Paycor : Full Review, Testing, and Presentation (2025)

What is Paycor?

Not every small business can afford to hire and employ full-time HR staff, and in some cases, hiring a team of professionals is more than necessary — especially for smaller businesses. In most scenarios, however, HR and payroll tasks end up falling on the shoulders of other employees as a second responsibility.

This can lead to excessive workloads, confusion about responsibilities, and mistakes made by untrained professionals. For many years, the only other recourse was to hire a part-time employee or team to help with this work, which was an expensive proposition for many small businesses.

Paycor offers a suite of tools that help business owners manage all aspects of HR and payroll administration.

Instead of hiring a team that is responsible for recruiting, onboarding, employee management, employee management, benefits administration, and payroll, Paycor can take care of most of the work with its software suite.

Paycor users

Paycor is a great option for small and medium-sized business owners who have businesses that are big enough to need professional HR services, but may not be at a point where hiring a full-time HR professional is justifiable.

These tools can help bridge the gap between managing all of your company's personnel and payroll tasks and hiring an expert.

This frees up budget and staff for other areas of your business, which can be especially useful if you're filling positions strategically to keep the business going.

Even if the above doesn't quite fit the description of your business or needs, there are likely other reasons why Paycor might be right for you. The software offered by Paycor can be grouped together, but this is not necessarily the case. If you only need help with benefits administration, for example, you can subscribe to Paycor's HR, benefits administration, and ACA software suite. This suite helps users manage their company benefit plans, employee selections, and all Affordable Care Act compliance issues for businesses.

If you need extra help managing your business staff, you're likely to find a Paycor program that can take the pressure off your chest. Plus, you'll have the peace of mind knowing that you're taking a lot of the uncertainty out of the process.

Features

Paycor's payroll functions are easy to access and understand. Even if you've never managed payroll before, the program can guide you through every step of the process. A visually appealing interface that uses familiar graphics and icons guides you through each stage of the HR suite.

Here is an overview of what you can expect with Paycor payroll services:

Dashboard

Paycor's interface is clean and impressive, and the management dashboard is easy to navigate. Paydays are shown as a countdown, and you're just one click away from a customer service representative at any time by simply accessing your Paycor Success Team. If you have time management integrations, you can easily see data on employee hours worked and parental leave requests directly from the home screen.

• Employee Portal: Employees have access to information about their benefits, time off, and any other information that you made available to them during payroll setup. There is a self-service portal for employees as well as a mobile application.

Employee Management

Paycor has numerous features to help you manage your employees and contractors from a single interface. You can add job title, payment information, time off, tax documents, and benefits. At higher payment levels, Paycor allows you to manage additional earnings, deductions, and seizures. (Basic payroll does not allow you to automate stop-ins).

Payroll

Paycor promises that managing payroll is as easy as clicking a button. Once your employees are enrolled, their hours and pay ranges established, and your pay dates set, payroll processing is simple. As a full-service payroll provider, Paycor will pay and file your taxes for you. Eight immediate reports are also available and numerous other reports can be created using a custom report builder.

• Payment methods : You can pay your employees by check (for an additional fee) or by direct deposit.
• Pay slips and checks : Employees can download a PDF of their payslips directly from their employee portal.
• Paid leave (PTO) : You can set paid leave policies on any plan, including vacations and sick days. It is possible to define sick leave/vacation or accrued sick/vacation leave.
• Reports : With Paycor, there are between 10 and 15 preloaded report options. However, Paycor has a simple and intuitive report generator. The company will help you create custom reports that meet your needs.

Benefits administration

Paycor is based in the Midwest and it's very clear that it has more options for benefits in the Midwest, where it has the most connections and brokers. Paycor's Western brokers are growing, but this is an area where Paycor could grow and expand. Benefits administration is an additional cost to the payroll platform.

Wage garnishment

Paycor can take care of wage garnishment for you in terms of essential and complete payments.

Tax support

Paycor offers tax support at all levels.

Connects to TurboTax

You can set up a preference in your payroll system that allows employees to import their W-2 directly into TurboTax.

Customer Support

The Paycor sales team is friendly and enthusiastic; I was connected to a real person to talk to instantly. However, all demo requests must also go through a 30-minute presentation prior to the sale. It is therefore necessary to allow some time to sit down and organize a demonstration before you can negotiate the needs of the platform.

For more specific user questions, the online chat was fairly easy, and the representative provided me with answers in a reasonable amount of time. Payroll experts are theoretically available for important questions, but meeting one and discussing things can take a long time, and most customer service representatives are not payroll experts. Almost all user complaints relate to a lack of action when needed or a general slowness in responding to problems.

• Phone : Paycor has a telephone line that connects a customer directly with a customer service representative. Phone hours are unknown, but service professionals are based in the Midwest and are on Eastern Standard Time.
• Email : Yes, it is possible to contact customer service by email, either outside or within your payroll program.
• Online chat: Chatting online is a quick and easy option. After an initial selection, the customer service representatives will connect you with the person who can answer your question.
• Support integrated into the software : In the software, you or your users can access forums and a number for your customer service representative.
• Help center : There is an online help center with articles, forms, and lists to help you stay well-informed and organized. The Paycor YouTube channel also includes demos and other solution-oriented media. However, some user comments say that this information is buried or too difficult to discover without being led by an employee.
• Social networks : Paycor has Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube accounts.

Security

Paycor protects user data through a series of intrusion detection software platforms.

Data is encrypted at the file level to help protect information from security breaches.

Paycor also has threat analysis and advanced threat detection. It also offers the following protections: multi-factor authentication, Google Authenticator, and data encryption at rest/in transit.

Pricing

Again, Paycor combines payroll management and human capital management. You will therefore find a combination of payroll management and human capital management functions in each of its four price levels.

Paycor Basic

Paycor's basic plan costs $99 per month plus $5 per employee per month. This plan includes basic but essential payroll functions, including:

• Unlimited pay
• Check the jam
• Federal and state tax filing
• Employee self-service
• Automatic payroll

Additionally, you get HR and compliance features such as in-product compliance, document storage, company news, and information chat. You also benefit from the integration of the hiring tax credit, self-service for new employees, and reports on new employees for onboarding. Finally, you get all of Paycor's support options, including phone, email, chat, customer portal, and training center.

Paycor is targeting small businesses and startups with its core plan. But that's a hefty price for a small business that only needs basic payroll functions. Gusto's cheapest plan costs $39 per month, plus $6 per month per user, for a similar set of features.

Paycor Essential

The Essential plan costs $149 per month, plus $6 per employee per month. You're paying for additional features across the board. For example, the Essential plan includes PTO tracking and leave requests that are not available with the basic plan.

Other additions in this level include:

• Standard Workers' Compensation Report
• HR checklists, training, templates, and toolkits
• Employee handbook templates
• To-do lists for new hires
• Complete and sign the i-9 form for new employees
• Custom report writer
• Scheduling reports

We're starting to see a difference with other common payroll software. But Paycor might not be worth the cost of that tier. For example, OnPay charges a base fee of $36 per month, plus $4 per person per month. This price gives you access to all of the software's payroll features, including:

• Customized paid leave policies
• W-2 and 1099 workers
• Automated boarding flows
• Compliance audits
• HR resource library

That's a lot more than what you get with Paycor Essential. With OnPay, you still benefit from very basic HR functions. These include document templates integrated with OnPay and custom staff checklists. These may not be the same as Paycor's HR checklists and employee handbook templates.

However, it's worth considering whether Paycor's HR features at this level are worth the $149 + $6 per employee per month that Paycor charges.

Paycor Complete

The full package is Paycor's most popular plan. It costs $199 per month plus $7 per employee. Additionally, this tier offers even more payroll functions, including GL reports and integrations, payroll analytics, and EDI 360/401K integration.

You also benefit from personalized advice from an HR professional certified at this level. However, you immediately notice that the Paycor Complete level is far from complete. You only get a handful of additional features that you could probably do without compared to the Essential plan.

You can also upgrade to the highest level.

Paycor HCM

Finally, Paycor HCM is the company's premium plan. It costs $199 per month plus $12 per employee per month. It's hard to argue with this plan. It comes with some of the most comprehensive payroll and human resources management functionalities on the market.

These characteristics specific to human capital management include:

• Employee recognition
• HR analysis
• Employee directory and organization chart
• Automated workflows
• Sharing forms with electronic signature
• Scheduled reminders
• Certificate management
• Comparative analysis
• Diversity and inclusion measures
• Performance reviews
• Best practice models

It is difficult to compare Paycor with OnPay or Gusto at this level. However, ADP Workforce offers very similar features. However, most of these features are additions, so Paycor's pricing makes sense.

Paycor offers numerous functionalities in several vertical sectors. Let's take a closer look at what Paycor has to offer. Remember, the combination of features you get depends on your plan.

Paycor Payroll

Paycor offers decent payroll features. Some of these include

• Unlimited pay
• Federal and state tax filing
• Automatic payroll
• Entry-stops
• Check the jam
• Direct deposit + payment cards
• Payroll analysis
• Follow-up of PTOs and leave requests
• Paycor mobile app

There are definitely a few standout features here. It's a good thing that you can automatically run payroll with all plans, including the basic plan.

There is also the pay-on-demand feature which is very useful. You can pay your employees as they make money rather than waiting for the traditional weekly or monthly payroll cycle. You also get this feature with the basic plan.

However, Paycor is lagging behind when it comes to payroll functions alone. For example, Gusto has more advanced payroll features, including built-in pre-tax benefits, a FICA tip credit for restaurants, expense integration, and net to gross calculations.

Paycor only offers the bare minimum you need to effectively manage payroll. You may need to look elsewhere if you need more advanced features.

Paycor HR & Compliance

Integrating HR and compliance is not unique to payroll. Many payroll services combine these functions. This makes sense since employees who have problems with their pay usually consult the HR department rather than the finance department.

Here are some of Paycor's HR and compliance features:

• Document storage
• Custom fields
• HR templates, training, checklists, and toolkits
• HR analysis
• Templates and review of the employee handbook
• Employee recognition
• Automated workflows
• Forms and document sharing
• Electronic signature
• Scheduled reminders

Paycor also offers personalized advice from certified HR professionals with its premium HCM plan. There's also a handy business news and chat feature to stay up to date with new offerings from your service provider.

The service seems more appealing when you add HR functions. In comparison, ADP Workforce Now also offers basic HR functions like hiring and firing employees, a self-service portal, HR record keeping, and employee engagement surveys. But we still have more Paycor features to explore.

Paycor Onboarding

It makes sense for payroll software to have an integration function. $

This way, you onboard new employees as soon as they sign their acceptance letter.

As a result, there will be a lot less manual paperwork during the next payroll cycle.

Paycor offers welcome features in all plans. The basic plan limits these functions to welcoming new employees on a self-service basis, integrating the hiring tax credit, and reporting new employees into the EVS. You can access all welcome features when you upgrade to the next level, which includes the following:

• e-Verify
• To-do lists for new hires
• Signature of the new hire document
• Form I-9 filling out for new employees

These are simple but practical features. However, they are pretty much standard for payroll software. For example, close competitors like Gusto, OnPay and Square offer employee onboarding. So there's not much to say about it.

Paycor reports and analyses

Paycor does not offer reporting and analysis capabilities with its basic plan. However, other alternatives like Square offer custom reports with all plans. It would be nice to at least have a simple relationship with Paycor's cheapest plan.

Paycor's reporting and analysis features still include:

• Standard report library
• Scheduled report
• Custom report writer
• Comparative analysis
• Diversity and inclusion measures
• Pre-built dashboards

Paycor certainly has one of the most powerful reporting and analytics capabilities. You can easily convert complex data into predictions and trends. As a result, you can easily recognize patterns and identify anomalies that may impact your organization.

Paycor Talent Management

Paycor has a few practical talent management features. However, they are only available with the HCM premium plan. These functions include:

• Performance reviews
• Investigations
• 360 Feedback
• Best practice models
• Outlook and Gmail integrations
• 9 features of the box

You could probably get most of these features with an alternative like ADP Workforce Now. ADP's talent management capabilities cover headhunting, recruiting, recruiting, training and development, engagement and productivity, and performance reviews.

However, it is difficult to compare the real cost because ADP does not publish its prices. In that case, it's best to stick with Paycor.

Alternatives to Paycor

When deciding which payroll and HR software is best for your business, it's helpful to also look at Paycor's alternatives. This will help you decide if you want to continue using Paycor or, on the contrary, point you in the right direction if you have concluded that Paycor is not right for you.

Gusto

The first is Gusto, a relatively new payroll platform that has been rapidly adopted by numerous start-ups and tech-focused businesses. The platform also allows you to manage benefits and certain HR tasks in addition to payroll. There are three different service levels for Gusto, so it's likely you'll find a solution that fits your needs — and you can always add benefits management to make the platform even more personalized.

Pricing for Gusto starts at $40 per month plus $6 per employee. If you only employ contractors, you can skip the monthly base fees and only pay $6 per contractor per month.

QuickBooks

Surely you know the name QuickBooks, the accounting software which is popular with so many small business owners. And to meet your payroll needs, there's QuickBooks Payroll. This software integrates perfectly with QuickBooks Online, allowing you to manage two of the most important tasks in your business in one place. If you're already using QuickBooks for your accounting needs, it's probably your best option for payroll.

Like Gusto, there are three different versions of QuickBooks Payroll - from $45 per month plus $4 per employee to $125 per month plus $10 per employee.

Final Verdict

Merchant Maverick values Paycor as a payroll option for small businesses looking for an easy payroll platform with guided support from a trustworthy service. It's affordable (although the total cost is not entirely transparent, which Paycor should fix in the future) and can be a practical decision alongside other good options for small businesses.

It doesn't have the same level of benefits and employee management as Gusto, but it's on the same level as other options, like Square or SurePayroll. But it's a platform that's easier to use and navigate thanADP, which is its most direct competitor (although Paycor's biggest rival in terms of features and usability is Gusto, the current leader in Merchant Maverick's payroll services rankings). I think that small businesses should consider Paycor in their list of payroll providers if they are looking to expand or change.