Top Toast Payroll Alternatives & Competitors For 2024

Is Toast Payroll the best thing since sliced bread, or does it leave a bad taste in your mouth? User reviews over the last year present a mixed bag. While Toast Payroll shines in its seamless integration with Toast POS, simplifying tasks like syncing employee punches and managing time off, it's not without its pitfalls. Users praise its user-friendly interface and efficiency, particularly those already familiar with Toast POS. This integration is a key differentiator, as one user notes, "I love that in this one app I can do everything that I need to do for human resources." However, several users report compliance issues, especially with California law, and hiccups with W2 processing. Customer service, unfortunately, emerges as a sore point. Unlike the integrated experience with Toast POS, support for Toast Payroll is handled separately, often leading to confusion and delays. One user laments, "Our service hasn't been great from their side....we wait longer than expected on items to happen or to even hear back from team members on certain things." Additionally, discrepancies between Toast POS and Toast Payroll, while seemingly counterintuitive given their close relationship, require meticulous attention to detail. Overall, Toast Payroll is a good fit for businesses already entrenched in the Toast ecosystem, especially those prioritizing ease of use and streamlined operations. However, businesses with intricate payroll needs or those operating in regions with stringent compliance regulations might find Toast Payroll's shortcomings difficult to swallow. For those businesses, exploring alternative solutions might be the best recipe for success.

Paychex incorporates a range of different solutions and is used widely by small, medium and large-sized companies. While around 40% of users were happy with the functionality of the system, the majority expressed dissatisfaction with its tax capabilities, pricing and customer service. Many described it as dishonest and complained especially that they were oversold on its capabilities and that the salespeople used pushy tactics to try and upsell them. Other complaints of the system included making errors, overpaying employees or even miscalculating taxes resulting in serious penalties. Current and former clients greatly disliked the service. The UI was the most positively reviewed element of the platform with around 80% expressing satisfaction with the design and navigation. Around 50% were happy with the pricing structure and a minority of around 30% of users said they had positive experiences with some select customer service members. This disparity in experiences may be in part to the high turnover rate in representatives which is mentioned many times during the reviews. This solution could be appropriate for small and medium-sized businesses. It supports larger enterprises, but buyers should make sure it has the necessary functionality before purchasing.

Sage HRMS Payroll is a payment solution that’s part of the broader software suite. Users enjoyed its useful functionality, ease of use, intuitive layout and good HR features. The reporting features were prevalent because of the comprehensive breakdowns and different levels of permissions on the report. Many also liked that there was no hard close after closing the payroll. Users also felt that customer service was polite and was able to help many through challenges. Overall, reviewers also said it was well-priced and affordable. Its biggest drawback came in the form of performance issues. Users experienced instances of getting kicked out or running into programs that were buggy or crashed. Reviewers were also displeased with the setup process they felt was over-complicated and took far too long. Sage HRMS Payroll may be a good choice for medium and large enterprise organizations who are looking to integrate HR functions as well.

SurePayroll is an online payment management system. Many reviewers were pleased with its performance. They said it was easy to use and learn and were happy with its features, especially the tax calculation and filing abilities. Commenters who required physical checks were delighted that it was easy to print and customize them. Most learners liked the helpful customer service and said that the payroll processing was quick and painless. Setup issues were a recurring complaint, with a couple of commenters saying they had problems with integrations. Last, reviewers were extremely mixed on the price. Some felt it was too pricey for small businesses; some thought it was right in their budget. SurePayroll may be a good option for small and medium-sized organizations.

Square Payroll is an online payment, time and attendance and POS system. Users like it best because it’s easy to use with an intuitive design that can be adopted quickly. They felt the pricing was fair and were especially pleased with its efficient processing of payment. Many users said they’d recommend it to other businesses similar to their own and were happy with its ability to create and file sales, quarterly and new hire reports. Lastly, they were pleased with its features, specifically its easy sign-in, reporting, time tracking and tax calculating. On the con side, customization options were minimal as it’s a reasonably straightforward system. Many companies that use the solution are restaurants that either want to give employees discounts on food or pay with money from their upcoming paycheck. They were displeased with its inability to allow this. Overall, this solution is excellent for small businesses, especially retail and food service. Larger companies should look elsewhere.