Payroll: requirements checklist
From the guide at bestfinancesoftware.com/guides/payroll, published 29 October 2026. Use your browser's print command; the site header and footer are left off the page.
| Requirement | Vendor A | Vendor B | Vendor C |
|---|
| Must have |
|---|
| Federal, state and local tax withholding, deposits and filings in every place you employ. | | | |
| A clear statement of which filings and deposits the provider makes in your name, and on what schedule. | | | |
| Year-end forms for employees, and corrections when they are wrong. | | | |
| Payroll journal entries mapped to your ledger, by department and entity. | | | |
| Access controls on pay changes, with an audit log of who changed whose pay. | | | |
| Depends on you |
|---|
| Benefits administration and carrier feeds, if you offer benefits. | | | |
| Time and attendance, if you pay hourly staff. | | | |
| Global payroll or employer of record, if you hire abroad. | | | |
| HR records, onboarding and device management in the same system. | | | |
Questions to ask in the demo
- Which returns and deposits will you make in our name, in which jurisdictions, and how do we see confirmation of each?
- If you make an error that causes a penalty, what does the contract say you pay?
- Show a pay change, its approval and the audit log.
- Show the journal entry for one payroll in our chart of accounts.
- How do we confirm tax deposits independently, and how do your reports line up with EFTPS?
- What does an off-cycle payroll cost, and how fast can you run one?
Back to the guide, with the reasons behind each item and the vendors described from their own pages.