Paycom is a payroll and HR technology provider focusing on user experience, ease of implementation, and employee-managed data. Founded at the inception of the dot-com bubble in 1998, it’s considered one of the first fully online payroll companies.
Paycom’s payroll software has several easy-to-use yet powerful tools that streamline payroll processing and help eliminate errors. Paycom also has software solutions for other HR processes, such as talent acquisition, talent management, and labor management.
Paycom Compared
While Paycom is worth considering, it didn’t make it to our top list. The best payroll services provider for most businesses is Gusto, whose comprehensive suite of tools simplifies payroll management like no other. You can join more than 200,000 other businesses by setting up Gusto for free.
- Gusto — Best for dispersed workforces
- Paychex — Best for experienced payroll teams
- OnPay — Best for simplifying all things payroll
- QuickBooks Payroll — Best for solopreneurs and small teams
- ADP — Best for never outgrowing your payroll provider.
You can learn more about these services in our comparison article here.
About Paycom
Paycom Software Inc. is recognized by Fast Company as one of the World’s Most Innovative Enterprise Companies. Paycom’s online payroll management system includes tools such as Beti and Paycom Pay that improve the experience for employees and HR personnel.
Paycom also has talent acquisition tools for applicant tracking, onboarding, tax credits, and innovative tools such as Enhanced Background Checks and E-Verify. Paycom provides all the fundamentals for time and labor management, such as tools for time and attendance, scheduling, and labor allocation. It also has talent management tools to streamline incentivization and reward systems.
Paycom Health and Stability
Paycom has existed as an online payroll processing service provider since 1998 and an HR management service provider since 2001. This places Paycom among the longest-established companies in these industries. The company is well-established in the industry, with headquarters in Oklahoma City and offices throughout the US.
According to Fortune and Forbes magazines, Paycom is one of the fastest-growing publicly traded companies around the globe. The company reported a revenue of $1.056 billion after a solid fourth quarter in 2021, 25% up from the company’s revenue in 2020.
Reviews on job search websites such as Glassdoor and Indeed suggest a higher-than-average employee turnover rate for Paycom. However, the company’s rapid growth means this high turnover rate is likely an unavoidable consequence of the company’s otherwise highly successful business strategy.
Paycom Pricing
Like many other payroll service providers, including Paychex, Paycom does not provide pricing information on its website. This is because Paycom’s services are highly customized to the specific needs of businesses.
Instead of offering one-size-fits-all packages, the company takes it upon itself to help enterprises to implement their solutions. The company also trains employees to ensure businesses fully utilize Paycom’s various tools. The company offers personalized meetings where it presents interested businesses with a quote.
Paycom Pricing Structure
Paycom doesn’t disclose its pricing structure, but users report an average initial fee of $500 for companies with 15 employees and $1,200 for companies with 40 employees, according to Forbes. The monthly fees range from $4 to $6 per employee.
The flip side of not having defined price structures is that businesses only have to pay for the modules they need. This and training fees also only apply to the specific tools you purchase.
Paycom Pricing Comparison
Paycom appears to be quite competitive in terms of price compared to some of the top alternatives unless the user-reported average fees have a high variance. However, Paycom’s high initial training and implementation fees are an investment for most businesses. Its services are only cost-effective for businesses that choose to stay with the company for years.
The Simple payroll services plan from Gusto costs $40 plus $6 per employee per month. So a business with 20 employees would pay a total of $160 per month. Gusto’s Plus plan costs twice this amount. Paycom doesn’t have a flat fee in addition to the per-employee fees, making it an excellent option for small businesses.
The Essentials plan by Paychex costs $39 per month in addition to $5 per employee. Paycom’s services are the more cost-effective option in the long run, as Paycom’s initial fee spreads out over the years. The fee structure for more comprehensive packages by Paychex is also undisclosed so that no comparison can be made.
For companies with a large number of employees, the flat fees may be negligibly small compared to the total per-employee fees. This can make the basic packages by Gusto, Paychex, and other top payroll companies a more economical option.
Paycom Trials and Guarantees
Paycom currently does not advertise any free trials or demos. Information about any guarantees isn’t disclosed on Paycom’s website either. It offers customized plans when you request a meeting.
Paycom Online Payroll Services Review
Paycom’s Payroll Software includes a comprehensive set of tools to streamline various payroll-related processes. Paycom’s new tool Beti gives employees a self-service experience by making payroll data easily accessible. Employees do their own payroll, saving time and limiting errors.
Still, Paycom is not the best option for most businesses, which is why it falls short of our top online payroll services list.
What Makes Paycom Online Payroll Services Great
- Employee-managed data: Beti is a new tool from Paycom that allows employees to assess the accuracy of their payroll. Beti automates payroll for all employees according to available data, such as hours worked, rewards, and compensations. Employees can correct any inaccuracies in their data before it leads to errors. Paycom is leading the charge in this new, improved payroll process.
- Unified HR tools: Paycom provides a single software to manage various payroll and other HR processes. Data entered for one tool is also available to all the other tools, improving satisfaction for employees who no longer have to enter the same data multiple times. Paycom’s tools also work together to allow for sophisticated automation while maintaining ease of use.
- Customized services: Every business uses different payroll and HR processes. Instead of overwhelming companies by providing many tools, Paycom offers custom services to best meet their clients’ needs. Paycom’s focus on customized service is likely why it doesn’t offer any predefined packages with fixed prices like other companies.
- Aided implementation and training: Paycom offers dedicated service to each business that subscribes to its services. The company helps its clients implement its various tools successfully for maximum ROI. The company also trains employees to use its service and tools to make the transformation easier.
- Wide range of HR services: Besides payroll management, Paycom’s solution also has many other tools to automate HR management. Its tools can help companies with time and labor management, talent management, talent acquisition, and various other processes. Paycom has several innovative and original tools, such as E-Verify, BETI, and Enhanced Background Checks.
- Unbiased performance management: In traditional workplaces, performance reviews are managed by management personnel with little to no governing rules. There’s much room for interpretation and personal biases. Paycom’s performance management and position management tools allow for unbiased employee performance management. This ensures the more talented and dedicated individuals are given preference and encouraged. The systematic nature of software performance management systems also improves employee satisfaction, lowering the turnover rate.
- Easy integration with other services: Paycom’s software includes many modules offering a lot of functionality under one roof. However, since Paycom doesn’t have strictly defined packages, users can cherry-pick modules they find impressive and use other companies for other processes. For example, some Paycom users use other companies for criminal background checks that offer better prices.
- Streamlined reward systems: Paycom’s Compensation Budgeting software allows businesses to streamline reward systems while staying under a decided budget. With Paycom’s software in place, employees have incentives to work towards goals decided by the employer. The system also takes subjectivity out of the equation, simultaneously improving productivity, profitability, and employee satisfaction.
- Exceptional customer support: Paycom has designated representatives for different clients. Companies that use Paycom’s modules are always connected to the same agents who know everything about the company and offer highly personalized customer support.
Where Paycom Online Payroll Services Fall Short
- No trials or demos: Paycom currently doesn’t offer free trials or demos. The only way to know if Paycom’s services are right for your business is by requesting a meeting. This is unlike the companies in our top list, such as Gusto and Paychex, which offer free trials in one form or another. While it’s understandable that Paycom’s custom services would be rather costly to the company as a demo, Paycom can offer at least some of its unique tools for demos.
- Undisclosed pricing information: Paycom doesn’t offer any predefined packages on its website. This can make Paycom more intimidating for businesses with a limited budget compared to service providers that clearly state their prices. This is unfortunate because companies that can benefit the most from Paycom’s dedicated service lack experience in digitization. Paycom can fix this by designing a pricing structure similar to Paychex and offering one fixed-rate Basic package and another custom package with variable rates.
- High initial fees: Paycom reported charging an average of $500 in implementation and training fees. This makes Paycom’s services risky for businesses who are unsure of which online payroll company to choose. Paycom could alternatively follow other leading companies and charge a fixed monthly fee and per-employee fees. The company could also make its implementation and training optional, eliminating the initial fees.
- UI needs updating: While many users find Paycom’s UI quite intuitive, others find it outdated. This is not a technical problem, but updating its platforms according to contemporary design styles can improve user experience and employee satisfaction.
- Too many reports: Paycom wants to keep HR personnel in the loop about the update the team makes to the software. The company also sends email notifications about requested changes. Some users find these notifications and reports overwhelming.
Paycom Online Payroll Services Compared
In our comparison of the top online payroll services, we conclude Gusto is the ideal option for most businesses. Here are our top picks from the list:
- Gusto — Best for dispersed workforces
- Paychex — Best for experienced payroll teams
- OnPay — Best for simplifying all things payroll
- QuickBooks Payroll — Best for solopreneurs and small teams
- ADP — Best for never outgrowing your payroll provider
Paycom HR Software Solution Review
Paycom offers a lot of functionality as an HR management software with its various modules. However, we don’t count it among the top HR software solutions for a few reasons.
Paycom’s UI design is a bit outdated, which can negatively impact how a company is perceived, especially among new employees. Users have also found Paycom’s system to be unnecessarily convoluted.
The biggest reason Paycom doesn’t make it to our list is its pricing structure or, rather, a lack of one. There are no packages advertised on the website. To our best knowledge, Paycom’s services require a considerable initial investment. We recommend Paycom to companies particularly impressed by one of its innovative modules.
Paycom HR Software Solution Compared
While Paycom’s HR tech is impressive, it’s not as refined as some of the more popular options, such as Gusto. Our top picks for HR software solutions are better suited to the needs of most companies.
- Gusto – Best for your first 50 hires
- Namely – Best for businesses that have outgrown basic HR solutions
- BambooHR – Best support for a small in-house team
- Zenefits – Best for hands-on HR administrators
- Freshteam – Best for shortening your time to hire
Final Verdict
Paycom offers a comprehensive set of tools that allow businesses to streamline many fundamental HR processes. The company also offers dedicated services to help businesses implement their solutions, making the transformation easier.
While Paycom has some innovative Payroll tools such as Beti, it’s unable to compete with leading companies such as Gusto and Paychex that have better pricing structures.
Paycom is worth considering, but not ideal for most businesses.