The Complete Guide To QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Pricing

If you already use QuickBooks Desktop, you might be interested in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll as a simple solution to your payroll problems. Running payroll can be tedious and includes many steps, such as making sure your small business is set up for payroll taxes, properly recording employees’ tax information, and staying on top of paydays. Automating some of these tasks and keeping your data within a single platform can save you valuable time and improve payroll management.

That said, before investing in a QuickBooks Desktop Payroll software add-on, you’ll want to ensure that whichever price plan you choose should provide your business with all the features and tools you need at a rate you can afford. This post covers the cost and features of each QuickBooks Desktop Payroll plan and guides you through choosing the right price tier for your business.

Need payroll for QuickBooks Online instead? No problem, we’ve got you covered with our complete Intuit QuickBooks Online Payroll review.

How Much Does QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Cost?

QuickBooks Desktop Payroll plans range from $50-$109/month + $2 per employee, depending on the plan you choose. QuickBooks Desktop offers two payroll plans: Enhanced and Assisted. Each option includes additional fees for certain services and varies by features, automations, and price.

QuickBooks Enterprise Gold, Platinum, and Diamond users are not required to pay the base subscription fee for QuickBooks Payroll, as Enterprise plans include payroll services.

QuickBooks Enterprise Gold and Platinum plan users will pay $2 per employee paid, plus an additional fee for contractors paid via direct deposit. QuickBooks Enterprise Diamond users will pay just $1/employee.

If you purchased QuickBooks Enterprise 22.0’s Silver plan, which doesn’t include payroll services, you would be required to pay the base monthly subscription price and per employee/contractor paid fee.

QuickBooks Payroll Plans & Pricing

Looking into purchasing QuickBooks Desktop Payroll? First, there are some things you should know. Every QuickBooks Desktop payroll option is compatible with QuickBooks Desktop Pro, QuickBooks Desktop Premier, and QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise. Unfortunately, QuickBooks Desktop Payroll is not supported for QuickBooks Mac.

If you have compatible QuickBooks versions and the right systems to run it, you can proceed with your QuickBooks Desktop Payroll purchase. Here’s a look at QuickBooks Payroll plans and pricing for desktop.

QuickBooks Enhanced Payroll

QuickBooks Enhanced Payroll costs $50/month +$2/month per employee (though Intuit usually offers a discount for QuickBooks payroll ). Enhanced payroll is QuickBooks Desktop’s do-it-yourself payroll option. You can process your payroll and file your taxes directly through QuickBooks.

Enhanced Payroll includes:

• Free tax forms
• Payroll support
• Instant paychecks
• Free direct deposit for employees
• Pay W-2 employees
• Pay 1099 employees
• E-filing and printing for W-2s
• Two-day direct deposit

QuickBooks Enhanced Payroll is included with QuickBooks Enterprise Gold and Platinum plans, so users are not required to pay the monthly base subscription fee.

QuickBooks Assisted Payroll

QuickBooks Assisted Payroll costs $109/month + $2/month per employee (though Intuit usually offers a discount for QuickBooks payroll ). This plan is aptly named, as QuickBooks processes your payroll for you and automatically files your payroll taxes. QuickBooks Desktop Assisted handles the payroll set up for you as well.

Full-Service Payroll includes:

• Instant paychecks
• Pay W-2 employees
• Pay 1099 employees
• Free direct deposit
• Automatic tax filing
• Automatic tax deductions
• Free tax forms
• No tax penalties
• Assisted payroll setup
• Payroll support
• Next-day direct deposit

QuickBooks Assisted Payroll is included with QuickBooks Enterprise Diamond plans, and users are only required to pay $1 per employee paid +$5/month per employee for QuickBooks Time.

Which QuickBooks Payroll Plan Is Right For Me?

When it comes to choosing the best QuickBooks Desktop Payroll plan, it ultimately comes down to how much you can afford and how much work you want to do personally.

To help you determine which QuickBooks payroll plan is best, here’s a side-by-side comparison of the two QuickBooks payroll plans:

The Enhanced plan might be best if you are comfortable running payroll and handling taxes yourself. If you don’t feel good about running payroll yourself or don’t have enough time to do so, the Assisted plan might be a better choice.

Make sure to check your budget and see which payroll plan you can afford.

If you’re looking for more information and want to learn more about running payroll, check out our post: The Complete Guide To Small Business Payroll.

Where To Buy QuickBooks Payroll

There are a few ways to purchase QuickBooks Desktop Payroll: on Intuit’s site or through one of QuickBooks’ resellers.

Office supply stores, like Staples or Office Max, often sell the software. Retail stores like Walmart and Best Buy — and even online giants like Amazon — also carry QuickBooks Payroll software. Often, the software is bundled with the purchase of QuickBooks Desktop Pro, QuickBooks Desktop Premier, or QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise.

If you are a QuickBooks Enterprise Gold, Platinum, or Diamond user, then your QuickBooks subscription already comes with payroll support.

Getting Started With QuickBooks Desktop Payroll

Now that you know what each payroll plan is capable of and exactly how much each plan costs, you can make an informed decision on which QuickBooks payroll plan is right for you. If you still aren’t sure, take advantage of the free 30-day payroll trial to see if QB payroll is right for your business.

If you do decide to use QuickBooks, be sure to check out our QuickBooks Desktop Pro 101 series to learn how to set up QuickBooks payroll, run payroll, use direct deposit, and more. Here are a few standout resources from the QuickBooks Desktop Pro 101 series to get you started.

How To Set Up QuickBooks Payroll

How To Run Payroll in QuickBooks