Payroll in 5 minutes for small teams, no accountants required.
Small business owners can't find affordable HR software that fully handles payroll, benefits, and compliance without incurring the high costs of enterprise solutions like BambooHR.
PocketPayroll handles payroll calculations, direct deposits, and basic tax filings for 1-50 employee businesses with a one-click setup. It integrates employee onboarding and timesheet approvals into a single dashboard. Compliance basics like W-2s and 1099s are automated without enterprise pricing.
Small business owners managing 1-50 employees
Zero-configuration payroll engine that auto-detects state tax rules and employee classifications on signup.
friendly
Generate and send payroll with one click, including taxes and deductions.
Add employees via simple form, auto-generate tax forms.
Mobile-friendly time entry with approval workflow.
Download ready-to-file IRS forms like W-2s.
Integrate with banks for ACH payments.
Simple calculator for health insurance withholdings.
Exportable payroll summaries and analytics.
Flag potential compliance issues.
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| text | No | |
| business_name | text | No |
| state | text | No |
| created_at | timestamp | No |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| user_id | uuid | No |
| name | text | No |
| hourly_rate | int | No |
| hours_worked | int | Yes |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| employee_id | uuid | No |
| amount | int | No |
| taxes_deducted | int | Yes |
| run_date | timestamp | No |
| status | text | No |
Relationships:
/api/payroll/runCalculate and process payroll for selected employees
/api/employeesCreate new employee
/api/employeesList employees
/api/timesheetsSubmit timesheet
/api/reports/w2Generate W-2 exports
/api/auth/loginUser login
No payments or filings
| Month | Users | Conversion | MRR | ARR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 100 | 3% | $45 | $540 |
| Month 6 | 800 | 8% | $960 | $11,520 |
Affordable payroll for small businesses – calculations, taxes, and deposits included.
Post in small business Facebook groups like 'Small Business Owners' offering free first payroll run; DM 20 owners from LinkedIn searching 'small business owner + payroll'; run $50 Reddit ads on r/smallbusiness targeting pain points.
Full features
Overkill and expensive for tiny teams
5x cheaper, instant setup
HR suite
No payroll focus, high min cost
Payroll-first at fixed low price
Proprietary state tax rule engine built from IRS data, hard to replicate quickly.
Rising remote work and gig economy increase demand for simple, compliant payroll amid complex state laws post-2023 tax changes.
Tax compliance errors
Use verified IRS APIs and legal review before launch
Low adoption due to payroll sensitivity
Free tier with test mode and accountant partnerships
Bank integration failures
Start with Stripe ACH, add Plaid later
Success: 80% express interest in $15 price
Success: 5 paid beta users
Success: 10% conv to paid
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