The best payroll software for trades
Pay the crew, handle the taxes, and keep hours and time off straight. Here are the 4 tools we cover in this category, with what owners report and what they really cost.
Full-service payroll with built-in HR and time tracking, so a trade owner can run payroll, pay 1099 crews, handle tax filings, and track hours from one account.
Contractor Only $35/mo plus $6 each; Simple $49+$6, Plus $80+$12, Premium $180+$22
Crew scheduling and a mobile time clock that lets a trade owner build the week's shifts, have techs clock in and out from their phones, and turn the hours into timesheets, with a free tier that covers a small shop.
Free for 1 location and 10 staff; Essentials $30/mo per location after that
Cheap, no-frills payroll for a small shop: you run payroll in three steps, pay W-2 employees and 1099 subs in the same run, and on the Full Service plan Patriot files and deposits your federal, state and local payroll taxes.
Basic $17/mo plus $4 per worker paid; Full Service $37/mo plus $5 per worker
Runs payroll for your crew with automatic tax calculation, filing, and direct deposit, and it plugs straight into QuickBooks Online so wages land in your books.
Workforce (Core) $50/mo plus $6.50 per employee; Premium $88+$10, Elite $134+$12