To run a successful restaurant business, restaurant owners must take care of the people who show up every single day in making the restaurant an enjoyable experience for customers.
This includes hiring the right people, providing employees with a seamless onboarding process, managing employee taxes, sorting out how tip-splitting works, and so much more. When restaurant owners manage and pay employees on time, employees feel confident about the restaurant’s leadership.
When the employees are happy and taken care of, restaurant owners can spend more time and put their focus on growing and scaling the restaurant business. Create a seamless payroll process for your employees today by checking the top 7 restaurant payroll software available in the market.
The Top 7 Restaurant Payroll Software in the Market
| Brand | Starting Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Square Payroll | $40/month | Flexibility and ease of use |
| 2. OnPay | $40/month | Flexible features |
| 3. Quickbooks | $35/month | Large organizations |
| 4. Inova Payroll | $249.00 one-time | Payroll automation |
| 5. SurePayroll | $23.99/month | US restaurants |
| 6. Wave | $35 – $47/month | Value and user experience |
| 7. Gusto | $40/month | Full-service capabilities |
1. Square Payroll – best restaurant payroll software for restaurants looking for something that is flexible and easy to use
Pricing: $35 USD monthly subscription + $5 USD monthly fee per person paid
Square Payroll is a software tool that helps restaurants manage payments all in one place. These benefits include management, payroll management, top splitting, and tax management. Additionally, use other Square product tools to help you run your business in one integrated platform.
Key Features:
- Full-service payroll with unlimited pay runs
- Flat pricing
- Cancel anytime
- Live support
- Account setup
- Tax filing and payments
- Automatic payroll tax calculations
- Free seasonal inactivity
- Support from Mondays to Fridays
- Timecards
- Employee app
- Track and import tips and commissions
- Track time
- Instantly pay employees and contractors
Reasons to Buy:
- Flexible tools that serve you
- Freedom to choose
- Manage payments in one place
- Tip splitting options
- Live expert support
- Real-time reporting
- Simple and easy to use
Reasons to Avoid:
- Some features are limited for Square products
- The fee per employee can get pricey for larger teams
- Dashboard is basic
2. OnPay – best restaurant payroll software for flexible features
Pricing: $36 USD per month + $4 USD per person per month
OnPay is a payroll software for restaurants that want flexible features to make HR easy. OnPay’s customizable tools make it easy for restaurant owners to onboard employees and streamline other administrative human resource tasks. Save time and get more value by switching to OnPay.
Key Features:
- Intuitive payroll in the cloud
- Automated taxes
- Built-in HR
- Built-in employee benefits
- Expert support
- Free setup
Reasons to Buy:
- Automates payroll tax filing
- Access payroll anywhere and anytime
- Streamline your restaurant’s HR process with OnPay
- Employees can access paystub information anytime
- Numerous training options are available
- Big business benefits
- Try one month for free
- Easy employee onboarding
- Best-in-class integrations
Reasons to Avoid:
- Reported negative experiences with customer service
- Not the best app for working with contractors
- Not as intuitive
- Not scalable
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3. Quickbooks Payroll – best restaurant payroll software for large organizations
Pricing: $31 USD per month + $4 USD per month
Quickbooks is one of the most established payroll software in the markets. If you are already familiar with Quickbooks products, then Quickbooks Payroll is right for you! While Quickbooks is not designed specifically for restaurant owners, you can still benefit many useful standard features. These include automated payroll processing, tax management, and guaranteed accurate payroll.
Key Features:
- Track income and expenses
- Track sales and sales tax
- Capture and organize receipt
- Payroll forms
- Run reports
- Maximize tax deductions
- Track mileage
- Manage bills and payments
- Multi-currency support
- Track time
- Free phone and chat support
- E-file
Reasons to Buy:
- 30-day free trial
- Introductory promotions and offers (50% off for 3 months)
- Easily pay employees online
- Manage payroll in less time
- No hidden fees
Reasons to Avoid:
- Some features reserved for Quickbook products
- Not great for smaller restaurants
4. Inova Payroll – best restaurant payroll software for payroll automation
Pricing: Contact Inova Payroll for a quote
Inova Payroll is a human resource and employee payment solution for restaurants of all sizes. Inova Payroll helps you automate payroll tasks while maintaining compliance with government regulations. Its main features include time and attendance reporting, tax filing, benefits enrollment, performance management, and more. Switch to Inova Payroll and take back control of where your restaurant needs to go.
Key Features:
- Access multiple companies within one account
- Company legal information in one place
- Earning and deduction coding
- State and local tax rates
- Employee payroll profile
- Pay rates and shift rates
- Employee paystub viewing
- Audit history
- Custom payroll grid
- Time and attendance sheet
- Paycheck overrides
- Manual calculator check
- View gross pay
- Make last-minute changes
- Generate reports
- CPA report access
Reasons to Buy:
- Easy self-onboarding
- Local compliance
- Low flat pricing
Reasons to Avoid:
- Reports of limited implementation support
- Not all fields are reportable
5. SurePayroll – best restaurant payroll software for US restaurants
Pricing: $19.99 USD per month + $4 USD per payee per month
SurePayroll is an award-winning easy online payroll service designed for small businesses in the United States. It markets itself as a payroll provider that is 50% cheaper than comparable payroll services in the market. Run your payroll online anytime and anywhere with SurePayroll.
Key Features:
- Tax calculations
- Tax filings and support
- Payroll reporting capabilities
- Integrated time clock
- Easy direct deposit setup
- Automate running payroll
- Manage payroll from anywhere
- Access to payroll reports
Reasons to Buy:
- Fast payroll processing
- Extra security measures
- Convenient
- First 3 months free
- 100% guarantee
- Easy to set up
- Easy to learn
- Save time with auto payroll
- Live support extended to evenings and weekends
- Simplify payroll management
- Multiple restaurant-specific features
Reasons to Avoid:
- Reports of poor customer service
- Limited to American restaurants and businesses
6. Wave Payroll – best restaurant payroll software for value and user experience
Pricing: $35 USD monthly base fee per month + $6 USD per active employee per month + $6 USD per independent contractor paid (select states)
Wave Payroll is a simple payroll software that saves you time and guarantees accuracy.
Key Features:
- Payroll
- Contractor payments
- Direct deposit
- Reporting on payroll expenses
- Employee portal
- Tax filing payment
- Year-end tax forms
- Timesheets
- Integrated accounting, invoicing, and payments
- Live support during the weekdays
- Business tax filings
- Personal tax filings
Reasons to Buy:
- 30-day free trial
- Run payroll in minutes
- No hidden fees
- 100% accuracy
- Easily pay employees and contractors
- Direct Deposit into employee bank accounts
- Automatic tax remittance
- Automatic payroll journal entries
- Employee access to paystubs and T4s
- Easy switch from another provider
- Helpful resources
- Integrate with other Wave products
- Great for none payroll experts
Reasons to Avoid:
- Slow page load times as employees grow
- Setup can be cumbersome
- The mobile app could be improved
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7. Gusto – best restaurant payroll software full-service capabilities
Pricing: $39 USD per month + $6 USD per month per person + $6 USD per month per contractor
Looking for a modern way to manage payroll for your restaurant? Be sure to check Gusto, one of the fastest-growing payroll software in the market today. With Gusto, manage your growing team in one easy place. Let Gust help you scale your business by taking care of the hiring, payroll, insurance, and support.
Key Features:
- Full-service payroll
- Employee profiles and self-service
- Gusto-brokered health insurance and administration
- Employee health and financial benefits
- Integrations for accounting and time tracking
- Dedicated customer support
Reasons to Buy:
- Gusto brokers health benefits for your employees
- Actionable data and insights
- Integrates with many popular apps
- Different pricing tiers to select from
Reasons to Avoid:
- Long wait call times for support
References
- https://squareup.com/us/en/payroll/pricing
- https://squareup.com/us/en/why-square
- https://onpay.com
- https://www.surepayroll.com
- https://www.surepayroll.com/industry/small-business-payroll
- https://www.waveapps.com/payroll
- https://gusto.com
- https://inovapayroll.com/solutions/small-business/