All guides
Payroll and HR software comparison for Canadian employers: software types, per-employee pricing, 3-year cost, 2026 CPP/EI, remittances, T4s, ROEs and switching.
Payroll Software Costs, Pricing Models and 2026 Rules
- GST/HST, PST and USD pricing on payroll software: what Canadian employers actually pay
How GST/HST, QST and PST apply to payroll software in Canada, foreign vendors under the digital rules, and how to budget for USD pricing and renewals.
- Payroll and HR software comparison for Canada: types, costs and 2026 rules
Compare payroll and HR software in Canada by type, pricing model, three-year cost and the 2026 payroll rules it must handle, without rankings.
- CRA payroll remittance due dates and remitter types: what your payroll software must track
CRA remitter types and due dates for 2026, how AMWA sets them, the payroll (RP) account and electronic payment, and what payroll software must track.
- Payroll software pricing models in Canada: per employee, base fee, per pay run and add-ons
How payroll and HR software is priced in Canada: per employee per month, base fees, per pay run, year-end fees and modules, with worked arithmetic.
- Quebec payroll in your software: QPP, QPIP, RL-1, HSF, CNESST and French-language needs
What changes when you pay employees in Quebec: QPP, QPIP and the lower EI rate, Revenu Québec remittances, RL-1 slips, HSF, CNESST and French tools.
- Records of Employment (ROE) and payroll software: deadlines, electronic submission and common errors
When an ROE is required, paper and electronic deadlines, ROE Web versus payroll software submission, and how to avoid amended ROEs.
- 2026 payroll source deductions in Canada: CPP, CPP2, EI and income tax your software must get right
The 2026 CPP, CPP2 and EI rates and maximums, how income tax is withheld with CRA formulas, and a worked biweekly example to test payroll software.
- T4 slips and year-end payroll in Canada: deadlines, electronic filing and what software should do
T4 and T4 Summary deadlines, mandatory electronic filing above five slips, T4A and RL-1 pointers, year-end fees and a payroll year-end sequence.
Cost Estimates, Worked Examples and Selection Checklists
- HR software features compared: employee records, self-service, time off, scheduling and onboarding
What HR records, self-service, time off, scheduling and onboarding features save a Canadian employer, and the Ontario and privacy rules they touch.
- Manual payroll vs payroll software: when does switching pay back for a Canadian small employer?
A worked payback calculation for moving from spreadsheets and the CRA calculator to payroll software, with ramp-up and break-even headcount.
- Payroll software cost per employee in Canada: worked monthly estimates for 6, 25 and 80 staff
Illustrative monthly and yearly payroll software costs for three Canadian employer profiles: per-employee price, base fee, run fees and add-ons.
- Payroll software integrations: accounting, time clocks, POS, benefits and banking in Canada
Which payroll integrations save real work: general ledger mapping, time and POS import, benefits deductions and direct deposit, and how to test them.
- How to choose payroll and HR software in Canada: a best-fit selection checklist
A step-by-step best-fit method to choose payroll and HR software in Canada, with weighted scoring, compliance questions and a demo test script.
- Payroll-only, HR suite, full-service or accountant-run: which payroll set-up fits a Canadian employer?
Payroll-only, HR suite, full-service, accountant-run or employer of record: which payroll set-up fits by headcount, provinces and pay complexity.
- Three-year total cost of payroll and HR software: a worked TCO for a Canadian employer
Build a three-year total cost of ownership for payroll and HR software, with renewals, switching costs and internal time, worked for two options.
- Vacation pay rules by province and how to set them up in payroll software
Vacation time and vacation pay minimums differ by province and years of service. How the rules work, how software accrues them, and set-up mistakes.
Payroll Mistakes, Switching Problems and Official Sources
- Payroll and HR software contracts: renewal increases, auto-renewal, error liability and exit terms
Payroll software contract terms that cost most later: auto-renewal, renewal uplifts, minimum headcount, error liability and data export at exit.
- Why payroll software implementations go wrong: failure patterns and how Canadian employers avoid them
Recurring patterns behind painful payroll software go-lives in Canada, from rushed dates and bad data to missing pay rules, with warning signs and fixes.
- Common payroll and HR software mistakes in Canada, and the official sources to check
The payroll errors Canadian employers make most often, with or without software, how to catch them early, and which official source answers what.
- CRA payroll penalties: late remittances, failure to deduct, late T4s and paper filing
How CRA payroll penalties work for late remittances, failure to deduct, late T4s and paper filing, with worked examples and how software helps.
- Payroll record retention and employee privacy in Canada: what your HR software must keep and protect
How long to keep payroll records in Canada (ITA s. 230, ROEs, employment standards), which privacy law covers employee data, and vendor terms.
- Switching payroll software or providers mid-year in Canada: YTD balances, T4s, ROEs and parallel runs
How to switch payroll software mid-year in Canada without double deductions or duplicate T4s: start dates, YTD balances, ROEs and parallel runs.