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The Best Payroll Software For Restaurants

These great restaurant payroll software options will help you manage taxes, pay your employees on time, and handle benefits administration.

    Davina Ward
  • Last updated onUpdated

  • Chelsea Krause
  • REVIEWED BY

    Chelsea Krause

    Lead Staff Writer

Our content reflects the editorial opinions of our experts. While our site makes money through referral partnerships, we only partner with companies that meet our standards for quality, as outlined in our independent rating and scoring system.

The best restaurant payroll software should be able to help you manage crucial back-end tasks, such as time tracking, taxes, and employee benefits.

We’ve reviewed a dozen payroll software options to determine the best payroll software for restaurants. Read on to find out more about our top payroll software for restaurant selections.

Learn More About Our Top Picks

CompanyBest ForNext StepsBest For
Square Payroll

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  • Best overall restaurant payroll software
  • $35/month + $6 per employee
  • Square POS integration
  • Best overall restaurant payroll software
  • $35/month + $6 per employee
  • Square POS integration

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Gusto

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  • Best payroll software for employee benefits
  • Pricing starts at $40/month + $6 per employee
  • Gusto Wallet app for employees
  • Best payroll software for employee benefits
  • Pricing starts at $40/month + $6 per employee
  • Gusto Wallet app for employees

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ADP Payroll

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  • Best restaurant payroll software with integrations
  • Quote-based pricing
  • Customizable plans with add-ons
  • Best restaurant payroll software with integrations
  • Quote-based pricing
  • Customizable plans with add-ons

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Toast Payroll

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  • Best Restaurant Payroll Software
  • Quote-based pricing
  • Toast POS integration
  • Best Restaurant Payroll Software
  • Quote-based pricing
  • Toast POS integration

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SurePayroll

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  • Best payroll mobile app for restaurants
  • Starts at $19.99/month + $4/employee/month
  • Easy to use
  • Best payroll mobile app for restaurants
  • Starts at $19.99/month + $4/employee/month
  • Easy to use

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OnPay

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  • Best affordable payroll software for restaurants
  • $40/month + $6 per employee
  • Strong HR features and integrations
  • Best affordable payroll software for restaurants
  • $40/month + $6 per employee
  • Strong HR features and integrations

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Homebase

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  • Best restaurant payroll software with scheduling
  • $39/month + $6/employee
  • Built-in time tracking
  • Best restaurant payroll software with scheduling
  • $39/month + $6/employee
  • Built-in time tracking

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Read more below to learn why we chose these options.

The 7 Best Payroll Software For Restaurants

The best payroll software for restaurants should come with a rich feature set, including tip management, reporting and analytics, and minimum wage alerts to help keep your business running at peak efficiency. Our picks include:

  • Square Payroll: Best Overall Payroll Software For Restaurants
  • Gusto: Best Restaurant Payroll Software For Employee Benefits
  • ADP Payroll: Best Restaurant Payroll Software With Integrations
  • Toast Payroll: Best Restaurant-Specific Payroll Software
  • SurePayroll: Best Mobile App For Restaurant Payroll
  • OnPay: Best Affordable Payroll Software For Restaurants
  • Homebase: The Best Restaurant Payroll Software For Scheduling

A Comparison Of The Top Restaurant Payroll Software

PricingMobile AppTime TrackingScheduling
Square Payroll$6/contractor paid/month or $35/month + $6 per employee
GustoStarts at $40/month + $6 per employeeEmployee use onlyIntegrations only
ADP PayrollCustom
Toast PayrollQuote-based
SurePayrollStarts at $19.99/month + $4/employee/monthIntegrations onlyIntegrations only
OnPay$40/month + $6 per employeeIntegrations onlyIntegrations only
Homebase$39/month + $6/employee

Square Payroll: Best Overall Payroll Software For Restaurants

Square Payroll

Total Rating 4.1
Pricing3.5

Ease Of Use3.9

Features4.6

Customer Service3.7

User Reviews4.4

Payroll Processing Time

Same-day to 4-day

Pricing Range

$6/contractor or $35/month + $6/per employee

Business Size

Small to large businesses paying 1+ workers

Pros

  • Square POS integration
  • Affordable pricing
  • Square Team app for employees
  • Strong tax support

Cons

  • Limited features
  • Administrative options lacking
  • Add-ons can make the software expensive

We Chose Square Payroll For Restaurants

We chose Square Payroll as the best overall payroll software for restaurants because we love that restaurants using Square Payroll can seamlessly handle tip import, time tracking, and wage compliance within the same ecosystem.

A robust feature set aside, Square Payroll's affordable pricing helped the software score a high 4.1/5 overall star rating in our review of Square Payroll. Restaurants tend to run on thin margins, so using Square for restaurants can help to reduce payroll costs.

Square Payroll Pricing

Square Payroll Plans Price  When To Use
Pay Contractors Only $6/contractor If your business needs affordable payroll for contractors
Pay Employees & Contractors $35/month + $6/employee If your business needs affordable, basic payroll for both employees and contractors

As you might expect, Square Payroll’s pricing structure is simple and cost-effective for what it includes. There are two tiers, one for just paying contractors, which starts at $6 per contractor. The other is for employees and contractors and runs $35/month + $6 per employee.

Square Payroll Features

Square’s features are somewhat basic, but as long as you don’t have overly complicated payroll requirements, they should cover everything you need. They are also incredibly simple to understand and run, even if you’re brand new to payroll software. Here are some of the highlights:

  • Full-Service Payroll: Make unlimited payroll runs, tip calculation, pay employees and contractors, make payroll reports, multiple payment methods, and more.
  • Employee Mobile App: Employees can clock-in and out using the Square Team App; they can also view hours and earnings in the app.
  • Payroll Tax Support: Square will handle your business’s federal and state payroll calculations and filing; Square will also file and mail out employee tax forms.
  • Time Management: Square can handle PTO tracking, time tracking, and more.
  • Benefits Administration: Square offers several options for employee benefits, including health insurance, vision and dental insurance, retirement accounts, on-demand pay, health savings accounts, and more.
  • Employee Onboarding: New-hires can onboard themselves using Square’s employee self-service portal.

Square's Payroll Dashboard

Square Payroll Dashboard

What To Watch Out For

  • Square’s Pricing: Although it’s the best way to take advantage of Square’s integrated system, combining multiple Square products can run expensive.
  • Square’s Customer Service: Unfortunately, Square’s reviews suggest that customer support may be slow to resolve customer issues.
  • Square’s Integrations: Square offers a limited selection of HR and time tracking integrations compared to other payroll software services.

When To Use Square Payroll

  • Your restaurant already uses Square POS
  • You prefer a la carte options and custom feature sets
  • You need a well-performing mobile app to run payroll on the go
  • You’re looking for an affordable payroll software option with full-tax support

Get Started With Square Payroll

Read our in-depth review

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Gusto: Best Restaurant Payroll Software For Employee Benefits

Total Rating 4.4
Pricing3.7

Ease Of Use4.9

Features4.6

Customer Service4.1

User Reviews3.9

Payroll Processing Time

Next day-4 days

Pricing Range

$40/month + $6/person - $180/month + $22/month per person

Business Size

Small-medium sized businesses with up to 650+ users

Pros

  • Excellent benefits and employee management features
  • Automatic tipped wage compliance calculations
  • Built-in time tracking with geolocation features
  • Support for multiple restaurant locations
  • Contractor-only plan option

Cons

  • Limited reporting
  • No Gusto-branded POS option
  • Simple plan doesn’t include time tracking
  • Mobile app only for employee use

Why We Chose Gusto For Best Employee Benefits

We chose Gusto as the best restaurant for employee benefits because it offers an exceptional employee experience and simplifies employee benefits management. The software also earned an impressive 4.4/5 overall star rating in our Gusto review.

The software boasts a mobile app with time tracking and geolocation capabilities. With the app, employees handling meal deliveries can track time just as easily as in-house servers. This extensive feature set and low price helped Gusto earn a spot as one of the best cheap payroll software services for small businesses.

Gusto Pricing

Gusto Plans Price  When To Use
Simple $40/month + $6/person If your small business needs reliable, basic payroll software
Plus $80/month + $12/person If your business needs tools to handle complex payroll and team management needs
Premium $180/month + $22/month per person If your medium to large-sized business needs advanced HR and compliance tools
Contractor Only $35/month + $6/person per month If your growing business needs basic payroll and only pays contractors

Gusto’s pricing ranges from $40/month + $6 per employee to $80/month + $12 per employee. The software’s Premium plan offers custom pricing for growing businesses. And if you only have contractors, you can use the service for $6/month per contractor.

Gusto Features

Gusto’s features set is also tiered, but its Simple plan is very generous for the price. The Plus plan, which is not much more expensive, gives you access to time tracking and PTO. Here are a few features that Gusto payroll does well.

  • Full Service Payroll: Gusto offers unlimited payroll runs across all 50 states, automated payroll runs, deductions, garnishments, support for multiple pay rates and schedules, multiple payment methods, the Gusto Wallet app, and more.
  • Full Payroll Tax Support: Gusto will calculate and file your federal, state, and local payroll taxes; Gusto also supports new business registration across all 50 states.
  • Gusto Wallet App: Mobile employee self-service portal with a view of earnings, time tracking capabilities, geolocation, budgeting, and Gusto checking account management.
  • HR Tools: Gusto’s HR features include online document storage, assigning, background checks, new hire reporting, applicant tracking, employee surveys, and much more.
  • Benefits Administration: Gusto offers tons of benefits options, including health, vision, and dental insurance, health savings accounts, retirement accounts, disability insurance, life insurance, and more.

Gusto Payroll Homepage Screenshot

Gusto Payroll Dashboard

What To Watch Out For

  • Gusto’s Lack Of Schedule Management Features: Gusto lacks built-in scheduling features that would be very useful for restaurants. However, the software offers several integration options with scheduling software.
  • Gusto’s Pricing: Gusto’s base plan is relatively affordable compared to other payroll software solutions, but users needing Gusto’s time tracking features, next-day direct deposit, and other features must pay for the software’s higher tier, more expensive plan.
  • Gusto’s Benefits Administration: Gusto does not support benefits administration in 12 states, including Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

When To Use Gusto

  • You need an affordable, basic payroll solution for your restaurant
  • You need support for multistate payroll processing with full tax support
  • Your want to provide your employees with an excellent mobile app to manage time and pay
  • You prefer to manage benefits administration and payroll processing in a single software

Get Started With Gusto

Read our in-depth review

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ADP Payroll: Best Restaurant Payroll Software With Integrations

Total Rating 4.0
Pricing1.1

Ease Of Use4.8

Features4.6

Customer Service3.7

User Reviews3.3

Payroll Processing Time

2-5 days

Pricing Range

Custom pricing

Business Size

Small to enterprise-sized businesses with 1,000+ employees

Pros

  • Comprehensive feature set, including payroll, benefits administration, and HR features
  • Robust reporting
  • Scaleable for growing restaurants
  • Extended live customer support hours
  • Customizable plan options

Cons

  • Non-transparent pricing
  • Add-on services can get expensive
  • Excessive feature set for smaller businesses
  • Lukewarm user reviews

Why We Chose ADP For Best Integrations

In addition earning a notable 4/5 stars in our ADP review, we chose ADP as for its comprehensive feature set and an extensive integration library. ADP integrates with the best restaurant POS systems to help businesses create linked system for managing credit card tips and payroll.

ADP's third-party integration list includes time tracking, scheduling, employee management, and more software, so restaurants can easily add ADP's excellent payroll and HR features to its current restaurant management system.

ADP Pricing

ADP Payroll Plans Price  When To Use
RUN Powered By ADP Essential Custom If you need basic payroll for up to 49 users
RUN Powered By ADP Enhanced Custom If you need basic payroll and advanced hiring and onboarding tools for up to 49 users
RUN Powered By ADP Complete Custom If you need basic payroll and HR support for up to 49 users
RUN Powered By ADP HR Pro Custom If you need advanced payroll and HR support for up to 49 users
ADP Workforce Now Payroll Essentials Custom If you need basic payroll for 50+ users
ADP Workforce Now Plus Custom If you need payroll and enhanced HR tools for 50+ users
ADP Workforce Now Hiring Advantage Custom If you need advanced recruitment and hiring support for 50+ users
ADP Workforce Now Performance Plus Custom If you need performance analytics and improvement tools for 50+ users

ADP’s quote-based pricing model means that you won’t know how much the software costs until you speak with a sales rep. There are also plenty of add-ons that you can purchase, but again, those prices will vary.

ADP Features

What you get out of ADP will depend on what plan you choose, but ADP offers just about anything you could possibly want from your payroll software. Here are a few features where ADP stands out.

  • Full-Service Payroll: Direct deposit and other payment options, payroll across all 50 states, supports multiple pay rates and schedules, and tip payout management.
  • Payroll Tax Support: ADP handles minimum wage compliance, tip recording and reporting; ADP will also calculate, file, and remit federal, state, and local payroll taxes on behalf of your business.
  • Time Tracking: ADP Time Tracking can handle time tracking for your restaurant: ADP also integrates with third-party POS and time tracking solutions to keep everything synced.
  • New-Hire Onboarding: Self-service onboarding via its online employee portal.
  • HR Tools: ADP boasts a large library of HR documents, forms, and templates: Employee training, background checks, and additional HR tools are also available.

ADP home dashboard

ADP Run Home Dashboard

What To Watch Out For

  • ADP’s Pricing: To get pricing for ADP’s services, you’ll need to speak with a sales representative, detail your needs, and are then provided with a custom quote. Compared to other payroll service providers, ADP’s pricing is expensive based on the amount we were quoted.
  • ADP’s Customer Service: ADP’s live customer support options are limited to weekdays, but other solutions, such as Paychex and Rippling offer 24/7 live support.
  • Roll by ADP: Roll by ADP may be a good solution for businesses looking for a different ADP payroll product with transparent pricing. However, the software only scored a 2.5/5 star rating in our Roll by ADP review, as its feature set is very limited compared to other software solutions on the market.

When To Use ADP

  • Your restaurant needs payroll software with full-tax support and strong HR features
  • You want payroll software with a well-rated mobile app
  • You’re looking for a payroll software solution that offers an API and hundreds of integration options

Get Started With ADP Payroll

Read our in-depth review

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Toast Payroll: Best Restaurant-Specific Payroll Software

Total Rating 4.2
Pricing2.9

Ease Of Use4.1

Features4.5

Customer Service4.5

User Reviews3.7

Payroll Processing Time

1 business day

Pricing Range

$110/month + $4/employee

Business Size

Restaurants with more than 3 employees

Pros

  • Easy onboarding
  • Integrated team management
  • Speedy processing
  • Toast POS integration

Cons

  • Limited feature set
  • Long-term processing contract
  • Pricey

Why We Chose Toast For Best Restaurant-Specific Payroll

Toast's products are designed to meet the needs of restaurants — so, we think Toast Payroll is a stellar option for restaurants needing restaurant-specific payroll software. In our Toast Payroll review and evaluation, the software scored a solid 4.2/5 stars with a plethora of features and great customer service.

Similar to Square, if you're happy with the Toast POS product, Toast Payroll should definitely be high on your list. If you're signing up with Toast long-term, just make sure you've read the fine print as there are processing contracts and early termination fees.

Toast Payroll Pricing

Toast Payroll Plans Price  When To Use
New Restaurant Basics $110/month + $4/employee If you don’t already have Toast POS and need basic scheduling/payroll
Toast Payroll POS Add-On Custom If you already have a Toast plan and want to add a custom-quoted full-scale payroll solution

For expanded features, Toast pricing is custom, so you will need to contact them directly to see what your quote will be. However, Toast is currently running a special, offering its POS service plus its Payroll Lite plan for $69/month + $9/month per employee.

Toast Payroll Features

Toast has some excellent payroll features specifically for restaurants along with other basic functions that are well-designed and intended to be up and functional in a very short amount of time. Here are a few areas where Toast Payroll stands out:

  • Employee Onboarding: New hires can self-onboard online; employee documents can be filled out and managed online.
  • Full-Service Payroll: Payroll processing across 50 states, payroll tax filing, tip management, multiple pay options, including direct deposit, and more.
  • Time Management: Through Toast’s POS, Toast Payroll offers timesheet integration.
  • Toast POS Integration:  Toast Payroll integrates with Toast POS to keep employee tips synced and up-to-date when you run payroll.
  • Payroll Tax Support: Toast Payroll is capable of calculating, filing, and remitting your restaurant’s federal, state, and local taxes.

toast payroll dashboard on tablet

Toast Payroll Dashboard

What To Watch Out For

  • Toast’s Pricing: Toast’s pricing structure isn’t transparent, so you’ll be required to request a quote for pricing if you want to build a custom package that best suits your restaurant’s needs.
  • Toast’s Reviews: Toast Payroll’s user reviews have been lukewarm with users describing the software as overly complex.
  • Toast’s Customer Service: Some users have complained that Toast’s support representatives don’t know enough about the payroll product, leading to long resolution wait times.

When To Use Toast Payroll

  • Your restaurant is already using Toast POS
  • Your restaurant needs a combined POS and payroll solution designed for restaurant businesses
  • You want to build a custom restaurant management package
  • You need to manage payroll for restaurant franchises or multiple locations

Get Started With Toast Payroll

Read our in-depth review

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SurePayroll: Best Mobile App For Restaurant Payroll

Total Rating 3.7
Pricing3.4

Ease Of Use3.5

Features3.8

Customer Service4.1

User Reviews3.7

Payroll Processing Time

2 days

Pricing Range

$20/month + $4/employee - $39/month + $7/employee

Business Size

Small to mid-size businesses

Pros

  • Mobile app for employers and employees
  • Strong customer service
  • Highly intuitive

Cons

  • Non-transparent pricing
  • Costly add-ons
  • No time-tracking

Why We Chose SurePayroll For Best Mobile App

SurePayroll is a solid option for smaller to mid-sized restaurants, featuring a simple, basic feature set and strong customer service at an affordable price.

The software earned a solid 3.7/5 star rating in our SurePayroll review, with strong customer service and affordability helping to drive up the score. SurePayroll also stands out for offering a plan option for businesses that prefer to file payroll taxes themselves or with the help of a tax professional.

SurePayroll Pricing

SurePayroll Plans Price  When To Use
No Tax Filing Plan $20/month + $4/employee If your business needs essential payroll features
Full-Service $39/month + $7/employee If your business needs payroll features with comprehensive tax support

One downside to SurePayroll is that you’ll have to speak to a representative to get a payroll quote. They do offer two pricing platforms, one for self-service and one for full-service.

The full-service option has full tax support and a faster processing speed. There are also add-ons for things like time-tracking, benefits, and integrations.

SurePayroll Features

SurePayroll’s basic feature set before add-ons is somewhat limited but likely functional for a smaller food-service establishment. And if you’re happy with the product’s ease of use and find yourself needing additional features, the product is highly scaleable (although the fees can add up). Here are some of SurePayroll’s top features.

  • Payroll Processing: Unlimited payroll runs, multiple pay rates, supplemental payments, same-day direct deposit, flexible processing times, and auto-scheduled payroll.
  • Payroll Tax Support: FICA tip credit report, minimum wage alerts, pay-out makeup tips, and full-service tax support options.
  • HR Support: SurePayroll offers businesses access to an HR Advisor.
  • SurePayroll Mobile App: Employee app offers employee self-service and paystub access: Employer mobile app allows employers to view reports, payroll runs, and more.

surepayroll dashboard

SurePayroll Home Dashboard

What To Watch Out For

  • SurePayroll’s Time Tracking: SurePayroll does not support built-in time tracking and instead relies on third-party integrations to sync time and attendance data with payroll.
  • SurePayroll’s Features: Compared to other payroll software solutions, SurePayroll boasts fewer features. So, SurePayroll may not be the best option for restaurant owners in need of more advanced payroll processing software that’s able to handle more complex requests.

When To Use SurePayroll

  • You’re looking for a very cheap payroll software solution for your restaurant
  • You need payroll software with a functional mobile app for on-the-go processing
  • You value strong self-support resources when troubleshooting an issue
  • You’re interested in an optional DIY payroll tax plan

Get Started With SurePayroll

Read our in-depth review

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OnPay: Best Affordable Payroll Software For Restaurants

Total Rating 4.2
Pricing3.0

Ease Of Use4.5

Features4.4

Customer Service4.1

User Reviews4.7

Payroll Processing Time

2-4 Days

Pricing Range

$40/month + $6/month per person

Business Size

Small to mid-sized businesses (1-500 employees)

Pros

  • Unlimited payroll processing with full tax support
  • Simple, transparent pricing with no hidden fees
  • Plethora of payroll and employee management features
  • Strong customer service

Cons

  • Poor mobile app
  • No automatic payroll
  • No POS software integration

Why We Chose OnPay For Best Affordable Payroll

We chose OnPay as one of the best payroll software solutions because it boasts a robust feature set, including a host of generous HR tools and services — all for one competitive price (with no hidden fees!).

In our OnPay review, the software scored a high 4.2/5 stars overall as a versatile payroll system that can handle everything from your restaurant's minimum wage tip compliance to overtime pay. It also has built-in HR and the ability for employees to onboard themselves for an affordable price.

OnPay Pricing

OnPay Plans Price  When To Use
OnPay Monthly Plan $40/month + $6/month per person If you need essential payroll and basic HR features for up to 500+ employees

OnPay’s pricing is refreshingly simple and competitive. You get your first month free along with free set-up. After that, your software fee is $40/month +$6 per employee.

OnPay Features

OnPay’s feature set is impressive and contains everything you would expect from strong payroll software. A few users reported that, with so much going on in OnPay’s dashboard, it could be difficult to find what you’re looking for at times. But overall, OnPay has very few gaps. Here are a few areas where it stands out.

  • Full-Service Payroll: OnPay supports unlimited payroll runs across the US, multiple pay rates and schedules, garnishments, deductions, multi-state payroll runs, contractor and employee payments, and much more.
  • Payroll Tax Support: Tip reporting and tax support (including Form 8846 filing and payment); Automatic tax withholding, tax form esigning, and more.
  • Employee Management: Employee self-onboarding, hiring tools, document storage, customizable org charts, HR resource library, PTO tracking, and much more.
  • Accounting Integrations: QuickBooks and Xero integrations allow restaurants to sync their payroll and accounting data.
  • Benefits Administration: Health, dental, life, vision, disability, and workers’ compensation insurance; OnPay also offers retirement plan options and the option to bring your own broker.

What To Watch Out For

  • OnPay’s Pricing: OnPay’s pricing is affordable, but inflexible. With just a single pricing plan, OnPay isn’t a good option for those that are serious about not paying for things they won’t use. Better alternatives include Patriot Payroll and SurePayroll.
  • OnPay’s Direct Deposit Processing Time: Not all customers will be able to access OnPay’s two-day payroll processing time, those who don’t meet OnPay’s risk assessment standards may be relegated to its four-day processing plan or may not be able to use direct deposit.
  • OnPay’s Time Tracking: OnPay lacks built-in time tracking, so restaurants will need to use QuickBooks Time, When I Work, or Deputy to sync payroll and time and attendance data.

When To use OnPay

  • You’re looking for affordable payroll software with full tax support
  • You don’t need payroll software that integrates with POS software
  • You prioritize ease of use and reliability in your restaurant’s payroll service
  • You’re a QuickBooks Online user looking for payroll software that can integrate with your existing system

Get Started With OnPay

Read our in-depth review

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Homebase: The Best Restaurant Payroll Software For Scheduling

Total Rating 3.8
Pricing3.6

Ease Of Use2.7

Features4.0

Customer Service4.4

User Reviews4.4

Payroll Processing Time

2+ days

Pricing Range

$0/month - $99.95/month per location

Payroll Processing Add-On

Business Size

Small to large businesses with 1+ employees

Pros

  • Competitive pricing
  • Excellent scheduling tools
  • Minimum wage alerts to ensure FSLA compliance
  • Many POS integration options

Cons

  • Mobile app complaints
  • Free plan limited to one location
  • Limited feature set compared to other solutions

Why We Chose Homebase For Best Payroll Software With Scheduling

We chose Homebase as one of the best options for restaurant payroll because it boasts strong scheduling and employee management features, time clocks, and payroll all on its lowest plan tier. It also helped the software earn a 3.8/5 star rating in our Homebase review.

Restaurants with only one location can take advantage of Homebase's free Basic plan which offers extensive time clock and scheduling tools.

Homebase Pricing

Homebase Plans Price  When To Use
Payroll Add-On $39/month + $6/person If you need basic payroll processing paired with scheduling software
Basic $0/month If you need basic scheduling features for up to 20 employees with one location only
Essentials $24.95/location/month or $240/location/year If you need advanced scheduling and live support
Plus $59.95/location/month or $576/location/year If you need advanced scheduling, live support, and strong employee management features
All-In-One $99.95/location/month or $960/location/year If you need advanced scheduling, live support, and strong employee management features, and support from HR advisors

Homebase’s payroll add-on costs $39/month + $6/employee paid per month. Payroll can be added on to any of Homebase’s plan tiers, which range from free to $80/location/month.

Homebase Features

Homebase offers all essential payroll features, plus excellent scheduling and attendance solutions. Here are the features you can expect from Homebase:

  • Full-Service Payroll: Unlimited payroll runs, two-day direct deposit, pay employees and contractors, deductions, garnishments, supplemental earnings management, overtime pay, sync with Homebase time clocks, and more.
  • Payroll Tax Support: Minimum wage compliance and alerts, set custom tip makeup calculations, payroll tax processing, including issuing W-2s and 1099s.
  • Employee Scheduling: Schedule templates, auto-scheduling, schedule alerts, time tracking, time-off request management, and more.
  • Employee Mobile App: Homebase’s employee mobile app allows employees to chat with one another, check their shifts, and trade shifts. Employers can use the app to manage employee shifts, track labor costs, hire new employees, and much more.
  • HR & Hiring: New hire onboarding, applicant tracking, job postings, team roster, library of job description templates, screener questions, and more.

screenshot of the homebase dashboard

Homebase Home Dashboard

What To Watch Out For

  • Homebase’s Pricing: Although Homebase’s free plan is generous, it’s only available for businesses with a single location and fewer than 20 employees. If your business grows, you’ll need to pay for a higher plan tier.
  • Homebase’s Benefits Administration: Homebase does not support benefits administration, your management options are limited to setting custom benefits deductions.
  • Homebase’s Integrations: Homebase doesn’t integrate with any other time tracking or scheduling software, so you’ll need to stay within the software’s ecosystem if you want synced time and payroll data.

When To Use Homebase

  • You’re looking for a combined payroll and scheduling software solution
  • Your restaurant has multiple locations or franchises
  • You’re looking for payroll software that integrates with other business software solutions
  • You value a functional and user-friendly payroll mobile app

Get Started With Homebase

Read our in-depth review

Jump back to comparison chart

Methodology

Merchant Maverick has been researching and reviewing payroll providers since 2018. Our writers have tested more than 75 different payroll software systems, evaluating pricing, features, ease of use, customer service, and user reviewers. Read more about how we rate payroll providers.

Weighted Rating Breakdown

Features 40%
Ease Of Use 20%
Customer Service 20%
Pricing 10%
User Reviews 10%

When comparing different apps, we consider over seventy data points, including the speed and cost of payroll runs, federal and state tax filing features, HR integrations, employee management tools, time tracking, and more. Our lists of the best providers include only apps we’ve deemed worthwhile from several vantage points. The payroll apps we pick are widely available and relatively easy to train on, with robust features and reasonable pricing. We also look carefully at features such as employee and client portals, user onboarding services, PTO management, benefits administration, multistate compliance, and more.

We spend an average of 10-15 hours researching and updating each one of our lists, making sure the providers included meet our internal standards for quality and reputation.

75+

Vendors evaluated

76

Attributes assessed per vendor

26

Features weighed

20+

Combined years of experience


What Is Payroll Software For Restaurants?

Restaurant payroll software is a digital program that enables restaurants to pay employees while maintaining compliance with labor laws.

Additionally, restaurant payroll software is designed to work as a part of a restaurant management system, which may also include POS software, accounting software, inventory management software, and more.

Through a combination of native features and third-party integrations, the best payroll software can handle restaurant-specific payroll needs, including:

  • Tip management and disbursement
  • Tipped-wage compliance support
  • Tip allocation reports
  • Time tracking
  • POS integration
  • Schedule management
  • Labor law poster subscriptions

Which Payroll Software Is Right For Your Restaurant?

Your payroll needs will vary depending on your business’s size, the benefits you intend to offer, the software’s payroll costs, and any specific integrations you might need. If you are already using a point of sale system or payment processing service such as Square or Toast, its payroll option may be the most conducive and cost-efficient for your business.

If you need more advanced, scalable features, Gusto or ADP might be the right choice. And if you’re looking for strong, third-party software for a smaller restaurant, SurePayroll or OnPay has you covered. Homebase is the perfect mix of affordability and feature-richness, if you’re looking for payroll software with stronger scheduling features.

Either way, make sure you have a checklist of your specific needs and a budget in mind before you settle on a product. Learn more about how to choose the best payroll software for your business in our complete guide.

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Davina Ward

Davina Ward

Expert Contributor
Davina began writing for small businesses in 2018 and has since gained expertise in the SaaS industry. She earned her Bachelor’s of Arts in English Literature from SUNY Geneseo in 2018. She currently resides in New York.
Davina Ward
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