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Wave Payroll Review
Wave Payroll's simple, low-cost features may be basic but they're well-suited for small businesses needing an affordable all-in-one accounting and payroll solution.
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Expert Analyst & Reviewer
UPDATED
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Wave Payroll
| Total Rating | 4.0 |
|---|---|
| Pricing | Excellent |
| Features | Poor |
| Customer Service | Fair |
| Reviews | Good |
| Integrations | Fair |
Payroll Processing Time
Four daysPricing
Starting at $20/month + $6 per person paidBusiness Size
Small businesses with up to 20 usersWave Payroll At A Glance
- Wave Payroll (formerly known as Payroll by Wave) is a payroll solution designed for small businesses looking for essential payroll features, including direct deposit, tax support, deductions, employee paystub access, and more.
- Starting at $20/month + $6 per person paid, Wave Payroll is one of the more affordable basic payroll solutions on the market.
- As Wave Payroll’s full-service payroll is limited to just 14 states, offers very limited benefits administration, and lacks built-in HR tools, it’s not a great option for businesses that want their payroll taxes handled for them or that have complex payroll needs.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Inexpensive
- Offers integrations through Zapier
Cons
- Full-service not available in all 50 states
- Limited features
- Lacks HR tools
- No time tracking
Table of Contents
What Is Wave Payroll?
Wave Payroll is a simple payroll solution for small businesses needing basic payroll features, such as direct deposit, deductions, check-printing, and much more. The software’s seamless integration with Wave’s accounting makes Wave a great option for businesses looking for an all-in-one accounting and payroll solution.
Wave payroll offers many basic payroll features and work seamless with Wave’s accounting features like invoicing, expense tracking, and basic inventory reporting. Its full-service model is a definite rival of Intuit QuickBooks, but Wave offers a more modern and basic interface at a cheaper price point.
Wave Review Video
Don’t have time to read our full review? Watch this quick video to see what we like about Wave.
Wave Payroll Pricing
| Wave Payroll Plans | Price | When To Use |
|---|---|---|
| Wave Payroll Self Service States | $20/month + $6 per employee paid | If you need DIY payroll tax support for a team of up to 20 individuals |
| Wave Payroll Tax Service States | $35/month + $6 per employee | If you need full-service payroll in a valid state for up to 20 team members |
In addition to offering a free 30-day trial, Wave Payroll’s subscription-based pricing model is transparent, with no setup fees or hidden charges. Wave Payroll’s two pricing packages, Tax Service States and Self Service States, respectively offer full-service and self-service payroll.
Wave Payroll’s full-service payroll package is only available in 14 states, including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Customers in the other 36 states are consigned to Wave Payroll’s self-service package by default and must handle payroll taxes by themselves.
Wave Payroll Self Service States
Wave Payroll’s Self Service States plan costs $20/month + $6 per person paid and includes:
- Direct deposit
- Scheduled payroll runs
- Calculates paychecks
- Self-service check printing
- Employee self-service portal
- Calculations for vacations, benefits, PTO
Wave Payroll Tax Service States
Full-service is $35/month + $6 per person and includes everything from Self Service States, plus:
- Tax filing and reporting services
Extra Wave Payroll Costs & Fees
| Wave Payroll Extra Costs | Price |
|---|---|
| Wave Payments | Starts at 2.9% + $0.60 per credit card transaction |
| Wave Advisors | Starts at $149/month |
| Worker's Compensation | Variable |
Outside of worker’s compensation insurance through Next Insurance, there are no extra costs or fees associated with Wave Payroll’s services. However, if your business intends to use any of Wave’s other software tools, you’ll need to cover the costs associated with each tool or service.
More specifically, Wave Payments pricing starts at 2.9% + $0.60 per credit card transaction and 1% per transaction for AHC payments. If your business needs tax, bookkeeping, or accounting advisory services, Wave Advisor will provide them at a starting price of $149/month.
Is Wave Payroll Easy To Use?
If you are already accustomed to Wave Accounting, Wave Payroll’s cloud-based system will seem familiar and easy to get used to. Wave Payroll is great for those needing a simple interface, intuitive categories, and not a ton of ways to get turned around inside of a program.
However, despite its simplicity, onboarding new employees can be a bit cumbersome, although Wave has a self-onboarding option for companies to offer to employees.
Features
| Feature | Availability |
|---|---|
| Auto-Schedule Payroll | |
| Payroll Tax Support | (Tax Service States plan only) |
| Bonus Payroll | |
| Off-Cycle Payroll | |
| Employee Management | |
| Paid Time Off | |
| Time Tracking | (Timesheet management) |
| Reporting | |
| HR Support | |
| Onboarding Support | |
| Benefits Administration | (Worker’s compensation only) |
While the software provides just enough features to run payroll, there are so many basic features missing that you’d expect from payroll processing software. Wave Payroll doesn’t support off-cycle payroll runs, multistate payroll is a technicality, full-service tax support is nonexistent in 36 states, built-in time-tracking isn’t a thing, and the list goes on. What you may gain in affordability, you lose in functionality.
However, that’s not to say that Wave Payroll is bad payroll software. On the contrary, it’s a great payroll software for businesses with basic payroll needs. Additionally, Wave is perfect for small businesses already using Wave products or businesses looking to integrate simple accounting software with payroll software.
Drill down to learn more about Wave Payroll’s specific features.
Payroll Processing
Wave Payroll offers all the basic features necessary to run payroll but not much else.
Here’s a look at Wave Payroll’s payroll processing features:
- Scheduled payroll runs
- Direct deposit
- Check-printing
- Pay employees and 1099 contractors
- Payroll tax support (Tax Service States plan only)
- Payroll reports
- Timesheet management
- Four-day payroll processing
Employee Management & PTO
Similar to its payroll processing features, Wave Payroll offers just enough employee management and PTO features to be functional.
Wave Payroll’s employee management and PTO features include:
- Employee portal
- Downloadable W-2s and 1099s
- Set and manage PTO policies
- Edit employee information
- Employees can view pay stubs
- PTO accrual
Time Tracking
Wave Payroll doesn’t offer time-tracking features beyond timesheet management. Users will need to rely on one of Wave Payroll’s time-tracking integrations to use that integration with payroll.
- Time-tracking integrations
- Timesheet management
- Time clock calculator
Tax Support
Wave Payroll’s full-service payroll tax support is currently only available in 14 states, but there are goals to expand full-service options nationwide in the future.
If your business is on Wave Payroll’s Tax Services State plan, you can expect the following payroll tax features:
- Federal and state tax calculation, filing, and payment
- New-hire reporting
Reports
At the moment, Wave has limited reporting options. There are currently 13 different reports available, and only two are specific to payroll.
- 13 built-in reports
- Customizable reports options
- Two payroll reports
HR & Onboarding
Wave Payroll doesn’t include HR features, and its onboarding features are limited to new hire self-guided onboarding. Simply add your new hire’s email address, and they’ll be sent an onboarding checklist to complete.
Here’s what you can expect from Wave Payroll’s HR and onboarding features:
- Self-managed employee onboarding
- Manually add new hires
Wave Payroll Customer Service
| Wave Payroll Support | Availability |
|---|---|
| Phone Support | |
| Email Support | |
| Support Tickets | |
| Live Chat | |
| Dedicated Support Representative | |
| Knowledge Base or Help Center | |
| Videos & Tutorials | |
| Company Blog | |
| Social Media |
While Wave Payroll offers live support through text and email from 9 AM to 5 PM EST, the software lacks phone support. For the busy business owner, Wave Payroll’s customer service options are limited and may not be useful in an emergency.
However, Wave Payroll’s help center is fully-fledged and consistently updated. Additionally, posts in Wave’s community forum get addressed quickly.
Wave Payroll Reviews
Businesses that use Wave Payroll are generally happy about their experience. The software receives 4.2/5 stars on Capterra (based on 56 ratings).
While the complaints are few, some negative experiences include frustration at the lack of features and reporting options, plus an inability to talk to a real human (compounded by Mave the Bot’s occasionally confusing responses to questions).
Negative Wave Payroll Reviews & Complaints
- Limited integrations
- Limited features
- No phone support
Positive Wave Payroll Reviews
- Easy to use
- Affordable
Wave Payroll Integrations
Wave Payroll doesn’t publish a list of its integrations but does integrate with Google Sheets and Zapier, which functions as a bridge to over 1,000 applications. It also has an open API and, of course, integration with native Wave software.
Wave has recently discontinued several integrations, including ADP, Etsy, Shopify, and PayPal.
Is Wave Payroll Secure?
Wave Payroll’s security measures are on par with those of banking institutions. The platform works hard to keep your data safe.
Wave Payroll’s security features include:
- 256-bit data encryption
- Read-only bank connection
- Internal fraud prevention system
- PCI-DSS compliance
- Tokenization
Final Verdict: Is Wave Payroll Worth It?
| Wave Payroll Review | |
|---|---|
| Business Size | Small businesses with up to 20 users |
| Pricing | From $20/month + 6 per person paid to $35/month + $6 per person paid |
| Choose If You Need |
|
Wave is an excellent option for payroll and accounting software for small businesses. Wave’s entire mission is to bring robust accounting, payments, and payroll programs to more small businesses. If you already love using Wave’s free accounting software and don’t mind a simple payroll system without a ton of robust features, Wave’s payroll software could be a solid, inexpensive fit.
However, any business looking to offer healthcare options, a 401(k), or needs to send garnishments will find Wave Payroll lacking. And if you have more than 20 employees, Wave Payroll isn’t your best choice. You’ll get more bang for your buck with one of our top payroll software choices instead.
Check out our Gusto review or SurePayroll review for comparable options with stronger payroll features and HR support. Each of these Wave Payroll alternatives offers more support and operates in more states than Wave.
Wave Payroll FAQs
Davina Ward
Expert Analyst & Reviewer
Davina joined Merchant Maverick in 2022, covering small business payroll and accounting. She began writing for small businesses in 2018 and has since gained expertise in the SaaS industry. She earned her Bachelor’s of Arts in English Literature from SUNY Geneseo in 2018. She currently resides in New York.
View Davina Ward's professional experience on LinkedIn.
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The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
| Wave Payroll
|
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Wave Payroll for yourself.
The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
| Wave Payroll
|
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Wave Payroll for yourself.
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