--- title: "Payroll Relief Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra" description: "With the help of Capterra, learn about Payroll Relief Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Payroll products and more." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/151189/Payroll-Relief/" page_type: "product" language: "en" --- # Payroll Relief Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on August 3, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Integrations](#integrations)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) Payroll Relief ## What is Payroll Relief? Designed exclusively for accountants and independent payroll providers, Payroll Relief offers a powerful cloud-based payroll processing center, so you can offer highly profitable, fully automated payroll services with zero compliance headaches. Set up Payroll Relief to automatically perform direct deposit, tax payment, tax form e-filing, and child support tasks, on time, with 100% accuracy - guaranteed. That's why 65% of our customers have seen 25% or more improvement in their payroll practice. ## What is Payroll Relief used for? [Payroll](https://www.capterra.com/payroll-software/)[Direct Deposit Payroll](https://www.capterra.com/direct-deposit-payroll-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 41 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 56% Neutral 17% Negative 27% ### Starting price Free trial not available Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for Payroll Relief?[Manage this product listing](https://digitalmarkets.gartner.com/get-listed/claim-bx?url=https://www.iris.co.uk/&name=Payroll Relief) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### Payroll Relief 3.5 (41) VS. [4.8 (4,306)](https://www.capterra.com/p/205015/Deel/reviews/) Starting Price Contact vendor Starting Price $5 Per User, Per Month Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 3.7 (41) Ease Of Use 4.8 (4,306) Value For Money 3.4 (41) Value For Money 4.7 (3,955) Customer Service 3.4 (41) Customer Service 4.7 (4,056) ## Payroll Relief alternatives Highest Rated [4.9 (4,859)](https://www.capterra.com/p/172127/Rippling/reviews/) Starting price $8.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 98% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.3 (1,926)](https://www.capterra.com/p/86714/WebPay/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 87% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.8 (3,965)](https://www.capterra.com/p/116050/Patriot-Software/reviews/) Starting price $17.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 97% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.6 (4,220)](https://www.capterra.com/p/131882/Gusto/reviews/) Starting price $49.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 93% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/151189/Payroll-Relief/alternatives/) ## FAQs about Payroll Relief Overview ### Which roles and teams benefit most from Payroll Relief? Payroll Relief is most used by accounting firm leaders, payroll administrators, and finance teams that manage recurring client payroll. Presidents, owners, partners, CPAs, bookkeepers, and controllers use it to streamline payroll processing, tax filings, compliance tasks, and reporting, while office and operations managers rely on it to reduce manual work and keep payroll schedules accurate. Answer based on 41 reviews Overview ### What company size and industries is Payroll Relief built for? Payroll Relief is designed for accountants and independent payroll processors, with 97% of reviewers from small businesses and 87% from accounting firms. It primarily serves the accounting industry, with limited use in civil engineering and hospitality, each representing 3% of reviewers, and minimal midsize business adoption at 3%. Answer based on 41 reviews Talk to an expert ### More questions? Ask our experts Features and Usability ### What are the key features of Payroll Relief? Payroll Relief offers payroll management, payroll reporting, tax calculation, tax filing, and compliance management for payroll processing. It also includes direct deposit, check printing, wage garnishment, and multi-state support, plus employee self service, time tracking, vacation/leave tracking, accounting integration, and customizable reports. Integrations ### Which third-party tools and platforms does Payroll Relief integrate with? Payroll Relief integrates with QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Payroll, Sage 50cloud Payroll, and time and attendance tools, including Time & Attendance Tracking Software, Time and Attendance, and Time and Attendance Software. It supports six listed integrations for payroll processing, accounting handoff, and attendance data management. Answer based on 5 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What training and onboarding options does Payroll Relief offer? Payroll Relief provides in person training, live online sessions, webinars, documentation, and videos to help teams get started. In person and live online formats support guided instruction, webinars cover scheduled group learning, documentation offers written reference material, and videos provide self-paced visual guidance. Answer based on 4 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What customer support options does Payroll Relief offer? Payroll Relief provides email/help desk, FAQ/forum, knowledge base, phone support, 24/7 live rep, and chat. Reviewer feedback on support is mixed, with some users reporting slow responses, unhelpful answers, and chat sessions ending abruptly, while others rely on direct phone or chat help for urgent payroll questions. Answer based on 9 reviews ## Features AI summary Based on 17,833 Payroll reviews Capterra data shows that buyers of payroll software rank the following features as their top priorities: - **Payroll Management** (**58%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical) - **Direct Deposit** (**58%**) - **Payroll Reporting** (**51%**) Payroll Relief supports all three of the features reviewers value most: **Payroll Management**, **Direct Deposit**, and **Payroll Reporting**. Together, these capabilities help businesses process payroll accurately, pay employees on time through direct deposit, and track payroll data with clear reporting, allowing teams to manage compensation more efficiently and maintain better financial oversight. Payroll Management 3.3 (3) 100.00% of 3 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Manage employee salary processes, data, taxes, and records administration efficiently Payroll Reporting 3.6 (10) 70.00% of 10 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important View and track payroll metrics including tax liabilities, pay rates, working hours, deductions and more Employee Database 1.0 (1) 100.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Electronic storage of staff/employee contact information and job status in a centralized repository Tax Compliance 3.1 (10) 80.00% of 10 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track tax-related transactions, tax remittance and tax reporting for various groups of employees and contractors W-2 Preparation 3.8 (8) 87.50% of 8 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Automatically create and distribute W-2/1099 tax forms to employees. Self Service Portal 3.3 (17) 58.82% of 17 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Online portal through which end users can access the system, manage tasks, or obtain information Payroll Relief 44 features ### All Features - 1099 Preparation: Generate, file and review 1099 tax forms for IRS (Internal Revenue Service) - 401(k) Tracking: Track 401(k) participant contributions and employer match - Access Controls/Permissions: Define levels of authorization for access to specific files or systems - Accounting: Built-in accounting to manage ledger, accounts payable/receivable, financial reports, etc. - Accounting Integration: Integrate with a third-party accounting system - Activity Dashboard: Dashboard to view the status of ongoing processes, identify current incidents and track past activities - Alerts/Notifications: Alerts or notifications of various types such as pop-up messages, sounds, banners, or badges - Auto Update: Automatic update of information / software - Batch Processing: Software's ability to perform similar action on multiple similar files simultaneously - Calendar Management: Track and manage schedules and meetings via an integrated calendar - Check Printing: Print paychecks issued to confirm payment of wages or salary - Compensation Management: Manages compensation such as salary, bonus, and benefits processes, aligning with policies - Compliance Management: Track and manage adherence to policies for any service, product, process, or supplier - Customizable Reports: Alter the layout and content of reports - Dashboard: Assembly of graphs and charts for visualizing and tracking statistics/metrics - Data Import/Export: Import and export data to and from software applications - Direct Deposit: Digitally deposit correct payroll amounts into individual employee's bank accounts - Document Management: Store, manage, and track all electronic documents in a centralized location - Employee Database: Electronic storage of staff/employee contact information and job status in a centralized repository - Employee Onboarding: Process of familiarizing new employees with the company, their position, and responsibilities - Employee Portal: Online portal where employees can access and track their own information - Employee Profiles: Centralized storage for employee data, records, and performance metrics - Employee Self Service: Gateway through which employees can access the system - For Accountants: Software specialized for accountants and accounting firms - For Mobile: Compatible with mobile devices - Mobile Access: Access software remotely via mobile devices - Multi-State: Pay employees in multiple states with correct tax deduction amounts in each - Onboarding: Process of familiarizing new clients, stakeholders or employees with the company, a new location, or a service - Payroll Management: Manage employee salary processes, data, taxes, and records administration efficiently - Payroll Outsourcing: Delegate payroll processing to third party vendors - Payroll Reporting: View and track payroll metrics including tax liabilities, pay rates, working hours, deductions and more - Reimbursement Management: Manage compensation for out-of-pocket expenses incurred by an employee, client or another party - Reminders: Timed notification for any upcoming task, deadline, appointment, or activity - Reporting & Statistics: Collection, analysis, and representation of numerical data and generation of reports to understand various patterns - Self Service Portal: Online portal through which end users can access the system, manage tasks, or obtain information - Tax Calculation: Calculate tax and make deductions on gross income from sources like wages, investments or self-employment - Tax Compliance: Track tax-related transactions, tax remittance and tax reporting for various groups of employees and contractors - Tax Filing: The completion of documentation that calculates earned income and the taxes to be paid, also called a tax return - Third-Party Integrations: Set up connections to third-party platforms to improve business processes - Time & Attendance: Track and manage employee's work hours to improve payroll accuracy - Time Tracking: Measure and track time including hours worked and paid time off (PTO) - Vacation/Leave Tracking: Request, track, and manage time off requests and vacation time - W-2 Preparation: Automatically create and distribute W-2/1099 tax forms to employees. - Wage Garnishment: Automatically subtract garnishments from wages --- Get Advice We can help you find the software with the features you need. Features 3.5 (41) 3.5 Based on 41 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 3.4 (41) ### Starting price Free trial not available Value for money 3.4 (41) 3.4 Based on 41 reviews ## Integrations [ QuickBooks Payroll](https://www.capterra.com/p/174981/QuickBooks/)[ Time and Attendance](https://www.capterra.com/p/73196/Zeus-Time-and-Attendance/)[ Sage 50cloud Payroll](https://www.capterra.com/p/233316/Sage-50cloud-Payroll/) Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs. ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 3.4 (41) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 3.4 (41) 3.4 Based on 41 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 3.5 Based on 41 reviews Filter by rating 5(18) 4(5) 3(7) 2(3) 1(8) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent SR Sam R. Practice Manager Veterinary ### "Don't Do It " 1.0 Overall Rating 1.0 1.0 Ease of Use 2.0 2.0 Features 1.0 1.0 Customer Service 1.0 1.0 Likelihood to Recommend 0/10 February 24, 2026 Terrible. I would never recommend anyone utilize this service if you want to have a smooth payroll process and get actual customer service. Pros The button to send employees a link to sign up for their own portal access actually works unlike the last software program. Cons Customer service is non existent. Good luck getting ahold of your payroll analyst or their direct report. The way they handled the transition to the new software was atrocious. The new software is still not very good. Not worth the stress they caused by changing everything at the last minute, right before the end of the year. No training on the new software, just "here is the link and good luck". Switched from [Thomas](https://www.capterra.com/p/86368/Thomas-Assessments/) Forced by IRIS the payroll company to switch to this system Alternatives considered [Gusto](https://www.capterra.com/p/131882/Gusto/) [Asure](https://www.capterra.com/p/159581/Payroll-Tax-Management/) [RUN Powered by ADP](https://www.capterra.com/p/185859/RUN/) Reasons for choosing Payroll Relief I did not choose them, we were forced to switch by IRIS Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. LT Luka T. Payroll manager Accounting ### "Great tool for small business owners " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 October 28, 2025 overall it has been great and it pretty easy to navigate. Love the cloud cabinet which it makes easier for employers to access to their reports and forms Pros Very simple and easy to setup the account for small business owners. Great tool and workflow friendly. Cons When you process payroll the earliest the employees can receive the amount is in two days. It would be better if it could only take 1 day. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. MS Mitchell S. Owner Accounting ### "Does an okay job, but watch out for price increases" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 6/10 July 16, 2025 It works for it's intended purpose. I've used it successfully for a couple of years now and don't have very many complaints, so it's doing it's job. But the company keeps increasing prices each year (this year a 7% increase after 10% last year) without adjusting any features, and it's a pretty expensive product to begin with. That being said, I'm comfortable enough with it that it's hard to change. Pros It's easy to scale the number of clients you have in Payroll Relief without adding a huge administrative burden. There are a decent amount of automatic filing options to make it easier. Cons It takes a while to get comfortable using the product, and there's very little customization with the product. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. WS Wayne S. President Accounting ### "STAY AWAY.." 2.0 Overall Rating 2.0 2.0 Ease of Use 2.0 2.0 Features 2.0 2.0 Customer Service 1.0 1.0 Likelihood to Recommend 1/10 October 14, 2024 Smooth sales people. Promise the moon but deliver nothing Pros Seems to work for a SIMPLE payroll with not many people Cons Lack of service, can't seem to handle complicated payrolls. They take your money and WILL NOT give it back when you decide to move on. They claim they don't have a refund policy. They bill by the number of checks projected to use for a one year period...but you didn't use them and they still won't refund your money. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY Switched from [QuickBooks Desktop](https://www.capterra.com/p/212058/QuickBooks-Desktop-Pro/) 900 numbers. QB can not handle them for reporting purposes Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. GS Greg S. President Accounting ### "Proceed with Caution" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 2.0 2.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 2/10 August 2, 2024 It was good at first, but it kept worsening over time. Pros Easy to use and navigate. Always for decent configuration for complicated payrolls. Cons The price keeps going up, and there are very last-minute notifications, many times on 15-day notice with no time to communicate an adjustment to client pricing. There are no new features or additional value to justify the increased pricing. Their competitors are almost the exact same cost with a lot more value, better accuracy, and files/pays all government jurisdictions. It doesn't file or pay all taxes (local specifically). Customer service is subpar, and there are more and more errors that keep occurring. Lastly, Payroll Relief places everything on the firm's shoulders. If they mess up, the firm has to pay. We are switching away to another software. Switched from [Patriot Software](https://www.capterra.com/p/116050/Patriot-Software/) It's similar to Payroll Relief but provides all the missing features. Plus, they take financial responsibility for errors they make and if the client bounces anything. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. JV Justine V. Operations Manager Accounting ### "DO NOT USE PRR" 1.0 Overall Rating 1.0 1.0 Ease of Use 1.0 1.0 Features 1.0 1.0 Customer Service 1.0 1.0 Likelihood to Recommend 0/10 July 29, 2024 I've spent so much extra time fixing errors caused by this software, attempting to get penalties abated, and dealing with their horrible support. There team is rude. They close cases without completing them. Support does NOT return calls and they take no accountability for the softwares errors. The system is not properly paying taxes but does not notify you that there is an underpaid amount, instead it just marks it paid when it is not. DO NOT USE Pros The cost was reasonable but you get what you pay for. Cons The support is HORRIBLE. Issues with returns being filed on time and accurately. Not taking responsibility for the software's mistakes. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. GT Gavin T. CPA Accounting ### "Great for Simple Payroll Clients" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 December 8, 2022 Overall Payroll Relief has been a great tool for our office. We have numerous clients whose only employees are the owners who are paid on salary. Being able to set up these clients and then process them all in bulk allows us to provide payroll for many more clients than if we were running them through QuickBooks or another service where we had to individually process each client. Pros The best part of this software is the ability to quickly process payroll for multiple clients and keep track of when payroll needs to be processed for each client. Cons The processing time for direct deposit is longer than it is for other services that are available. The shortest processing time is 2 business days which requires verifying the bank account with an online login. The requirement to wire funds to them when a direct deposit withdrawal is rejected due to insufficient funds is also cumbersome. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RP Raj P. Accountnat Accounting ### "not phone help at all" 1.0 Overall Rating 1.0 1.0 Ease of Use 1.0 1.0 Features 1.0 1.0 Customer Service 1.0 1.0 Likelihood to Recommend 0/10 October 31, 2022 very poorly describe what to do and no help from phone.i have just wasted $2100.00 Pros Software does not provide help at all. and it is very poorly design.payrolls should be very simple but this software make it very difficult Cons all of it.very poorly describe what to do and no help from phone.i have just wasted $2100.00 Switched from [QuickBooks Online](https://www.capterra.com/p/190778/QuickBooks-Online/) price but i think i made a big mistake Reasons for choosing Payroll Relief price but it was big mistake Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. LH Lisa H. President Accounting ### "Accountants and Bookkeepers - DO NOT PURCHASE THIS SOFTWARE" 1.0 Overall Rating 1.0 1.0 Ease of Use 1.0 1.0 Features 2.0 2.0 Customer Service 1.0 1.0 Likelihood to Recommend 0/10 August 8, 2022 I tried to ask them to refund even a small portion of the fees I prepaid as I had to transfer the majority of my clients over to QuickBooks Online Payroll to ease my clients minds. They refused and eventually stopped responding to my emails. I'm now using the software with a few very simple clients payrolls to try and utilize and recoup some of the money I paid, but there's no way I can put a larger client or one with complicated payroll on the software as I don't have the time to babysit the tax deductions and reporting features. One of my clients also just realized that they withdrew funds for one of the employees payroll which was to be direct deposited to their account, however, the direct deposit didn't show up. I contacted their support team to find out if there was a way we could trace the funds, they said no that they don't have access to that since they are no longer a client and then disconnected the chat on me. I just don't understand how it's possible that they don't have record of a payroll that happened just over a month ago. Their customer service is horrible and you can't get in touch with anyone higher up to escalate the situation. I would absolutely not recommend this software to anyone unless you want to invite stress into your life, the savings is not worth it. Pros The price could have been very affordable, however, I had to cancel my service due to errors within the software and they wouldn't refund my money. Cons I transferred about 25 of my client's payroll over to their software from Intuit Online Payroll. After the transfer we realized that the state of Utah withholdings weren't included on their calculations or payroll reports. I contacted them and let them know that and they had no answers for me and left me hanging for days. In the meantime, I had to explain to my clients the errors and this made them very uneasy about using the software, and understandably so, as calculating taxes and reporting should be the basics of a payroll software. Due to the fact that I had upcoming payrolls, (and I had no answers from support at this point) I had to make the decision to switch to another payroll software to keep everything running for my clients. At the point that this happened I was just over my initial 30 days to cancel and they would offer no refund or even partial refund of the $6000 I had to prepay. Alternatives considered [Patriot Software](https://www.capterra.com/p/116050/Patriot-Software/) Reasons for choosing Payroll Relief Pricing Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. PM Paul M. President Accounting ### "Works for me" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 3.0 3.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 7/10 June 28, 2022 Overall I'm happy with the software. I have also had an Accountants World website for 25+ years. Pros Robust features at a reasonable price. No software is perfect. I had PayCycle, which was simple and dependable. But Intuit messed that up. This software provides additional features, but is not as dependable as PayCycle. Cons There is a learning curve because the software does have its quirks. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/151189/Payroll-Relief/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. Popular comparisons [Deel vs Payroll Relief](https://www.capterra.com/compare/151189-205015/Payroll-Relief-vs-Deel)