Payroll · Legacy payroll, PEO or reputation warning
Wave Payroll Review
Payroll add-on for Wave's accounting, with tax filing in all 50 states for a flat base fee plus $6 per person paid
Reputation warning
Wave Financial's BBB profile listed 235 complaints closed in the last three years when checked on 30 September 2026. It has been BBB-accredited since 2013. The complaint text could not be read for this review, so read the complaints on BBB yourself before relying on Wave for payroll or for customer payments.
Quick verdict
Who Wave Payroll suits: Solo operators and small trades crews that keep their books in Wave and want basic payroll with tax filing in the same account. Pricing: $40/month + $6 per active employee or contractor paid; one US plan with tax payments and filings in all 50 states. Canada: $25 CAD/month + $6 per active employee + $6 per contractor paid (all provinces and territories except Quebec). Wave says these prices apply to new payroll customers who signed up after April 2, 2025. No time tracking, scheduling or HR tools, US and Canada only, and a $6 fee for each contractor paid on top of the base fee. For a small shop already using Wave for its books, the low price and automatic posting to the ledger make up for much of that.
About Wave Payroll
Wave Payroll is the payroll add-on of Wave, a small-business money app run by Wave Financial Inc. that offers a free Starter plan for accounting and invoicing and a paid Pro plan. Wave started in 2010 in Toronto, and H&R Block completed its acquisition of the company on July 1, 2019. Wave's site describes the company as Canadian and backed by H&R Block, and says it has helped more than 5.9 million small business owners in the US and Canada since 2010.
Pricing is simple. Wave's payroll page lists one US price for new payroll customers who signed up after April 2, 2025: $40 a month plus $6 per active employee and $6 per independent contractor paid. Wave says its tax service covers all 50 states, so the price is the same in every state. In Canada the price is $25 CAD a month plus $6 per active employee and $6 per contractor paid, in every province and territory except Quebec.
Wave lists unlimited free direct deposits, automatic payroll tax payments and filings, W-2 and 1099-NEC forms, an employee portal for pay stubs and tax forms, leave tracking and accruals, and payroll journal entries that post automatically to Wave's accounting. The payroll page does not mention time tracking, scheduling, job costing, benefits administration or workers' compensation, so a crew that clocks in on job sites needs a separate time app.
For a solo operator or small crew that already keeps its books in Wave, running payroll in the same account saves re-entering wages and taxes by hand.
The trade-off: it is a basic payroll tool with no time tracking or HR features, it only covers the US and Canada, and each contractor paid costs $6 on top of the base fee, so a shop paying 5 employees and 3 subcontractors in a month pays $88.
How it works
You add Payroll to your Wave account, set up employees, contractors and pay schedules, and run payroll online. Wave pays people by direct deposit, calculates payroll taxes and, under its tax service, pays and files them for you in all 50 states; wages and taxes post to Wave's accounting as journal entries. Employees see pay stubs and tax forms in a self-service portal, and Wave generates W-2 and 1099-NEC forms. Wave says you can use Payroll for up to 30 days commitment-free after your first payroll run.
Pros & cons
What works
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Low base fee
$40 a month plus $6 per active employee and $6 per contractor paid, with tax payments and filings included, per Wave's payroll page. That suits solo operators and small crews.
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Books and payroll in one place
Wave says payroll journal entries post automatically to its accounting, and its Starter plan for accounting and invoicing is free.
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Tax service in every state
Wave says its tax service covers all 50 US states at the same price, so tax filing is not a separate upgrade.
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Unlimited direct deposits and an employee portal
Wave lists unlimited free direct deposits and a self-service portal where employees get pay stubs and tax forms.
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Backed by H&R Block
H&R Block completed its acquisition of Wave on July 1, 2019, and Wave's site still describes the company as backed by H&R Block.
What doesn't
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No time tracking or scheduling
Wave's payroll page does not list a time clock, crew scheduling or job costing, so field hours have to come from another app or paper timesheets.
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US and Canada only
Wave Payroll is offered in the US and in Canada outside Quebec, with no payroll for other countries.
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Contractors cost extra
Each independent contractor paid adds $6 on top of the $40 base and the $6 per active employee, so a shop paying 5 employees and 3 subcontractors in a month pays $88. Run the math for your own crew before you compare.
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No HR or benefits tools
The payroll page does not mention benefits administration, workers' compensation or HR features.
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Value tied to Wave accounting
The main advantage is automatic posting into Wave's books; if you keep your books elsewhere, much of the appeal is lost.
Pricing
$40/month + $6 per active employee or contractor paid; one US plan with tax payments and filings in all 50 states. Canada: $25 CAD/month + $6 per active employee + $6 per contractor paid (all provinces and territories except Quebec). Wave says these prices apply to new payroll customers who signed up after April 2, 2025.
Starting base: $40/mo + $6/employee
Affiliate disclosure: The link to Wave Payroll on this page goes to its own site and is not an affiliate link.
Integrations
Reviews and complaints at the source
We do not copy third-party review scores onto this page: they change often and we could not verify them. Read Wave Payroll's current reviews at the source.
Frequently asked
How much does Wave Payroll cost?
In the US, $40 a month plus $6 per active employee and $6 per independent contractor paid, with Wave's tax service in all 50 states. Wave says these prices apply to new payroll customers who signed up after April 2, 2025. In Canada it is $25 CAD a month plus $6 per active employee and $6 per contractor paid, in every province and territory except Quebec.
Does Wave Payroll connect to Wave's accounting?
Yes. Wave says payroll journal entries post automatically to its accounting. The Starter plan for accounting and invoicing is free, and the Pro plan is $19 a month or $190 a year in the US.
Does Wave Payroll file my payroll taxes?
Wave says its tax service calculates, pays and files payroll taxes for you in all 50 US states, at the same price in every state. It also generates W-2 and 1099-NEC forms for employees and contractors.
What are Wave Payroll's limitations?
It has no time clock, crew scheduling or HR tools, it covers only the US and Canada (outside Quebec), and each contractor paid adds $6 to the monthly bill. Shops that need scheduling, job costing or benefits will need other tools alongside it.
Other payroll services
Gusto
Tier SOnline payroll with automatic federal, state and local tax filing, contractor payments and published prices for every plan
OnPay
Tier SOne-plan online payroll at $49/mo plus $6 per person, with QuickBooks and Xero sync and optional pay-as-you-go workers' comp
Patriot Payroll
Tier SLow-cost online payroll from Canton, Ohio: $37/mo plus $5 per worker with full tax filing, or $17/mo plus $4 per worker if you file taxes yourself
Hourly.io
Tier SPayroll plus pay-as-you-go workers' comp in one app, with GPS time tracking and job costing on every plan
QuickBooks Payroll (plans branded QuickBooks Workforce)
Tier AIntuit's own payroll, now sold as QuickBooks Workforce: runs inside QuickBooks Online, from $50/mo plus $7 per employee payroll-only
Square Payroll
Tier ASquare's payroll for businesses already on Square: $35/mo plus $6 per person paid, or $6 per contractor with no base fee