A step-by-step checklist from mapping your workforce to signing, covering Canadian payroll compliance, pricing, data migration, privacy and exit terms.
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This checklist follows the order in which a Canadian employer usually chooses payroll and HR software: understand your own workforce, confirm the Canadian payroll obligations are handled, price the option that really fits, check data and privacy, plan the switch and lock down the contract. Tick items as you go and keep each vendor's written answers.
How to use it. Do not start with demos. The first group, your workforce, is what decides the best fit: a single-province employer with salaried staff needs far less than a multi-province employer with hourly shifts, tips or a union agreement. The compliance group is where cheaper tools most often fall short, especially on ROEs, multi-province vacation pay and Quebec.
Worked example (illustrative). A 30-person employer with staff in Ontario and Quebec ticks every item but finds that one shortlisted tool cannot file RL-1 slips. That single gap rules it out regardless of price, because preparing RL-1s by hand each February would cost more than the price difference.
Limits. The list is general. Collective agreements, federally regulated industries, benefits plans and very large workforces add requirements. For the reasoning behind each item, read the selection checklist guide.
Payroll Mistakes, Switching Problems and Official Sources
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.
Payroll Mistakes, Switching Problems and Official Sources
The payroll errors Canadian employers make most often, with or without software, how to catch them early, and which official source answers what.
Payroll Mistakes, Switching Problems and Official Sources
How CRA payroll penalties work for late remittances, failure to deduct, late T4s and paper filing, with worked examples and how software helps.
Payroll Mistakes, Switching Problems and Official Sources
How long to keep payroll records in Canada (ITA s. 230, ROEs, employment standards), which privacy law covers employee data, and vendor terms.
Payroll Software Costs, Pricing Models and 2026 Rules
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.
Cost Estimates, Worked Examples and Selection Checklists
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.
