10 Best Canadian Payroll Software for CAD Businesses in 2023

ADP Workforce Now is an all-in-one cloud-based platform that offers functionality like time tracking, benefits, HR, talent, and payroll management. Since you can manage your entire workforce from their single dashboard, you’ll never again have to waste time toggling between platforms to find what you need. This solution also boasts enterprise-grade data security and comprehensive privacy practices.

ADP’s single dashboard reduces manual data entry by pre-populating data across workflows in real time, so you can enter information once and move on to more important tasks. Proactive error detection sends alerts to reduce mistakes and ensure accurate payroll processing.

Standout Features and Integrations:

Features include automated online payroll processing, a self-serve app for employees, in-house payroll experts, time tracking, HR data management tools, and tax calculation and remittance tools.

Integrations include accounting solutions like Quickbooks, Wave, and Xero, ERPs like Oracle, SAP, and Workday, time and attendance solutions like Clock Shark, Deputy, and Dolce, and recruiting and onboarding solutions like GoodHire, Sapling, and Zip Recruiter.

Pricing for ADP Workforce Now is available upon request and is based on the size of your organization and the features you’d like integrated. They do not provide a free trial option.

Deel is a global HR solution with global payroll features that companies can run even without supervision. This software can run payroll in over 90 different countries worldwide, including Canada, while also streamlining operations, and eliminating problems with handling taxes, local compliance, and benefits.

Deel's payroll software helps Canadian businesses stay compliant with relevant Canadian regulations. Canadian businesses won’t have to worry about taxes, compliance, government declarations, and calculations as Deel will handle everything for them.

Companies can get their entire team operational with Deel in just a month, which is impressive since other payroll providers often take many months to finish the payroll setup process. Subscribing to one of Deel’s plans with payroll functionalities can help Canadian businesses expand and hire more talent abroad while ensuring compliance with all relevant regulations by being able to handle taxes, provide benefits, and handle local, legal, tax, and accounting expertise.

Standout Features and Integrations:

Features include an easy-to-use platform that unifies EOR (employer of record) services, contractor payments, and payroll management. Deel’s in-house payroll team processes payroll directly and provides end users with support to resolve any issues within your payroll process. In addition, Deel can help you offer localized benefits for staff based within Canada or any other location they support.

Integrations include Ashby, BambooHR, Expensify, Greenhouse, Hibob, Netsuite, Okta, OneLogin, Quickbooks, SCIM, Xero, Workday, and Workable. They also have an API that supports additional custom integrations as well.

Pricing for Deel is a flat rate and varies depending on the country you're based in and the type of plan you select. They offer three plans: Direct Employees, Contractors, or EOR Employees. Payroll handling features are only available in the Direct Employees and EOR Employees packages.

Rise is a Canadian payroll software that places compliance first. Their solution has been designed to make sure that small business owners and large enterprises alike are paying and remitting taxes on time and with accuracy in accordance with both provincial and federal regulations. If you’re thinking about switching from an existing payroll provider, Rise will even talk to the CRA and government agencies on your behalf, to ensure that the transition runs smoothly and without errors or oversights.

Flexibility is huge for Rise, and they make sure to offer customization as a standard feature. For example, you can run payroll as many times as you need, cancel a pay run, make payments off-cycle, or even pay out a bonus without having to calculate tax. Automatic tax remittance is built in via a Canadian tax engine that’s compliant with all regulations.

Standout Features and Integrations:

Integrations include Freshbooks, Intuit Quickbooks, WealthSimple, and Xero.

Features include employee benefits, time management, recruiting, onboarding, time off requests, scheduling, time tracking, and unlimited pay runs.

Pricing for Rise begins at $6 per employee per month. A $30 minimum monthly base fee applies for small businesses with less than 20 employees. A 90-day free trial is available for their Optimize module.

Papaya Global is a global payroll platform offering smart, simple, and streamlined payroll solutions for many companies worldwide, including ones in Canada. Their global payroll platform supports 160+ countries and comes with payroll, compliance, benefits, and HR features that are suited for global businesses. Using this solution allows companies to comply with Canadian regulations, including SOC2.

Using Papaya Global, Canadian businesses receive a robust payroll solution that handles their local payroll needs, plus the added ability to hire talent abroad while also ensuring that they comply with all relevant regulations. New customers will be able to go live with the platform quickly, get 360-degree visibility on their workforce spending, and boost productivity and performance when using their solution.

Standout Features and Integrations:

Features include numerous payroll automations for payroll calculations, tax filing, compliance, equities, and time and attendance tracking. Businesses can also access all their data from one intuitive dashboard, giving them a comprehensive view of their entire workforce. From there they can request standardized reports and handle risk-free payroll payments without leaving the platform.

Integrations are available with most financial tools, as well as with BambooHR, Expensify, NetSuite, SAP SuccessFactors, and Workday.

Pricing for Papaya Global varies depending on the end user’s use case and country. They charge a setup fee per location, a cycle fee per employee, and a year-end fee for tax filing. Papaya Global does not charge any additional fees.

If you’re a current Xero user with simple payroll needs, this add-on is an excellent option. While Xero is quick to mention that larger teams with more complex payrolls may need to integrate a third-party app, small teams in Canada with only a few employees will find this functionality offers everything they need.

With the payroll option, Xero users can manually input vacation leave, hourly rate, hours, and taxes, and calculate deductions. To run payroll that is recurring, you’re able to copy a previous pay run and make changes to keep it current. Pay stubs can also be emailed or printed directly from Xero.

Standout Features and Integrations:

Features include simple online pay runs, pay records, salary and wage payments, and vacation leave.

Integrations include Capsule CRM, DEAR Inventory, Deputy, Expensify, EzzyBills, HubSpot, Tradify, and WorkflowMax. It’s worth noting that Xero also integrates with a number of the other software named in this list, in case you’re an existing Xero user but your needs are beyond what their payroll functionality can offer.

Pricing for Xero begins at $17 per month and plans are based on the extent of your needs. Xero also offers a free trial.

Ceridian Dayforce is a recognized HCM leader with a team of in-house compliance experts who remain continuously on top of regulatory changes. You can also offload day-to-day benefits administration and payroll entirely to their team, freeing up your time to focus on other tasks. This payroll software is an excellent solution for Canadian companies who plan to scale internationally, given that Ceridian supports payroll delivery in more than 160 countries. 

Ceridian’s consolidated pay and time engine simplifies the payroll process while increasing accuracy with real-time calculations. Ceridian will manage and file taxes on your behalf, aligning with all provincial and federal regulations. Employees can also access their pay stubs and tax information directly with their self-serve feature. 

Standout Features and Integrations:

Features include talent management, real-time audits, smart benefits, workforce management, managed payroll, and streamlined HR tools.

Integrations include CIBC SmartBanking for Business and QuickBooks.

Pricing for Ceridian Dayforce is available upon request, and a 60-day free trial is available.

Restaurants have very specific payroll needs, and Push Operations has developed a software to meet them. This fully integrated cloud-based payroll software boasts clients in Canada like Wendy’s, Boston Pizza, A&W, and Denny’s. Push operations allows users to streamline hours into payroll, saving time that would normally be spent manually inputting time calculations for employees serving a variety of shifts.

Push Operations can be used as a standalone payroll software, or you can take advantage of all the features as a comprehensive employee management suite. Push will calculate and pay taxes on your behalf, assist you in pulling T4s and ROEs, and can pay your employees by direct deposit or cheque. Push makes it easy to pay employees who have multiple rates (like overtime) and will monitor split shift premiums and minimum tip top-offs.

Standout Features and Integrations:

Features include regulatory compliance, onboarding, self-serve pay stubs, time tracking, real-time payroll reporting, and one-click payroll processing.

Integrations include Avero, CTUIT, Focus POS systems, Greenline POS, HIK Vision, Par, Squirrel Systems, Ultipro, and Upserve.

Pricing for Push starts at $11 per employee, per month for their Starter + Payroll plan. A free demo is also available. 

If you’re a Canadian small business owner who needs to set up payroll ASAP, Knit is the software for you. This cloud-based tool is designed to be easy to adopt, promising speedy setup with accurate payroll from day one. In a single click, users can calculate payroll and remit taxes to the CRA based on their specific scheduling needs. You can pull ROEs and employee reports, address EHTs and WSIB, and store T4s for employees to have self-serve access. Pay cheques can be direct deposited into employee bank accounts.

If your business needs support beyond the basics, Knit offers a support team of Canadian payroll experts. Users have the option of asking questions and managing payroll themselves, or outsourcing payroll management for Knit to conduct on your behalf. 

Standout Features and Integrations:

Features include direct deposit, tax filing, automatic payroll calculations, WCB and EHT remittances, and online pay stubs.

Integrations include QuickBooks Online, TSheets, and Xero.

Pricing for Knit starts at $43 per month and the tool offers a 30-day free trial.

We can probably all agree that less is more when it comes to software solutions. The QuickBooks payroll services function allows QuickBooks users to remain within a familiar interface while covering all their payroll needs. If you’re currently using QuickBooks for accounting, the ability to run payroll through a single interface (and without investing time to learn a new tool) makes this an appealing option.

With QuickBooks, you can run payroll with multiple pay schedules and frequencies, establish sick leave and vacation policies, track time, and file taxes directly. QuickBooks prepares all your year-end forms like T4s and RL1, and fills in ROEs on your behalf. Their secure employee portal provides your team with self-serve pay stubs and vacation tracking, and when you onboard you’ll have a dedicated payroll specialist to help set you up, with free support throughout the process.

Standout Features and Integrations:

Features include time tracking, tax filing, payroll runs, easy access to forms, an employee portal for self-serve, workers compensation, and free onboarding.

Integrations include Gusto, BigTime, Method:CRM, Shopify, Square, and PayPal.

Pricing for QuickBooks starts at $25.50 per month, with an additional $4 per employee per month. Users can also take advantage of their 30-day free trial. 

Wagepoint serves over 20,000 small businesses in Canada and boasts a 99.9% uptime reliability record. This user-friendly payroll software solution was designed to be intuitive and easy-to-use, offering an extensive library of tips and guides to help get you started. Wagepoint emphasizes the human aspect of their platform and aims to provide “friendly, caring” support, making it an excellent choice for small businesses who are new to payroll services.

Wagepoint enables you to pay employees via direct deposit, generate and submit ROEs, and automate all your Canadian taxation compliance including federal and provincial/territorial income tax, CPP/QPP, EI/QPIP, and year-end T4 and T4As. Incomes, deductions, paid time off, workers compensation and employer health tax/health services fund are all automatically calculated for you.

Standout Features and Integrations:

Features include automated payroll taxes, direct deposit, self-serve access to pay stubs, responsive customer service, ability to pay employees and freelancers, year-end T4s and reporting, and paid time off tracking.

Integrations include 7shifts, Deputy, Slack, QuickBooks, uAttend, and Xero.

Pricing for Wagepoint is available upon request and is based on your number of employees and how often you pay them. A free trial is also available.