Zenefits Payroll Service Review, Features & Pricing [2022]
Article by Chris Costi, Last update at November 28, 2022
Zenefits is a top provider of HR and Payroll services with over 11,000 businesses and non-profit organizations, 400,000 empowered employees and over 50 tech integrated partners. Small and mid-sized businesses, which represent the backbone of the American workforce, are their target market. Zenefits provides intuitive HR and payroll software services which are purpose built for the smaller companies. Their system automates all payroll data entries and you can run your payroll in just three clicks.
Key Features
- Unlimited Pay runs
- Integrated HR
- Direct Deposits
- Multiple reports
- Automatic tax payments
- Benefits calculations
- Automatic deductions
- Quick onboarding
- Employee Time & Scheduling
Pricing
Zenefits has three plans. The first one is the Base Plan which costs $10 per month per employee. This includes core HR and Integrations, Time & Scheduling and the Mobile App.
The second plan is the Growth which costs $18 per month per employee and has additional features Compensation Management and Performance Management.
The third plan is the Zen and costs $27 per month per employee. The additional feature added to this plan is Well-being.
Add-ons to enhance any base plan are Payroll at an additional $6 per month per employee, Advisory Services for unlimited access to HR team is an additional $10 per month per employee and the Benefits Admin using your own broker will be and extra $5 per employee per month. All plans cover a minimum of 5 employees and you can go up to 2000.
Things To Note
Zenefits offers a single HR service that connects to multiple payroll providers making them a good choice for small to medium sized businesses. Full time employees, contractors and freelancers can onboard themselves, and their information is synced to benefits and payroll automatically. Managing your workforce is made easier with organizational charts and company directories and information is kept up to date through the web or mobile devices. Zenefits syncs seamlessly across HR, Payroll and Benefits saving time from duplicate data entries.
Employee benefits can be integrated into the HR system and they can have access to this information from a mobile device. Employees are covered for healthcare, retirement plans and other benefits on this one step platform. Health coverage for medical, dental and eye care is offered through broker partners or through employees own brokers in all 49 states. Employees can also participate in life and disability insurance, 401k, supplement benefits and FSA and HAS accounts. Zenefits provides the flexibility and guidance to help employees choose the right benefit plans.
In A Nutshell
Zenefits offers a platform that existing employees and new hires can join through online enrollment tools. The mobile app gives on the go access, to balances, plans and claims and the employees can connect at any time to their own records. Changes and additions to each employee’s records are automatically synced with the rest of the HR system. Staying compliant with state and federal tax requirements is made easy with the Zenefits software. You will get deadline alerts and auto form filling to help you remain compliant. All taxes are automatically calculated and you have the option to file and pay them and provide pay stubs that comply with the requirements of most states. Create, file, and format W-2s and 1099s and provide support for FLSA overtime pay regulations for relevant employees. New hires are also reported to the appropriate state agencies.
Let’s Dive Deeper
Onboarding is automatic and your new hires can fill out all their personal and tax information. Zenefits will confirm their eligibility and send out the required notices. The same applies when employees off board, mandatory notices and the calculation of proper COBRA payments are automatically done. Zenefits also has built in overtime safeguards that will send employees reminders on when they need to take breaks. All important documents and employee records are kept secure on Zenefits. Reviews can be generated and 1095-C forms are sent to employees electronically. Required forms are also filed with the IRS. The built in compliance assistant will help businesses stay in compliance with federal requirements for HR, benefits and payroll.
Detailed information is automatically sent to employers on critical compliance deadlines that need to be addressed. Reminders can be custom set or synced with personal calendars so that no deadlines are missed. Zenefits has a compliance assistant dashboard that monitors compliance status. Advisory services offered by Zenefits can be accessed at any time if needed. Employees can be in the office, remote or in the field. The mobile app on the desktop will help employers track their hours from anywhere. A clock in and out app is available for employees to register their hours of work. The app can be downloaded on any iPad or mobile device. Time Card Fraud Protection is in place to take photos of employees clocking in so records are accurate. Team activities are recorded in real time so that employers can see how many hours are worked and have access to reports on overtime pay.
Zenefits supply the tools to employers to stay compliant with labor laws, through notifications of necessary breaks, ACA compliance features and overtime regulations. Time & scheduling syncs with benefits, HR and payroll to give accurate readings. This tool automatically calculates the proper amount to pay hourly employees. If there are any salary changes, these are automatically synced into the payroll. Zenefits has over 40 integrations which cover productivity, payroll, accounting, expense reporting, performance management, and recruiting. All information is ported to all apps connected to your system including Expensify, Microsoft Office 365, Salesforce, Slack and QuickBooks.
Zenefits offers high security with their two factor authentication which requires anyone logging into the system to provide additional verification via email or text. To set up as an administrator you will need to enter a password with company information, and wait for an email confirmation. Once you have clicked on the link you will be directed to the Welcome Page where the main dashboard has clearly labeled buttons for specific tasks which include Time Off, Hiring and Benefits Administration. Online video tutorials are available to guide you through all the features. Administrators can set up password protected access so that they can control what employees and managers can access specific information.
Running payroll is easy. All you need to do is open the Payroll app which will show you a list of upcoming pay runs and status. A draft vision of the payroll with pay dates and submission deadlines is displayed at the top. A list of employees to be included in the payroll is displayed and their gross pay, estimated taxes and net pay plus payment method are visible. To see more details on each employees pay stub you can click on their name to enter that field. Once you have finished the edit part you will be guided to a screen which will give the total amount payable on wages and salaries, taxes and reimbursements. Click Approve Run and you have finished your payroll. Multiple print out reports are available for analytics.
Zenefits Payroll Best Features
- Unlimited Pay runs – weekly or monthly
- Integrated HR – synced with payroll
- Direct Deposits – pay employees direct
- Multiple reports – analytical reports
- Automatic tax payments – stay compliant with taxes
- Benefits calculations – offer benefits to employees
- Automatic deductions – calculate deductions
- Quick onboarding – new hires join easily
- Employee Time & Scheduling – clock with photos