Best Embedded Payroll Providers

We dive deep into every Payroll API so you don’t have to. This is our technical research of the best Embedded Payroll providers.

{updatedAt: "2024-10-12"}

• Moe Amaya
• Head of Payroll Monograph

Building payroll is tricky business, but Embedded Payroll API providers allow you to offer payroll to your users and keep the user interface they know and love, yours!

Positioned at the top of Payroll APIs, Gusto and Check lead with technically sophisticated platforms and substantial customer bases. Up and coming challengers Rollfi and Salsa have followed bringing to market new features like a licensed benefits provider and Canadian support as part of their initial payroll offerings.

This is your ultimate guide—and our take—to the best Payroll APIs in 2024.

We've conducted interviews with technical teams across various software companies, ranging from small startups to large enterprises, all involved in managing payroll for numerous end-user companies. Also, we have personally undertaken thorough technical due diligence for each of the Payroll API vendors highlighted in the list below.

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The Robotist Criteria {:.:}

Overview

• Gusto Embedded - Best for also managing sick and paid time off
• Check - Best for vertical SaaS companies
• Rollfi - Best for a modern developer experience
• Salsa - Best if you need to service Canadian customers
• Zeal - Best for international contractors and working with accountants
• Worklio - Best for prebuilt React or Vue component integrations
• ADP - Best for enterprise scale

Why trust us

As a co-founder and Head of Payroll at Monograph, I personally spent over three months evaluating, writing code against, and doing business due diligence before selecting our Embedded Payroll API vendor. Subsequently we launched payroll, sold and onboarded customers, ran millions of dollars worth of payroll, and learned even more what to look for in a Payroll API vendor.

Overview

Gusto knows payroll—Gusto embedded payroll is a relatively recent product release backed by over a decade of delivering payroll to customers. Where Gusto has historically shined is excellent user experience and simple to use software. They’ve also contributed to the software world more generally with an active engineering blog and Ruby on Rails best practices. In terms of embedded payroll, there's some admin checkboxes like commercial discussions, security checks, and setup talks with Gusto's partnerships team before you can hit the ground running with building your payroll product. But once you’re up and running expect the classic Gusto product quality.

Pros

Cons

Overview

Pioneering embedded payroll, Check leads the way with a substantially mature Payroll API infrastructure and a tight focus on developer-centricity. As the most seasoned platform, they've encountered and addressed numerous edge cases, solidifying product robustness. They also consistently expand functionality through new API endpoints and webhooks, as documented in their changelog. The velocity and shipping cadence is impressive for a company working in such a regulated and compliance-oriented market.

As with all platforms, Check does have a few areas to note as they’re learning how to scale within the enterprise. As the veritable industry leader, Check has less pressure to step out of their payroll lane to provide features that other competitors need to differentiate like international support or time and attendance features. Notably, enterprises like Service Titan experienced limitations with Check, prompting a platform change.

Despite a few shortcomings, we recommend including the industry veteran Check in your procurement process.

Pros

Cons

Overview

Rollfi stands out in the realm of embedded offerings with its innovative approach to streamlining health benefits for your customers, supported by a licensed insurance advisor. Leveraging cutting-edge technology like Mintlify for documentation, Rollfi boasts a state-of-the-art software stack designed to speed up product and engineering teams. With a seamless progression from white-label to embedded iframes, and ultimately customization through their robust API, Rollfi accelerates your time to market, ensuring swift and efficient integration of payroll and benefits.

Pros

Cons

Overview

Founded in 2021 by a senior payroll team from Intuit, Salsa offers a faster, easier-to-operate embedded payroll solution with powerful APIs and a flexible UI component library, Salsa Express. Key features include time off management, compliance for PTO and sick time, a robust notification engine, and automatic overtime calculations. Salsa's Paystream API simplifies data integration, reducing engineering work and ensuring seamless operation.

Pros

Cons

Overview

Announced in 2024, Zeal has recently raised a $15M Series B.

Zeal has committed to building for a new way of working. For what Chime brought to the world of banking with flexible access to cash, Zeal is following in that trend offering flexible payroll.

Their learning? Every company wants to pay their employees faster with easier ways to access that money. They’ve built a white-label mobile app, paycards, daily pay and fast access to funds—honestly, all ridiculously well executed products as well.

Overview

Worklio's embedded payroll solution empowers partners to swiftly develop customized payroll products for their customers using a robust payroll API platform. With features ranging from complex tax calculations to job costing and HR management, Worklio handles all aspects of payroll processing, ensuring seamless payment transmittance and compliance. The platform's security measures, including individual partner instances and Microsoft Azure® Cloud hosting, prioritize data protection, while its customizable interface caters to diverse customer needs, making it a versatile solution for vertical SaaS companies and HR outsourcing organizations alike.

Overview

With ADP Embedded Payroll, you can enhance your platform with tried and true payroll technology backed by over 75 years of industry-leading expertise. From automated payroll processing to expert support and compliance assistance, ADP ensures a smooth and efficient payroll experience for both you and your clients.

Overview

Everee Embed provides everything you need for efficient worker management, from instant payments and compliance to modern APIs and webhook support for critical workflows. With personalized integration support and industry-standard security features like multi-factor authentication and fraud monitoring, Everee enables you to enhance operations and ensure data security without extensive development work.

Overview

Paycor's Embedded HCM solution marks a significant leap forward in the industry, offering partners a comprehensive suite of modern HCM tools tailored to meet the evolving needs of businesses. With a focus on interoperability and continuous compliance updates, Paycor empowers partners to deliver premium HCM solutions that drive success in today's competitive landscape, while expanding Paycor's reach and enhancing its market position.

Questions to ask your vendors as you go through your procurement process

1. Cost to implement
1. What does support look like? Initial build out? End of year? Product expansion?
2. How straightforward is the build?
3. What happens if something doesn’t work out of the box? Customize components?
4. How long and how many engineers does it take for the initial build?
2. Attach rates and financials
1. For your type of company, what percentage of customers attach payroll?
2. How did you onboard those customers?
3. What support does your provider have for a GTM motion?
4. Does your vendor offer upsells like benefits, 401k, insurance? Are they a licensed broker for any of their upsells? If not, who do they partner with? How does that partnership work commercially?
3. Cost to support
1. How many support queries should we expect to have? As we scale and any seasonality?
2. How many success and/or support reps are dedicated to payroll? What’s the ratio?
3. How often would we need to jump into L2 support with your team?
4. References
1. How many companies have you recently onboarded? Can I talk to them?

References

• https://www.tidemarkcap.com/vskp-chapter/payroll
• ROI calc
• https://www.linkedin.com/events/newyear-newsaas-agustoembeddedl7025962259017256960/about/
• https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/payroll-providers-power-respect/