Valor Payroll Solutions Pricing
How much does it cost to outsource your payroll? The answer is it depends…
With payroll, there are so many factors that can impact your payroll processing fees. The main categories that will affect your payroll processing fees are the level of support you receive, the services your payroll or software company provides, and the software itself (along with the features that are included or elected). Business owners should carefully consider their needs along with their internal staff and knowledge to decide the best fit for their business.
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Payroll Pricing Structures
There are two main pricing structures that most payroll service providers follow:
1. A flat monthly fee with an additional charge per employee per month
2. A flat fee per payroll plus an additional fee per check or direct deposit.
The “do it yourself” platforms such as QuickBooks and Gusto are based on the first model, where clients pay a flat fee per month and then an additional charge per employee, per month.
For example, $80 per month plus $12 per employee per month. Service providers can utilize a tiered pricing model where both the flat monthly fee and the per-employee fee vary depending on the level of service the client chooses.
Most of the “big box” payroll companies such as ADP and Paychex utilize the latter model, charging a base fee per payroll plus a small fee per check or direct deposit. For example, $55 per payroll plus $3 per check or direct deposit. In this model, the price per payroll usually depends on the frequency that you process payroll (weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, or quarterly), and the number of employees that you are paying.
There are also more than 12,000 independent payroll providers across the country, and their pricing structures can vary from business to business.
If your payroll service provider offers ancillary services (timekeeping, scheduling, electronic onboarding) the pricing structure may be set up differently than their payroll service fees.
For example, a payroll service provider may charge a flat fee per payroll plus an additional fee per check or direct deposit, but charge timekeeping fees on a per-employee-per-month basis.
Payroll Support
While shopping for a payroll service provider, be sure to ask how your questions will be handled and by whom.
You can ask the following questions to ensure you have a good understanding of the payroll service providers support model:
- How do I submit a question or ask for assistance?
- Are there multiple options for reaching someone with a question?
- How long does it normally take to receive a response?
- Is your support staff outsourced to another country?
- Will I have a dedicated support person?
- If so, how many other clients does that person also support?
In addition to asking the questions above, it’s always a good idea to research the payroll service provider online. Check out reviews, the Better Business Bureau, and social media profiles.
You may also want to ask the average size of the payroll service provider’s clients. If you are a small business, you may want to consider working with a service provider that specializes in small businesses.
Although every business is unique, most payroll questions warrant a quick response. Why didn’t my employee receive his direct deposit? How do I process an additional payroll? Why did I receive a tax notice?
Businesses that have a dedicated payroll or HR specialist may be able to handle many questions on their own without much help from support. New businesses or business owners without payroll experience may need to rely on support more often, especially in the beginning. Think through situations that may arise and deliberate carefully if your service provider’s support is sufficient for your business’s needs.
Payroll Service
The level of service that you receive can have a direct impact on the price that you pay. When the client is responsible for setting up their own account, adding their own employees, importing year-to-date payroll information, and reconciling tax deposits, the fees are usually lower than service models where the payroll provider takes on more of these tasks.
With the DIY platforms, the service provider usually has limited or no liability for payroll or tax errors, and the client is ultimately responsible for any penalties or interest that result. To put this in more general terms, the more “do-it-yourself” the platform is, the lower the service fees tend to me.
This level of service can work well for business owners who have payroll experience or who have a dedicated payroll or human resources person on staff.
Some points to consider when determining if this model is right for you are:
- Internal payroll knowledge and experience
- Experience setting up payroll tax accounts
- Ensuring payroll compliance with federal, state and local regulations
- Understanding of payroll taxes, sometimes including how to file and pay various payroll taxes
For clients who have never run payroll or do not have a payroll specialist in house, it may be worth the investment to utilize a service provider that takes on more of these functions on behalf of their clients.
These services can include but are not limited to:
- Turn-Key implementation
- Options for entering or reporting employee hours
- Assisting in determining tax liabilities – this is especially important for remote workers and multi-state clients
- Registering for the necessary tax IDs to ensure that taxes are paid on time
- Reviewing compliances such as Paid Family and/or Medical Leave laws, workers’ compensation, paid sick leave, and how often employees should be paid
- Assisting with basic HR questions (when a final check is due, do I have to pay out PTO, etc.)
Payroll Software
There are more payroll software options available now than ever before. Payroll software can range from extremely basic to extremely robust and include everything in between.
Basic payroll software should include (at a minimum):
- Gross to net payroll calculations
- Calculation of employee and employer taxes
- Preparation of federal, state and local tax forms
Beyond these basic functions, employers should consider carefully not only the features that they need now, but those that they may need in the foreseeable future such as:
- Employee direct deposits
- Access to payroll reports and/or report writing
- General ledger setup
- Garnishment setup and/or payments
- Employee deductions
- Multi-state allocation for employees who work in more than one state
- Electronic tax filing
- Electronic tax payments
- Employee self-service
- Paperless/electronic employee onboarding
- Time tracking
- Paid time off accruals and/or management
- Scheduling
- Software integration – accounting, benefits, retirement plans, etc.
In addition to the core features, there may be ranges of customization available. For example, a payroll software may offer paid time off accruals, but may not be able to handle a tiered paid time off policy. A software may have the option to set up your general ledger accounts to produce a journal entry, but may not have a fully customizable general ledger interface.
Best practice would suggest showing your potential payroll service provider your exact needs to ensure that the software will meet them.
For example, provide your PTO policy and confirm if the system can automate accruals, rather than simply asking if the software can handle time off accruals. Provide your full chart of accounts to confirm the payroll software can generate journal entries that match what you’re currently doing. If you have any unique or industry-specific needs, be sure to bring those up during your meeting as well.
Business owners should understand the full capacity of the software they will be utilizing, even if they will not be using all of the features right out of the gate. Smaller businesses usually require fewer features, which often helps to keep their costs lower. Larger corporations usually need more features, as well as more customizable options.
So How Much Does Payroll Cost?
Although we have not provided dollar amounts, we hope that you found this information useful to understand what factors can increase or decrease your payroll service fees. Business owners should determine their unique capabilities and needs to determine the best fit for their business.
So Who Is Valor Payroll Solutions?
Who Is Valor Payroll Solutions?
Valor Payroll Solutions is an independent payroll provider that caters to small and medium sized businesses. Our services are most valuable to small business owners, especially those who have never run payroll, or who do not have a knowledgeable payroll or human resources professional in-house. We also specialize in multi-state employers, including those with remote workers across the country.
Valor Payroll Solutions’ Support
Each of our clients has a dedicated account manager that intimately knows their unique business needs. Clients have the option of calling, emailing or even texting their account manager whenever they have a question or need assistance. All inquiries are responded to on the same day if submitted during normal business hours.
We offer clients several options to submit payroll as well. Clients have access to a mobile app and an online portal, and, depending on the size of the business, emailing or texting hours to us. One thing that sets us apart is that we review every single payroll our clients submit before it goes out the door, which allows us to catch errors and correct them.
Valor Payroll Solutions’ Service
We expect that our clients know very little about payroll, which is why we handle all of the heavy lifting.
If you’re processing payroll for the very first time, we will assist you in determining what taxes you’re liable for, and also register for those tax accounts, at no additional charge to you. If you don’t already have your new hire information put together, we will provide you with new hire forms to ensure that we’re capturing all of the necessary data to process payroll accurately.
If you’ve already processed payroll, we will input all your employee information and input any year-to-date payroll information that you have. This includes reconciling the payroll data back to your reports or tax filings to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. If you are leaving another service provider, we will assist you with explaining to them exactly what you do (and do not) need them to do, so that we can effectively pick up where they left off.
At Valor Payroll Solutions, we take care of all aspects of your payroll tax compliance. In addition to registering for any necessary tax accounts, we will file all quarterly and annual tax forms, including Forms W2, 1099, 940, 941, state unemployment insurance, disability reporting, and more. Taxes are also paid electronically whenever possible, and you have full visibility via your dashboard to see what will be debited, and when.
Taking this one step further, if you’re dealing with a tax issue we would be happy to help you get it cleared up.
In addition to payroll services, we also offer ancillary products such as pay-as-you-go workers’ compensation, employee benefits, timekeeping, scheduling, applicant tracking and paperless onboarding.
Valor Payroll Solutions Software
Our payroll software includes the following features:
- Flexible and secure options to submit your payroll
- Employee direct deposits
- Electronic tax payments
- Electronic tax filing
- Integration with Time and Attendance Solutions
- Integration with QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online
- Multiple state withholding
- Electronic garnishment payments
- Paid time off, sick, and vacation accrual tracking
- Extensive set of reports
- Multiple pay schedules
- Ability to handle all pay types
- A wide array of standard deductions plus unlimited custom deductions
- Mobile employee portal
- Job costing
- Multiple-locations
- Pay-As-You-Go Workers’ Compensation
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It has been said that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. Let us help you with your payroll journey. Contact Valor Payroll Solutions today to start the conversation.