Best 5 Gusto Payroll Alternatives

What is the Gusto Payroll?

Gusto Payroll, now known as simply “Gusto,” is a cloud-based payroll and human resources (HR) platform designed for small and medium-sized businesses. It provides an integrated suite of payroll processing, benefits administration, and HR management tools. Gusto aims to simplify and automate payroll processes, enabling businesses to manage employee compensation, tax filings, and compliance more efficiently.

Key features of Gusto Payroll include:

1. Payroll Processing: Gusto automates the payroll process, allowing businesses to calculate employee wages, deductions, and tax withholdings accurately. It supports direct deposit, printed checks, and even offers the option for employees to receive their pay via prepaid debit cards.
2. Tax Filing and Compliance: Gusto handles federal, state, and local payroll tax filings on behalf of businesses. It automatically calculates and withholds the required taxes and assists with year-end tax forms such as W-2s and 1099s. Gusto helps businesses stay compliant with payroll tax regulations.
3. Employee Self-Service: Gusto provides a self-service portal for employees, where they can access their pay stubs, tax forms, and other employment-related information. Employees can update their personal details, request time off, and manage their benefits through the platform.
4. Benefits Administration: Gusto allows businesses to manage employee benefits, including health insurance, retirement plans, and other perks. It helps with benefits enrollment, deductions, and provides compliance support.
5. HR Tools: Gusto offers HR management features such as time tracking, paid time off (PTO) management, and document storage. It helps businesses keep track of employee hours, handle time-off requests, and maintain essential HR records.

Overall, Gusto Payroll aims to streamline payroll processes, reduce administrative burden, and ensure accurate and timely payments to employees. It is designed for businesses with up to a few hundred employees and offers scalable pricing plans based on the size of the workforce.

Here are best five alternative payroll solutions to Gusto:

1. ADP Workforce Now:

ADP Workforce Now is a comprehensive cloud-based human capital management (HCM) solution provided by ADP, a leading provider of payroll and HR services. It is designed to help businesses streamline their HR processes, including payroll, time and attendance, benefits administration, talent management, and more. Here are some key features of ADP Workforce Now:

• Payroll Processing: ADP Workforce Now offers robust payroll processing capabilities. It supports automated calculations, tax withholdings, direct deposit, check printing, and electronic pay statements. It handles payroll tax calculations and filings, including federal, state, and local taxes, to help businesses stay compliant.
• Time and Attendance: The platform provides tools for time tracking, scheduling, and absence management. It allows employees to clock in and out, tracks worked hours, and provides reporting and analytics to manage labor costs effectively.
• Benefits Administration: ADP Workforce Now offers benefits management features that enable businesses to handle employee benefits, such as health insurance, retirement plans, and flexible spending accounts (FSAs). It assists with benefits enrollment, eligibility tracking, and supports employee self-service for managing benefits choices.
• Talent Management: The platform includes features to manage the employee lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and succession planning. It provides tools to track employee goals, performance reviews, and development plans.
• Reporting and Analytics: ADP Workforce Now provides comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities. It offers pre-built reports and customizable dashboards to gain insights into payroll, HR, and workforce data. Businesses can monitor key metrics, track trends, and make data-driven decisions.
• Compliance and Regulatory Support: ADP Workforce Now helps businesses stay compliant with employment laws and regulations. It assists with tax filings, compliance reporting, ACA (Affordable Care Act) reporting, and provides updates to reflect changes in legislation.
• Employee Self-Service: The platform offers a user-friendly self-service portal where employees can access their pay statements, tax forms, benefits information, and update personal details. Employees can also submit time-off requests and view their schedules.

ADP Workforce Now is a scalable solution suitable for businesses of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises. It offers customizable features and integrations with other systems, allowing businesses to tailor the platform to their specific needs.

2. Paychex Flex:

• Paychex Flex is a cloud-based payroll and human capital management (HCM) solution offered by Paychex, a leading provider of payroll and HR services. It is designed to help businesses manage their HR and payroll processes efficiently. Here are some key features of Paychex Flex:
• Payroll Processing: Paychex Flex streamlines payroll processing, handling tasks such as calculating wages, tax withholdings, and deductions. It supports direct deposit, check printing, and paycards, providing flexible payment options for employees. The system handles tax calculations and filings, helping businesses stay compliant with payroll tax regulations.
• Time and Attendance: The platform offers time and attendance management features, including employee time tracking, scheduling, and labor reporting. It supports various methods of time capture, such as physical time clocks, web-based punching, and mobile apps. Businesses can monitor employee hours, track attendance, and manage paid time off (PTO) accruals.
• Benefits Administration: Paychex Flex enables businesses to manage employee benefits, including health insurance, retirement plans, and other voluntary benefits. It helps with benefits enrollment, eligibility tracking, and ensures accurate deductions from employee paychecks. The platform also supports employee self-service for accessing benefits information.
• HR Administration: The system includes HR administration features to streamline processes such as employee onboarding, personnel data management, and compliance tracking. It provides tools for managing employee records, generating HR reports, and staying up to date with employment laws and regulations.
• Reporting and Analytics: Paychex Flex offers reporting and analytics capabilities to help businesses gain insights into their workforce data. It provides pre-built reports and customizable dashboards to track key HR and payroll metrics. Businesses can analyze trends, monitor labor costs, and make data-driven decisions.
• Employee Self-Service: Paychex Flex provides a self-service portal where employees can access their pay stubs, tax forms, and benefits information. Employees can update their personal details, view their time-off balances, and request time off through the system. This self-service functionality reduces administrative work for HR staff.
• Compliance and Regulatory Support: Paychex Flex assists businesses in meeting compliance requirements by handling tax filings, providing ACA (Affordable Care Act) reporting, and staying up to date with changing regulations. The system helps businesses maintain compliance with employment laws and regulations.

Paychex Flex caters to businesses of various sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises. It offers customizable features, integration capabilities, and additional services such as HR consulting and retirement plan administration.

3. Zenefits: 

Zenefits is a cloud-based human resources (HR) platform that provides a range of HR, payroll, benefits administration, and compliance services. It is designed to simplify and automate HR processes for small and medium-sized businesses. Here are some key features of Zenefits:

• HR Management: Zenefits offers tools for managing employee information, onboarding new hires, and tracking employee records. It provides a centralized database to store and manage employee data, such as personal details, employment history, and performance records.
• Payroll Processing: The platform includes payroll management features that enable businesses to process payroll, calculate wages, deductions, and tax withholdings accurately. Zenefits supports direct deposit and provides automatic payroll tax filings, helping businesses stay compliant with payroll tax regulations.
• Benefits Administration: Zenefits simplifies benefits management by handling benefits enrollment, deductions, and eligibility tracking. It supports various employee benefits, including health insurance, retirement plans, and flexible spending accounts (FSAs). Zenefits provides employees with self-service options to manage their benefits choices.
• Time and Attendance: The platform offers time tracking and attendance management capabilities. It allows employees to clock in and out, tracks hours worked, and handles time-off requests. Zenefits integrates with various time and attendance systems to streamline the process further.
• Compliance and Regulatory Support: Zenefits assists businesses in staying compliant with HR and benefits regulations. It helps with ACA (Affordable Care Act) compliance reporting, tracks employee eligibility, and provides compliance alerts and reminders. Zenefits also offers features to assist with COBRA administration and other compliance-related tasks.
• Employee Self-Service: Zenefits provides a user-friendly self-service portal where employees can access their pay stubs, benefits information, and request time off. They can update their personal details, view company policies, and access important HR documents.
• Integrations and Marketplace: Zenefits integrates with various third-party applications and services to provide a more comprehensive HR ecosystem. It offers an app marketplace with integrations for payroll providers, time tracking systems, and other HR-related tools.

Zenefits aims to streamline HR processes, reduce administrative burden, and improve employee self-service capabilities. It offers different pricing plans based on the specific features and services businesses require. Zenefits is particularly popular among small and mid-sized businesses looking for an all-in-one HR solution

4. BambooHR:

BambooHR is a cloud-based HR software platform that focuses on HR management, including features for employee data management, onboarding, performance management, and more. While it doesn’t offer full payroll processing capabilities, BambooHR does include some payroll-related features. Here are key features of BambooHR:

• Employee Data Management: BambooHR provides a centralized database for storing and managing employee information. It allows businesses to track and update employee details, such as personal information, employment history, and performance records. It simplifies the process of accessing and maintaining employee data.
• Onboarding and Offboarding: BambooHR offers tools for streamlining the employee onboarding process, including digital forms, checklists, and document management. It helps businesses automate and standardize the onboarding process, ensuring a smooth transition for new hires. Similarly, BambooHR assists with offboarding tasks to ensure a seamless exit for departing employees.
• Performance Management: The platform includes features for setting and tracking employee goals, conducting performance reviews, and providing feedback. BambooHR enables businesses to streamline performance evaluations, track employee progress, and facilitate ongoing performance conversations.
• Time Off and Leave Management: BambooHR includes features for managing time off requests, tracking employee vacations, sick leaves, and other absences. It allows employees to request time off, and managers can review and approve requests within the system.
• Reporting and Analytics: BambooHR provides reporting and analytics capabilities to help businesses gain insights into HR data. It offers pre-built reports and customizable dashboards to track HR metrics and generate meaningful analytics. Businesses can analyze trends, identify patterns, and make data-driven decisions.
• Integrations: BambooHR integrates with various third-party applications and services, allowing businesses to connect their HR software with other tools they use. It offers integrations with payroll providers, applicant tracking systems, performance management tools, and more.

While BambooHR does not provide full payroll processing functionalities, it can integrate with third-party payroll providers, allowing businesses to manage employee data in BambooHR and seamlessly transfer that data to their payroll system for processing.

BambooHR is particularly popular among small and mid-sized businesses that prioritize HR management and employee data tracking, but may have separate solutions or services for payroll processing.

5. OnPay:

OnPay is a cloud-based payroll and HR software solution designed for small businesses. It provides a comprehensive set of payroll services, tax filing capabilities, and additional HR management features. Here are the key features of OnPay:

• Payroll Processing: OnPay simplifies the payroll process by automating calculations, tax withholdings, and direct deposits. It supports various pay types, including hourly, salaried, and contractors. OnPay can handle complex pay structures and offers customization options to accommodate different payroll needs.
• Tax Filing and Compliance: The platform handles payroll tax calculations, filings, and payments on behalf of businesses. OnPay ensures compliance with federal, state, and local tax regulations. It generates and files W-2 and 1099 forms and provides access to year-end tax documents for employees.
• Employee Self-Service: OnPay offers a self-service portal where employees can access their pay stubs, tax forms, and update their personal information. Employees can view their earnings history, manage their direct deposit preferences, and download relevant payroll documents.
• Benefits Administration: OnPay assists businesses in managing employee benefits by tracking enrollments, handling deductions, and facilitating benefits administration. It integrates with various benefits providers to streamline the process and ensure accurate deductions from employee paychecks.
• Time Off Management: The platform includes features for tracking and managing employee time off. It allows businesses to set up and manage different types of leave, accrual policies, and time-off balances. Employees can request time off and managers can approve or decline requests through the system.
• Reporting and Analytics: OnPay provides reporting and analytics tools to help businesses track payroll costs, tax liabilities, and other HR metrics. It offers pre-built reports and customizable options to generate insights and make data-driven decisions.
• HR Tools: In addition to payroll, OnPay offers basic HR management features, including employee data management, document storage, and reporting. While not as robust as dedicated HR platforms, it provides essential HR functionality for small businesses.

OnPay is known for its user-friendly interface and transparent pricing structure, which is based on the number of employees. It offers integrations with popular accounting software, time and attendance systems, and benefits providers to streamline workflows and ensure data accuracy. OnPay is a suitable choice for small businesses looking for a straightforward and affordable payroll solution with additional HR management capabilities.

Final word:

In conclusion, when considering alternatives to Gusto Payroll, there are several robust options available to suit different business needs. ADP Workforce Now is a comprehensive payroll and HR solution that caters to businesses of all sizes. Paychex Flex offers a wide range of payroll and HR services, including benefits administration and compliance support. Zenefits provides an all-in-one HR platform with payroll capabilities, focusing on HR management and benefits administration. BambooHR focuses primarily on HR management but includes some payroll-related features. OnPay is a user-friendly payroll solution specifically designed for small businesses.

Each alternative has its own strengths and features to consider. ADP Workforce Now offers scalability and flexibility, while Paychex Flex provides a comprehensive suite of HR and payroll services. Zenefits simplifies benefits administration, and BambooHR focuses on HR management with limited payroll functionality. OnPay offers an intuitive interface and affordability for small businesses.

To determine the best alternative, consider your specific payroll requirements, budget, and additional HR needs. Evaluate the features, pricing, customer support, integration options, and scalability of each alternative to make an informed decision that aligns with your business goals.