Payroll software is generally a part of a larger set of HR software. It has the specific purpose of producing paychecks for employees and includes tracking the necessary deductions for benefits, taxes, and other deductions. Canadian payroll software packages include tax tables specific to Canada.
Payroll was one of the earliest business tasks to be moved to a computer. Since then it has evolved to include many forms of payroll services software, from large, complex, enterprise software to free payroll software. Canada, like most developed countries, has specific payroll reporting requirements, tax tables, and required tax forms. It is important that your payroll software includes necessary information for whichever country/countries your business operates in.
There are thousands of payroll services software packages available today, each with its own good points and bad. Even the small business startup can handle the cost of a simple payroll package. In fact, most businesses only make use of a small portion of the functionality of even the small inexpensive payroll services software packages.
Basic rules of thumb for payroll services software lead to 3 basic paths for solutions:
- Small payroll services software packages that allow interaction with other HR packages
- HR packages that have their own built in payroll
- Payroll services like ADP, handled by outside service provider
Major entries in the small business and medium business payroll package environment specifically directed to Canadian businesses include:
- Easy Pay
- HR Club
- Canadian Payroll
- Avanti Payroll
- And others
In selecting the proper payroll package for your business, consider the following:
- Time to produce own payroll. If, after gathering the required information, it seems to take excessive time to produce the actual payroll, then you may want to consider a service.
- Breadth of Payroll: if you have multi-state or multi-nation payroll, it may be best to have a paid service.
- If auditing is a regular process in your organization, a payroll services that includes this option may be the best choice.
- Otherwise, a simple payroll package will likely meet all your needs.