Monday, November 23, 2020

Best Virtual Office Services

For small business owners, virtual office services offer all the advantages of renting office space without the rent.

Most virtual offices offer similar baseline services, including a professional mailing address with mail forwarding, a phone number with voicemail services and (often) a receptionist, and usually physical office space with wi-fi for meetings and on-site work.

That doesn’t mean all virtual office services are the same. But with so many offering such similar base packages, figuring out which one is best for you and your business can be a trial.

We’ve examined dozens of virtual offices and narrowed them down to the very best.

Read detailed reviews of these below–plus, tips for finding the right price, the best virtual office options for different situations, and our method for picking the right virtual office.

  • $99 per month
  • Great for first virtual office
  • Comes with one month free
  • Excellent add-ons
Try it today!

The Top 8 Best Virtual Office Services

#1. Opus Virtual Offices — Best For Beginners

  • $99 per month
  • Great for first virtual office
  • Comes with one month free
  • Excellent add-ons
Try it today!

Opus Virtual Offices provides basic office solutions at an attainable price. They have over 500 locations in North America, making them accessible to business owners in all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Opus’s services are simple, straightforward, and great for new business owners setting up their first virtual office. Their basic services package includes full mail and phone services plus a live receptionist during business hours. And if you’d prefer to read your messages, Opus will convert all your faxes and voice messages into emails and send them right to your inbox.

The best part? All of the above is included in a flat monthly fee of $99. No hidden fees, no extra costs.

They also offer a range of inexpensive add-ons, including texting, audio conferencing, and international call transfer. Most additional services cost only $10/month, with a couple going as high as $25/month.

And if you sign up for a year of their services, Opus will offer you one month for free.

One catch: Opus doesn’t offer any type of physical workspace. It’s virtual office services are truly virtual. This could be problematic for business owners who like to do things in person or require a physical location.

There’s also not a whole lot of room to grow. Opus offers the one basic package and its few add-ons, no higher-end packages or scale-up options, potentially making it a tougher fit for more established businesses.

But for a beginning business that does everything remotely, Opus is a solid starting point.

#2. Davinci Virtual Office Solutions — Best For International Companies

  • $50-$200 per month
  • Excellent for international companies
  • Great in-person offerings
  • Physical address with mail receipt and forwarding
Try it today!

Davinci Virtual Office Solutions has a broad global reach and a great global reputation. With over 5,000 locations in 45 countries (and all 50 US states), Davinci is the virtual office provider for businesses that are, or plan to be, international.

In addition to a physical address with mail receipt and forwarding, Davinci offers in-person services at each of its locations, including lobby greeters, a registered agent, and a business support center. They also offer meeting rooms with A/V equipment, reliable wi-fi, and catering options.

Their live receptionist offerings are just as comprehensive. The basic package includes a local or toll-free number, live answering and call forwarding, voicemail management and more. A premium package is also available offering appointment scheduling, order processing, customer care, and bilingual receptionists–essentially virtual assistant services to take administrative tasks off your plate.

Because Davinci has so many locations, pricing varies from one to the next, but basic office packages tend to run between $50-$200/month, with a six-month contract required. But those basic packages don’t include the live receptionist services, there are upcharges on some other services (again, depending on the location), and the first contract includes a setup fee of $150-$200, which few other virtual offices charge.

Are those extra costs deal-breakers? For an established international business owner who wants a physical office location with a wide range of services, probably not. But they do add to the bottom line.

#3. Regus – Most Flexible Packages

  • Starts at $37 per month
  • Flexible plans are great for scaling
  • Physical and virtual working spaces
  • Physical address with mail handling and forwarding
Try it today!

Regus isn’t just a virtual office space company, they’re also an actual office space company. So if you’re looking for a provider that prioritizes physical locations, Regus is a good bet. They have over 1,000 offices in the US, and 2,000 more across 150 other countries.

In addition to virtual office services, Regus offers an office membership (starting at $207/month) and a co-working membership (starting at $93/month). Both memberships have 5-day, 10-day, and unlimited-day office access options. Regus also has rooms available for rent (starting at $19/hour) for everything from interviews to training sessions to board meetings to full-on events.

For virtual office services, Regus has three packages. Their basic package (starting at $37/month) has a physical address with mail handling and forwarding. Mid-level (from $150/month) adds on access to their business lounge and a local phone number with receptionist answering services. Top-end (from $207/month, basically their physical office membership) adds daily use of a meeting room and 5 days access to an office or desk space. Note that these prices are based on a 24-month contract, and will vary from location to location.

The flexibility of these plans is a plus for businesses just starting up or moving into a new area, as they can easily start out with only the physical address and uplevel later. The steep price jumps between the plans may be a lot to swallow, though. It’s also worth noting that Regus has had some billing issues that have led to recent low reviews on Trustpilot and similar sites.

#4. Servcorp — Best High-End Option

  • Starts at $100 per month
  • High-end, world-class offices
  • Receptionist for calls
  • Personal assistant, great Wi-Fi, and networking community
Try it today!

Servcorp offers the most premium services and benefits of any provider on this list.

Their virtual office package includes all the address, mail, and phone services you’d expect from a virtual office (including a receptionist for calls). But that’s just the beginning.

It also includes three hours free daily access to co-working spaces, 8 hours monthly access to private offices or boardrooms, a personal assistant, top-end wi-fi with the option to have a unique personal login and password, and direct access to Servcorp’s business networking community. That’s a lot of benefits that most of the others on this list don’t provide.

Servcorp also offers a payment option no one else does: the ability to pay one month at a time. For companies with temporary needs or who aren’t ready for a two-year contract yet, this is a huge help.

The tradeoffs for Servcorp come in price and location. They’re the most expensive provider on this list by a wide margin, with their virtual office package (containing everything listed above) coming in around $700/month. They do have lower-level packages starting around $100/month for more basic services, though, so beginner businesses don’t have to completely avoid them.

They also only have nine locations that offer virtual office services, across four US cities: New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Houston. They get around this somewhat by including access to meeting rooms and private offices in any of their 150 other global locations, but that still makes using them more difficult (and potentially confusing) for businesses in other cities or countries.

Still, if you want the best perks and are willing to pay for them, Servcorp might be a great option for you.

#5. Alliance Virtual Offices – Best If You Need A Receptionist

  • Dedicated receptionist plan
  • Receptionists schedule appointments, handle calls and messages, and manages calendar
  • Local or toll-free phone number costs $30 per month
  • Six-month minimum contract
Try it today!

If having a real person answer your phone is a top priority for you, look no further than Alliance Virtual Services. Unlike many virtual office providers who treat this as an extra, Alliance has a dedicated receptionist plan included in its virtual office offerings.

Alliance receptionists work in-person at Alliance locations to answer your calls Monday through Saturday. In addition to taking messages and handling call forwarding, they’ll also schedule your appointments and manage your calendar. The one tradeoff here is that using a local or toll-free phone number costs an extra $30/month, but since you’d pay a receptionist that much in an hour or two of work, it’s likely worthwhile.

Even better, Alliance’s packages aren’t anywhere near as pricey as you might think including a receptionist would make them. The base receptionist package, with 50 minutes of live answering time, starts at $95/month.

Alliance requires a six-month minimum contract and a $100 setup fee. They also charge extra for use of their physical spaces (starting at $10/hour). But if a virtual office with a dedicated receptionist is important to you, they’re definitely worth checking out–especially with locations in 50 states and 42 countries.

#6. Sococo — Best Online Office Replacement

  • Starts at $13.49 per month
  • Virtual office that looks like a real office
  • Integrations with Zoom, Google Meet, and Webex
  • No physical space
Try it today!

If you run a business where your employees need to interact with each other every day, but can’t actually get them in the same physical place (thanks, 2020), then what you need is a virtual office that acts like a real office. And that’s what Sococo provides.

Sococo creates an online office space that mimics a real office, complete with a digital floor plan and decor options.

Your employees will be able to interact with each other, co-work, give presentations, share documents, and collaborate–all as though they were in the same actual office. Users can even see the availability of their co-workers and “knock” on their virtual doors to start a meeting or ask a question.

To make all this workable, Sococo integrates with Zoom, Google Meet, and Webex, has tools for text, voice, and visual connections, and includes apps for both iOS and Android.

Sococo’s pricing is also different–rather than paying for a package of services, you pay for their entire suite based on how many users you’ll have. For 10+ users, you’ll pay $13.49/mo for each; for 100+, $24.99/mo for each. This dynamic pricing will be a plus for small businesses that need daily in-person interaction.

The tradeoff is that Sococo provides no physical space whatsoever–not even a physical address and mail forwarding. So while it is clearly a virtual office provider, its definition of “virtual office” is somewhat different than those of the others on this list. If all you need is a mailing address and a receptionist, Sococo won’t be for you, but if you need to reproduce your office environment online, it just might be a lifesaver.

#7. Intelligent Office — Best If You Want A Virtual Assistant

  • Provides a virtual assistant
  • Handles administrative tasks like onboarding and travel planning
  • Offices in 20 US states and 3 Canadian provinces
  • Free quote
Try it today

For many business owners, there just isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done. A virtual assistant (VA) or executive assistant (EA) can help by taking a wide range of administrative tasks off your hands so you can focus on running your business.

Intelligent Office is the virtual office provider that also provides VAs. Their VAs handle everything from receptionist services to client onboarding to travel reservations.

Called Intelligent Assistants, these VAs are an integral part of Intelligent Office’s packages. Each package begins with an interview to determine your needs and pain points, the challenges and goals of your business, and your to-do list, so the VA can immediately get started clearing your decks for you.

The biggest downside to Intelligent Office is location. IO has offices in only 20 US states and three Canadian provinces, so international businesses might want to look elsewhere.

They also have the least transparent website of any on this list, with no packages or pricing listed. Instead, they offer a free quote service with no obligation to buy.

#8. EOffice — Best Community Environment

  • Great environment for community building
  • First co-working space to offer open-plan workspace in in London, England
  • Locations in 60 countries
  • Full package is $400 per month
Try it today

EOffice prides itself on its community environment. The first co-working space to provide open-plan workspaces in London, it blends solid virtual office offerings with bespoke working environments designed to make each member feel productive, creative, and happy.

They also have an active, welcoming network that each user gets access to, including regular community and networking events. Startup owners and workers will find a lot here, as EOffice has connections with more than a dozen mentorship companies and angel investors who offer their guidance to EOffice members.

With locations in 60 countries, EOffice is another great virtual office provider for international businesses, though it only has locations in 11 US Cities.

Their virtual office packages focus on the basics: a professional business address and phone answering services, and they’re somewhat pricier than others on this list. The full package, including access to their co-working spaces, is close to $400/month.

They also offer an eCard membership option just for co-working, which gets you access to their community portal and one day pass per month (among other perks) starting at $39.75/mo.

But all their packages do include full access to the community, the ability to use any of their 250+ workspaces worldwide, and several other perks. So if you want a strong community aspect with your virtual office services, EOffice will be up your alley.

How To Find The Best Virtual Office For You

Now let’s look at the best virtual office services for different situations. As we noted earlier, what makes a virtual office right for you will largely depend on your individual needs. But there are a few factors to consider when comparing them against each other.

Best Virtual Office For Customizable Packages

Since individual needs and fit are so important, let’s start there. Your ability to customize packages to your own needs, or at least to choose between multiple levels or options depending on those needs, will likely determine whether you can work with a provider or not.

Customizability allows you to pick the services you need and ignore the ones you don’t, which can save you money. It also allows you to start where you are and grow or scale up at your own pace, which not only saves money but removes pressure to grow too fast.

And having multiple options to choose between gives you flexibility to start using a virtual office provider at any point in your business journey, rather than having to be a beginner or a veteran, a big company or a small one.

The virtual offices that provide the best customizability and flexibility are:

Best Virtual Offices For Specificity

On the other hand, if you know exactly where you are and exactly what you want, having a wider variety of options or a strong ability to customize might not be necessary for you. This is especially true for businesses that are just getting started, that want one particular perk or benefit above all, or that value a tangential yet important factor like community.

The virtual offices that provide the best specific services are:

Best Virtual Offices For Location

While any virtual office provider can technically provide services from anywhere, the more locations one has, the more accessible they will be–especially if you want to use their physical office space as well as their virtual services.

International presence or strategy also matters here. If you’re not in the US, or you want to grow your business internationally, having access to locations in other countries will be vital for you.

The virtual offices with the most locations (in the US and worldwide) are:

Best-Priced Virtual Office Services

The caveat with pricing for virtual office solutions is that the amount you pay determines the features and benefits you get.

Buying a lower-level package may only get you a few basic features, such as an address with mail forwarding but nothing else, while buying a comprehensive package will nearly always come with a premium price tag.

Some of the cheapest providers can also become the most expensive once you move up the ladder to their most comprehensive packages.

So we’ll evaluate the best-priced virtual office services as the ones that offer the most benefits at each of three price levels: basic, mid-level, and premium.

Best basic offering: Opus Virtual Offices (base offer, $99/mo)
Best mid-level offering: Regus (office membership, $207/mo)
Best premium offering: Servcorp (full virtual office suite, $700/mo)

  • $99 per month
  • Great for first virtual office
  • Comes with one month free
  • Excellent add-ons
Try it today!

So which one is the best?

By the categories above, Regus stands out the most. It has great customizability, lots of locations, and the best mid-tier package. No other provider showed up in more than two categories, and several only hit one. So by that logic, Regus is the best virtual office services provider.

But don’t forget about your individual needs! The best virtual office might be the right one for you, but it also might not. That’s why we showed you eight of them rather than just Regus.

If you love the internationality of Davinci, need the online office model of Sococo, think the virtual assistant from Intelligent Office would be a lifesaver, or just want to start with the basic setup of Opus, that’s okay too. Any of these eight could be the best provider, provided they’re the best one for you.



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Friday, November 20, 2020

Best Online Payroll Services

Want to jump straight to the answer? The best online payroll services for most businesses are definitely Gusto or OnPay.

Historically, payroll has been one of the most complex elements of running a business. Business owners need to make sure that everyone is paid with 100% accuracy, including calculations related to taxes, benefits, and more.

How hard can it be? Well, about one-third of small businesses are fined by the IRS each year because of payroll mistakes. With more businesses working with remote staff, freelancers, and independent contractors, payroll is no small feat.

But modern payroll solutions are changing to accommodate this. We’ll show you the best solutions up to the task.

The 7 Best Online Payroll Services

When it comes to something as important as payroll, you don’t want to take any chances with an inferior service. Depending on the size of your business, there are only seven online payroll services that I would recommend:

Read on about the features, pricing, pros, and cons of each service to find the best one for your business.


Gusto

  • Starting at $39.99 per month
  • Unlimited payroll cycles
  • Calculates & files taxes
  • Easy access to pay stubs & W-2s
Get Started Now

Gusto offers one of the best online payroll services out there. They serve more than 100,000 businesses across the country.

The reason why so many companies are choosing Gusto for payroll is because of the platform’s simplicity. It’s easy for anyone to set up, manage, and pay workers.

With Gusto, you can run payroll in minutes. You can even run it on autopilot, assuming things aren’t changing each pay cycle.

The user experience of Gusto is unparalleled too. It’s incredibly simple to use even if you’re completely inexperienced with online payroll services.

Not only does Gusto calculate your taxes, but it files everything for you. Local, state, and federal taxes are automatically paid to the right government office each time you run payroll. This benefit is 100% free, while competitors charge extra for it.

I love Gusto’s onboarding process for each employee. Whether you have a new W-2 hire or 1099 contractor, they can onboard themselves.

Your staff will have easy access to pay stubs, W-2s, and everything else they need online. Even former employees will still be able to view old payroll information.

Gusto offers unlimited payroll cycles, meaning you can issue payments whenever you want. You’re not locked into weekly or bi-weekly cycles.

Gusto helps you with compliance, time-tracking, PTO, employee benefits, and more, in addition to being a full-service online payroll company.

Pricing for Gusto is as follows:

Core — $39 per month

  • $6 per month per person
  • Employee self-service
  • Health benefits administration
  • Workers’ comp administration
  • PTO policies

Complete — $39 per month

  • $12 per month per person
  • All Core features
  • Employee offers and onboarding
  • Time tracking
  • Time-off requests
  • Employee directory and surveys

Concierge — $149 per month

  • $12 per month per person
  • All Complete features
  • Certified HR professionals
  • HR resource center

The Core plan is perfect for small teams with basic payroll. As your team scales, you may want to upgrade to the Complete package. Gusto Concierge is designed for larger businesses as a full-service HR resource.

Workers’ comp and health benefits are free to integrate with Gusto. They don’t charge any administrative fees, so you’ll only pay for the premiums.

401k plans, 529 college savings plans, HSAs, FSAs, and commuter benefits come with additional monthly base rates, as well as extra charges for each participating employee.

Gusto has everything you need in an online payroll service. We use it here at QuickSprout, and I think it’s exceptional. The only potential drawback is the price. It used to be one of the cheapest payroll options on the market, which is no longer the case.

You can try Gusto free for one month. There is no charge for setting up an account, and you’ll only pay after you run your first payroll.


OnPay

  • Starting at $36 per month
  • Unlimited monthly pay cycles
  • Automated tax filings
  • Supports W-2 & 1099 workers
Get Started Now

OnPay processes more than $50 billion in payroll each year. They’re reliable, secure, and you can bet they have all you need for your business.

The best part: They’re simple. There is just one plan to choose from, and it comes with everything you need all-inclusive. That’s why OnPay is my top recommendation for small business owners.

The all-in-one payroll service has straightforward and transparent pricing. It’s $36 per month plus $4 per employee.

This is a great value compared to some of the other options on our list, especially considering all of the features and benefits that you’ll get.

  • Unlimited monthly pay cycles
  • Automated tax filings and payments
  • Supports W-2 and 1099 workers
  • 2-day turnaround
  • Pay via direct deposit, live check, or debit card
  • Garnishments
  • Flexible pay rates and schedules
  • Unemployment insurance withholding
  • 40+ reports
  • Time-tracking integrations

OnPay also has specialized payroll solutions for businesses in specific industries with unique needs. Examples include restaurants (e.g. taxes, wage reporting), farming, nonprofits, and churches (e.g. tax exemptions).

Overall, OnPay is about as simple as it gets. You’ll get everything you need to run payroll for your small business, including HR benefits that can help negotiated mixed workforces (e.g. W2 employees and independent contractors). They’ll also work with the IRS on your behalf if there are any issues with taxes. . It’s easy to add on things like employee health and dental, workers’ comp, and retirement plans.

Employees can self service their own payroll too. Your staff can onboard themselves, access their accounts even after leaving the company, and change their personal information at any time. Employees can also manage voluntary deductions like their 401k plans directly online.

OnPay integrates with other software that you might be using to run your business, like QuickBooks, Xero, or TSheets.

Your first month using OnPay is free. They’ll also cover any migration costs from your old payroll provider.

The only major drawback of OnPay is that there they don’t have a mobile app. While the site is optimized for mobile devices, apps seem to be pretty standard in today’s day and age.

OnPay will charge you extra for any year-end forms that are mailed to your office or employees. But you could always print them out yourself to avoid those costs.

Visit OnPay to learn more.


ADP Payroll

  • Very popular payroll service
  • Trusted by 700,000 small businesses
  • Robust HR features
  • Flexible plans
Get 3 months FREE

ADP Payroll is one of the most popular online payroll services out there.

They offer “payroll, global HCM, and outsourcing services” throughout 140+ countries worldwide.

When you take a look at their plans, you’ll see that they’re easily scalable too:

  • Small business payroll. This is their service for smaller businesses with 1-49 employees. Great for start ups.
  • Midsized to enterprise payroll. This is their service for bigger businesses with 50-1,000+ employees.

Across both levels, there are four different pricing plans your business can choose from. Expect everything from direct deposit and tax filings, to more unique benefits like legal assistance and HR training toolkits.

ADP Payroll also gives you hiring solutions. You’ll be able to conduct background checks,  get access to 25,000+ job boards to find the right recruit, and also set up interview scheduling and offers of employment.

Their app integrations also benefit both employees and HR departments with perks like product discounts through LifeMart and integration with outsourced HR and a time clock software.

You’ll also be able to track your employees’ hours worked as well as manage their vacation days and PTO requests.

They help nearly 700,000 small businesses with their payroll solutions, according to their website. So you know you’ll be in good hands with them.

As for pricing, you’ll need to go to their website and get a free quote from them. Depending on the specific needs of your company though, you can expect to pay roughly $10 – $15 per employee.


Square Payroll

  • Starting at $29 per month
  • Get up and running fast
  • Compatible with Square products
  • Self-service onboarding
Get Started Now

Square is best known for its POS software and credit card processing services. But Square Payroll is an excellent all-in-one payroll solution for any business.

The biggest draw of using Square Payroll is its compatibility with other Square solutions. So if you’re using Square POS, you can sync those timecards with your payroll system.

This is one of the best ways to digitally track employee hours without having to manually enter information for each pay cycle. Square will also help you calculate and split any employee credit card tips.

Another top benefit of Square Payroll is the setup. You can get up and running in just a few quick steps, all done online. Simply input your company info, add your workers’ information, and run your payroll.

Alternatively, you can invite your employees to enter their own information for self-service onboarding. Square Payroll has a great mobile app for managing payroll from anywhere.

Pricing for Square Payroll is affordable and straightforward. It costs $29 per month plus $5 per person paid.

Furthermore, Square Payroll offers a unique option for businesses paying contractors. It’s just $5 per contractor per month, with no base subscription fee. This is one of the most affordable pricing plans you’ll find.

Overall, Square Payroll is perfect for businesses already using the Square POS system. It’s got everything you need to process payroll.

With all of that said, I wouldn’t recommend it to larger businesses in need of more HR resources. Square Payroll is pretty limited in that sense.


QuickBooks Payroll

  • Starting at $45 per month
  • Easy integration with QuickBooks
  • Full-service payroll
  • Expert support
Get Started Now

QuickBooks is best known for its small business accounting solutions. But the company also has an outstanding online payroll service that ranks high on our list.

QuickBooks Payroll is definitely something you should consider if you’re already using the company for bookkeeping software. You can easily add QuickBooks Payroll to your existing QuickBooks accounting plan.

The result will be a seamless all-in-one solution for your accounting, payroll, and HR needs.

All local, state, and federal taxes will be calculated and paid, automatically, each pay cycle. You can also run Auto Payroll after the initial set up to minimize the time spent running payroll each week.

One of my favorite parts about QuickBooks Payroll is that the company stands behind their product. They are so confident that their calculations will be accurate, that they’ll pay penalty fees incurred from filing errors.

As you would probably expect, the biggest benefit of using QuickBooks Payroll is its integration with QuickBooks accounting software.

Your bookkeeping records and reports will be updated in real-time with each pay cycle. This also makes it easier for you to share payroll information with your accountant.

More than 1.4 million businesses use QuickBooks for payroll, so you know it’s a company and solution that you can trust.

Here’s a brief overview of the plans and pricing for QuickBooks Payroll:

Core — $45 per month

  • $4 per month per employee
  • Full-service payroll
  • Auto payroll available
  • Health benefits
  • Expert support
  • Next-day direct deposit

Premium — $75 per month

  • $8 per month per employee
  • All Core features
  • Same-day direct deposit
  • User permissions
  • HR support center
  • Premium time tracking with mobile app

Elite — $125 per month

  • $10 per month per employee
  • All Premium features
  • Elite onboarding
  • Elite time tracking with project planning and geofencing
  • Tax penalty guarantee
  • Personal HR advisor

Overall, QuickBooks Payroll is as solid as it gets. They offer exceptional customer support for such a large company. If you have any problems, questions, or need assistance, it’s easy to get things resolved.

QuickBooks Payroll falls a bit short in terms of employee benefits and HR guidance with all plans. But it’s still a top choice to consider, especially if you’re already using QuickBooks Online for your accounting needs. Click here to visit QuickBooks and learn more.


Paychex

  • Starting at $59 per month
  • Paychex Flex for large businesses
  • 24/7 phone and live chat support
  • Free mobile app
Get Started Now

Paychex has been in the payroll business for nearly 50 years. They currently service the payroll needs of more than 650,000 companies.

Over the years, Paychex has evolved to adapt with the growing trends in the payroll industry. That’s what makes them such an appealing option for online payroll services.

While Paychex offers solutions for small business owners, I’d recommend this company to larger organizations seeking new payroll options.

The reason why Paychex is better for large corporations is because of its flexibility. Paychex offers solutions that go far and beyond basic payroll processing. They also provide HR administration, employee onboarding, background checks for new hires, and powerful analytics.

paychex dashboard

Depending on the plan you choose, employees can be paid via direct deposit, paper checks, or prepaid debit cards.

Paychex Go is the plan designed for small businesses. It starts at $59 per month plus $4 per employee. It’s easy to sign up and get started online by creating a free account. But overall the plan is pretty limited, and I’d look for other options as a small business owner.

Paychex Flex is the complete payroll and HR solution designed for larger companies. Pricing is customized based on your needs. Added benefits of Paychex Flex include:

  • Free mobile app
  • General ledger service
  • Custom reports
  • $1,000 in prepaid digital marketing services
  • 24/7 phone and live chat support
  • Dedicated payroll specialist
  • Automatically deduct and remit garnished wages

The Flex plan also comes with employee services like extra payment options, onboarding essentials, HR administration, employee screening, and a financial wellness program.

I’d say the biggest downside of Paychex is that the sign up process isn’t as simple compared to some of the other options on our list. You’ll need to request a quote, so it’s not something that you can do on your own without any assistance.


SurePayroll

  • Customized pricing
  • Auto Payroll
  • Helps you manage 401ks
  • Exceptional customer support
Get Started Now

SurePayroll has been around for about 20 years. In 2011, the company was acquired by Paychex. But it’s still run and sold as a separate payroll service, and it’s different from the Paychex plans that we reviewed earlier in this guide.

This payroll service is more equipped to meet the needs of small business owners, compared to its Paychex parent company.

All you need to do is enter the hours or salary for each employee, review the tax deductions, and approve the payroll to start processing. This is extremely easy for any small business owner to do online.

Run unlimited payrolls each month for no additional charge. You also have the option to run one-day and same-day payrolls.

If your business runs the same payroll each cycle, you can use Auto Payroll as a hands-off service.

SurePayroll helps you manage 401ks, HSAs, FSAs, commuter benefits, and garnishment deductions as well. They also have exceptional customer support via phone, email, and live chat. However, this is limited to six days per week during normal business hours.

In addition to small business owners, SurePayroll carves out a unique niche. They offer specific payroll solutions for nannys, caregivers, and other household employees.

This service helps homeowners avoid IRS fines and ensures compliance.

Like Paychex, you’ll need to request a quote from the sales team to learn more about your specific pricing options. So getting started isn’t necessarily a breeze. SurePayroll does offer two months free, which is one of the best promotions that I’ve seen in my research.


The Value of a Payroll Company

The main value of an online payroll company is simplifying your payroll process. Whether it’s for new hires, contractors, or just weekly payments for full-time employees, online payroll makes things easier.

With online payroll software, you don’t need to hire someone to manage payroll for you. The software takes care of everything, from tax filings to withholding deductions and more.

Another top benefit of online payroll is flexibility. Some companies offer on-demand payments, so your staff isn’t tied to specified pay cycles.

You’ll also have access to your entire payroll system from anywhere.

How to Find the Best Online Payroll Services

There are lots of different factors that need to be taken into consideration when you’re evaluating an online payroll service. This is the methodology that we used during our research to create this guide.

Business Size

Large and small business have different needs; payroll is no exception. A business with just five employees won’t be using the same payroll system as a company with 50 or 500 employees.

Recognize which payroll solutions are the best for your business size. If you’re planning on growing and hiring new people in the coming months or years, make sure you choose an online payroll solution that can scale with you.

Industry

Payroll can be as complex or as simple as the industry it serves.

For example, industries such as farms, nonprofits, food service, and contractor-reliant operations are going to require a more complex payroll system. Whereas a bootstrap startup with just three employees is going to be fairly simple.

Types of Employees

Who are you paying?

Most payroll services will accommodate businesses with full-time W-2 employees. However, there are better options if you have part-time staff or issue payments to independent contractors.

Automation

Your online payroll solution is supposed to make your life easier. So I always recommend systems with automated options.

If your payroll doesn’t change between each cycle, look for an option with an autopilot mode that allows you to just set it and forget it. The best online payroll services will automatically calculate and file taxes as well as other withholdings.

Employee Self-Service

If you choose an online payroll service that is employee-friendly, it’s going to make your life much easier too. The best payroll software allows employees to edit their personal information, manage their benefits and taxes, as well as view old pay stubs.

You can even find payroll services that offer self-onboarding for employees. Just invite them to join so they can enter personal details and bank information. Your W-2 and 1099 workers can use the self-service features to access tax documents each year, instead of you having to print and mail them on your own.

Benefits

Not every payroll system has built-in options for you to set up and manage employee benefits. I’m referring to things like:

  • Workers’ compensation
  • 401k plans
  • HSAs
  • Health insurance
  • Vision and dental

So if you’re offering these types of benefits to your employees, you need to find a payroll system that’s accommodating.

Pay Cycles

How often do you want to run payroll?

Lots of online payroll systems won’t restrict you to just once per week or twice per month. There are plenty of options out there that offer unlimited payroll each month.

This is great for those of you who don’t want to be tied into a specific schedule. In some instances, you can even let your employees decide when and how they get paid.

Maybe you want employees on salary to get paid automatically each week. But you want to manually pay independent contractors for specific amounts only once per month. There are online payroll services that let you do both with ease.

Price

The cost of your payroll service will obviously be a factor in your decision.

In many cases, payroll plans are structured by a fixed monthly rate and an additional fee per employee. The monthly rates can range anywhere from $30 to $150. We’ve seen employee fees start as low as $4 per month and get as high as $12.

The price you pay will also have an impact on the features of your plan. If you’re looking for a full-service HR solution in addition to traditional payroll, you can expect to pay on the higher end of this spectrum.

Conclusion

Every business needs a payroll solution. But not every online payroll service is created equally. There are definitely options on the market that are better than others.

What’s the best online payroll service? The answer is different for each business owner. Here’s a quick recap of the best choices based on our methodology:

Whether you have a small business, large corporation, or have unique payroll needs, there is definitely a solution for you in this guide.



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