If you’re looking for some top-tier restaurant payroll software options, this is the article for you! 

If you’re looking for some top-tier restaurant payroll software options, this is the article for you!

Restaurants rely on the teams behind them. A happy team of staff contributes to a great atmosphere in a restaurant! One way to show your team that they are appreciated is by having an efficient payroll system that is largely free from human error.

There’s a lot to consider when it comes to managing payroll. You need to ensure you track the correct hours for each staff member, apply the right hourly pay, pay everyone on time, file the correct taxes, create paystubs, and more.

Restaurant payroll software can streamline this process. Let’s discuss what this software can do in detail, and go over some of the best options out there.

What is Restaurant Payroll Software?

So, what exactly is payroll software for restaurants?

These solutions help to manage and automate payroll processes. They tend to cover all of the different steps involved in payroll processing, including working out staff hours, managing payroll taxes, releasing payments, and recording payroll.

Restaurant payroll can be a complicated process, as there are usually many different staff members to keep track of. When you’re trying to juggle managing your restaurant and payroll operations, any manual work on the payroll side might be subject to slip-ups.

Properly managing and recording hours can be tricky. This is why having the right restaurant payroll software is so important: it frees up your time and reduces human error.

As a busy restaurant owner, manual time tracking and payroll calculations can take up a lot of time and effort. By using an automated payroll system, you’ll have a lot more time to focus on the tasks that need your attention, while all of your payroll processes are accurately managed.

6 Best Restaurant Payroll Software Options

Setting your restaurant up with the best payroll software solution can make an enormous difference to your operations. If you’re looking for the right system, then here are some of the best options to consider right now.

1. Gusto

When it comes to payroll software, Gusto is a name you’ll recognize. This is a payroll solution that offers the foundational features you need to pay employees efficiently, automate processes, easily manage tax filing, and more.

Restaurants can access a range of features with Gusto. These include automated time tracking, benefits management tools, payroll tax automation, and tracking time off. You can create unlimited pay runs through Gusto, which can all run automatically to save you time and effort.

Beyond the payroll software, Gusto is a full-service payroll and workforce management solution. You can use the platform to manage processes like onboarding, storing paperwork for your staff members, and workforce costing. Gusto also takes into consideration the different payroll laws of each state, which helps your restaurant stay compliant.

The downside of Gusto is that it’s not specifically designed as restaurant payroll software. If you’re looking for something simple and specifically designed for payroll operations, without the extra bells and whistles, Gusto might not be for you.

That being said, the platform does include all the payroll features any restaurant business would need.

Main Features

• Automated payroll
• Payroll tax filing
• Time tracking
• Hiring and onboarding tools
• Insights and reporting

2. Paychex

Paychex is a full-service payroll solution designed to cover HR and payroll processes for restaurants.

Paychex includes payroll and HR services to help restaurants save time and improve employee management.  While it’s not specifically restaurant payroll software, Paychex does offer a wide range of payroll services and features needed to smoothly operate your payroll functions.

The platform is divided into six main solutions:

• Payroll services
• Employee benefits
• HR services
• Time and attendance management
• Business insurance
• Business solutions

Within these solutions, you’ll see all of the tools and features you might need to automate payroll processes, manage employee benefits, and simplify HR.

Paychex’s payroll processing services help your restaurant stay compliant while simplifying payroll processes. You can use the platform to calculate and file payroll taxes, manage time tracking, facilitate direct deposits to employees, provide detailed payroll insights, and more.

There are many integrations available with Paychex. The platform can integrate with popular HR, productivity, and financial tools. This can result in streamlined, efficient, and accurate payroll and accounting processes at your restaurant.

Main Features

• Payroll services for different business sizes
• Payroll tax services
• Employee benefit services
• HR services

3. Paycor

When it comes to franchise management, Paycor is a popular choice. Paycor is a payroll solution designed for large-scale operations. It’s not the best choice for small businesses, but if your restaurant has multiple locations and a long list of staff members, then it’s a robust platform that will meet all your needs.

Restaurants can use Paycor for all of their payroll management and HR needs. There’s a self-service portal for employees, useful HR resources and templates, and detailed payroll insights and reports.

Paycor stays up to date with local payroll laws, which is helpful for restaurants that operate in different states.

Paycor also offers tools for time and attendance management, expense management, recruiting, and HR management.

Within these different modules, there are features and functions to handle the needs of large-scale restaurant businesses.

If you run a large-scale operation and need a robust payroll solution, Paycor may be a good option. If you operate a single restaurant, it’s probably not the most suitable payroll solution.

Main Features

• Automatic payroll tax calculations
• Benefits administration
• Employee experience management
• End-to-end payroll management
• HR tools

4. Quickbooks

Quickbooks is a popular software option used in the restaurant industry.

This platform is an extensive accounting software solution that includes payroll functions. Using Quickbooks to manage your payroll only makes sense if you also use the platform to cover your restaurant’s accounting and bookkeeping.

This is what makes Quickbooks appealing to its clients. The software provides a single platform where businesses can manage all of their accounting and payroll from one place.

It is user-friendly and has been designed for small business owners without any kind of accounting or financial background.

Quickbooks can integrate with almost all POS systems. It can also integrate with event management platforms. This means all of your data is carried over between each platform, so there’s no need for manual data entry - which helps to improve payroll and accounting accuracy.

If you’re looking for a payroll solution that fits in with the other solutions used at your restaurant, this might be the one for you!  

Quickbook offers a complete, automated payroll system. Functions include automation, time tracking, payment scheduling, and tax filing. When combined with the platform’s bookkeeping and accounting tools, Quickbooks is an appealing and powerful payroll solution.

Main Features

• Automated payroll calculations and management
• Automated payroll taxes
• Automated pension calculations and contributions
• Payslip creation
• Integration with Quickbooks accounting

5. Wave Payroll

Wave is a full-service payroll solution that forms part of a larger accounting platform for small businesses.

You can use Wave to cover your restaurant’s bookkeeping and accounting needs. Functions include invoicing, accepting and managing payments, tracking income and expenses, and managing banking and bookkeeping.

Much like with Quickbooks, there is a payroll solution also offered.

Wave payroll is simple to use. With this software, you can automate payroll calculations and processing, as well as payroll runs. You can also easily manage tax payments and filings. The platform includes payroll features for permanent staff, as well as contractors.

With Wave, you can make direct deposit payments to your employees and issues them a pay stub. This level of automation ensures that your payroll process is carefully managed and up-to-date with all local laws.

Main Features

• Employee and contractor payments
• Tax filing and payments
• Direct deposits
• Automated payroll
• Integration with Wave’s accounting system

6. Toast

Toast is one of the most popular restaurant POS systems available. It’s also one of the best solutions if you’re looking for POS software with an integrated payroll solution.

With Toast, you get a complete payroll system to manage your employee payments. The software can help you create seamless payroll runs with minimal effort. The great thing about using Toast to do this is that you use the same platform to log employee hours, so all of your payroll data is accurate and easy to manage.

The payroll software is also part of a larger POS system, so all of your main restaurant management tools are fully integrated. This makes it a lot easier to manage the day-to-day aspects of running your business.

The downside is that you miss out on all of the HR and employee benefit management tools that other dedicated payroll solutions offer.

When it comes to choosing POS systems with payroll solutions, there are many options you can take. Along with Toast, you can consider Square and SpotOn.

Square offers a simplified restaurant payroll software solution which is ideal for small businesses. The platform provides a single solution to easily manage and automate all payroll processes. SpotOn also offers quality payroll solutions that can make managing your business a lot easier.

Main Features

• POS
• Integrated payroll solution
• Toast hardware is needed

Conclusion

The right restaurant payroll software platform should make your payroll operations a breeze.

Ideally, these systems should fit into your existing operations and integrate with the restaurant management software your business currently uses.

This software can save you time and effort, and ensure your payroll is always accurately managed.

If your restaurant is used for hosting events, you should also look into using the best event management software. This software can boost your revenue, and streamline events by offering features such as event payments.

To see how your event operations can benefit from great event management software, try Perfect Venue.

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