Heartland Payroll Review

About Heartland Payroll

Heartland Payroll is the payroll arm of Heartland, a long-established small-business payments and POS company founded in 1997 and acquired by Global Payments for $4.3 billion in 2016. For a small-to-midsize trades business — Heartland Payroll is commonly used by companies with roughly 10-50 employees — it offers hands-off payroll: automated payroll calculations, tax filings, and payments, with the option to bundle payroll alongside Heartland's payment processing and POS for a single-vendor relationship.

For a contractor that already uses (or wants) Heartland for card processing, adding payroll from the same provider can simplify vendor management, and reviews are generally positive on its comprehensive features and ease of use, with the automation of calculations and tax filings cited as a real time-saver. As part of Global Payments, it has the backing of a major payments company.

The considerations are pricing opacity and a brand transition. Heartland Payroll doesn't publish pricing — it's quote-based — so you go through sales. And notably, after keeping its brand for nearly a decade post-acquisition, Heartland accounts are officially migrating to Global Payments branding by 2026, so the "Heartland" name is being absorbed; worth understanding for a multi-year commitment. It's also a generalist small-business payroll, not a construction specialist — it won't natively handle certified/union/prevailing-wage payroll.

For a small-to-mid trades business that wants straightforward, hands-off payroll — especially one consolidating with Heartland/Global Payments processing — Heartland Payroll is a credible, established option. Contractors needing construction-specific certified/union payroll should use a specialist (eBacon, Payroll4Construction, Miter), and those wanting the cheapest published pricing should compare SMB tools like Gusto or SurePayroll.