Comparing Payroll Companies: Paychex Vs. Complete Payroll Solutions

If you’ve decided to outsource your payroll to allow for more time to focus on your core business, you’ve probably found that there are plenty of vendors to choose from. As part of your research, you likely saw that Paychex is one of the largest national payroll companies. But if you’re reading this, you’re also considering Complete Payroll Solutions as a potential partner.

Complete Payroll Solutions has been providing outsourced payroll to thousands of clients for over 18 years. While we understand that may make us seem partial when talking about vendors, we also know we’re not necessarily the best fit for everyone. To help you reach a decision, here we’ll provide an unbiased comparison of both companies.

In this article, we’ll discuss how Paychex and Complete Payroll Solutions measure up in several areas, including:

• Payroll Packages
• Cost
• Additional Offerings
• Ease of Implementation
• Ongoing Customer Support

After reading this, you’ll understand the key differences between the two vendors so you can make the best choice for your company.

Paychex Vs. Complete Payroll Solutions

As you evaluate Paychex versus Complete Payroll Solutions, it’s a good idea to compare their offerings in several key areas.

Payroll Packages

Both Paychex and Complete Payroll Solutions provide online package options to meet the needs of any business. As you’ll see, payroll services in the packages from both Paychex and Complete Payroll Solutions are similar since the vendors were, first and foremost, payroll companies. However, there are a couple of minor differences.

For example, with all of Paychex’s offerings, you can call in your payroll; with Complete Payroll Solutions, we only offer that through our Classic payroll option and not in our online packages. However, with Complete Payroll Solutions, you get a dedicated payroll specialist assigned to you with any of our three packages; with Paychex, that’s only available with Paychex Flex Select and Paychex Flex Pro. 

To make a comparison easier, here we’ll review the payroll features in Paychex 3 online options with Complete Payroll Solutions’ 3 packages.

Paychex

Complete Payroll Solutions

Cost

When selecting a payroll vendor, we know that cost is one of the biggest factors to consider. While generally you can expect to pay about $200-$250 per employee per year, each payroll provider charges slightly differently and includes various services in their base price so you’ll want to get firm quotes to make an accurate comparison between Paychex and Complete Payroll Solutions.

Paychex

For Paychex Flex Essentials, the cost is $39 a month plus $5 per employee. To get pricing for Paychex Flex Select or Paychex Flex Pro, you’ll need to contact the company to get a quote since it will be customized based on your needs. You can start the process to get a free quote online by entering some general information about your company.

Complete Payroll Solutions

Complete Payroll Solutions offers transparent pricing to make it easier for you to identify which package is the best option for your budget. Our three online payroll packages are priced as follows:

• Workforce: $12 per employee per month plus a $70 base fee
• Workforce Plus: $12 per employee per month plus a $135 base fee
• Complete Benefits: $12 per employee per month plus a $150 base fee

Additional Offerings

The payroll packages from both Paychex and Complete Payroll Solutions include additional features to help your business in other areas as well. This flexibility allows you to pick and choose what other services, if any, you want to include in your package, such as time and attendance, HR, and benefits support. We compare these additional features below.

As you review the list, one notable difference you’ll see is that Complete Payroll Solutions includes time and attendance tracking in our packages while Paychex offers Paychex Flex Time separately, although it still integrates with its payroll packages.

In terms of HR assistance, Paychex includes labor law posters in all of its packages as well as background screenings in Flex Enterprise. At Complete Payroll Solutions, we offer labor law posters only in Workforce Plus or Complete Benefits and background screenings are an a la carte option rather than included in any of the payroll packages. 

For benefits support, at our highest tier, Complete Benefits, we offer health insurance administration for traditional medical plans and pre-tax benefits as well as compliance assistance. With Paychex, health insurance administration is a separate offering but fully integrated with its payroll packages. However, Paychex offers a PEO to make benefits more affordable for companies by leveraging economies of scale, which is a feature Complete Payroll Solutions doesn’t provide.

Paychex

Complete Payroll Solutions

Ease of Implementation

With either Paychex or Complete Payroll Solutions, getting started with your payroll vendor is easy and quick. The main factors that will impact how long it takes to get ready to run your first payroll are whether you’re a new business, the number of employees, the scale of your implementation, and the time of year.

Paychex

Paychex’s website says that, for Paychex Flex Essentials, you can be up and running within 48 hours of signing up. You’ll simply need to provide the necessary information to set up your account. If you’re switching from another vendor, they may be able to help pull the data directly from your previous payroll system.

Throughout the onboarding process, Paychex offers 24/7 access to US-based customer service representatives by phone or chat.

Complete Payroll Solutions

Complete Payroll Solutions can also set up new clients in about 2 or 3 days for smaller and mid-sized businesses. Like Paychex, Complete Payroll Solutions will simply need to collect some basic company and employee information from you to get started. To help with the process, you’ll be assigned a new client representative who will help you every step of the way until you run your first payroll.

Ongoing Customer Support

With any payroll vendor, you may have some questions as you run payroll. In these cases, you’ll want to make sure you have the level of support you need to address your issues promptly so your payroll is timely and accurate. Both Paychex and Complete Payroll Solutions offer expert customer service.

Paychex

With any Paychex package, you get access to US-based customer service centers staffed with highly trained specialists. These professionals are available 24/7/365 over the phone or online chat. With Paychex Flex Select and Paychex Flex Pro, you’ll also be assigned a dedicated payroll specialist that serves as a single point of contact for all your payroll needs.

Paychex also has offices and subsidiary locations in 29 states if you want access to a local team of professionals as well as two international offices

Complete Payroll Solutions

With Complete Payroll Solutions, your dedicated new client representative will stay with you through your first payroll, at which point you’ll be assigned a permanent certified payroll specialist. With this approach, you’ll have access to the same contact who knows you and your business each time you call. These individuals are available by phone Monday through Friday.

We also have office locations throughout the Northeast if you want the option to speak with someone face-to-face.

Is Paychex or Complete Payroll Solutions the best choice for me?

When comparing Paychex and Complete Payroll Solutions, you’ll see that they are both payroll companies that offer additional time and labor, HR, and benefit administration services. But there are some differences between the companies that may make one a better choice for you.

Paychex could be a good choice if you:

• Are comfortable with a do-it-yourself approach to setting up your payroll if you’re a small business
• Have international operations since Paychex has offices in Germany and Denmark
• Would like the option of Professional Employer Organization (PEO) services

Complete Payroll Solutions would be an ideal partner if you:

• Want transparent pricing so you can better budget
• Prefer personalized customer service from the same payroll professional no matter the size of your business
• Are looking for a more consultative approach during the sales process rather than requesting information and a quote online
• Want integrated options like health insurance administration under the same roof versus a third party

If it sounds like Complete Payroll Solutions may be a fit for you, visit our pricing page for more details on our options.