Two basic types of payroll provider: Full-Service vs. Discount Options

Full-Service Payroll Providers

Full-service payroll providers, such as Paychex, ADP, Insperity, Paycomm and Heartland, offer a comprehensive range of services. These providers assign dedicated representatives to each client, ensuring personalized support and assistance whenever needed. This means that if you encounter any issues or have questions, you’ll have a specific person to contact who is familiar with your account and business requirements. They offer HR compliance services, employee benefits administration, and can handle complex things like prevailing wage, multi state, international employees, etc.

However, this level of service comes at a higher price. Full-service providers are generally more expensive, but the convenience and peace of mind they offer can be well worth the investment for businesses with complex payroll needs. Because of the varying needs of full service clients, their software interfaces tend to be more complex and less pleasant to work with. Here are links ADP, Paychex

Discount Payroll Providers

On the other hand, discount payroll providers like Gusto and Sure Payroll offer a more budget-friendly alternative. These providers typically do not assign dedicated representatives, meaning you’ll contact a toll-free number and speak with whoever is available at that moment. While this can sometimes result in longer wait times and less personalized service, the significant cost savings can be a major advantage.

Discount providers are often three to five times cheaper than full-service options, making them an attractive choice for smaller businesses or those with simpler payroll requirements. Sure Payroll is owned by Paychex which is nice because it means they already know how to handle complex issues.

Personal Experience and Recommendations

In my experience, I’ve worked with several full-service providers, including Paychex, ADP, and Heartland, as well as discount providers like Gusto and Sure Payroll. While I have many clients using Gusto, I have found their service to be a bit lacking. If you have no problems this is fine, but if you do have an issue like an incorrectly filed or missed 941 form, resolution can take many months. In the meantime, penalties and interest may be accruing and while Gusto’s guarantee would be called into play, it’s questionable who would be responsible for those additional months of interest and penalties so quick resolution is extremely important. For this reason, I now recommend Sure Payroll for those looking for a discount option with better service.

It’s worth noting that ADP recently introduced a discount option, providing more flexibility for businesses with varying needs. It’s a new program but worth considering.

How to Sign Up for a Payroll Service

Gusto: If you would like to sign up for Gusto, please use this link: https://gusto.com/r/russ222

Here is a link to Gusto pricing https://gusto.com/product/pricing

Sure Payroll: To connect your account with our Sure Payroll accountants portal, we would need to sign you up through our portal so please schedule time with Support for this option. Here is their pricing link https://www.surepayroll.com/pricing

Any other payroll provider. If you would like to sign up with any other payroll provider, please schedule an appointment with Russ using this link and he can make a personal introduction to our dedicated representative.

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If you have not yet told the State of WA that you are going to have employees, you must do this first. Here is a link to that article. https://sbk2.co/kb/adding-employees/