How Much Does Paycom Cost?

Learn about Paycom's costs and features with OutSail: Ideal for mid-market companies, offering a range of HR tools from $25-36 PEPM, plus implementation fees

Brett Ungashick
OutSail HRIS Advisor
July 4, 2023
user comparing HRIS systems

How Much Does Paycom Cost?

Paycom is a premium priced solution compared to other payroll providers. They charges companies on a per paycheck basis. When converted to a Per Employee Per Month fee, a Paycom subscription can cost anywhere from $25-36 PEPM, depending on the size of your company and the modules included in your scope. The average payroll cost per employee would be roughly half of the PEPM price.

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In addition to the monthly per employee fee, Paycom will typically charge a one-time implementation fee. Paycom's implementation fees are typically about 15-30% of the annual software fees (i.e., $15-30K implementation fee on a $100K annual purchase)

Who is Paycom?

Paycom was founded in Oklahoma City in 1998 and is still led by their founder, Chad Richison. Paycom started off as a payroll software platform, but over the years, has developed a full suite of HR software features.

One of the defining features of Paycom is their focus on building their entire suite of tools internally without acquiring third party companies or white labeling competitors' tools. This has led Paycom to develop a well unified solution, but can come at the cost of rapid feature development and 3rd party integration capabilities.

What Sized Companies Fit Paycom Best?

Paycom is considered a Mid-Market HRIS, which means the system works best for companies with between 50 and 750 employees. Mid-Market solutions are designed to be an all-in-one HRIS for companies with fairly standard HR requirements.

Mid-Market solutions typically take about 2-3 months to implement and do not require external consultants to successfully implement and manage the solutions. Mid-Market solutions can be limited in how scalable they are, due to a lack of custom workflow tools and limited rules engines.

See How Paycom Stacks Up: Interested in how Paycom compares to the competition on cost, features, and more? Visit the HRIS Marketplace for a side-by-side comparison.

Paycom's HR Management Tools

For most small to medium sized companies, Paycom can serve as a one-stop-shop for all of their HR-related needs. Paycom started off as a payroll provider, but has continued to develop broader capabilities over the years.

Paycom, generally, does not make it easy for companies to integrate 3rd party HR tools (like an ATS or performance management tool), so buyers are steered towards taking an all-in approach.

Here is a deeper look into some of the modules Paycom offers:

Payroll Processing & Payroll Tax Filing

Payroll processing is the process of calculating employee wages, taxes and benefits based on hours worked. The tax management software will also calculate payroll tax filings (Federal, State & Local) and allow you to file them electronically. This solution creates a great deal of automation for a payroll manager

Payroll taxes are usually taken out before an employee's gross pay is calculated so that they see their net pay amount instead of the gross one (taxes withheld).

Some systems also allow you to use a percentage method where employers withhold X% of each paycheck for FICA taxes and help with end of quarter/year calculations such as quarterly estimated payments and 1099-MISC forms which must be sent out by January 31st following year end).

From the employee side, this module will also allow them to set-up direct deposit and to view their pay stubs within the application. Paycom also includes expense management, which allows employees to submit company expenses and to be reimbursed on their next paycheck.

Benefits Administration

The Benefits Administration module is where employees can enroll in benefit plans and make life event updates that could impact their benefit plans. They can also select between the company's medical, dental, vision and retirement benefits.

Companies can build automated integrations between the benefits system and the payroll system so that employees can see their coverage options employees and will be automatically enrolled into the correct plan at their hire date, or during open enrollment.

HR Management & Employee Files

An HRIS system should provide an easy way for employees to access and update their personal information (also known as employee self service).

If the system offers HRIS employee file storage, it will allow you to keep all of your employee records in one place, meaning you'll never have to search through multiple documents or files to find what you need.

This feature also lets you create a central database of all of your employee demographic data so that it can be easily accessed by other departments within the company and ensures accurate internal communication about employees' current statuses (e.g., vacation days remaining).

Employees may also be able to log into their own personal accounts in order to update their contact details, change their email address or password, request time off or submit pay requests from any device with internet access—all without having to go through human resources! This gives them more power over how they manage themselves while simultaneously reducing overhead costs.

An HRIS system should offer management tools such as org charts and position management so managers can visualize all relevant staff members at once.

Finally, this module should offer reporting features that allow HR administrators to see things like Affordable Care Act (ACA) data.

Time Tracking, Attendance & Labor Management

Time and Attendance systems are designed to track employee attendance, absences, shift swapping and overtime. They come with easy-to-use reporting tools so that you can see any patterns of absence or other issues among your employees.

Time tracking tools also allow managers to approve time sheets before they're submitted by employees; this helps prevent fraud as well as ensure accuracy when it comes to paid time off (PTO) tracking.

An HRIS system should have labor analytics built into it so you can easily analyze labor costs across departments, teams or locations in order to make better decisions about staffing levels and budgets.

It should also provide information on how many hours each employee works per week along with their pay rate so that you can determine whether there is an imbalance between them (e.g., if one person works more hours than another).

The software should also give insight into how much money individual teams are spending on overtime each month—and more importantly which teams are taking advantage of this resource most often—which could help identify where adjustments need making based on workload distribution across teams/departments etcetera

Onboarding & Offboarding

Onboarding and offboarding are important processes that can be streamlined with the right HRIS system.

Onboarding is the process of orienting and integrating a new employee into the organization. This often involves collecting new-hire documents, completing paperwork, and assigning access to relevant information systems or applications.

Offboarding is the process of terminating employment of an employee. Both onboarding and offboarding help your company stay compliant with federal laws such as COBRA, FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act), ACA (Affordable Care Act), etc., which require certain actions be taken at certain times to ensure that employees' rights are protected from termination or resignation from your company.

A good HRIS system should give you the ability to do bulk actions during onboarding/offboarding so these tasks can be completed quickly without having to spend too much time clicking through screens individually for every new hire/former employee.

Recruiting & Talent Acquisition

Recruiters and hiring managers can use the talent acquisition features of an HRIS to help find the right candidates. An applicant tracking system can distribute job posts to various job boards.

The system can also be used for candidate screening by ranking and sorting applicants. Another key talent management feature is the ability to create defined stages during the hiring process and notifying various recruitment stakeholders when  actions are needed.

The system can also help with candidate interviewing by providing shared scorecard tools, shared questions and shared candidate standards. Finally, a recruitment platform can help with candidate hiring by managing the offer letter process

Performance Management

Performance management is a system that provides employees with feedback on their performance. It’s designed to help employees improve their performance and develop, as well as understand the company’s goals.

Performance Management is an integral part of any HRIS system because it allows managers to measure an employee's progress and then provide them with constructive feedback.

Compensation Management

Compensation Management is a system that manages and tracks all the compensation related information of employees. With this module, you can manage the salary, bonuses, and other benefits of the employees. The system will allow managers to review their team and give raises based on merits or performance.

Learning Management

Learning Management (LMS) is a system that is used to store and manage training content. The LMS can be used to track the progress of learners, access training material, facilitate delivery of training and stay compliant with various industry standards.

There are many different types of learning management systems available in the market today. Some of these include:

  • Blended Learning - This type of learning uses a combination of traditional classroom-based learning with self-paced eLearning activities.
  • Corporate Training - Corporate training covers topics such as employee safety, quality control and customer service techniques. It's usually delivered by an external facilitator who works closely with internal staff members on specific needs within their company's operations.
  • Knowledge Management Systems - Knowledge management systems help employees stay up-to-date with new developments within their industry or field by providing access to relevant information in one place where it can easily be stored, searched and retrieved whenever needed (i.e., when making decisions).
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Meet the Author

Brett Ungashick
OutSail HRIS Advisor
Brett Ungashick, the friendly face behind OutSail, started his career at LinkedIn, selling HR software. This experience sparked an idea, leading him to create OutSail in 2018. Based in Denver, OutSail simplifies the HR software selection process, and Brett's hands-on approach has already helped over 1,000 companies, including SalesLoft, Hudl and DoorDash. He's a go-to guy for all things HR Tech, supporting companies in every industry and across 20+ countries. When he's not demystifying HR tech, you'll find Brett enjoying a round of golf or skiing down Colorado's slopes, always happy to chat about work or play.

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