CheckMark Payroll
Payroll software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
Take the quiz to check if CheckMark Payroll and its alternatives fit your requirements.
Pay-as-you-go
Free Trial
Free version unavailable
Small
Medium
Large
- Agriculture, fishing, and forestry
- Construction
- Real estate and property management
What is CheckMark Payroll
CheckMark Payroll is a payroll software product used to calculate employee pay, manage payroll tax withholdings, and produce payroll checks and reports. It targets small businesses and accounting professionals that want a desktop-oriented payroll workflow. The product emphasizes straightforward payroll processing and printed/e-file-ready tax forms rather than a full HR suite.
Desktop payroll processing
The product supports running payroll locally, which can fit organizations that prefer desktop software over browser-based systems. This can be useful in environments with limited connectivity or strict local control requirements. It focuses on core payroll tasks such as pay calculation, deductions, and payroll reporting.
Tax form and reporting support
CheckMark Payroll is designed around producing payroll reports and common payroll tax forms used for filing and recordkeeping. This helps small businesses prepare documentation for quarterly and annual payroll processes. The reporting orientation can reduce reliance on spreadsheets for payroll summaries and audit trails.
Small business oriented setup
The feature set is geared toward smaller employers that need payroll without broader HR, IT, or global employment tooling. This narrower scope can make implementation and day-to-day use simpler than platforms that bundle payroll with many adjacent modules. It can also suit firms that only need payroll and basic compliance outputs.
Limited HR platform breadth
The product focuses on payroll and does not typically provide the broader HR, device management, or workforce platform capabilities found in more comprehensive systems. Organizations needing onboarding workflows, benefits administration, or advanced time tracking may require additional tools. This can increase integration and administration overhead.
Fewer modern integrations
Compared with payroll systems that emphasize app marketplaces and prebuilt connectors, desktop-oriented payroll tools often have fewer out-of-the-box integrations. This can affect synchronization with accounting, time tracking, or scheduling systems. As a result, some data may need manual entry or file-based import/export.
Not designed for global payroll
CheckMark Payroll is primarily aligned to domestic payroll processing rather than multi-country payroll and employer-of-record scenarios. Companies with international employees or complex multi-jurisdiction requirements may find coverage insufficient. They may need a separate provider for non-domestic payroll compliance and payments.
Plan & Pricing
Desktop (one-time/annual license)
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| CheckMark Payroll Pro | $579 first year; $399 from second year | Desktop license (2026 version). Includes 1 company & 1 computer; unlimited employees & payrolls; print/e-file W-2/W-3; up-to-date tax tables. Additional companies: $50 each (2–5), $40 (6–15), $30 (16–50), $25 (51+). Additional computer installs: $99 each. Cloud Backup add-on: $69/year. |
| CheckMark Payroll Pro+ | $649 first year; $469 from second year | All Pro features + priority/toll-free support, live chat, up to 120 mins priority support, reduced data-recovery rates. Same add-on pricing as Pro. |
Online (subscription / usage-based)
Pricing model: Pay-as-you-go subscription Free tier/trial: 14-day free trial (no credit card; trial allows adding up to 5 employees). Pricing: Business Edition: $20.00 base/month + $5.00 per employee/month. Accountant Edition: same structure with up to 20% lifetime discount available for Accountant Edition; Business Edition shows a limited-time 50% off for first 3 months. Example cost: 10 employees = $20 + (10 x $5) = $70/month. Billing: Month-to-month subscription; cancel anytime.
Notes: Delivery/media options for desktop: Digital download (included), CD $25, CD Series $50. Desktop pricing references indicate the license cost is a yearly fee that includes the 2026 version; second-year renewal pricing listed on the vendor site.
