Paychex Review

Pros

• Easy to use
• Scalable
• Built-in onboarding and HR
• 2 days (can pay for faster processing times) payroll processing available
• Valid in all 50 states

Cons

• Non-transparent pricing
• Has many extra fees

What Is Paychex?

Paychex is cloud-based payroll and HR software that provides payroll, HR, benefits administration, business insurance, retirement plans, health care, and more for small to enterprise-sized businesses.

Paychex’s most impressive features include strong employee management tools, direct deposit, 100+ reports, payroll processing in 2 days (can pay for faster processing times), and employee onboarding support.

The downsides are limited information about the software’s security and numerous user complaints about unfiled taxes.

Paychex Pricing

Paychex’s low 2.2/5 star rating was driven down by its lack of full pricing transparency, no free trial, and limited pricing customization options. Compared to similar solutions, such as Gusto or QuickBooks Online Payroll, we think Paychex’s starting pricing plan is affordable, but very limited by its employee cap.

Contact Paychex directly for pricing details on other plans.

Paychex’s base plan’s pricing is consistent with plans offered by other payroll software on the market. However, Paychex charges per payroll run, including off-cycle runs. We found one location on Paychex’s website where it stated that payroll options started at $39/month + $5/employee. 

Fortunately, there are no contracts with Paychex, so you can cancel your plan anytime.

Paychex Flex Select

Paychex Flex Select’s pricing is unpublished. The plan includes:

• Dedicated payroll specialist
• Paper checks, check-signing, or check logo services
• eLearning platform access
• Direct deposit
• Check-printing
• Free mobile app
• Employee self-service
• Reports
• General ledger service
• Garnishments (available as an add-on)
• Payroll tax support
• W-2s
• 1099s (extra cost)
• New-hire reporting
• Workers’ compensation insurance (available as an add-on)
• Compliance posters
• HR resource library and forms
• Financial wellness programs
• Tax credit services
• Employee paycards
• Employee assistance program

Paychex Flex Pro

Paychex Flex Pro’s pricing is not published. The plan includes everything from Flex Select, plus:

• Accounting software integrations
• State unemployment insurance services
• Onboarding tools
• Pre-employment screening
• Employee handbook tool

Paychex Flex Enterprise

Paychex Flex Enterprise’s pricing is not published. The plan includes everything from Flex Pro, plus:

• Custom analytics and reporting
• HR administration
• Online employee training
• Employee handbook resources
• Onboarding essential tools
• Custom analytic tools
• Professional support setting up SUI and workers’ compensation

Extra Paychex Costs & Fees

Paychex offers an incredible number of services, such as time tracking, business insurance, hiring services, payment processing, and more. Most of these services will integrate directly with your payroll dashboard, so you can manage many areas of your business in a single spot.

Unfortunately, Paychex’s extra costs and fees for these services get into nickel-and-dime-ing territory compared to other similar payroll software options. That said, the modular approach to business solutions allows larger businesses with sizable budgets to pay for only the services they need.

Is Paychex Easy To Use?

With a 4.4/5 star rating, Paychex earned good marks in the ease of use category. The software performed well when rated for its everyday use, integrations, and reliability but lost marks due to first-time setup limitations that could make the process a little cumbersome, plus some customer complaints about glitching.

Paychex’s UI is generally well-organized, contributing to the software’s ease of use. Each major feature has its own place on the sidebar for easy access, and all Flex plans include a designated support specialist to help if you get stuck.

Paychex handles the entire implementation process for you on higher plan tiers. The Paychex team will enter all of your data for you and get your account set up correctly so you can be ready to run your first payroll within a few days or weeks, depending on the size of your business.

Paychex is cloud-based, so no downloads or installation is required.

Paychex Features

Paychex scored an impressive 4.6/5 star rating in the features category, as the software boasts payroll processing essentials, HR solutions, and time-tracking features all in one.

Additional charges for faster payroll processing and multistate payroll caused the software’s rating to drop. Further, the lack of a DIY tax plan, automated payroll processing, and some limits to benefits broker management rounded out the software’s dropped points.

Ultimately, Paychex offers a robust suite of payroll features and solutions that are consistent with similar payroll software solutions.

Compared to other payroll software, Paychex is most similar to ADP in that it has a comprehensive feature set and extensive HR support. Check out our ADP vs. Paychex comparison for a breakdown of the differences between the two software options.

Paychex Customer Service

Paychex’s 3.8/5 star rating in the customer service category reflects the software’s wealth of customer support options, especially its 24/7 live support. Access to Paychex’s knowledgebase is limited to its users, but from what we could find, the content was helpful enough.

However, Paychex’s customer service rating was lowered by its limited training and support for its software, though it does offer plenty of HR training options. Mixed reviews about Paychex’s customer service also reduced its ratings.

Fortunately, each Paychex payroll plan includes 24/7 support by phone and chat.

Customers with the Flex Select plan and up are assigned a dedicated payroll specialist, making it easy and convenient to get answers to payroll-specific questions. Here’s a more in-depth look at Paychex’s customer service options:

The inability to contact a payroll specialist is usually a pain point cited by customers using other software solutions, so Paychex gets a big win in the customer service category.

Paychex Integrations

Paychex offers many additional services but still has plenty of third-party integration options. You can connect your Paychex payroll services to 270+ software solutions, including QuickBooks Online, Xero, Sage Intacct, SimplyHired, and many more.

There is also API available for developers.

Paychex Reviews

Paychex’s 3.9/5 user review rating was driven by thousands of user reviews, the majority of which were positive. However, there were a good number of negative reviews that lowered the software’s overall rating. Paychex receives an average of 3.8/5 stars across user review sites.

While it’s important to take negative reviews with a grain of salt (considering the role of negativity bias), there are enough recurring complaints about significant issues, such as unauthorized payments, payroll inaccuracies, and missed tax filings, to take note of them before purchasing the software.

Negative Paychex Reviews & Complaints

• Unauthorized payment withdrawals
• Missed tax filings
• Payroll inaccuracies
• Expensive

Positive Paychex Reviews

• Good customer support
• Easy to use
• Strong payroll features and tax support
• Time-saving
• Convenient mobile app

Is Paychex Secure?

Paychex employs strong security tools to keep your data safe. While the company doesn’t give much more detail about its security measures, it does provide a detailed privacy policy. The company does not share or sell personal information.

• Data encryption
• Malware detection and prevention
• Firewalls
• Multifactor authentication
• Restricted access to confidential information
• SOC reports

Final Verdict Of Paychex

Paychex offers strong payroll features, including customizable employee management, preprocessing payroll reports, and automatic payroll tax filing. Built-in HR and onboarding set the service apart. The software is well-organized, offers 24/7 customer support, receives many positive customer reviews, and — best of all — Paychex takes care of the entire setup process, so you don’t have to worry. However, it’s difficult to say if the service is worth it for small business owners without knowing exactly how much Paychex costs.

Paychex could be a great choice if you have a small or medium-sized business and you’re looking for payroll and a suite of additional HR and other business services. Contact Paychex directly for a quote and a demo of the software.

If pricing is a concern and you need payroll software that won’t break the bank, check out our picks for the best free payroll software for an in-depth look at the top free payroll software options on the market.

Payroll Software Review Methodology

We research, evaluate, and test each payroll software app that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on key characteristics to generate granular ratings.

Our exhaustive, 76-point rubric guides the star rating of each payroll provider we review, examining pricing, ease of use, features, customer service, and user reviews. Each section is weighted differently.

• Pricing (10% of the overall rating)
• Ease of Use (20% of the overall rating)
• Features (40% of the overall rating)
• Customer Service (20% of the overall rating)
• User Reviews (10% of the overall rating)

When rating payroll software, we are looking for very specific qualities. The speed and cost of payroll runs and the availability of tax filing services are given high weight, as are the quality and availability of accounting, time-tracking, HR integrations, and user onboarding services. We also look for the presence of client and employee portals, benefits administration, PTO and time management tools, and many more vital features.

Learn more about how we rate payroll software providers.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

Paychex	Visit Site

After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Paychex for yourself.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

Paychex	Visit Site

After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Paychex for yourself.