A professional employer organization (PEO) takes the guesswork out of managing your HR resources. From payroll to a full HR-suite, could Justworks be the right fit for your small business?
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| Total Rating | 4.2 |
|---|---|
| Pricing3.4 | |
| Ease Of Use4.6 | |
| Features4.0 | |
| Customer Service4.5 | |
| User Reviews4.6 | |
Payroll Processing Time
4 daysPricing Range
$50/month + $8/month per person - $109/month per employeeBusiness Size
Small - medium-sized businessesTable of Contents
Justworks is a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) offering both payroll software and traditional PEO services that include HR administration, payroll, employee benefits, employee training, and compliance tools for small- to mid-sized businesses and startups.
A PEO is a human resource company hired to take over control of some of your business’s functions. Justworks offers multiple pricing plans with the smallest tier being access to just the company’s payroll and HR software, while the larger plans include different tiers of PEO services. For a PEO, Justworks is very affordable and receives many positive reviews from customers, earning it a top spot on our list of the best PEO companies.
| Pricing3.4 |
|---|
| Software Plans 2.6 |
| Pricing Transparency 4.2 |
| Pricing Customization 3.5 |
Justworks operates under a subscription model with three pricing plans.
The simplest and cheapest plan is Justworks Payroll, which gives users access to the company’s payroll and HR software without any PEO services. Then, there are two PEO plans with varied levels of features and customer support.
| Justworks Plans | Price | When To Use |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll | $50/month plus $8/month per employee | If you don't want a PEO and just need payroll and HR software |
| PEO Basic | $59/month per employee | If you need essential compliance, HR, benefits, and payroll features |
| PEO Plus | $109/month per employee | If you need employee insurance benefits in addition to HR and payroll |
Overall, Justworks gets major points for being transparent with their pricing and not requiring customers to go through a custom quote process like so many other payroll and PEO services.
Unfortunately, Justworks’ payroll-only plan is quite a bit more expensive than the best payroll software options on the market. Their website is also a bit deceptive with this plan’s pricing, leading with a large bold $8/month per person fee with a “$50/month base fee” text in a small, light font underneath. We wish that Justworks was more honest and upfront with this plan’s pricing. We also wish that Justworks offered a free trial of this plan.
This is a huge oversite for a payroll software service provider.
Justworks pricing: screenshot captured 9/19/2024
Now that you know the basics of Justwork’s pricing model and how it compares to other PEOs and payroll software, here’s what you get with each plan.
JustWorks Payroll costs $50/month + $8/month per person and includes:
Justworks PEO Basic includes:
Justworks Plus includes everything in the Basic package, plus:
Justworks plans include the option to add on services for an extra cost, including:
| Justworks Extra Costs | Price |
|---|---|
| Time Tracking | $8/employee per month |
| 401(k) Retirement Plans | Varies |
| Fitness Memberships | Varies |
| Life Insurance | Varies |
| Workers' Compensation | Varies |
| Health & Wellness Perks | Varies |
| Disability Insurance | Varies |
| Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) | Varies |
| Time Tracking Fee | $8/month per employee |
Most of these additional costs are related to benefits, including 401(k) plans, life insurance, health insurance, and workers’ compensation, so the price will vary. As a PEO, Justworks often has discounts on insurance pricing.
Learn more about what types of insurance businesses need or check out our business insurance pricing guide to start your insurance search.
| Ease Of Use4.6 |
|---|
| Set Up 4.6 |
| Software Reliability 4.0 |
| Everyday Use 5.0 |
| Integrations 4.5 |
Everything front-facing on the Justworks cloud-based platform is designed with ease of use for the client. With that usability and ease comes careful simplicity; you will sacrifice customization when you want ease.
As with any SaaS provider, ease of use will depend on personal experiences and preferences. Some users mention difficulty finding reports or fixing mistakes without the need for customer service to intervene.
| Features4.0 |
|---|
| Payroll Processing 4.7 |
| Employee Management & PTO 4.4 |
| Time Tracking 2.0 |
| Payroll Tax Support 4.5 |
| Reporting & Tax Forms 4.0 |
| Onboarding & HR 3.2 |
| Benefits Administration 4.0 |
| Niche Features 3.0 |
Justworks’ feature set varies significantly depending on if you are using the payroll-only software plan or if you are using one of Justworks’ PEO plans.
The payroll-only plan is fairly limited compared to other SaaS payroll software options like Gusto and ADP. It’s also quite a bit more expensive, so you may get more bang for your buck with a different option.
However, Justworks’ PEO services are built out well and provide a lot of value to businesses.
As a Professional Employer Organization, Justworks is a co-owner of your business for tax purposes. For businesses that need robust HR support but may not be able to afford an HR department, a PEO is the right fit. Justworks allows your business to offer health insurance and other benefits. You’ll be able to offload compliance and tax responsibilities, letting Justworks handle the work.
As an all-in-one solution, Justworks is a solid option. However, some of the company’s features could use some polish and feature expansion. For example, Justworks’ payroll services are limited to a four-day processing time and no paper check printing.
We’ll dive into exactly what you can expect from Justworks, but remember that feature availability may vary from plan to plan.
Running payroll with Justworks is simple, although the platform’s features are relatively basic. That said, businesses can send payroll with a push of a button and automate the payroll runs.
Here’s a look at Justworks’ payroll features:
Employee management is simple within the Justworks platform. Set and track PTO policies, manage time-off requests, and store important documents within the platform.
Here’s a look at Justworks employee management and PTO features:
Justworks only offers time tracking through an integration with Justworks Hours. While the service isn’t built-in, it’s an add-on that allows businesses to track and manage employee hours while staying within the Justworks ecosystem.
Here’s a look at Justworks Hours time-tracking features:
Justworks gets the job done when it comes to payroll tax support. The company handles local, state, and federal payroll tax calculation, filing, and payment for businesses.
Justworks’ payroll tax support features include:
Justworks offers basic reporting features across three categories: benefits, HR, and payroll. However, integration with QuickBooks or Xero will increase your reporting options.
Justworks’ reporting features include:
Justworks wants to make everything about the HR process seamless. Justworks’ basic HR features include document storage management and onboarding assistance. However, those are just the basics.
Here’s a look at Justworks’ HR and onboarding features:
Justworks will help employees enroll and compare plans. Everything is automated and uploaded to the Justworks portal. Better yet, using a PEO will allow your employees to save on their benefits.
Justworks benefits features include:
Compared to competitors, Justworks doesn’t have many integrations. That’s fine for businesses willing to hand over the reins, but if businesses have preferred providers for talent management or company calendars, they might not like the Justworks options.
Justworks does integrate with Xero and QuickBooks. Giving up control of certain programs might be a dealbreaker for some businesses — check with a Justworks rep to ask about specific integration requests.
| Customer Service4.5 |
|---|
| Personal Support 4.4 |
| Self-Service 4.6 |
Justworks is doing great things when it comes to how and when you can get in touch with assistance. Whether it’s a live chat or a Slack message, Justworks wants to be available to you at all times. We expect nothing less from a PEO and are happy to see that Justworks’ support is solid.
| Justworks Customer Service | Availability |
|---|---|
| Phone Support | |
| Email Support | |
| Support Tickets | |
| Live Chat | |
| Dedicated Support Representative | |
| Knowledge Base or Help Center | |
| Videos & Tutorials | |
| Company Blog | |
| Social Media |
The larger your plan, the more access to dedicated support you have — the PEO plans even include HR consulting. Overall, customers have left a large number of positive reviews regarding Justworks’ support.
| User Reviews4.6 |
|---|
| Customer Feedback 5.0 |
| Review Site Aggregate 4.4 |
Justworks has an A- rating with the Better Business Bureau and averages solid scores on other review sites. On Capterra, Justworks has a 4.8/5 rating with 184 reviews.
Reviewers cite Justworks’ ease of use and range of features as software positives. Negative reviews zero in on the company’s poor integration offerings and limited reporting.
Justworks employs a robust set of security features to keep your data safe. With no history of major data breaches, Justworks has a solid reputation when it comes to security. Here’s a breakdown of Justworks’ security features:
As one-stop-shop employee management PEO platform, Justworks is easy to use, intuitive, and ready to make life simpler for small to mid-sized businesses. Justworks sets itself apart with exceptional customer service, an easy-to-use interface, and transparent pricing.
Our two main issues with Justworks are confirmed by employee complaints: 1) Justworks’ features aren’t as built out as some other PEO options, especially in regard to reporting, employee performance management, etc. 2) if you aren’t going to use the PEO plan and want to use the payroll and HR only plan, Justworks is more expensive for fewer features.
If you are a small business looking to outsource your payroll with a full PEO, Justworks could still be worth it. Or, if you are planning on experiencing large growth where you would want a PEO in the future, Justworks’ payroll and HR software-only plan could still be worth it so you don’t have to change software. However, if you’re a small business looking simply for payroll software, we recommend taking a look at these other top payroll software options instead.
If you’re still not sure about Justworks, check out our full list of the best PEO services for businesses to compare. And if you aren’t sure if traditional payroll software or a PEO is better for your company, we have a full article explaining what PEOs are and when to use them.
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.
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.
Free Trial: Try A Top Pick For Payroll
Gusto  |
|---|
Gusto is an all-in-one people platform that simplifies payroll many human resources tasks. Get Started.
Free Trial: Try A Top Pick For Payroll
Gusto |
|---|
Gusto is an all-in-one people platform that simplifies payroll many human resources tasks. Get Started.
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The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.
Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
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