Paychex Review

Pros

• Easy to use
• Scalable
• Built-in onboarding and HR
• 2 days (can pay for faster processing times) payroll processing available
• Valid in all 50 states

Cons

• Non-transparent pricing
• Has many extra fees

What Is Paychex?

Paychex is cloud-based payroll and HR software that provides payroll, HR, benefits administration, business insurance, retirement plans, health care, and more for small to enterprise-sized businesses.

Paychex’s most impressive features include strong employee management tools, direct deposit, 100+ reports, and employee onboarding support.

The downsides are non-transparent pricing, multiple add-on fees, and recurring customer complaints about payroll and tax issues.

Paychex Pricing

Paychex doesn’t publish full pricing for all plans, doesn’t offer a traditional free trial, and has limited pricing customization options. Compared to similar solutions, such as Gusto or QuickBooks Online Payroll, Paychex’s starting pricing plan is affordable, but very limited by its employee cap.

Contact Paychex directly for pricing details on other plans.

Paychex’s base plan’s pricing is consistent with plans offered by other payroll software on the market. However, Paychex charges per payroll run, including off-cycle runs. Paychex lists payroll options starting at $39/month + $5/employee, but full pricing for higher-tier plans is not publicly available.

While no-contract plans may be available, users should review their agreement for any plan terms, notice requirements, or fees before signing up.

Paychex Flex Select

Paychex Flex Select’s pricing is not published. The plan includes:

• Dedicated payroll specialist
• Paper checks, check-signing, or check logo services
• eLearning platform access
• Direct deposit
• Check-printing
• Free mobile app
• Employee self-service
• Reports
• General ledger service
• Garnishments (available as an add-on)
• Payroll tax support
• W-2s
• 1099s (extra cost)
• New-hire reporting
• Workers’ compensation insurance (available as an add-on)
• Compliance posters
• HR resource library and forms
• Financial wellness programs
• Tax credit services
• Employee paycards
• Employee assistance program

Paychex Flex Pro

Paychex Flex Pro’s pricing is not published. The plan includes everything from Flex Select, plus:

• Accounting software integrations
• State unemployment insurance services
• Onboarding tools
• Pre-employment screening
• Employee handbook tool

Paychex Flex Enterprise

Paychex Flex Enterprise’s pricing is not published. The plan includes everything from Flex Pro, plus:

• Custom analytics and reporting
• HR administration
• Online employee training
• Employee handbook resources
• Onboarding essential tools
• Custom analytic tools
• Professional support setting up SUI and workers’ compensation

Extra Paychex Costs & Fees

Paychex offers an incredible number of services, such as time tracking, business insurance, hiring services, payment processing, and more. Most of these services will integrate directly with your payroll dashboard, so you can manage many areas of your business in a single spot.

Paychex’s extra costs and fees can add up compared to payroll providers that include more features in their base plans. That said, the modular approach to business solutions allows larger businesses with sizable budgets to pay for only the services they need.

Is Paychex Easy To Use?

Paychex is generally easy to use, with a well-organized dashboard, mobile access, and support from Paychex representatives. Each major feature has its own place in the sidebar, making the platform relatively easy to navigate.

Paychex offers guided setup and implementation support on select plans, which can reduce the amount of setup work businesses need to handle themselves.

Paychex is cloud-based, so no downloads or installation is required.

Paychex Features

Paychex offers a robust feature set for businesses that want payroll, HR, benefits, onboarding, time tracking, and compliance tools in one ecosystem.

However, several features cost extra or are only available on higher-tier plans, including faster payroll processing, time tracking, multistate payroll, and some HR tools.

Ultimately, Paychex offers a robust suite of payroll features and solutions that are consistent with similar payroll software solutions.

Compared to other payroll software, Paychex is most similar to ADP in that it has a comprehensive feature set and extensive HR support. Check out our ADP vs. Paychex comparison for a breakdown of the differences between the two software options.

Paychex Customer Service

Paychex has a variety of customer support options. Access to Paychex’s knowledgebase is limited to its users, but from what we could find, the content was helpful enough.

Paychex offers several support options, but software training appears limited compared to some competitors. Customer reviews of Paychex support are also mixed.

Paychex offers 24/7 support, with dedicated payroll support available on select plans.

Customers with the Flex Select plan and up are assigned a dedicated payroll specialist, making it easy and convenient to get answers to payroll-specific questions. Here’s a more in-depth look at Paychex’s customer service options:

The inability to contact a payroll specialist is usually a pain point cited by customers using other software solutions, so Paychex gets a big win in the customer service category.

Paychex Integrations

Paychex offers many additional services, but still has plenty of third-party integration options. You can connect your Paychex payroll services to 270+ software solutions, including QuickBooks Online, Xero, Sage Intacct, SimplyHired, and many more.

There is also an API available for developers.

Paychex Reviews

Paychex has thousands of customer reviews across review sites, with overall feedback trending positive but mixed. Many users praise the platform’s payroll tools and support, while negative reviews frequently mention payroll inaccuracies, missed tax filings, unauthorized withdrawals, and slow issue resolution.

Negative Paychex Reviews & Complaints

• Unauthorized payment withdrawals
• Missed tax filings
• Payroll inaccuracies
• Expensive

Positive Paychex Reviews

• Good customer support
• Easy to use
• Strong payroll features and tax support
• Time-saving
• Convenient mobile app

Is Paychex Secure?

Paychex employs strong security tools to keep your data safe. While the company doesn’t give much more detail about its security measures, Paychex provides a detailed privacy policy explaining how it collects, uses, and shares personal information.

Security features include:

• Data encryption
• Malware detection and prevention
• Firewalls
• Multifactor authentication
• Restricted access to confidential information
• SOC reports

Final Verdict Of Paychex

Paychex is a strong payroll and HR option for businesses that want more than basic payroll software. It offers payroll processing, tax filing, employee self-service, HR tools, benefits services, reporting, onboarding, and access to support in one platform.

The biggest drawbacks are pricing transparency and add-on costs. Paychex may be a good fit for small to midsize businesses that want a scalable payroll and HR provider, but businesses on a tight budget or those that want simple, upfront pricing may prefer alternatives such as Gusto, OnPay, or QuickBooks Payroll.

Before signing up, contact Paychex for a detailed quote and confirm which features are included in your plan.

If pricing is a concern and you need payroll software that won’t break the bank, check out our picks for the best free payroll software for an in-depth look at the top free payroll software options on the market.