Read OnPay Review	Read Gusto Review	Read Paychex Flex Review

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Quickbooks vs. OnPay

When it comes to pricing, QuickBooks Payroll costs less than OnPay for those that have five or more employees. Pricing aside, QuickBooks Payroll provides integration only with QuickBooks Online but with OnPay you can integrate with multiple accounting software such as QuickBooks Online and Xero. Besides, QuickBooks does not automatically process local taxes; you need to do that manually at your end. OnPay calculates, files and pays local tax obligations automatically.

Quickbooks vs. Gusto

Gusto users can get a same-day direct deposit only if they sign up for Gusto Wallet. QuickBooks Payroll offers direct deposit. Gusto provides a wide range of integrations with many other software systems. Also, Gusto calculates, files and pays local tax obligations automatically.

Quickbooks vs. Paychex Flex

Although Paychex Flex is less expensive as compared to QuickBooks Payroll, QuickBooks comes with unlimited pay runs, contractor-only plans and same-day deposits. On the other hand, Paychex Flex supports more employee benefits than QuickBooks. Paychex Flex provides excellent third-party software integration whereas QuickBooks Payroll integrations are fairly limited and are largely centered around Intuit products.

If you are already using Intuit products, especially QuickBooks Online for accounting, QuickBooks Payroll is the perfect payroll application for you because the two integrate seamlessly with each other. But if you are not already in the QuickBooks ecosystem, you can consider other best payroll apps available in the market before making a final choice. If you have budget constraints, you can also look at the free payroll apps available.

Quickbooks Is Best For:

Intuit has created an ecosystem of its own when it comes to apps for small businesses. So if you are already using Intuit accounting or time tracking software—QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Time—it makes sense to sign up for QuickBooks Payroll, which integrates seamlessly with other Intuit products.

Quickbooks Is Not for You If:

• You are looking for inexpensive options
• You already use a range of tools for accounting, time tracking, project management, etc., that you wish to integrate with payroll

QuickBooks Payroll has a clean and intuitive interface. When you log in to your QuickBooks Payroll account for the first time, you need to put in very few details, such as the name of your organization, address, whether you have run payroll previously or not, etc., to get started.

You can add team member—employee or independent contractor—details manually or import from external sources, such as spreadsheets or previous payroll applications. If you are adding them manually, you can start just with the name and email address. The other details required for running payroll, such as date of joining, hourly rates, paid time off, etc., can be added later.

Within the app itself, you also have a knowledge database of latest compliance requirements. To sum up, QuickBooks Payroll is a highly intuitive and easy-to-use application even for first-time users.