Written by: Natalie Fell
Natalie is a writer with experience in operations, HR, and training & development within the software, healthcare, and financial services sectors.
Reviewed by: Daniel Eisner
Daniel Eisner is a payroll specialist with over a decade of practical experience in senior accounting positions.
Updated on July 14, 2023
Payroll is an absolutely crucial business process, and because it’s often complex and tedious many entrepreneurs rely on a professional payroll service to do the job.
Two of the leading online services to consider are Square and QuickBooks. To help you determine which is better, and which might be best for you and your business, we have thoroughly reviewed their services by putting ourselves in the shoes of an entrepreneur.
Read on to make the choice that will keep your business on the surest path to success.
QuickBooks is the winner, because it offers more important features and more value for the price.
Explore QuickbooksSquare has essentially one full-service payroll plan that includes tax filings. They also have a contractor-only plan that you can use to pay contractors and generate 1099s.
QuickBooks has three plans, all of which include full multi-state payroll services. Their plans include health care benefits and 401K plans.
The full service payroll plan offered by Square is $35 plus $5 per employee per month, and includes tax filings. Their Contractor-only plan is $5 per month per person paid.
QuickBooks has three plans. The QuickBooks base plan is $45 per month plus $5 per employee per month. It offers full-service payroll, including W-2s and 1099s and tax filings, and health insurance benefits and 401K plans.
QuickBooks’ middle plan, at $75 per month plus $8 per employee per month, offers same-day direct deposit and mobile time tracking for employees. You’ll also have HR support and workers’ compensation administration.
QuickBooks’ top-tier plan is $125 per month plus $10 per employee per month. It has the unique benefit of tax penalty protection: if you’re fined for late tax filings, QuickBooks will cover it up to $25,000, subject to terms and conditions. You’ll also have a personal HR advisor.
The Square Plan is less expensive than the QuickBooks plan, but QuickBooks offers health care benefits and 401K plans.
| Square | QuickBooks | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $35 per month plus $5 per employee per month | $45 per month plus $5 per employee per month |
| Payroll service and tax filings | Included | Included |
| W-2s and 1099s | Included | Included |
| Time cards and employee app | Included | Included |
| Track and import tips and commission | Included | Not included |
| Live support for account setup | Included | Not included |
| Free seasonal inactivity | Included | Not included |
| Health care benefits and 401Ks | Not included | Included |
| Customer Support | Included | Included |
The site is user-friendly. The plans are easy to find, with good detail on features and pricing. You can even get more information on each individual service. It’s laid out well and easy to understand.
Once you view the plans, you can select one to get started.
Once you make your selection you’ll enter your name, email, and a password.
Then you’ll go through a series of questions about your business, starting with your business name and type, business address, and number of employees.
Once you enter all the information, your account setup is complete and you’re taken to your dashboard.
To start the service, you’ll enter your tax information, employee details, and bank account information. The whole process was quite simple and streamlined.
We received a welcome email within a few minutes of signing up.
Square Payroll has a mobile app for employers, where you can manage your payroll, import hours, and view the details of your account including tax filings. They also have an app for employees to clock in and clock out, manage their schedule, and view their earnings.
Both apps are convenient and offer more than some competitors.
The site is quite user-friendly overall, and information is easy to find. If you have all your information handy, you can complete the signup and start the service within about 30 minutes. The site does not try to upsell you any products during the process.
We tested all three forms of Square Payroll customer support.
The chat feature on the site is automated and just gives you various topics you can choose from to get more information. It was not very helpful. However, you can type in “contact” and it will take you to a form on which you can ask your question.
We asked:
“Do you offer the option of both direct deposit and paper checks with your payroll service?”
We asked the question early on Friday afternoon and by Monday midday we had still not received a response.
Support Rating:
Response time:
Reasonable
The only way we could find a phone number for Square was through the automated chat feature. When you type in “contact” it gives you the option of email or phone contact. When you select phone, it gives you the number.
Support Rating:
Response time:
Reasonable
We were on hold for about one minute before our call was answered. We asked the same question about paper check and direct deposit options.
The representative put us on hold for less than 30 seconds before returning to tell us that yes, both are an option. She was very friendly and professional.
There is no email support other than the form we filled out to get an email response when we tested the chat feature.
Support Rating:
Response time:
Reasonable
The site is quite user-friendly. The plans are easy to find, with good detail on features and pricing. You can even get more information on each individual service. It’s laid out well and easy to understand.
When you view all the packages, you’re advised to select one to set up an account. After you select your plan, you’re offered bundled plans that include QuickBooks accounting features. You can select one of those plans, or select “just payroll”.
Then you go to checkout, where you’ll set up your account and password. The next step is to enter credit card information, which is unusual, as most competitors do not charge clients until the first payroll run.
This means that with Quickbooks you need to be absolutely certain of your choices when you’re setting up your account.
QuickBooks has a robust mobile app for employers. You can enter employee hours, submit payroll, view payroll taxes and forms, and even pay payroll taxes. They also have an app for employees to track their hours and clock in or clock out.
Th employers’ app is far superior to those of competitors. Many payroll services do not even have an app for employers to manage payroll.
The site is quite user-friendly and information is easy to find. The only issue was that new clients must pay immediately when they sign-up, which seems a bit aggressive. Otherwise, the site is not very “salesy” and just guides visitors to the optimal plan. Overall, a pleasant customer experience.
We tested all three forms of QuickBooks customer support, as detailed below.
We asked chat support a simple question – do you offer the option of paying employees by direct deposit or paper check? She asked us several questions before saying she had to route us to a sales person, and asked for our email and phone number.
This was disappointing as we just wanted a simple answer – which we never got.
Support Rating:
Response time:
Reasonable
Phone customer support is only available if you have an account. Non-customers can only contact sales, so we did and asked the same question. The answer was yes, both are available, but we were also pressed to sign up.
Support Rating:
Response time:
Reasonable
Again, email support is only available if you have an account.
Support Rating:
Response time:
Reasonable
After a thorough assessment, we have determined that QuickBooks has broader service offerings and more options. With QuickBooks you’ll receive better overall support. The main advantage of Square is their lower price, but QuickBooks gives you more for your money.
As a leading human resources advisory site, we take our responsibilities seriously. We understand that countless entrepreneurs, and potential entrepreneurs, rely on our judgments and insights, particularly when it comes to managing their business.
As a result, our writers do their utmost to gain a comprehensive understanding of the services offered and the actual customer experience. In this case, we:
Thanks to this full immersion in the actual customer experience, our reviewer and team are able to provide the most complete and insightful comparison of Square and QuickBooks payroll services.
A payroll service handles the payroll process for you, making it nearly seamless and automated while offering additional services that can make life easier for a business owner. The service takes care of all the red tape so you can focus on building a successful business.
The Employee and Contractor plan offers full-service payroll for employees and contractors including W-2s and 1099s and all tax filings.
The Contractor Only plan includes payments to contractors and 1099s.
The Core plan offers full-service payroll including W-2s and 1099s and tax filings. It also includes health insurance and 401K administration.
The Premium plan has the added benefit of same-day direct deposit, as opposed to next day in the Core plan. With the plan, you’ll also have access to an HR support center and receive workers’ compensation administration.
Payroll is an absolutely crucial business process, and because it’s often complex and tedious many entrepreneurs rely on a professional payrollser ...
Payroll is an absolutely crucial business process, and because it’s often complex and tedious many entrepreneurs rely on a professional payrollser ...
Payroll is an absolutely crucial business process, and because it’s often complex and tedious many entrepreneurs rely on a professional payrollser ...