BambooHR Payroll Providers: TRAX Payroll vs Gusto vs QuickBooks Online

Is your startup considering BambooHR? Interested in integrating BambooHR with a full-service payroll provider so that you don’t have to double-enter employee records, employee hours, or approved PTO?

I recently compared several providers. Here is a summary of my findings. See detailed info below.

TraxGusto +
Nimble
Gusto +
TSheets
QBOQBO +
Nimble
QBO +
TSheets
Employee RecordsNativeNative
Native
Native
API
APIAPI
Native
API
API
PTO in Time Tracking
+ Import PTO from BambooHRNON/A
Native
N/A
API
APIN/A
Native
N/A
API
+ Monitor PTO AccrualYesYesYesYesYesYes
Employee Self-Service in PayrollWEB ONLYWeb/MobileWeb/MobileWEB ONLYWeb/MobileWeb/Mobile
+ Clock-InYesYesYesREQ DEDICATED DEVICES?YesYes
+ Breaks??Yes??Yes
+ Time SheetYesYesYesYesYesYes
+ Track Billable TimeNONOMAYBE (QBO sync?)YesNOYes
PTO in Payroll
+ PTO from Time TrackingYesYesYes [info]YesYesYes
+ Monitor PTO AccrualYesYesYesYesYesYes
Employee Self-Service in Time TrackingWeb (Mobile?)Web (Mobile Friendly)Web (Mobile Friendly)Web (Mobile Friendly)Web (Mobile Friendly)Web (Mobile Friendly)
+ Input Tax PreferencesNOYesYesNONONO
+ View Pay Stubs and W-2YesYesYesYesYesYes
Full-Service Payroll
+ Direct DepositYesYesYesYesYesYes
+ CheckYes (Employer must print)Yes (Employer must print)Yes (Employer must print)Yes (Employer must print)Yes (Employer must print)Yes (Employer must print)
+ Tax FilingsYesYesYesYesYesYes
+ Tax PaymentsYesYesYesYesYesYes
+ Benefit PaymentsIRA - Must use their vendor or pay manuallyIRA - Must use their vendor or pay manually
Payroll Totals to BambooHRYESAPI*API*NONONO
Payroll to QBOManual (CSV Export)Yes [info]Yes [info]YesYesYes
Costs (10 employees)
+ HR$99/mo$99/mo$99/mo$99/mo$99/mo$99/mo
+ Time Tracking$30/mo$31/mo$83/moQBO Plus $40/moQBO Plus $40/mo
Nimble $31/mo
QBO Plus $40/mo
TSheets $83/mo
+ Payroll$75/mo$99/mo$99/mo$134/mo$134/mo$134/mo
+ Direct DepositsIncludedIncludedIncludedIncludedIncludedIncluded
Total Costs$204/mo$229/mo$281/mo$273/mo$304/mo$356/mo

Here are our specific preferences:

  • BambooHR must send Employee Record changes to Time Tracking and Payroll systems
  • BambooHR should send Approved PTO to Time Tracking system
  • Time Tracking must have Employee Self-Service features
    • Clock-in/clock-out and record breaks
    • Input timesheet
    • Record billable time
    • Import approved PTO from BambooHR
  • Time Tracking must send Approved Time (with PTO) to Payroll
  • Payroll must have Employee Self-Service feature
    • Input tax information/preferences (for manager review/approval)
    • View W-2 and Pay Stub history
  • Payroll should also track PTO Balance (to be manually reconciled against BambooHR)
  • Payroll service must process Tax Filings and Tax Withholdings
  • Payroll service should send other deductions that vary by paycheck (e.g. IRA contributions)
  • Payroll should send Payroll Totals to BambooHR

Let’s compare these providers:

  • BambooHR + TRAX Payroll
  • BambooHR + Gusto Payroll
  • BambooHR + Quickbooks Online Payroll

BambooHR + TRAX Payroll

BambooHR currently recommends this integration (12/2016). They send employee data to TRAX. TRAX recommends using their own Time Tracking system to request/approve PTO. TRAX Time Tracking is currently web only (no mobile app). TRAX is currently the ONLY vendor who sends Payroll Totals back to BambooHR. This allows employees to view payroll chart/report history in BambooHR. The BambooHR+TRAX integration also provides BambooHR users/employees with single sign-on (SSO) into TRAX to view W-2 and Pay Stubs. TRAX does NOT offer an API.

BambooHR recommends TRAX w/ Nimble Schedule. They send Employee records to TRAX and Nimble. They send Approved PTO to Nimble. Nimble sends Approved Time Sheets to TRAX. TRAX sends Payroll Totals to BambooHR.

BambooHR + Gusto Payroll

BambooHR previously recommended this integration when Gusto Payroll was known as Zen Payroll in late 2015. Gusto does not provide Time Tracking, so we must use a 3rd party. BambooHR sends Employee records to Gusto and Nimble. Bamboo sends Approved PTO to Nimble. Nimble sends Approved Time Sheets with PTO to Gusto. Gusto does NOT send Payroll Totals back to BambooHR. Nimble has open API. Gusto has an open API. BambooHR has an open API. We could probably develop our own integration to send Payroll Totals back to BambooHR, but Gusto is not currently providing API access for new accounts.

BambooHR + Quickbooks Online Payroll w/ QBO Time Tracking

We can use these Workato integrations to sync New/Updated Employees from BambooHR to QBO. We have to manually enter Approved PTO from BambooHR into QBO Time Tracking, or we may be able to develop a custom integration to sync PTO. Be aware that QBO Time Tracking is NOT currently supported on mobile devices.

BambooHR + Quickbooks Online Payroll w/ Nimble Schedule Time Tracking

BambooHR supports/recommends sending Employee Records and Approved PTO to Nimble Schedule (details), then import the Approved Time Sheets with PTO from Nimble into QBO. Nimble has open API. The Nimble integration can NOT currently sync Employees or Jobs from QBO, so you can NOT currently input billable hours into Nimble (details). QBO does NOT provide a full Payroll API (Employee and Time Tracking records only), so Payroll Totals can NOT be sent back to BambooHR.

BambooHR + Quickbooks Online Payroll w/ TSheets Time Tracking

TSheets CAN sync Employees, Customers, Jobs, Service Items, Classes, and Payroll Items with QBO (details). TSheets has an open API. BambooHR does not list TSheets as a native integration. If we weren’t planning to sync Employees from QBO to TSheets, we could use these Workato integrations to sync Employees from BambooHR to TSheets. We couldn’t find an existing integration to send Approved PTO from BambooHR to TSheets, but both systems have an open API, so we should be able to implement this manually or via a new Workato integration.

Service Pricing (12/2016)

  • BambooHR: $100-200 setup + $99/mo base fee (includes 12 employees)
  • TRAX Payroll: $250-350 setup + $75/mo base fee (includes 10 employees)
  • Gusto Payroll: $0 setup + $39/mo base fee + $6/mo per employee
  • Quickbooks Payroll: $0 setup + $100/mo base fee + $2/mo per employee
  • Nimble Schedule: $0 setup + $3.08/mo per employee (minimum 9 employees)
  • TSheets: $0 setup + $20/mo base fee + $6.25/mo per employee

ACH Payment Processors: Stripe vs Authorize.net vs Quickbooks Online

Is your Startup considering ACH payment processors? We recently compared these processors…

  • PayPal
  • Stripe
  • Authorize.net
  • Quickbooks Online (Quickbooks Payments)
  • Bill.com
  • Local Banks

PayPal

No longer pushing ACH payments in PayPal or Venmo due to arrangement with Visa in July 2016. Previously $0.50/transaction.

Stripe

Their platform is built for the web. Great option if you only accept online payments. Many great developer frameworks exist, but many of them have limited support for offline payments (e.g. cash or check).

Costs: 0.8% transaction fees (max $5/transaction). Funds in 7 days.

Authorize.net

Well established provider supported by many platforms and developer frameworks.

Costs: $25/mo + 0.75% transaction fees ($10 minimum/month). Funds in 3-10 days.

Quickbooks Online (Quickbooks Payments)

QBO added ACH support and huge improvements to API in past few years. Unbeatable price, but default transaction limit is $5000/month. There are several online complaints about Intuit holding large transactions and requiring extensive documentation before they release funds.

QB Online Costs: $0/mo + $0.00/transaction fees. Funds in 5-7 days.

QB Desktop Costs: $0/mo + $0.50/transaction fees. Funds in 2-3 days.

Bill.com

Sync Invoices and Payments with QBO. Collect ACH payments. May be a good alternative if you have trouble with Quickbooks Payments.

Costs: $39/mo + $0.49/transaction fees. Funds in ? days.

Local Bank

Most local banks can process ACH transactions for their business customers. They typically provide a web interface similar to a Bill Pay interface, where you can store customer bank account information and input payment amounts as needed.

Some local banks can also accept/process your NACHA formatted ACH files that include 1 or more transactions. This means your application must be capable of securely storing the customer bank account information and generating the NACHA formatted ACH files. Great option for large-scale operations. Generally requires hardware or software token-based 2FA.

Costs: $0-50/mo base fee + $0.10-$0.50/transaction. Funds in 1 business day.