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A funeral home in O’Fallon that just added a second location across the river. A law firm in its second decade that’s finally hiring past the founding partners. Plenty of small businesses like these have been happy Payroll Central clients for years, and its family-run, two-person-team approach clearly works for a lot of them. Others start looking at Payroll Central alternatives once they outgrow the 300-client shop, want time and pay living in one system, or want the software and the support coming from the same company.
Here are five worth a look, evaluated the same way.
5 Best Payroll Central Alternatives for St. Louis Metro Small Businesses
- Netchex – Best overall for growing, multi-location businesses that want one company behind the platform and the support.
- Gusto – A simple, self-serve option for a single-location shop with straightforward pay.
- Paychex Flex – A national name with local reps, and a PEO option if you want to hand off more of HR.
- ADP – Deep compliance tools and a large marketplace, sized for bigger or multi-state operations.
- Paylocity – Employee engagement features and a big integration library, aimed at teams with dedicated HR staff.
How We Evaluated These Payroll Central Alternatives
Every option got the same four questions. Who builds the software? Who answers when payroll goes sideways? Can it grow past a couple hundred employees without a system change? And how long until you’re actually live? Payroll Central’s details come from its own website and public listings. Details on the other providers come from their own sites and independent review platforms, as of September 2026.
One thing worth saying up front: Payroll Central’s own testimonials describe genuine, long-tenured relationships, and its two-person service-team model is a real strength for a business that wants a familiar voice on the phone. Any alternative should be judged against that bar, not just against a feature list.
#1 Netchex – Best Overall Payroll Central 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, so there’s no separate software vendor sitting behind the relationship.
That matters most on a bad 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, so switching doesn’t mean starting those relationships over.
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 | ✗ Built for operating businesses, not tech firms building their own HR stack |
| ✓ Free, project-managed implementation in about six weeks, 96% satisfaction |
#2 Gusto – Simplest Option for a Single Location
If your whole operation is one address and pay is straightforward, Gusto is built for exactly that. Its own site touts unlimited payroll runs on every plan, no off-cycle fees, and month-to-month pricing with no contract. Reviewers consistently praise how easy it is to use, which is part of why its G2 rating runs high.
The catch shows up as you grow. Gusto isn’t built for multiple pay rates, shift differentials, or multi-state complexity, and G2 reviewers flag missing features and support gaps once a business scales past a simple setup.
We process payroll for over 700 teammates and it frequently times out… They can’t accommodate multiple pay rates.
– Verified G2 Reviewer, Mid-Market
| Strengths | Considerations |
| ✓ Simple, well-reviewed interface for a single location | ✗ 1.9/5 TrustScore on Trustpilot, with 2,512 reviews |
| ✓ No contracts, unlimited payroll runs | ✗ Not built for multiple pay rates or multi-state compliance |
| ✓ Built-in benefits brokering | ✗ No named account manager on most plans |
More detail: Netchex vs. Gusto.
#3 Paychex Flex – A National Name With Local Reps
If having a local contact is what you like about Payroll Central, Paychex offers a bigger version of that idea, with reps across most US markets. It also sells retirement plan services and a PEO option for owners who’d rather outsource more of HR entirely.
Consistency is the trade-off. Paychex’s own service model runs through a local sales-rep network, so quality tracks whichever rep gets assigned, and some reviewers describe cycling through several reps on one unresolved issue.
I went through 6 reps… and signed 5 power of attorneys and it still isn’t corrected.
– Verified Reviewer, G2
| Strengths | Considerations |
| ✓ Local reps in most US markets | ✗ 1.7/5 TrustScore on Trustpilot, 826 reviews |
| ✓ Retirement services and a PEO option | ✗ G2 Quality of Support score of 8.3/10 |
| ✓ Familiar national brand | ✗ Service quality depends heavily on the assigned rep |
More detail: Netchex vs. Paychex.
#4 ADP – Built for Scale and Multi-State Compliance
ADP’s product range spans RUN for small businesses up through Workforce Now and Vantage HCM for larger, more complex organizations. It offers a large third-party marketplace and compliance and reporting depth that a multi-state or fast-growing employer can put to real use.
For a business the size of most Payroll Central clients, that can be more system than you need. Reviewers point to a clunky interface, and its own G2 profile shows "Poor Customer Support" as a top complaint tag.
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 |
| ✓ Large third-party marketplace | ✗ “Poor Customer Support” is a top G2 complaint tag |
| ✓ Global payroll for multi-country operations | ✗ Interface widely described by reviewers as unintuitive |
| ✓ Deep compliance and reporting tools | ✗ Implementation timelines run longer for its larger products |
More detail: Netchex vs. ADP.
#5 Paylocity – Engagement Tools, Steeper Learning Curve
Paylocity offers 350+ native integrations and leans on employee engagement, things like social feeds and peer recognition, alongside a compliance dashboard multi-state employers like. Its mobile app also gets solid marks from reviewers.
None of that is free. “Poor Customer Support” is the single most-mentioned complaint tag on its G2 profile, and its own documented risk items include incorrect W-2s and a federal withholding error one reviewer only caught at tax time.
We noticed after 2 pay periods that our year to dates were not correct… Incorrect W-2s were put on the app and mailed out.
– Business Manager, Trustpilot
| Strengths | Considerations |
| ✓ 350+ native integrations | ✗ “Poor Customer Support” is its most-cited G2 complaint tag |
| ✓ Employee engagement and recognition features | ✗ G2 Quality of Support score of 7.7/10 |
| ✓ Strong mobile experience | ✗ Documented tax-filing and W-2 errors in reviewer reports |
More detail: Netchex vs. Paylocity.
How the Payroll Central Alternatives Compare
| Capability | Netchex | Gusto | Paychex Flex | ADP | Paylocity |
| Best for | Growing, multi-location businesses | A single location with simple pay | Small businesses wanting a local rep or a PEO | Larger or multi-state organizations | Mid-market teams with dedicated HR |
| Support model | ✅ Dedicated Account Manager | ⚠ No named account manager on most plans | ⚠ Varies by rep | ⚠ Hard to reach, per reviewers | ⚠ Rep changes reported |
| G2 Quality of Support | 8.9/10 | No score cited | 8.3/10 | No score cited | 7.7/10 |
Frequently Asked Questions
For businesses adding locations or outgrowing a small-business shop, 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, matching the live-person standard a local firm like Payroll Central offers.
Payroll Central delivers its services on PlatinumPay Xpress, software built by Execupay, and it partners with an outside firm for HR. Businesses often start comparing alternatives once they add locations, want time and payroll in one native system, or want the software and the support to come from a single company.
Its own site and testimonials point to a real strength: a two-person service team, family-run roots, and long-tenured local clients around O’Fallon and St. Louis. It suits a business that stays small and values that local relationship. Growth past a few hundred employees or multi-state payroll is where these alternatives come up.
Ask each vendor who builds the software, who you call when something breaks, and how fast a real person picks up. Ask how long implementation takes and who does the work. Get timelines in writing, and check independent reviews rather than relying only on the testimonials a company publishes about itself.
Ready to See Netchex Alongside Your Other Payroll Central Alternatives?
See how Netchex handles payroll, time, HR and benefits for growing St. Louis-area businesses, all from one company.
Related: Netchex vs. Payroll Central | Netchex vs. Paychex | Netchex vs. Gusto
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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