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A landscaping company in Plymouth adds a second crew down in Palm Harbor for the winter season. A home health agency starts covering three counties instead of one. Both might have started with Brabo Payroll, a veteran-owned firm that bundles payroll with insurance brokering out of Massachusetts and Florida. Plenty of owners are happy there. Others start looking at Brabo Payroll alternatives once they want to see exactly what software they’re running on, or want their insurance broker kept separate from their payroll vendor.
Here are five worth a look.
5 Best Brabo Payroll Alternatives for Massachusetts and Florida Businesses
- Netchex – Best overall for hourly, multi-location businesses that want one company behind the platform and the support.
- Paychex Flex – Local reps and a PEO option, service that depends on your rep.
- ADP – Big compliance and reporting reach, heavier than most small teams need.
- Gusto – Simple, published pricing for a single-location shop under 50 employees.
- Checkwriters – Another Massachusetts-based payroll firm, for owners who want to stay local.
How We Evaluated These Brabo Payroll Alternatives
Every option got the same questions. Who builds the software? Who picks up the phone when something’s wrong? Can it handle hourly staff spread across two states? And is there anything independent to check the claims against? Brabo’s details come from its own website and BBB listings. Details on the other providers come from their own sites and independent review platforms, as of September 2026.
Give Brabo its due first. Bundling payroll with insurance under one company is a real convenience, and its BBB record is clean. Any alternative should be measured against that.
#1 Netchex – Best Overall Brabo Payroll Alternative
Netchex was founded in Louisiana more than 20 years ago for the businesses that keep America running, like restaurants, hotels, dealerships and clinics. It builds its own payroll, time, HR and benefits platform and staffs its own support team. Nobody is reselling somebody else’s product to you.
You feel that on a busy week. Time and attendance, Scheduler and payroll share one system, multi-location and multi-EIN businesses work from a single login, and OneScreen Payroll gets most teams through a run in under 15 minutes. A US-based, FPC-certified team answers 90% of calls in under a minute, and every customer gets a dedicated Account Manager. Netchex also works directly with your CPA and your existing benefits broker, rather than replacing either one.
The entire staff, from sales to implementation to service, has been stellar in their delivery. The culture of Netchex is one of a company that demonstrates the importance of relationships with clients.
– David Faunce, Partner, KM Consulting
| Strengths | Considerations |
| ✓ One company builds the platform and answers the phone | ✗ No global payroll for teams outside the US |
| ✓ 4.8/5 customer satisfaction and 8.9/10 G2 Quality of Support | ✗ Doesn’t broker insurance itself; works with your existing broker instead |
| ✓ Free, project-managed implementation in about six weeks, 96% satisfaction |
#2 Paychex Flex – A National Name With Local Reps
If Brabo’s local, personal touch is what appeals to you, Paychex offers a bigger version of it, with reps across most US markets. It also sells retirement plan services and a PEO option for owners who’d rather hand off HR entirely.
Consistency is the catch. Service tends to hinge on which rep you’re assigned, and Paychex has a documented pattern of serious escalations, including reviewers reporting failed quarterly filings and penalty notices that took multiple reps to sort out.
Paychex has FAILED to file quarterly reports and now the EDD is sending a Notice of Intent to Lien. We have been assessed thousands of dollars in penalties.
– Verified Reviewer, G2
| Strengths | Considerations |
| ✓ Local reps in most US markets | ✗ Trustpilot score of 1.7/5 across 826 reviews |
| ✓ Retirement services and a PEO option | ✗ G2 Quality of Support score of 8.3/10 |
| ✓ Familiar national brand | ✗ Reviewers describe cycling through multiple reps on one issue |
More detail: Netchex vs. Paychex.
#3 ADP – Built for Scale
ADP’s product range runs from RUN, aimed at small businesses, up through Workforce Now and Vantage HCM for larger, more complex organizations. For a business planning to expand well beyond Massachusetts and Florida, or add international payroll, that range is worth something.
For a two-location employer, it can be a lot of system to manage. Published estimates put a full Workforce Now implementation at several months, and reviewers regularly single out support as the weak point.
The worst thing about ADP Workforce Now is its customer service. It is terribly hard to reach someone, and when you do reach someone, they can’t always answer your question.
– Verified G2 Reviewer
| Strengths | Considerations |
| ✓ Product range from small business through enterprise | ✗ G2 Quality of Support score of 7.9/10 |
| ✓ Global payroll for teams outside the US | ✗ Trustpilot score of 1.2/5 across 3,097 reviews |
| ✓ Broad compliance and reporting tools | ✗ Workforce Now implementation reported at several months |
More detail: Netchex vs. ADP.
#4 Gusto – Simple, If You Stay Small
Gusto publishes its pricing and runs month-to-month with no contract, which some owners find refreshing after dealing with a broker-style sales process. Unlimited payroll runs come standard, and reviewers consistently praise how easy the interface is to use.
It’s built for a single-site shop under 50 employees with simple pay. One reviewer put it directly: it doesn’t scale well once payroll gets more complex.
Gusto is not well suited for companies operating in multiple states. It works for simple setups but does not scale well as payroll becomes more complex.
– HR Director, Mid-Market, G2
| Strengths | Considerations |
| ✓ Published, transparent pricing with no contract | ✗ Not built for multi-state or multi-location compliance |
| ✓ Unlimited payroll runs, no off-cycle fees | ✗ G2 Quality of Support score of 8.2/10 |
| ✓ Highly rated, easy-to-use interface | ✗ No native shift differentials or multiple hourly rates |
More detail: Netchex vs. Gusto.
#5 Checkwriters – Another Massachusetts Option
If staying with a Massachusetts-based firm matters to you the way it might have with Brabo, Checkwriters is worth a look. It’s been running payroll out of Northampton, MA since 1989, and it’s published its own content on niche topics like school payroll, which suggests it pays attention to specific industries rather than treating every client the same.
Consistency is the recurring complaint. G2 reviewers describe getting a different rep every time they call, with quality that swings from great to unfamiliar with the account.
When mistakes are made, there isn’t accountability. They are quick to put the blame on us.
– G2 Reviewer, Mid-Market
| Strengths | Considerations |
| ✓ Massachusetts-based, serving the region since 1989 | ✗ Reviewers describe a different rep on every call |
| ✓ Publishes its own content on niche industries like schools | ✗ A reviewer describes accountability gaps when mistakes happen |
| ✗ No independently confirmed education-specific product depth |
How the Brabo Payroll Alternatives Compare
| Capability | Netchex | Paychex Flex | ADP | Gusto | Checkwriters |
| Best for | Hourly, multi-location businesses | Small businesses wanting a local rep or a PEO | Large or growing multi-state organizations | A single site under 50 employees | MA employers wanting a regional firm |
| Support model | ✅ Dedicated Account Manager | ⚠ Varies by rep | ⚠ Hard to reach, per reviewers | ⚠ No named account manager on most plans | ⚠ Different rep each call, per reviewers |
| Insurance brokering | ✗ Works with your existing broker | ✅ Available through Paychex | ✅ Available through ADP | ✅ Built-in benefits brokering | Not confirmed |
Frequently Asked Questions
For hourly or multi-location businesses, Netchex is the strongest overall fit. It builds its own platform, so time, scheduling and payroll share one system, and the same company answers the phone. Its US-based team picks up 90% of calls in under a minute and gives every customer a dedicated Account Manager.
Brabo Payroll doesn’t publish which software runs its payroll and time tools, and it bundles insurance brokering into the same relationship. Businesses often look elsewhere when they want to know exactly who builds the platform, or when they’d rather keep their insurance broker separate from their payroll vendor.
Yes. Brabo’s site lists business, personal, and employee insurance brokering alongside payroll, time and attendance, and HR support. That’s a genuine differentiator: most payroll companies don’t also act as your insurance broker. Netchex takes the opposite approach, working directly with the broker you already have.
Ask what platform actually processes your payroll, since Brabo doesn’t state it publicly. Ask how long implementation takes and who does the work. And ask for reviews on an independent site like G2 or Capterra rather than relying only on testimonials a company publishes about itself.
Ready to See Netchex Alongside Your Other Brabo Payroll Alternatives?
See how Netchex handles payroll, time, HR and benefits for Massachusetts and Florida businesses, all from one company.
Related: Netchex vs. Brabo Payroll | Netchex vs. Paychex | Netchex vs. ADP
This guide reflects publicly available product information and independent reviewer data (G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, Yelp, Better Business Bureau, Reddit, Software Advice, GetApp) as of 2026. Feature availability may vary by plan. Contact each provider for current details.
Disclaimer: Any product roadmap or future plans provided herein are for informational purposes only. They do not represent a commitment to deliver any material, code, feature, or functionality. Plans may change without notification. The development, release and timing of any features or functionality described remain at the sole discretion of Netchex, its affiliates, and partners. Netchex does not give legal, tax, or accounting advice. You are responsible for ensuring your use of Netchex product meets your individual business and compliance requirements.
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