Wave doesn’t have any over-the-phone support, so if you run into technical problems on a weekend, expect to deal with them on your own. Additionally, Wave Payroll integrates with fewer third-party accounting software than solutions like Gusto and OnPay. We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.
You still have to pay the $40 base fee per month (plus the per-employee costs) even if you opt not to get the provider’s automated tax filing services. Wave Payroll is a cloud-based software that helps small businesses run payroll and calculate and file payroll taxes. While it offers a reasonably priced option for small businesses, it is lacking in some features compared to competitors and only offers tax filing services in 14 states. Pricing for Wave Payroll is a bit different in that you pay either $20 or $35 per month as a base payment, depending on the state in which you’re running payroll. Wave can pay and file taxes for you in 14 states (see Wave’s website for the full list), and for that you’ll pay $35 per month to have automated tax filing. Otherwise, the cost is $20 per month and you’ll have to file taxes yourself.
How Wave Payroll works
So if you have six contractors on call but only need to pay three this month, you’ll be charged $18. Contractors can be paid via direct deposit just like standard employees, but classifying them correctly in your payroll is vital to ensure your tax information is accurate. Payroll software saves you time so you can focus on the best parts of running your business.
- Contractors can be paid via direct deposit just like standard employees, but classifying them correctly in your payroll is vital to ensure your tax information is accurate.
- The proper tax forms (like the T4 and T4A) are available to be generated by you.
- Doing payroll manually involves confusing and time-consuming calculations.
If you go to the dashboard, you’ll be able to track wages and taxes you’ve paid or assess payroll benefits and deductions. You’ll have more robust reporting options if you use Wave Accounting as this app allows for cash flow statements, sales tax reports, profit and loss statements and more. Wave Payroll won’t help you much with benefits, such as health insurance and retirement plans. While you can add these deductions, it’s up to you to purchase and manage them through different resources.
Limited global reach
9 directories your small business needs to be listed on is best for small businesses with very simple payroll needs. As a Wave add-on, it integrates all the information into your Wave Accounting software, making bookkeeping and payroll accounting a breeze. Users love its simple-to-use interface, even if some features take a few more steps to complete. And while it offers workers’ comp and an employee portal, it lacks benefits options and HR tools that similar providers offer. However, it’s still a good option for Wave Accounting users who need efficient payroll tools. If you’re on the Tax Service States plan but prefer to handle payroll tax payments and filings yourself, Wave Payroll will allow you to downgrade your plan.
But beyond the aesthetic visuals, this small-business payroll software is limited. Its lack of support outside the United States and Canada is a dealbreaker for global organizations. Plus, there are no advanced capabilities such as performance management. In fact, It feels like the entire data-entry system could be simplified, especially when considering that Wave Payroll only offers basic payroll processing. The payroll journal entry is automatically posted on the Transactions page in Wave Accounting. If you currently pay your employees using direct deposit and have your bank connected in Wave Accounting, you don’t have to do anything else.
Additional Wave Payroll features
At any time, you can activate to start your billing cycle and gain access to items like automatic remittances and approving payrolls beyond the current month. Wave Payroll doesn’t have time tracking functionalities, so you need to input the hours into its online time sheet manually. It has separate tabs for hourly workers and salaried employees. For your hourly staff, you use it to enter their total hours worked, overtime hours, and PTO information. For salaried employees, you can add in their overtime and PTO details, if any. Overtime pay is also automatically calculated at either time-and-a-half or double time, depending on when employees are eligible for it.
- Wave Payroll is fairly basic with minimal features so you shouldn’t get overwhelmed as you might with more comprehensive payroll solutions.
- Pay stubs are used to verify payment accuracy and may be necessary when settling wage/hour disputes.
- Keep in mind that any benefits or deductions from an employee’s pay will display as an uncategorized expense, which you’ll need to categorize properly in Wave Accounting.
- For example, you could compare payroll costs per hour to sales transactions.
The gross payroll amount is recorded in the expense category of your Account Mapping and included in the Profit and Loss report, as is the amount of taxes you owe as an employer. It even provides automated tax payment and filing services, including year-end reporting, but only in 14 states. However, you need to complete Wave Payroll’s tax payment information requirements before you can enjoy this service. It calculates wages, deductions, and taxes, including Federal Unemployment Tax for you. Multiple pay schedules are available—such as weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly.
Wave Payroll’s fast facts
Simply enter the information about your company, employee, income, and deductions to create an example professional pay stub instantly. Note that the start date is by default Jan. 1 and this tool is only for salary-based income employees. You can save the pay stub as a PDF to email to your employee or keep for your records.
Payments
You may set up payroll for both employees and independent contractors while giving them access to a portal with their information and tax forms, such as W-2s and 1099s. Wave Payroll’s state new hire reporting service is only limited to businesses located in one of the 14 states covered by its tax filing services. The process is seamless—after adding the new employee’s details into its system, the provider will automatically generate and file the report to the applicable state agency. SurePayroll is an affordable and straightforward payroll software that offers automatic payroll runs, tax filing, and exceptional customer service. If you include an employee’s email address when entering their information in Wave Payroll, they’ll receive an invitation to connect to it.
Wave Payroll FAQ
Plans start at $40 per month with an additional $6 per month for each paid employee. Wave Payroll is simple to learn and use, and though it offers a lot of helpful features, there’s quite a bit lacking, too. There’s an automated tax filing option if you live and pay workers in specific states; otherwise, you’ll have some paperwork to do. Onboarding new employees is easy with Wave Payroll, thanks to the self-serve employee portal. Your workers can complete their profiles, enter personal and tax deduction info themselves and they can view pay stubs and tax forms by logging into the system.