How to Find the Payroll Software for Your Restaurant in 2024

Restaurant payroll software is essential to paying your employees accurately and complying with all state and federal labor laws. However, most restaurant owners aren’t payroll experts, and choosing the right payroll software can be challenging. There are dozens of options and the stakes for getting payroll wrong can include frustrated employees and fines.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about payroll software for restaurants, including what features you need and how to choose the best platform. We’ll also highlight four platforms that make running payroll for your restaurant completely seamless.

Key Takeaways

• Payroll software for restaurants is more affordable than outsourcing payroll. It helps you pay employees accurately, manage payroll taxes, and comply with labor laws.
• Key features to look for in payroll software include multiple payment options, automatic compliance checks and tax filing, benefits management, an employee self-service portal, reporting tools, and integrations.
• Payroll software for restaurants starts at $40 per month plus $6 per employee per month. Premium payroll plans can cost up to $180 per month plus $10-$20 per employee per month.
• Top restaurant payroll software platforms to consider include Gusto, Toast, ADP, and Quickbooks Payroll.

Why Do You Need Payroll Software for Your Restaurant?

You have two options for running payroll for your restaurant: using a full-service payroll provider or managing payroll yourself.

While a lot of restaurant owners would love to hand off payroll to a full-service provider, outsourcing payroll is simply too expensive for most small businesses. Payroll software for restaurants is a more affordable solution that makes it easy to manage payroll yourself.

Payroll software helps you track how much your employees earn and how much money should go to employees versus benefit plan payments and payroll taxes. It also facilitates payments to your employees and ensures you remain in compliance with all applicable labor laws.

While software isn’t required to manage payroll, it can save you from making mistakes that result in costly penalties or late payments to your employees. Payroll software also saves you time by automating administrative tasks like data entry and payroll processing. So you can take care of payroll quickly and then focus on other aspects of running your restaurant.

What Features Do You Need in Restaurant Payroll Software?

Let’s dive into some of the key features to look for when choosing payroll software for your restaurant.

Payment options

Most payroll software for restaurants lets you pay employees through direct deposit into their bank accounts. Some offer additional payment methods, such as paper checks or prepaid debit cards, which can be more convenient for employees.

Compliance checks

There are a lot of federal and state rules governing payroll, and your business could be hit with steep fines if you fall out of compliance with these regulations. Look for payroll software that runs automatic compliance checks for break time, overtime, and minimum wage requirements. Your software should also automatically remind you about required reports and alert you if there are changes to payroll regulations in your state.

Tax filing

Your software should automatically file payroll taxes with both your state and the federal government when you run payroll. It should also auto-generate any required tax forms and keep digital copies for compliance and accounting purposes.

Benefits management

Payroll software should also help you manage restaurant employees’ benefits, such as health insurance, and retirement plans. Many platforms let you automatically deduct money from employees’ paychecks to pay for their portion of health insurance premiums. Employees should also be able to put a portion of each paycheck directly into a retirement account.

Employee self-service tools

You don’t want to be bombarded with requests from employees for pay stub copies. Look for payroll software that includes an employee self-service portal, which enables employees to view their pay stubs online and update their bank details without needing to ask you.

Reporting

Your payroll platform should offer built-in reporting tools so you can see how much your business is spending on payroll. You should be able to break down employees’ pay according to base pay, tips, and overtime, plus view spending on benefits and payroll taxes. Look for platforms that let you export this data to Excel for more in-depth analysis.

Integrations

Your payroll software should integrate with all of the other tools your restaurant relies on. Some types of integrations to look for include:

• Time tracking software: Integrating your time tracking and payroll software enables you to approve your employees’ timesheets and submit them for payroll in one click.
• HR software: Integrating HR and payroll software makes it easy to keep employees’ information—like W-2 and 1099 forms—up to date. New employees onboarded in your HR software can also be added to your payroll software automatically.
• Accounting software: Integrating your accounting and payroll platforms enables you to accurately track payroll, benefits, and tax payments alongside your restaurant’s other expenses.
• Point-of-sale: Integrating your point-of-sale and payroll systems helps you track employees’ hours and pooled tips, which are crucial for calculating payroll.

What Else to Consider When Choosing the Best Payroll Software for Your Restaurant

While it’s important to get all the features your restaurant needs, there are a few additional considerations when choosing payroll software.

Payroll frequency

While many payroll platforms include unlimited payroll runs, that’s not always the case. For example, some platforms let you run payroll every two weeks but charge extra if you want to run payroll weekly or more frequently. Be sure to check what a prospective payroll provider allows and make sure it aligns with your desired payroll frequency.

Scalability

You only want to go through the process of choosing a payroll platform once, so it’s smart to choose a platform that can scale up as your business grows. Look for payroll software that supports multiple restaurant locations in different states and that won’t cost an arm and a leg as your employee headcount expands.

Ease of use

Payroll can be very complex, so choose software that simplifies the process. An overly complex payroll platform can take a lot of time to learn and increases your risk of making a costly mistake. Look for automated compliance checks, one-click payroll runs, and streamlined settings.

Also, consider what your employees’ experience will be like, especially if your payroll software has a self-service portal. Mobile apps can make it much easier for employees to get the information they need.

Customer support

If you have an issue running payroll, it’s important to resolve it right away. Delayed payroll can be a big problem for your employees and can even cause your restaurant to fall out of compliance with labor regulations.

Look for payroll providers that offer 24/7 customer support, ideally by phone or live chat. It’s also a good idea to choose a provider that offers training for new users and a detailed online help center.

How Much Does Payroll Software for Restaurants Cost?

Restaurant payroll software providers usually charge a base fee plus a per-employee fee each month. For example, Quickbooks Payroll charges $85 per month plus $6 per employee per month.

Pricing can vary widely among providers. Affordable payroll software starts at around $40 per month plus $6 per employee per month. Options in this price range typically include a limited number of payroll runs each month and may not include benefits management or state tax filing.

More expensive payroll software plans cost around $180 per month plus $10-$20 per employee per month. These plans usually include unlimited payroll runs, benefits management, state tax filing, and dedicated support from a payroll expert.

4 Restaurant Payroll Software Options to Consider

Now that you know how to choose payroll software, let’s take a closer look at four platforms that work well for the restaurant industry.

Gusto

Gusto is low-cost payroll software that offers unlimited payroll runs, automatic compliance checks and tax filing, and administration tools for employee health insurance plans. It’s very easy to use and offers a mobile-friendly employee self-service portal.

Basic Gusto plans for restaurants that operate in only one state start at just $40 per month plus $6 per employee per month. Gusto supports retirement plans and additional benefits like workers’ compensation and life insurance, but these require paid upgrades.

Toast

Toast is a comprehensive services provider for restaurants that offers a point-of-sale, credit card processing, a property management system, marketing tools, and payroll software. Toast’s payroll software supports payroll in all 50 states and handles tax filings automatically. You can pay employees by direct deposit, check, or prepaid card.

Toast’s payroll software is bundled with its point-of-sale and offers deep integrations with Toast’s other tools, so it’s best if your restaurant uses multiple Toast products. Pricing starts at $69 per month plus $9 per employee per month for both payroll and the point-of-sale system.

ADP

ADP is a large payroll provider that offers both DIY payroll software and full-service payroll processing. It’s a good option for growing restaurants since the platform is highly scalable and offers HR software add-ons and support from payroll experts.

ADP includes automatic compliance checks, tax filing, and 24/7 phone and live chat support. It lacks point-of-sale integrations but has a wide range of accounting and HR software integrations. Pricing for ADP is by quote only.

Quickbooks Payroll

Quickbooks Payroll combines the benefits of Quickbooks’ accounting software with an easy-to-use payroll platform. Built-in accounting and reporting tools make it easy to track how much your business is spending on payroll and find opportunities to reduce labor costs. Quickbooks Payroll also helps you offer and manage health, retirement, and workers’ compensation benefits for your employees.

With Quickbooks Payroll, you can pay employees by direct deposit the day after running payroll at no extra cost. Pricing starts at $85 per month plus $6 per employee per month.