The Best Payroll Software According to Reddit

Initially, we were surprised to see some Redditors recommend that people process payroll themselves – certainly this is a good way to avoid paying for any software. While we admire the DIY ethos, this isn’t advised unless you have the trained expertise. Firstly, doing payroll yourself is a massively time-consuming endeavor. As one Redditor complained, processing payroll manually themselves was taking far too much time. In fact, they were spending up to 12 hours a week from start to finish. However, with dedicated software, Reddit users spent far less time on payroll. Most users found three or four hours was their typical experience but one lucky user, who switched to Paycom, found it took them only about 20 to 30 minutes instead.

It’s not just saving precious time that is an important part of choosing your ideal payroll software. You are also likely to make common mistakes or run into compliance issues that can transform into penalties or even hefty fines. After all, the State doesn’t care that you’re not a payroll professional and the rules will still apply to you. There were also suggestions for having your payroll processed by smaller local companies. While it’s satisfying to help out local businesses there are drawbacks to this too. With local solutions, you’re not going to get the sheer volume of features on offer by some of the bigger companies or the same level of dedicated customer support.

Paying less for payroll

Of course, just because you’re getting a good deal on your software, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the right one for you. So, while a solution like ADP is criticized for its expense, it was also praised for the extra services it provides. One user complimented it for how well it works for onboarding and offboarding and for how easy the set up process was. Another comment singled out ADP’s great HR tools, and how the service grows as your business grows. Despite the praise, there was one Redditor who referred to ADP as “Another Damn Problem”, which we think is a little harsh.

Gusto impresses

Payroll software that’s easy to use is very important for Redditors, which is why many users had recommended Patriot Payroll. User-friendliness is also a large reason why Gusto received a lot of plaudits and is a favorite for so many Redditors. On top of that, Redditors enjoyed the autopilot feature which lets you leave Gusto doing all the work for you automatically without you even having to log in. There was also praise for Gusto’s easy onboarding processes, and how it ties into online accounting solutions like Xero.

While Gusto was singled out for praise, the same can’t be said about Paychex – a solution that although robust, many Redditors had a bad experience with. One user had Paychex lose direct deposit information for an employee and another saw Paychex not process their payroll despite contacting them three days earlier. As one Reddit user put it, they switched from Paychex to Gusto and never looked back.