Gusto Vs Intuit Payroll

Effectively managing payroll is crucial for business success, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time while adhering to tax laws and regulations. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 33% of employers make costly payroll errors each year, and approximately 40% of small businesses incur an average of $845 in IRS penalties annually due to payroll irregularities.

The right payroll software automates complex tasks like tax filings, time tracking, and benefits management. Both Gusto and Intuit QuickBooks Payroll offer powerful tools to simplify payroll processes. Gusto offers advanced HR features, while Intuit Payroll excels in robust payroll capabilities.

In this Gusto vs Intuit Payroll comparison, we’ll explore their core features in detail to help you make an informed decision.

Gusto Vs Intuit Payroll: At A Glance

Feature

Gusto

Intuit Payroll

Payroll

Global payroll capabilities with automated tax filing

Automated payroll processing with same and next-day direct deposit

Benefits Administration

Health, vision, and dental insurance administration, available in 50 states

Health insurance with over 200 carriers

Time-Tracking

Automated time and attendance management

Integrates with QuickBooks Time to offer time-tracking capabilities

Pricing

Offers three plans, starting from $40/month plus $6 per employee

Offers three paid plans, starting from $50/month plus +$6/employee/month

What Is Gusto?

Gusto

Gusto HR is an all-in-one platform for payroll, benefits, and human resources management tailored for small to mid-sized businesses. It streamlines complex HR tasks, including employee onboarding, performance management, time-tracking, and labor law compliance.

The platform helps businesses hire top talent, ensures payroll accuracy, and automates HR processes for various industries. For instance, healthcare organizations can use it to manage compliance and benefits, while the retail sector benefits from streamlined management of hourly employees. Other industries like professional services and construction can use this to simplify handling workers' compensation and generating cost reports.

Standout Features

  • Employee-Self Service: The portal allows employees to access pay stubs and tax documents while also enabling them to update their personal information. They can enroll in different benefits plans, check their paid time off (PTO), and access financial planning tools.
  • Hiring And Onboarding Tools: Simplifies recruitment by allowing businesses to create public job postings and personalize offer letters. It also offers custom onboarding checklists to help new hires complete required forms.
  • Talent Management: Enables businesses to retain top talent by streamlining performance evaluations and career development. The platform includes features like self-evaluations and manager reviews, offering valuable insights into employee performance and growth opportunities.
  • Worker’s Compensation: Provides pay-as-you-go workers' compensation insurance, allowing premiums to be spread throughout the year with payments made each time payroll is processed, removing the need for large upfront costs or installment fees.

Pros And Cons

Pros

  • Responsive customer service
  • Keeps track of employee details, paychecks, as well as 1099 and W-2 forms
  • Easy management of benefit administration via payroll

Cons

  • Difficulty logging in with an Android device
  • Issues with tax payment classification in the portal

What Is Intuit Payroll?

Quickbooks

Intuit Payroll, also known as QuickBooks Payroll, is a robust payroll solution designed to streamline payroll processes and ensure compliance with tax laws. It offers advanced automation features such as automated tax filings and benefits management, making it an efficient choice for businesses.

With tools aimed at simplifying payroll tasks and supporting accurate financial management, QuickBooks Payroll helps businesses optimize operations and focus on growth. HR professionals and business owners can leverage its user-friendly features to improve productivity, even when managing complex workflows.

Standout Features

  • Full-Service Payroll with Automated Tax Filing: Simplifies payroll management by automatically calculating, filing, and paying federal and state payroll taxes. This reduces administrative workload and ensures compliance with tax regulations.
  • Same-Day Direct Deposit: Allows businesses to process payroll and ensure employees receive their funds promptly, enhancing flexibility and employee satisfaction.
  • Tax Penalty Protection: This covers up to $25,000 annually in payroll tax penalties, regardless of the source of the error. This feature provides financial protection to businesses.
  • Payroll Reports: Enables businesses to gain valuable insights through payroll reports and accurately estimate client job costs, manage payroll effectively, and enhance profitability.

Pros And Cons

Pros

  • No formal training is needed for new users
  • Offers extensive tax compliance features
  • Generates comprehensive reports within a few minutes

Cons

  • Errors in Excel with modern view reports
  • Unable to export data for other software use

Gusto Vs Intuit Payroll: Key Features Comparison

Payroll

Gusto's payroll feature is designed to simplify payroll processing for businesses of all sizes. Users often praise its intuitive interface and automation features, which streamline tasks like payroll runs, tax filings, and benefits management.

Intuit Payroll offers automated payroll processing, covering tax calculations, filings, and payments, as well as same-day and next-day direct deposit options for the convenience of employees. It offers tax penalty protection in its advanced plans. However, some users have faced incorrect tax filings and occasional errors in employer identification numbers.

Winner: Gusto takes the lead due to its advanced payroll capabilities and user-friendly automation, enabling businesses to manage their payroll efficiently.

Benefits Management

Gusto offers a wide range of benefits packages for your team, including 401(k), dental, vision, and medical insurance. The software’s health insurance is accessible in 50 states, enabling businesses to contribute to their employees' health and financial future. Additionally, the Gusto Wallet app allows for smart paycheck management with automatic short- and long-term savings.

Intuit simplifies the process of offering employee benefits, including health insurance through Allstate Health Solutions with over 200 carriers, along with Health Savings Accounts (HSA), Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), and Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) coverage. It also offers a personal HR advisor who assists with providing professional guidance relating to benefits plans.

Winner: This section ends with a tie as both software offers comprehensive benefits management capabilities.

Time Tracking

Gusto’s time tracking feature enables businesses to track their employee’s (onsite and remote) working hours, create schedules, and set time off policies and requests. Users appreciate the seamless integration between Gusto’s time tracking and payroll, simplifying the management of employee hours and compensation. However, some users have faced challenges with the software’s geofencing feature.

Intuit Payroll integrates with QuickBooks Time to simplify the tracking of employee working hours while streamlining payroll management. Users appreciate its intuitive interface, which makes it easy for managers as well as employees to track their time. Additionally, the mobile app allows easy clocking in and out from various locations, providing flexibility for remote teams.

Winner: Intuit Payroll wins these sections due to its integration with the powerful time-tracking application ‘QuickBooks Time’, which offers advanced time and attendance management capabilities.

Pricing

Gusto provides three pricing tiers designed for businesses of various sizes and requirements.

  • The Simple plan begins at $40/month with an additional $6/person, offering full-service single-state payroll, employee financial benefits, and more
  • The Plus plan , for $80/month plus $12/person, includes multi-state payroll, time tracking, PTO management, and custom reporting
  • The Premium plan , for $180/month plus $22/person, includes priority support, compliance alerts, and access to HR experts

Additionally, all plans feature employee self-service, hiring, and onboarding tools, which are crucial for HR professionals.

Intuit Payroll offers three tiers with discounts available for the first three months.

  • Payroll Core for $50/month plus +$6/employee/month, includes full-service automated payroll, next-day direct deposit, and more
  • Payroll Premium , which is $85/month plus +$9/employee/month, includes features like tracking time, expert review, and more
  • Payroll Elite for $130/month plus $11/employee/month, offers advanced features like tax penalty protection, personal HR advisor, and more
Winner: While both platforms provide advanced features, Gusto excels with its broad range of HR and payroll features, such as team management tools and payroll and time-off reports, available across all plans.

Final Verdict: Which Platform Best Matches Your Needs?

Gusto Vs Intuit Payroll Comparison

Choosing the right HR and payroll software requires considering your business size, priorities, and objectives. Carefully evaluate your business needs, budget, and growth plans to select payroll software that aligns with your business objectives.

Gusto’s intuitive interface and automated processes make it particularly suitable for small to medium-sized businesses seeking simplicity and efficiency. Intuit, on the other hand, shines with its time-tracking and payroll capabilities, allowing companies to seamlessly handle employee working hours and payroll accuracy.

Ultimately, the decision comes down to what best suits your business operations. To explore further, you can compare Gusto with leading alternatives like Namely and Insperity to gain deeper insights into their features, benefits, and differences.