Deluxe Payroll Review (2023): Pricing, Features, Pros and Cons

By Andrew McCollum On May 18, 2023

Get the complete rundown on Deluxe Payroll in this comprehensive review, which covers pricing, features, pros, and cons.

If you’ve tried some of the leading payroll solutions and still have some reservations, perhaps it’s time to review Deluxe Payroll. Read on to learn more about Deluxe Payroll and determine if it’s a good fit for your business.

Deluxe Payroll’s fast facts

Pricing: Starts at $45/month.

Features

Full-service payroll and tax filings.
Employee self-service.
Custom reporting fields and document templates.
Accounting software integration.
Multiple payment options such as direct deposit, paycards and paper checks.

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What is Deluxe Payroll?

Image: Deluxe Payroll

Deluxe Payroll is an online payroll platform that helps small and medium-sized businesses to automate payroll management across all U.S. states. It offers a range of payroll services, including automated payroll processing, direct deposit, tax filing, multiple payment options, employee self-service and human resources compliance support.

Available on mobile and desktop, Deluxe Payroll makes it easy for businesses to manage payments for hourly, seasonal and short-term employees. In addition, this solution prides itself on the delivery of 24/7 customer support across all plans. There is also an option to integrate with accounting software like QuickBooks Online and other business tools like Google Workspace, Microsoft, Slack and LinkedIn with a single sign-in access.

Deluxe Payroll pricing

Deluxe Payroll pricing starts at $45 per month. Businesses interested in adopting this solution can choose from two pricing plans.

Payroll + HR Essentials: This plan starts at $7/month per employee and is an excellent option for businesses that need to perform basic payroll, tax filing and accounting integrations.

Payroll + HR Enhanced: This option starts at $14/month per employee and covers all the services in the HR Essential, with additional HR and workflow automation, time and attendance solution, custom reporting fields and document templates.

There is also an option to tailor each plan to match your business needs. Other features you can bring to the mix include an applicant tracking system, benefits administration and paid time off accrual policies.

Key features of Deluxe Payroll

Deluxe Payroll offers some key payroll features for businesses.

Automated payroll

Deluxe Payroll provides an online full-service payroll system that covers many aspects of payroll for your business, including calculating employee paychecks, withholding the correct taxes, and deducting employee contributions for benefits and retirement plans.

The payroll feature covers full-time, part-time and seasonal employees, as well as independent contractors. It offers flexible employee payment options, including same-day direct deposit, paper checks and paycards. Companies don’t need to bother about differentials in the hourly input of employees as the system can sync timesheets, vacation and paid leave automatically.

Tax compliance

Deluxe Payroll helps with tax compliance by calculating and withholding the correct taxes for each employee (Figure A). Tax filing services cover W2s, W4s and 1099s. These tax filings are available in all 50 U.S. states, and the system also sends tax updates to ensure that you stay informed about new labor laws and other relevant governmental, state or local taxes.

Figure A

The tax management dashboard. — Tax management dashboard. Image: Deluxe Payroll

Time and attendance

Deluxe Payroll provides tools for tracking employee work hours, overtime, time off requests and PTO balances (Figure B). This comes as an add-on feature for companies who need the service. It also includes a mobile app for employees to clock in and out, view their schedules and submit time-off requests. The time-tracking data can be easily exported to payroll software, saving businesses time and reducing errors. This feature is most suitable for businesses that offer jobs with different rates for different hours, seasonal employment and shift-based roles. One key factor with this feature is that the time tracking system can sync with payroll automatically, providing accurate rates for hours worked.

Figure B

Time and attendance dashboard. Image: Deluxe Payroll

Integration support

Deluxe Payroll can integrate with QuickBooks to automatically transfer payroll data, such as employee names, hours worked and pay rates, into the accounting system. Apart from QuickBooks, businesses can integrate with other software such as Microsoft, Google Workspace and Slack with single sign-in access.

Pros and cons of Deluxe Payroll

Pros

24/7 customer support through email or phone calls.
Customizable reporting feature.
Flexible payment options.
Accessible from mobile and desktop.

Cons

Integration to accounting software is limited to QuickBooks.
No chatbot for customer support.
No free trial version.
Custom reporting is only available on the higher plan.
Time and attendance management is only available as an add-on.

If Deluxe Payroll isn’t ideal for you, check out these alternatives

If you think Deluxe Payroll isn’t a good fit for your business, these alternatives might interest you.

Gusto

Image: Gusto

Gusto is a worthy alternative to Deluxe Payroll. With Gusto, you can automate payroll tasks, file taxes, and pay hourly, full-time and contractor employees. Gusto also offers payroll services beyond the U.S. and supports important use cases such as contractor-only payments, customizable reporting and robust integration. Apart from providing payroll beyond the U.S., another striking difference between Gusto and Deluxe Payroll is in the pricing and vast integration support.

Gusto pricing

Simple: $40 per month plus $6 per person.
Plus: $60 per month plus $9 per person.
Premium: Contact Gusto for details.

Check out our comprehensive review of Gusto.

Paychex

Image: Paychex

Paychex is another top alternative to consider and it offers a comprehensive payroll solution for small to medium-sized businesses. Some key features include automated payroll processing, tax filing across all 50 U.S. states, integration with multiple software and employee self-service tools. Paychex is also highly customizable, allowing businesses to tailor the software to meet their needs. Paychex pricing and integration are the key factors that separate it from Deluxe Payroll.

Paychex Pricing

Paychex Flex Essential: $39 per month plus $5 per person.
Paychex Flex Select: $44 per month plus $3 per person.
Paychex Flex Pro: $89 per month plus $3 per person.

Check out our comprehensive review of Paychex.

Who is Deluxe Payroll best for?

Deluxe Payroll’s services suit entrepreneurs and small or medium-sized businesses with a few hundred employees. The payroll software can handle various payment types, including direct deposit, checks and pay cards. Deluxe Payroll also offers tax compliance services to ensure that all taxes are accurately calculated and paid on time. However, it’s recommended that you evaluate your business needs to determine if Deluxe supports them to your satisfaction.

Review methodology

To provide a solid review of Deluxe Payroll, we gathered product information from the website, where we checked out its core features, pricing plans, customer support and integration offerings. To further provide a balanced review, we also checked out customer reviews on trusted third-party sites and watched some video demonstrations of Deluxe on YouTube.