Paying a contractor is the same as paying an employee, right

Not quite. And if you want to pay the people working for you accurately and on time, you need to make sure you’re compliant and make the proper distinction between employees and independent contractors.

You’re going to need different forms, process separate transactions, and ensure you’re paying everyone correctly.

Or… You could leave it to a payroll service and take away the stress. If the second option sounds enticing, read on.

This article will walk you through the five best contractor payroll services. We’ll highlight the features, benefits, and pricing so that you can make the best choice for your company.

Contractor Payroll Services: How to Choose the Best Provider

First, are your employees definitely independent contractors? Take the case of a salon owner who rents out a booth to an independent hairstylist. If that stylist brings their own tools, sets their own schedule, and isn’t subject to performance reviews, they are self-employed or 1099.

Related Read: 1099 vs W2: 4 Tips for Classifying Workers Correctly

If you classify a stylist as 1099 and treat them like an employee, controlling their schedule and providing their tools, you’re doing the IRS and your employee a disservice. You won’t save money on benefits or pay payroll taxes; you’re just setting yourself up for avoidable fines and penalties.

With that warning out of the way, you need a payroll provider that makes it easy to onboard and pay independent contractors. Accurate payroll, worker self-service, and automated 1099 filings are beneficial and help your business run smoothly.

It should be just as easy to pay contractors as it is to pay your employees. Do you need to pay all your workers on the same payroll? Would you like to keep it separate? And how will you handle calculations? Outsourcing payroll can transfer some of these stressors to payroll experts and helps ensure compliance.

Let’s look at the various options for payroll providers and the features that will make 1099 and payroll a breeze.

1. Square

Features: Square is an affordable and easy-to-use payroll provider if you rely on hourly employees. You can manage employee payroll and other processes, but Square stands out because it has a contractor-only plan. Its pricing is transparent, and if you run a seasonal business, you can pause your subscription without a cost.

Support is available from 6 a.m through 6 p.m, Monday to Friday, so you might be left short if you have issues outside those days and times. You also need to factor in using Square’s other products. Some features don’t work well if you don’t integrate with their ecosystem.

Pricing: $35 monthly subscription, plus a $5 monthly fee per person. Paying contractors only is a $5 monthly fee per person paid (no subscription).

What customers say:

“I have used the Square interface for years as my primary method of taking payment. I love the simple user interface and for me, upgrading to Square Payroll was a no-brainer! It’s easy to use, the interface is perfect and I can do everything right on my phone.” - Square User

2. ADP

Features: ADP is always impressive, with its intuitive interface, functionality, and solution to the HR needs of mid-sized and large businesses. However, it does offer a solution, ADP Run, to fit the needs of small businesses with up to 49 employees.

Features include payroll, automated tax payments, and filings, and ADP helps you stay compliant with payroll and tax regulations. You can pay 1099 employees quickly and easily, but year-end reporting (for W-2 and 1099 employees) costs extra. On top of an already steep fee, businesses on a smaller budget might struggle to invest.

Pricing: Starts at $65 per month plus $3 per employee for the Essential plan, and the HR Pro plan is $220 per month plus $4.50 per employee.

What customers say:

“It is very easy to use ADP’s RUN program. I appreciate that the interface is clean and modern. It is very intuitive and makes running payroll very simple to process.” - ADP User

3. OnPay

Features: OnPay is a cloud-based platform with full-service payroll processing and an easy-to-use interface for small business owners to take control of payroll. Your employees can also create a profile within the software to access their pay stubs, tax documents, and other data.

Employees can onboard themselves, saving you time. OnPay automatically updates employees on when they will be paid, and the software integrates with apps like QuickBooks and Xero.

OnPay has one plan and simple, transparent pricing. They offer a one-month free trial and promise no hidden fees or costs to upgrade. Considering they only have one plan, the feature set for small businesses is robust. The only downside is a lack of time tracking.

Pricing: $36 per month plus $4 per employee

What customers say:

“The transition from my previous payroll provider was seamless. The payroll interface is intuitive and very easy to navigate. I am saving a lot of money compared to my prior payroll provider. Customer service representatives during the onboarding period were knowledgeable and easy to work with.” OnPay User

5. Rippling

Features: Rippling has many features. Its intuitive interface makes it easier to navigate them, but you might feel overwhelmed with your options. It has customizable workflows that help automate HR and payroll and offers unlimited pay runs.

Rippling stands out for contractor payroll if you have a global or remote workforce. You can track employee hours and control app access from anywhere with an internet connection. You can send wage payments for global staff in the appropriate currency.

Unless you’re willing to pay extra for support, you might struggle to get answers to payroll questions. Other payroll providers offer live support and are less expensive.

Pricing: Starts at $35 per month for the Core platform, plus $8 per employee per month.

What customers say:

“I needed a simple payroll solution for 1099 contractors. Payroll through Rippling is hassle-free. Rippling’s reminder emails even help me remember to run payroll when I’m busy.” - Rippling User

5. ConnectPay

Features: We take pride in offering full-service payroll assistance to small businesses. We assist with tax compliance and connect you with local experts. Some of our features include seamless mobile access, digital pay stubs, automated payroll and compliance updates, and intuitive time and attendance tracking.

Wondering how to pay independent contractors? Want to know the rules and regulations? Our strongest feature is out Connected Service Representatives. Instead of calling a call center, or worse, not being able to connect with support at all, we connect you with a partner that answers your questions and goes above and beyond.

One feature that’s beneficial when processing contractors is geofencing. You can prevent timesheet errors and fraud. When you set a geofence around job sites, you can alert contractors when they arrive that they’ll be tracked from the moment they enter until they clock out.

Pricing: ConnectPay offers competitive market pricing, contact us today for a quote that suits your small business's needs.

What customers say:

“When we transitioned to ConnectPay, I did not go along happily because I thought my situation was fine. Much to my surprise, my Connected Rep made my job so much easier. He took the time to learn about our office, provides various options to situations I’ve had, and never gave me the feeling that a question was unnecessary.” - Jenifer Perry, Blossom Innovations

The Best Contractor Payroll Services: It’s up to You

Each payroll service on this list has different features and benefits for unique businesses. The best way to decide is to determine what you need, the relationship you want to have with your payroll provider, and your price point.

At ConnectPay, we believe that excellent customer support should be the status quo. Our team of experts is always on hand to identify gaps and opportunities in your payroll process, help your business operations run smoothly, and provide guidance and support.

Schedule a call with one of our Connected Service Representatives today and discover how we partner with you to give you peace of mind and allow you to focus on growing your business.