Restaurant owners find it challenging to manage payroll and benefits for employees. However, online payroll services can take much of the work off their plate. The best restaurant payroll software can handle fluctuating staffing levels, time and tips tracking, in addition to basic taxes and payroll runs.
With so many options available in the market, selecting the right software can be challenging. That is why the experts at Software Finder have compiled a list of the 10 best payroll services for restaurants. These platforms are built to cut down errors, simplify compliance, and give you time to run your restaurant.
Software | Ratings | Trial Info | Starting Price | Best For | Key Features |
4.5/5 | N/A | $49/month | SMBs for basic payroll tasks |
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| 4.2/5
| No free trial available | $22/employee/month | W-2s and 1099-MISC forms
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4.8/5 | 30-day free trial | $49/month | Small business payroll focus |
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| 5/5
| N/A | $79/month | Managing payroll of growing enterprises
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4.5/5 | N/A | $20/month | Affordable payroll management |
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4.5/5 | 30-day free trial | $40/month + $6/employee | Pay contractors and direct deposits |
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4.4/5 | N/A | $19/employee/month | Employee self-service portal |
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4.3/5 | N/A | $19/month | Maintaining payroll efficiency |
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4/5 | N/A | $39/month | Comprehensive payroll solutions |
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4.9/5 | N/A | $8/employee/month | Payroll tasks automation |
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Gusto is an online and modern people platform that helps several small and growing businesses take care of their teams. Using this software, businesses such as restaurants can maximize their efficiency and scale their businesses successfully.
Regardless of the restaurant size, it is flexible to manage the staff, hiring, and payment system via Gusto. Payroll just takes a few clicks with this tool as it can automate tax filing and help with compliance.
Using Gusto, restaurants can automate their time tools, team hours, paid time off (PTO), and holidays. It can also be integrated with the latest time-tracking software, helping users stay compliant.
Top Features
- State tax registration for restaurants in all 50 states
- Automatic tax calculations for restaurant employees
- Time tracking systems synced with payroll
- Direct deposits are available
Pricing
Gusto pricing starts at $49/month + $6/month/user. This base plan, called Starter, offers full-service payroll with automatic tax filings for W-2s and 1099s, expert support, a dedicated employee app, and fast direct deposits in 2–4 days. Its other plans include:
- Plus - $80/month + $12/month/user
- Premium - $180/month + $22/month/user
Disclaimer: The pricing is subject to change.
User Rating
Gusto has earned an average rating of 4.5/5 from multiple user reviews. Many praise it for making payroll, HR, and benefits management simple, along with its convenient self-service portal, while a few mention that customization options are somewhat limited.
Paylocity is a unified HR and payroll platform that helps restaurant owners automate payroll processing while staying compliant with tax laws. Its payroll system helps automate calculations, tax services, and audits, so restaurant owners can run accurate payroll and with fewer errors.
For restaurants specifically, Paylocity offers specialized solutions through its ‘Restaurants and Hospitality’ industry focus. It handles tip management, variable scheduling, and multi-location payroll complexities. The platform integrates time and labor tracking to ensure accurate wage processing for hourly employees that is essential for restaurant operations.
Top Features
- Benefits Administration
- Time And Attendance
- Payroll Processes
- Automated Workflows
- Employee Self-Service
- Intelligent Scheduling
Pricing
Paylocity’s pricing is estimated to range from $22 to $32/user/month. Its Payroll plan’s cost is custom, and includes features like customizable payroll workflows, support for payroll in over 100 countries, and more than 30 payroll audits.
Disclaimer: Pricing references are based on publicly available third-party information and industry benchmarks. Actual costs may vary.
User Rating
The software holds an average rating of 4.2/5 across several user reviews. Users appreciate how easily they can access paychecks and tax documents, though a few suggest adding functionality to manage contracts for international employees.
OnPay is a cloud-based payroll software offering a full range of features such as payroll, integrated benefits, and employee service options. The software can withhold all the payroll taxes with each run and make all the tax payments.
Restaurants prefer OnPay as a payroll service provider as there is no hidden fee and all the setup cost is null.
Top Features:
- Automated tax calculations and filings for restaurant employees
- Immediate payroll reporting
- Time and attendance tracking of staff
- Expert support and multiple payment methods
Pricing:
The base fee for OnPay starts at $49/month with an additional $6/month/user.
Disclaimer: The pricing is subject to change.
User Ratings
The software holds a 4.8/5 rating from user reviews. Users typically value its strong support and easy-to-follow tutorials, although the initial setup may take some getting used to.
RUN Powered By ADP is a well-known provider of HR, payroll, tax, and benefits administration services to companies around the world. The platform is an all-in-one service that is built to scale new and growing businesses.
The customizability and depth of this tool can be reflected in both its desktop and mobile versions. It is ideal for businesses having 50 employees and facilitates payrolls for all 50 states. If you want to use a tried-and-tested tool that can automate the payroll services of your company, RUN Powered By ADP can be your best bet.
Top Features:
- Employee Information Management
- Recruitment and applicant tracking
- Performance management
- Attendance and time tracking
Pricing:
The prices for RUN Powered By ADP start from $79/month with an additional $4/employee. The vendor offers the following four pricing plans at custom pricing with a 6-months free offer under certain conditions. The plans include:
- Essential Payroll
- Enhanced Payroll
- Complete Payroll & HR+
- HR Pro Payroll & HR
Disclaimer: Pricing references are based on publicly available third-party information and industry benchmarks. Actual costs may vary.
User Ratings
The software holds an average rating of 5/5 from verified reviewers. Many users like it for its intuitive payroll and HR tools and dependable customer support that makes payroll less time consuming. However, some reviewers mention that certain settings and notifications aren’t always easy to understand, and that support response times can be slow.
SurePayroll has made the core payroll processing quite easy even for new users. As a premium payroll service provider for restaurants, it includes payroll processing deposit and employee self-service opportunities. Quite a spectrum of necessary payroll elements can be found online on this tool, such as W-2 and 1099 form access.
Top Features:
- Automated payroll processing
- Tax calculations (but not filing)
- Unlimited payroll runs
- Free two-day direct deposit
Pricing
SurePayroll offers a full-service plan a $29/month base fee + $7/employee/month. It offers adaptable payroll solutions tailored for small businesses, featuring simple monthly billing and no long-term contracts. The other plan include:
- No Tax Filing plan - $20/month base fee + $4/employee/month
Disclaimer: The pricing is subject to change.
User Ratings
SurePayroll holds an overall rating of 4.5/5 stars. Users appreciate its efficiency in handling payroll and filings, although some report occasional state tax errors and service-related issues.
Wave Payroll is cloud-based software that helps small scale restaurants run payroll and file their payroll taxes in one go. It offers free payroll processing for up to 10 employees and the set-up process is also quite straightforward.
Most restaurant businesses agree that Wave Payroll has made payroll processing quite simplified for them due to its free and automated solutions. The best thing about the software is that as a new user, one can complete the entire payroll process for $0/month.
Top Features:
- Generating W2 and 1099 forms for tax season
- Flexible for seasonal employees
- Automatic payroll journal entries
- You can also access self-service pay stubs and tax forms
Pricing
Wave’s payroll pricing includes a 30-day free trial and begins at a $40/month base fee, with an extra $6/active employee and $6/paid independent contractor. This setup makes expenses predictable for small businesses while offering the flexibility to grow as the team expands.
Disclaimer: The pricing is subject to change.
User Ratings
Wave holds a combined user rating of 4.5/5. Users praise its efficiency for freelance payroll and invoicing, though some note that certain features may be more than very small businesses need.
Already known to several business and restaurant owners, ADP Workforce Now is a comprehensive global provider of cloud-based Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions to users. It streamlines HR management with intuitive talent, performance, and payroll tools.
ADP Workforce Now has integrated the experience powers of employees with the innovative payroll solutions that it offers. It has been designed in a way to meet the changing workforce needs of the dynamic world of today.
Top Features:
- Automated onboarding workflows
- Tailored implementation of payroll services and compliance
- Streamlined payroll processing for restaurant employees
- Talent management and tax filing
- Easy shift scheduling
Pricing
ADP Workforce Now pricing typically ranges between $19–$28/employee/month. The vendor offers flexible plans tailored to meet the varying requirements of organizations. It offers the following plans:
- Select
- Plus
- Premium
Disclaimer: Pricing references are based on publicly available third-party information and industry benchmarks. Actual costs may vary.
User Ratings
The software is rated 4.4/5 based on multiple user reviews. Users typically like this software for its centralized payroll and HR tool. However, some reviewers say the user interface feels outdated.
Paycor serves to increase the efficiency and accuracy of companies in their HR departments. For new users, it is quite easy to navigate, and the performance management of clients is quite simpler.
The restaurants owners can use this tool to coach, optimize and maintain the number of their employees with performance reviews and career management guidance. The employee engagement can also be boosted and retained using Paycor.
Top Features:
- Offers EWA on-demand pay
- Offers mobile wallet
- Automatic scheduling of payments
Pricing
Paycor pricing starts from $19 to $27. The final cost depends on various features, such as the number of employees, features required, etc. In addition, the vendor offers a 1-month free HCM Cor to its users.
Disclaimer: Pricing references are based on publicly available third-party information and industry benchmarks. Actual costs may vary.
User Ratings
The software is rated 4.3/5 based on experienced user reviews. Many reviewers like this software for its easy-to-use interface and the way it brings payroll and HR functions together in one platform. However, several users point out that customer support and responsiveness can be inconsistent.
The basic aim of Paychex Flex is to simplify the complex processes and help restaurants plus other businesses manage their payroll. It can enhance the employee experience and streamline the payroll benefits for the workers. The scalable features of this platform can make companies comply with legal requirements in a much better way.
Top Features:
- You can access the data form anywhere
- It can be integrated with tools like CareerPLug, Jirav etc
- Restaurants can also get the Paychex career listings from this tool
- The Business Continuity Planning (BCP) keeps company on course
Pricing:
Paychex pricing starts at $39/month plus $5/person. The platform also provides multiple modules to suit different business needs, including:
Payroll Plans
- Paychex Flex Select
- Paychex Flex Pro
Full-Service HR & Payroll
- Flex Enterprise
- HR Pro
- HR PEO
Disclaimer: Pricing references are based on publicly available third-party information and industry benchmarks. Actual costs may vary.
User Ratings
The software holds a combined rating of 4/5. Users appreciate Paychex Flex for its intuitive interface and real-time payroll tracking, although some find the mobile app somewhat cluttered.
Used as a workforce management platform, Rippling is aimed at streamlining the HR and finance processes by the unification of employee data. It can connect all the previously siloed systems and automate tasks across different systems.
Not only that, but this tool can also remove the element of friction from running a business. This software has unified the HR, IT and finance departments. It can be synced directly with your PTO and payroll.
Top Features:
- The payroll processing is fully automated
- Time-tracking integration is available
- Software can be synced with the accounting systems
- It also follows an expense reimbursement processing
Pricing:
Rippling pricing starts at $8/employee/month alongside a monthly base fee of $35/month. The platform also includes the following modules:
- UK And Global Payroll
- Time & Attendance
- Benefits Administration
- Scheduling
- Chat
- Recruiting
- Learning Management
- Headcount Planning
- Performance Management
- Surveys
- Global Employer of Record Service
Disclaimer: The pricing is subject to change.
User Ratings
Rated 4.9/5 based on consistent reviewer feedback. Users value how it simplifies payroll and onboarding, though some mention limited options for customizing workflows.
Running a restaurant successfully is not a small feat, especially when it is about compliance and payroll. With the help of the right payroll software, you can reduce errors, automate payroll processes, and deliver a great dining experience to your clients.
From the best payroll software for restaurants that we have mentioned above, you can pick any to streamline your payroll operations with solutions tailored to your unique needs.
If you are ready to take the next step, contact Software Finder for personalized advice and learn how our tailored solutions can easily help you manage your restaurant payroll in 2025.