Payroll by Wave vs. Square Payroll

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Payroll by Wave
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Wave Accounting headquartered in Toronto now offers Payroll by Wave, a payroll app for small businesses.N/A
Square Payroll
Score 6.1 out of 10
N/A
Square Payroll is a payroll solution for hourly employees, from Square headquartered in San Francisco, California.N/A
Pricing
Payroll by WaveSquare Payroll
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Payroll by WaveSquare Payroll
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details——
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Payroll by WaveSquare Payroll
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Payroll by WaveSquare Payroll
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
9.4
3 Ratings
13% above category average
Square Payroll
7.8
6 Ratings
6% below category average
Pay calculation10.03 Ratings8.96 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors9.02 Ratings8.65 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment9.02 Ratings4.44 Ratings
Benefit plan administration9.01 Ratings9.15 Ratings
Direct deposit files10.03 Ratings7.06 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.03 Ratings8.94 Ratings
Reimbursement management10.01 Ratings7.85 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Payroll by WaveSquare Payroll
Small Businesses
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Payroll by WaveSquare Payroll
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(4 ratings)
4.7
(8 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.9
(2 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Payroll by WaveSquare Payroll
Likelihood to Recommend
Wave
Great for small business payroll needs. Reports and taxes are taken care of, everything is automated and once you're set up it's literally just a matter of minutes to run payroll each time. You also get email reminders which is helpful. There are premium features available for companies with larger/more robust needs, and I would definitely recommend looking into this software if you are searching for a user friendly payroll solution
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Block, Inc (Square)
Square is an amazing platform to have total control over the payroll of all the employees of a company or a specific sector. This platform has a very good functionality to collect exact information on how long each employee works, that is one of its most outstanding characteristics, because it monitors work schedules and overtime and generates detailed reports on the work time of each employee. Square does not allow to schedule payments, that is one of the main problems, however, I consider that it is a very good option for small and medium-sized companies that are looking for a way to have more exact administrative control over the working hours of all their employees. It is a software that works in the cloud, so all the work information that is collected will remain safe without any risk of loss.
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Pros
Wave
  • An intuitive, clear UI helps you know where everything is, what options are at your disposal. Calendars and timelines show that Wave really thought out how to provide you with useful tool.
  • Pay day can be automated and straightforward.
  • Wave onboarding provides guidance at what information to input next until you are all set up.
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Block, Inc (Square)
  • 1099 contractor payments are easy, and they provide you with the IRS filing as part of the service.
  • Direct deposit/debit from your already connected account to the employee.
  • Reporting and management features are simple yet inclusive.
  • Low cost compared to alternative solutions.
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Cons
Wave
  • Additional filings such as WorkSafe, etc.
  • More flexibility when it comes to paying a director.
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Block, Inc (Square)
  • It's a bit pricey for larger companies at $5 per person paid per month.
  • Has a bit of a learning curve that seems steeper than necessary
  • reports can be confusing at first
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Usability
Wave
No answers on this topic
Block, Inc (Square)
It could use a mobile-friendly interface. Other than that it's a simple layout and non-cluttered which allows you to get done what you need to get done. No unnecessary dodads or distractions.
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Support Rating
Wave
Quick response times, personalized service. They offer in-depth videos and guides for helping to get set up. Any time I have a question about taxes or reporting, they answer quickly and give comprehensive answers. Members of the team with whom I've interacted have been courteous, friendly, and helpful. Overall, great support.
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Block, Inc (Square)
I think they have quick and helpful customer service reps, however, I give them a 9 because I have had to wait on hold for long periods of time before.
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Alternatives Considered
Wave
We moved away from Wave as most of our contractors are time-based, and Wave flat out refuses to provide time tracking features. We tried integrations, but the pricing/complexity goes up and reliability goes down when integrating systems which were not intended to communicate. We since moved to Avaza and sacrificed Payroll for more robust time tracking, project management, and a very open feature development process
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Block, Inc (Square)
I liked patriot, but I found it to be more confusing than Square and took me too much time to setup. I setup Square Payroll in about an hour. I would also say the Square interface made more sense to me. I also like how Square offers more things like benefits, etc. that can be added on.
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Return on Investment
Wave
  • Ensuring that I am compliant with my payroll obligations.
  • Less time spent on managing employee payroll.
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Block, Inc (Square)
  • Square Payroll has dramatically reduced the time it takes to process payroll.
  • We could have a faster payroll with the Square POS integration for commission, but that is not something we've implemented yet.
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