The Best Retail Payroll Software & Practices

Square Payroll is full-service payroll software that offers payroll services, including unlimited payroll runs, time tracking, PTO, garnishments, and full federal and state tax support.

As a part of the Square ecosystem, Square Payroll integrates with Square’s other business solutions, including the free Square POS app.

So whether your retail store is already using Square POS or wants to maintain its business solutions on a single platform, Square Payroll is a solid option.

Square Payroll Pricing

Square Payroll offers straightforward pricing at $35/month + $5 per person paid for its Pay Employees & Contractors plan. Square’s Pay Contractors Only plan costs $5 per month per person paid.

If you’re looking for an affordable payroll solution for your retail store, you’ll find that Square Payroll is competitively priced with all essential payroll features.

Square Payroll Features

We’ve selected Square Payroll as our choice for the best retail payroll software with POS integration due to its seamless integration with Square’s suite of POS solutions.

However, Square Payroll also boasts a solid set of payroll features that make it a great standalone payroll solution for retail stores in need of simplicity and affordability when it comes to payroll.

Here’s a look at the best payroll features you can expect from Square Payroll:

• Federal and state tax calculations and filing
• Unlimited payroll runs
• Employee mobile app through Square Teams
• Pay contractors and employees
• New-hire reporting
• Benefits administration options
• Square Timecards attendance management
• QuickBooks integration

Is Square Payroll Right For You?

If your business already uses Square’s POS or another Square business solution, it might be worth sticking to the Square ecosystem to get the most out of the system’s seamless integration.

However, if you’re operating a large retail business or have more complex payroll needs, it may be worth looking at other payroll solutions that offer more flexibility and third-party integrations.

ADP is a full-service payroll software provider with features that can support the payroll needs of retail stores. In addition to essential payroll features, ADP boasts a large selection of third-party software integration, including POS, accounting, benefits administration, ERP, and recruiting solutions.

Overall, ADP is one of the best options for retail stores looking for payroll software that plays nicely with their current software stack and will work well with the new software solutions as their business grows.

ADP Pricing

While ADP Payroll boasts several feature packages, the platform operates under a custom-pricing model with no published pricing. So you’ll need to contact ADP directly for price estimates.

ADP Features

ADP is one of those payroll software solutions with a plethora of features. ADP’s features range from basic payroll functions, such as direct deposit and new hire onboarding, to more advanced features, such as a general ledger interface.

Fortunately, all those features don’t mean you’ll have difficulty navigating ADP. The software is easy to use and fully functional.

Here are the payroll features you can expect from ADP Payroll:

• Multistate and county payroll runs
• Off-cycle payroll runs
• Direct deposit and check printing
• Auto-scheduled payroll
• New-hire onboarding
• Employee self-service portal
• ZipRecruiter integration
• Time and attendance tracking
• Benefits administration
• Federal, state, and local tax support

Is ADP Right For You?

There are several reasons behind ADP earning Merchant Maverick’s pick for best retail payroll software for growing retail stores. With hundreds of integrations, customizable service packages, advanced employee management, and HR support, ADP is flexible enough to handle the payroll needs of most retail stores, from their first hire to their 100th.

Retail businesses wary of payroll software prices should be cautious when customizing their payroll packages with ADP, as the company is known to be heavy on fees.

Gusto is full-service payroll software with features that include direct deposit, time tracking, scheduling, PTO management, payroll tax support, employee management, onboarding support, and more. For retail stores looking for basic payroll software, Gusto fits the bill and adds useful features via its third-party integrations, benefits administration solutions, and HR tools.

Gusto also stands out for its contractor payments features. When it comes to paying contractors, Gusto and Square Payroll are very competitive options with their Pay Contractors Only plans. However, Gusto edges out Square as the best option for paying contractors because it handles new hire reporting and state-level 1099-NECs for contractors, while Square Payroll does not.

Gusto Pricing

For businesses paying employees and contractors, Gusto’s Simple plan starts at $40/month + $6/month per person paid. If your retail store will be paying contractors, Gusto offers a Contractors Only plan priced at $6/month per person.

Gusto Features

Gusto does payroll exceedingly well, with a robust set of essential payroll features plus employee management, benefits administration, and HR features that make for a complete payroll and HR solution.

Here’s a look at Gusto’s best payroll features:

• Direct deposit, check-printing, and payment cards
• Federal, state, and local tax calculation, filing, and payment
• Supports multiple pay rates and schedules
• Autoschedule payroll
• Time tracking
• PTO management
• Self-service onboarding
• Customizable reports
• Benefits administration

Is Gusto Right For You?

Retail stores looking for a solid payroll solution that can handle basic payroll functions will be happy with Gusto. The software’s support for third-party integration, consistent service improvements, HR services, and wealth of employee management features make it a versatile solution that can streamline the payroll process.

However, retail stores looking for retail payroll software that offers benefits across all 50 states should look elsewhere, as Gusto doesn’t currently offer health benefits plans in 13 states.

QuickBooks Online Payroll is QuickBook’s take on full-service payroll software and offers a rich payroll feature set that can make running payroll a painless experience. QuickBooks Online Payroll supports all basic payroll features, including unlimited payroll runs across all 50 states, multiple payment methods, deductions, garnishments, and payroll tax support.

QuickBooks Online Payroll’s integration with QuickBooks Online Accounting makes it the perfect solution for retail businesses looking to keep a close eye on their payroll percentage and other essential financial details. While you can create payroll reports in other payroll software solutions, having those details alongside your business’s financials is great.                                                                                                                    

QuickBooks Online Payroll Pricing

QuickBooks Online Payroll pricing starts at $45/month + $5/employee per month, making it one of the more expensive options on the list. However, that price is for QuickBooks Online Payroll as a standalone product.

If you add payroll to your QuickBooks Online package, you’ll save on the service costs. Additionally, QuickBooks Online consistently offers discounts for new customers, so keep an eye out for them.

QuickBooks Online Payroll Features

QuickBooks Online Payroll features are exactly what you’d expect from a payroll software solution and cover payroll basics, such as direct deposit, deductions, garnishments, and unlimited payroll runs. However, the solution isn’t limited to just payroll; it includes HR services, benefits administration, reporting, time tracking, and more.

Here are some of QuickBooks Online Payroll’s most impressive features:

• QuickBooks Time integration
• Federal, state, and local tax support
• PTO management and tracking
• Multistate payroll
• Hiring solutions (handbooks, checklists, and more)
• New-hire reporting
• Employee onboarding
• Benefits administration
• Pay stub printing

Is QuickBooks Online Payroll Right For You?

QuickBooks Online Payroll is a great solution for retail stores already using QuickBooks Online. Adding payroll to QuickBooks Online creates a single, comprehensive hub of information and operations for your business.

Businesses not currently using QuickBooks Online may consider other payroll solutions, as QuickBooks Online isn’t scalable, only supports up to 150 users, and isn’t known for stellar customer service.

Patriot Payroll is payroll software designed for small businesses and offers basic or full-service payroll solutions. In the sea of payroll software solutions, Patriot Payroll stands out as a simple, no-frills payroll solution that’s notably cheaper than other options on the market.

Patriot’s business software suite combines payroll, accounting, HR, and time tracking for a comprehensive business software solution.

Patriot Pricing

Patriot Payroll includes two payroll pricing packages: Basic Payroll and Full Service Payroll. Patriot’s Basic Payroll package costs $17/month + $4 per employee or contractor paid and doesn’t include payroll tax support. Patriot’s Full Service Payroll package costs $37/month + $4 per employee or contractor paid and does include payroll tax support.

Time tracking and HR services are priced separately, with both services priced at $6/month + $2/month per employee.

Patriot Payroll Features

Patriot Payroll’s payroll features are only lacking when it comes to auto-scheduling payroll. Otherwise, Patriot Payroll can handle all of the most common payroll needs, such as paying employees and contractors, deductions, multistate payroll, payroll reporting, and multiple payment methods.

Patriot Payroll’s most notable features include:

• Unlimited payroll runs
• PTO tracking and management
• Patriot Time and Attendance integration
• Support for multiple pay rates and schedules
• Employee self-service portal
• Full-service tax support
• Download and print pay stubs
• Customizable reports
• New-hire reporting
• Digital document storage

Is Patriot Payroll Right For You?

Patriot Payroll offers an impressively robust payroll feature set that plays nice with Patriot’s suite of business software solutions. Moreover, Patriot Payroll is one of the cheapest payroll software options for retail businesses that don’t need payroll tax support.

However, Patriot Payroll isn’t a good choice for larger businesses or those that want payroll software that can handle benefits administration, as the service is limited to 100 users and doesn’t offer built-in benefits administration.