Free checklist generator
Answer a few questions about your workers, states, and benefits, and get a tailored list of the features to demand from every provider.
Tick everything that applies. Your checklist rebuilds as you go.
Your tailored checklist
0 requirements
Tick your answers on the left and the list builds itself.
This checklist is a shopping and diligence aid, not tax, legal, or accounting advice. Rules change and vary by city, county, and state. Confirm your own obligations with a licensed professional, and get every provider commitment in writing.
Behind the checklist
Your answers switch requirements on and off. Here is the logic behind it.
Some things belong on every payroll checklist no matter how small you are: full-service tax filing in each jurisdiction, year-end forms, new hire reporting, prior-wage migration, security certifications, and contract terms you can actually exit.
Each answer you tick turns on the requirements it creates. Tipped staff bring tip credit and FICA tip credit handling. A second state brings registrations, unemployment accounts, and paid leave premiums. Fifty employees brings ACA reporting.
A feature name alone is easy for a salesperson to nod along to. Every line gives you a specific question to put in writing, so you find out during the demo instead of during your first quarter-end.
Copy the list, paste it into your RFP or email, and make each provider answer line by line. An item they cannot confirm in writing is an item they cannot do.
Questions
Every checklist should cover full-service tax filing and payment in each jurisdiction you operate in, year-end W-2 and 1099 filing, new hire reporting, garnishment handling, employee self-service, migration of prior-year wage history, security certifications, and clear contract terms including price-increase notice and data export on exit. Everything beyond that depends on your workers, states, benefits, and pay rules, which is what this generator sorts out for you.
State rules drive real payroll mechanics. Paid family and medical leave premiums, state-run retirement mandates, local income tax withholding, daily overtime, meal and rest premiums, wage statement formats, and predictive scheduling rules all vary by state and sometimes by city. A provider that handles one state well may not support another, so the states you tick matter more than almost anything else on the form.
A single-state business with salaried staff and simple benefits typically lands in the twenties. A multi-state employer with hourly staff, tips, contractors, and benefits can easily pass fifty. A longer list is not a problem, it just means more of your payroll is conditional, which is exactly where providers differ.
No. It is a shopping and diligence tool that helps you ask better questions. Rules change and vary by jurisdiction. Confirm your own obligations with a licensed accountant or employment attorney, and get any provider commitment in writing before you sign.
Take your checklist to vetted payroll providers and compare them side by side. It is free, and there is no obligation to switch.