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Small businesses need a straightforward, intuitive payroll solution that can help them manage their finances and employees. OnPay fits the bill perfectly. OnPay evolved from a traditional payroll service, so it brings over 30 years of payroll processing experience to help small businesses handle payroll and HR responsibilities.
The vendor allows unlimited payroll runs and combines its extensive payroll tools and HR services with the latest technology to deliver an all-inclusive experience. OnPay includes useful HR tools, handles all payroll tax responsibilities and integrates with many popular accounting programs. Its impressive feature set, affordable costs and high-level support make it our choice for the best payroll service for small businesses.
Editor’s note: Looking for information on payroll systems? Use the questionnaire below, and OnPay will contact you to provide you with the information you need:
Affordability and simplicity are crucial factors for small businesses that need payroll assistance. OnPay has a straightforward cost structure and an easy-to-use interface. Most importantly, it can handle all payroll and payroll tax responsibilities for your small business.
Despite its low costs and intuitive interface, OnPay’s feature set is impressive. We found that it provides unlimited payroll processing and integrates with many of the best business accounting software solutions. It also includes paid time off (PTO) management and provides access to HR tools at no extra cost. We appreciate that OnPay guarantees all its tax work will be done on time and correctly. We also love that OnPay includes federal, state and local tax filing as well as multistate tax filing, unlike some other services we reviewed.
Additionally, OnPay’s customer service impressed us; it was among the best we encountered during our extensive evaluations of online payroll services. Customer support is crucial for small business owners, who often handle payroll on their own and could use additional help. For all these reasons and more, we chose OnPay as the best payroll service for small businesses and organizations.
OnPay’s dashboard is clean and intuitive, showing business owners all the payroll processing information they need. Source: OnPay
We were impressed by how easy OnPay is to use.
OnPay’s interface is intuitive. The desktop interface has blue menu tabs down the side, offering easy access to dedicated sections for Payroll, HR, Reports and more. We especially like how the hover windows let you adjust individual employee data or remuneration, and radio buttons and drop-downs are self-explanatory.
We’ve noticed that OnPay has significantly improved its pay run experience over the years. The company provides an intuitive and responsive experience, building on its already incredible features. We love that you can now pay your employees in fewer steps and view your payroll with expandable columns and itemized breakdowns.
OnPay stays current on laws and regulations. We really like that OnPay’s software keeps up with state-specific small business tax and regulatory changes, including multiple taxes for nonresidents and residents.
Running payroll is straightforward with OnPay. It’s easy to run payroll with OnPay. Add each employee’s hours worked and check that the proper payroll deductions are withheld. You can also add employee bonuses or commissions and even manage wage garnishments. OnPay allows one-time changes to pay rates and deduction amounts, and the system allows for multiple pay schedules and different pay rates for individual employees. The system instantly calculates the payments and displays the totals for review. If everything is correct, the payroll will run. You can print checks on your own or opt for a paperless payroll run by depositing money directly into your employees’ bank accounts.
You can also distribute funds via pay cards or physical checks at no extra cost. Plus, there’s no extra fees to run payroll or file payroll taxes in multiple states. With OnPay’s mobile-friendly interface, you can run payroll easily on a mobile phone or tablet without downloading an app, although this might disappoint customers who prefer working with apps.
Adding employees to OnPay is simple. We like how easy it is to add employees to the system. Enter basic details about the employee, including their name, address, birth date and start date. From there, you’ll add the following information:
Employees have self-service tools in OnPay. We really like that employees can onboard themselves by logging in to the system and entering their details, saving business owners time. They can also see pay stubs; amend personal bank account details; update other personal information; and create signatures for e-signing documents within OnPay. After an employee or contractor leaves, they can still access important documents with OnPay’s lifetime accounts.
You can set payroll reminders with OnPay. To ensure you remember to run payroll on time, you can set email reminders for up to 10 days before payday, which we found to be extremely helpful.
Some payroll services we reviewed limit specific features to higher-tier plans. In contrast, we appreciate that all of OnPay’s valuable tools are included when you sign up. Below are the functions that stood out to us.
Full-service payroll | Quickly pay employees and contractors by check, debit card or direct deposit. |
|---|---|
Payroll tax services | OnPay manages your federal, state, and local payroll taxes and filings in any state, with no extra fees. |
Built-in HR tools | The software comes with employee onboarding tools and other useful HR features like customizable document templates and document storage. |
Integrated benefits | Use the service to manage medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, as well as 401(k) and workers’ compensation plans. |
Integrations | OnPay integrates with accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero, as well as time and attendance, tax, and compliance software. |
Customizable reporting features | Create customizable reports and view and filter them in real time, or use standard reports. |
Employee self-service | Employees and contractors can access their own tax documents and manage their own health benefits easily. |
We like that OnPay can handle all your company’s payroll and payroll accounting needs, even across more specialized sectors. For example, it can manage payroll for nonprofit organizations and churches, handle 943 filings for agricultural businesses, and deal with gratuities received in hospitality roles. The software supports customizable pay items for bonuses, split roles at different rates, cash and card tips, and more.
Through our testing, we found that the service allows unlimited payroll processing for W-2 employees and 1099 contract workers. You can run payroll anytime, creating multiple pay schedules for different employee types; contractors can be paid weekly and salaried employees every other week. Vacation calendars and PTO accruals are also standard. Employees can be paid by check, direct deposit or paycard. You can also print checks for employees using any standard printer. However, we were disappointed to see that direct deposit takes anywhere from a 2- to 4-day turnaround. If you’re looking for a service with next-day or same-day direct deposit, check out our Quickbooks Payroll review.
We love that OnPay updated its payment processing experience. It’s faster to view and manage pay items at the worker level. You can tab through team member listings to quickly review everyone on your payroll and add additional items — like cash tips or bonuses — with just a few clicks. You can also manage tax overrides, garnishments and other deductions. With a mobile-friendly interface, you can also run payroll on a mobile phone or tablet without downloading an app. Additionally, through our own testing, we found the smart alerts to be extremely helpful in flagging mistakes or inconsistencies before running payroll.
Enter employees’ hours and wages into OnPay, and the system will instantly calculate payments and display the totals. Source: OnPay
We were pleased to see that OnPay can handle all your payroll tax responsibilities. The service calculates your payroll taxes monthly, processes the required payments, and pays local, state, and federal tax agencies across all 50 U.S. states with no extra fees. Additionally, the company prepares and files quarterly and annual payroll returns.
At the end of the year, OnPay generates your payroll forms, including W-2 and 1099 forms; employees can access them via the self-service portal. You can print these forms at no extra cost, or have OnPay print and mail them directly to your employers and contractors for $10 per form.
We love that OnPay guarantees its tax services. If the company makes a mistake, it will fix the problem and pay any fines or interest you accrue. This type of guarantee is fairly standard in the industry.
We really like that the company provides detailed alerts to help businesses catch mistakes before they occur. Proactive alerts are sent to admins and managers if the system encounters potential calculation errors, a missing state tax ID or negative net pay amounts. It can even determine irregularities in pay cycle remuneration and flag them for review. We appreciate that this backup system gives small business owners peace of mind.
OnPay makes it easy for business owners to update or edit payroll tax information anytime. Source: OnPay
OnPay provides HR services like new-hire onboarding tools (including assignable employee onboarding tasks and e-signing), new-hire reporting, job offer letter templates and access to an HR resource center. While most competitors, including ADP and Gusto, have similar HR capabilities, they usually charge more for these services. We really appreciate that these functions are included with OnPay at no additional cost. For example, in our ADP Payroll review, we explain that the vendor’s employee handbook wizard is available only on its more advanced (and more expensive) plans.
In contrast, all OnPay users can create custom templates for any HR document, including an employee handbook. Using smart fields, you can add all the documents your employees must access, including the company mission statement, paid time-off policies, paid holidays and performance management procedures. Once you’ve created your handbook, you can send it to all new employees. We found that this feature is an excellent way for small businesses to create efficiencies and ensure all team members understand the organization’s processes.
With OnPay, you can create custom personnel checklists for compliance. You can also keep track of important documents with document storage features and control access to payroll and HR information with six levels of permissions. You can even view expired personnel documentation. Automated workflows assign and track activities, from employee anniversaries to exit interviews.
OnPay provides job offer letter templates that new hires can sign digitally. Source: OnPay
OnPay facilitates benefits administration, including health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance benefits; workers’ compensation plans; and 401(k) retirement plans. The vendor is licensed in all 50 states, and you’ll receive support from an in-house team of brokers. We like that the platform can generate quick quotes for various insurance offerings. If you already have a preferred benefits provider, we also like that you can integrate your existing plan into the OnPay system to streamline administration.
We also noticed that OnPay can help manage other perks, such as PTO, FSAs and HSAs, commuter benefits, and remote work tools. It can also help with COVID-19 compliance, including tracking COVID-caused sick leave. For PTO, you can set up to three different accrual tiers if your employees earn time off at different rates. PTO is automatically synced to payroll. You can even have your employers send PTO requests to their managers for approval directly in the OnPay platform. A handy PTO calendar and reminders keep everyone on the same page.
OnPay can help administer a 401(k) plan for your employees and automatically handle contributions via payroll deductions. Source: OnPay
OnPay integrates with several accounting applications, including QuickBooks Online and Xero. While this basic capability is on par with rivals, OnPay’s accounting software integration is more robust than what most payroll providers offer. Every time you complete a pay run, the payroll data will update automatically in your accounting software.
We love that OnPay also integrates with time and attendance software like When I Work, QuickBooks Time and Deputy, which also sync seamlessly with the payroll interface. You can also integrate with TurboTax to simplify tax filing, as well as Poster Elite to stay compliant with changing labor laws in your area.
OnPay allows businesses to create customizable payroll reports that can be filtered in real time. Custom views can be saved for easy access by finance teams, HR leaders or your accountant. We like that users can add or remove more than 50 data points and arrange columns in any order. You can download reports as PDF files or spreadsheets; they can also be exported via your accounting software integration. You can also use prebuilt reports including payroll register, earnings summary, payroll summary, employee summary and more.
Run various payroll reports with OnPay, including payroll and earnings summaries. Source: OnPay
With OnPay, employees have a variety of tools at their disposal that help take the burden of administration off employers. New employees can self-onboard by filling out their own employee profiles and e-signing documents like forms I-9 and W-4. Workers can easily log in to their accounts to view pay stubs; update their personal banking info; review withholdings; view PTO accruals and request time off; and download tax documents like 1099s and W-2s.
When it comes to benefits, you can invite employees to review and enroll in coverage. Workers can add their dependents to manage benefits for themselves and their family, and OnPay offers a premium preview feature so they can know what to expect when it comes to costs.
Here’s a breakdown of OnPay’s pricing and terms:
We love that OnPay is transparent about its pricing. The company’s website clearly outlines the costs and includes a price calculator that determines your precise monthly fee based on employee numbers. Some payroll services we evaluated require you to call for a price quote, while others give only a price estimate and won’t provide specific pricing until you commit to their service.
OnPay is a cloud-based payroll service accessible online from anywhere; your data and documents are cloud hosted. You don’t have to download or maintain software.
Once you’ve signed up and created an account profile, you’ll be directed to OnPay’s self-guided, seven-step setup process. You’ll fill out basic information about your company, like its classification and federal tax information and your number of workers. You’ll assign an account owner; sign important tax documents; link and verify your company’s bank account; set up your pay schedules; and add your company’s worksite or worksites. You can then enter information for each of your workers, invite them to enter their own information or choose to have OnPay enter employee information for you.
If you need help, you can contact OnPay customer service.
OnPay supplies U.S.-based customer support by phone Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET; it also provides assistance by email and live chat. You can also submit a ticket to request support. In addition, the company has an extensive online help center with over 200 articles.
We were very impressed with OnPay’s support. When we called the company to inquire about its services, we were greeted by a company executive instead of a typical customer service representative. They took the time to answer our questions thoroughly and comprehensively. While other companies we spoke with tried to convince us that their service was the best, OnPay focused on its offerings instead of bashing its competitors.
During subsequent calls with support reps, we received the same high level of friendly and helpful customer service.
Though OnPay is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, it has an A rating, which indicates its commitment to quality customer service.
One drawback we found is that OnPay doesn’t have a mobile app — a potential downside for some businesses. You can complete tasks on the go via its mobile website, but some organizations want to access their payroll system via a secure app.
Another downside is that OnPay charges a fee to mail year-end tax forms to your business or employees. However, you can always print and distribute these forms yourself for free. Additionally, there is a 2- to 4-day turnaround time for direct deposit, a downside for businesses who are looking for same-day or next-day direct deposit.
When evaluating the best payroll services, we examined multiple vendors’ payroll processes; integrations; customization options; pricing; usability; setup; and other factors. Our goal is to help businesses choose the right payroll service. To determine the best payroll solution for small businesses specifically, we prioritized straightforward pricing, all-inclusive plans and exceptional customer service. During our in-depth review process, we attended a hands-on OnPay demo and consulted with company representatives to better understand the platform and have our questions answered. We also tested the company’s customer service quality and response times.
We recommend OnPay for …
We don’t recommend OnPay for …
Erin Donaghue and Neil Cumins contributed to this review.
