Payroll that pays off
Wave Payroll guarantees accuracy and saves you valuable time. It’s the effortless way to pay employees, contractors, and yourself, and it’s built specifically for the needs of small business owners.
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If your country isn't on our list, you can still use Wave's 100% free invoicing and accounting software to run your business better.
United States
Canada
Simplified payroll software
Simplified payroll software
Why choose Wave Payroll
Pay employees and contractors
Pay independent contractors and employees, and generate T4 and T4-A forms for tax season.
Pay employees and contractors
Pay independent contractors and employees, and generate W2 and 1099 forms for tax season.
Direct deposit
Deposit payments directly into your employees’ bank accounts, quickly and reliably. Less work for you, and your team will love it.
Automatic tax remittances
Keep compliant and save valuable time by having Wave handle your Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) tax remittances on your behalf.
Tax payments and filings
Wave’s complete payroll tax service can automatically pay and file your state and federal payroll taxes for businesses in AZ, CA, FL, GA, IL, IN, MN, NY, NC, TN, TX, VA, WA, and WI. (Coming soon to more states.)
Automatic payroll journal entries
Payroll software by Wave is seamlessly connected with the rest of your Wave account to reduce the time you spend on manual bookkeeping.
Employee access
Your employees can log into Wave securely to access their pay stubs and T4s, and manage their contact and banking information.
Self-service pay stubs and tax forms
Employees can log into Wave securely to access their pay stubs and W2s, and manage their contact and banking information.
Protect your team with workers' comp
Pay for only what you use and simplify your annual audits with workers' compensation built for small business owners.
Easily switch from another payroll provider
When you switch from another payroll software, migrating your data is simple. Learn more about how you can switch to Wave.
Make managing payroll effortless
Automated, accurate payroll helps you stay compliant and stress-free, all while saving you valuable time.
Stay compliant at tax time
When tax season rolls around, Wave can help generate and file important forms and documents, saving you valuable time.
"I strongly depend on Wave for my day to day bookkeeping and for payroll services. Customer service is amazing and next to none. Never had such prompt replies before. Any small business should definitely use Wave"
Payroll pricing
No set-up fees or hidden charges.
Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin
Wave handles your payroll taxes.
These 14 states include tax services from Wave. This means we automatically transfer tax payments and file the paperwork with your state tax office and the IRS.
All other 36 states
Wave makes filing your own payroll taxes easy.
The remaining 36 states are self-serve, which means you’ll have to pay and file the paperwork yourself. Wave makes it easy by showing you what information and how much money you’ll need per payroll.
* Wave charges sales tax as required, including applicable New York Sales and Use Tax in New York State. Taxes charged appear on your invoice.
*Please note payroll tax processing is not available to household employers in the United States.
- 100% payroll accuracy guaranteed
- Unlimited free direct deposits
- Automatic tax filings and payments
- Pay yourself, employees or contractors, hassle-free
- Seamless integration with Wave Accounting software
- Get the full picture of your cash flow with wage and tax payment reporting
- Integrated employee portal for access to pay stubs, tax forms, and vacation leave.
- Full employee management with ROE forms, top ups, benefit calculations and more
Easy access for managing T4 and T4A tax forms
* Wave charges sales tax as required, including applicable PST, GST, and/or HST. Taxes charged appear on your invoice.
Try Wave Payroll free for 30 days
Payroll
- Payroll: Run your payroll with ease and accuracy.
- Contractor Payments: Make payments, record accounting entries, and file tax documents for your independent contractors.
- Direct Deposit: Pay employees with one simple click every payday.
- Reporting: See a breakdown of your payroll expenses by employee, expense type and more.
- Employee Portal: Employees get online access to pay stubs, tax forms and can update their banking and contact details.
- COVID-19 Relief Support: We consistently update our features to incorporate government relief programs and changes.
Tax
- Tax filing / Tax payment: Save time with automatic tax filings and payments available in Tax Service States.
- Year-End Tax Forms for Employees W-2: Generate the W2 form without the hassle.
- Year-End Tax Forms for Contractors 1099: Generate the 1099 form.
Time and Attendance
- Timesheets: Track leave time and accruals required to process payroll.
Full Financial Solution
- Integrated to Wave Accounting, Invoicing and Payments: Payroll automatically integrates with Wave Accounting, Invoicing, and Payments to keep your records up to date.
Support
- Live Chat Support (Monday-Friday): Get a priority connection to our highly-skilled customer support team.
- Email Support: Connect with our support team via email for prompt assistance.
Wave Advisors
- Business Tax Filing: Get help completing and filing your business income taxes.
- Personal Tax Filing: Get help completing and filing your personal income taxes.
Payroll
- Payroll: Run your payroll with ease and accuracy.
- Contractor Payments: Make payments, record accounting entries, and file tax slips for your independent contractors.
- Direct Deposit: Pay employees with one simple click every payday.
- Reporting: See a breakdown of your payroll expenses by employee, expense type and more.
- Employee Portal: Employees get online access to pay stubs, tax forms and can update their banking and contact details.
- COVID-19 Relief Support: We consistently update our features to incorporate government relief programs and changes.
Tax
- Year-End Tax Forms for Employees T4: Generate the T4 slip without the hassle.
- Year-End Tax Forms for Contractors T4A: Generate the T4A slip.
- Tax Payment: Save time with automatic tax payments.
Time and Attendance
- Timesheets: Track leave time and accruals required to process payroll.
Full Financial Solution
- Integrated to Wave Accounting, Invoicing and Payments: Payroll automatically integrates with Wave Accounting, Invoicing, and Payments to keep your records up to date.
Compliance
- Record of Employment: If employees depart or have their earnings interrupted, this provides a record of their insurable earnings and hours, you can enable Wave to submit this required record to the CRA on your behalf.
Support
- Live Chat Support (Monday-Friday): Get a priority connection to our highly-skilled customer support team.
- Email Support: Connect with our support team via email for prompt assistance.
The complete guide to small business payroll
Top 10 things to know before running payroll
Video: What’s the right way to pay yourself?
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How does the 30-day free trial work?
Upon processing your first payroll, you can use Wave Payroll for up to 30 days, commitment-free. At any time, you can activate to start your billing cycle and gain access to items like tax filing and approving payrolls beyond the current month. See our full terms here.
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How does the 30-day free trial work?
Upon processing your first payroll, you can use Wave Payroll for up to 30 days, commitment-free. At any time, you can activate to start your billing cycle and gain access to items like tax filing and approving payrolls beyond the current month. See our full terms here.
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Why is the base price different for some states?
The base rate is higher in tax service states (Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin) because Wave automatically transfers tax payments and files the necessary paperwork with your state tax office and or IRS.
In self-service states (all other 36 states) Wave Payroll does not make payments or file on your behalf.
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Can I pay contractors with Wave Payroll?
You sure can! Wave Payroll supports paying both employees and independent contractors when you run payroll. The proper T4-A tax forms are also generated for you.
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Can I pay independent contractors with Wave Payroll?
You sure can! Wave Payroll supports paying both employees and independent contractors when you run payroll. The proper 1099 tax forms are also generated for you.
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How do I migrate my data from a different payroll provider to Wave Payroll?
If you're switching to Wave mid-year, you’ll want to provide us with your historical payroll data so that employee tax forms and pay stubs are accurate. You can learn how to do that with this handy support article.
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What if I want to pause my payroll for a period of time?
You can deactivate your payroll account at any time by navigating to Settings > Billing > Deactivate.
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What provinces and territories is Wave Payroll available in?
Our payroll service is available in every province and territory with the exception of Quebec.
Smooth payroll, and more!
Payroll software is great, but it’s even greater when used with the rest of Wave.
Your business is your passion
Our passion is to build a suite of products that work seamlessly together to simplify the lives of business owners like you.
Accounting Free
Truly understand and manage your income and expenses. Track everything and connect to other Wave products such as payroll, payments, and invoicing. Everything is automated and in one perfect package.
Invoicing Free
Every invoice paid is positive incoming revenue for your business. Wave enables you to easily create and send professional invoices, with advanced features like recurring billing and automatic payments.
Payments Pay-per-use
Get paid in as fast as 2 business days, enhance your brand, and look more professional when you enable Payments by Wave. Accept credit cards and bank payments on your invoices for as little as 1% per transaction.
Payroll Monthly
Managing payroll can be tedious and time-consuming, but it doesn’t have to be. Run your payroll in minutes, with 100% guaranteed accuracy, and say goodbye to the unnecessary stress of payroll taxes.
Accounting Free
Truly understand and manage your income and expenses. Track everything and connect to other Wave products i.e. Payments and Invoicing. Everything is automated and in one perfect package.
Invoicing Free
Every invoice paid is positive incoming revenue for your business. Wave enables you to easily create and send professional invoices, with advanced features like recurring billing and automatic payments.
Payments Pay-per-use
Get paid in just 2-7 business days, enhance your brand and look more professional when you enable Payments by Wave.
Accounting Free
Truly understand and manage your income and expenses. Everything is automated and in one perfect package.
Invoicing Free
Every invoice paid is positive incoming revenue for your business. Wave enables you to easily create and send professional invoices, with advanced features like recurring billing and automatic payments.