This is version 0.1 of the payroll model, and it's a draft: the weights are waiting for external validation and the provider data is still being verified. The table below is generated from the model itself, so its weights are always the ones we use.
We score what a restaurant feels in its payroll every pay period:
- Cost for your team. What a restaurant with about fifteen employees, paid every two weeks in one state, pays for payroll over a year: base fee, fees per person and per pay run, extra states, year-end forms and setup. Optional add-ons are shown, not added, and a price that isn't published counts as missing, never as zero.
- Tips. Whether payroll tops up pay to the minimum wage when tips fall short (the tip credit), imports tips from your POS, prepares the FICA tip credit form, handles tip pooling and declared cash tips, and documents the 2026 W-2 reporting for the No Tax on Tips deduction.
- Taxes and forms. Who calculates, files and pays your payroll taxes, in which states, whether the provider pays penalties caused by its own errors, and the year-end forms.
- Operations and integrations. POS integrations, time tracking, unlimited pay runs, how fast direct deposit arrives and early pay for employees.
- Support and contract. Live support hours, the initial term, the early termination fee and the notice to avoid a renewal. Every provider gets the same contract template.
In the Spanish edition of this site, the Spanish-language criteria count too: the employee app, pay stubs, support, the owner's dashboard, the contract and the website in Spanish. In this English edition they aren't part of the score.
Third-party ratings, promotions and anything commercial never count toward the score. A provider needs enough verified data before it enters any ranking.
Criteria and weights
Spanish-language criteria count only in the Spanish edition
These criteria count only in the Spanish edition of this site: employee app in Spanish, support in Spanish, owner's dashboard in Spanish, pay stubs in Spanish, website in Spanish for the US, and contract or terms in Spanish. In this English edition they aren't part of the score, and the weights in the table add up to 100% without them. So a payroll provider can have a different RTC Score in each edition.
| Criterion | Pillar | Weight | What we measure | How it's scored |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-month payroll cost (reference restaurant) | Cost | 19% | 12-month payroll cost | 12-month payroll cost of the reference restaurant: full score at $1,500, zero at $4,200 |
| Who files payroll taxes | Taxes and forms | 7% | Who files payroll taxes | By option: The provider calculates, files and pays federal, state and local payroll taxes → 10/10; The provider calculates, files and pays federal and state payroll taxes → 8.5/10; The provider calculates; you file or pay some of it → 3/10; You file and pay the taxes yourself → 0/10 |
| POS integrations | Operations and integrations | 6% | POS integrations (hours or sales data) | By option: Toast → 1.4/10; Square → 1.4/10; Clover → 1.4/10; Shift4 POS → 1.4/10; Lightspeed → 1.4/10; SpotOn → 1.4/10; Heartland (Genius) → 1.4/10; TouchBistro → 0/10; PAR → 0/10; Others → 0/10 |
| Published pricing | Cost | 5% | Published pricing | By option: Published → 10/10; Partly published → 5/10; Quote only → 0/10 |
| Tip credit and minimum wage make-up | Tips | 5% | Tip credit and minimum wage make-up | By option: Calculated automatically → 10/10; Claimed, without documented mechanics → 3/10; You calculate it → 1/10; Not supported → 0/10 |
| Tips imported from POS systems | Tips | 5% | Imports tips from these POS systems | By option: Toast → 1.4/10; Square → 1.4/10; Clover → 1.4/10; Shift4 POS → 1.4/10; Lightspeed → 1.4/10; SpotOn → 1.4/10; Heartland (Genius) → 1.4/10; TouchBistro → 0/10; PAR → 0/10; Others → 0/10 |
| 2026 W-2 ready for No Tax on Tips | Tips | 5% | 2026 W-2 for No Tax on Tips (code TP and tipped occupation code) | By option: Confirmed in writing → 10/10; Announced or partly documented → 5/10; Not confirmed → 0/10 |
| Initial term | Contract and exit | 5% | Initial term | By steps: Up to 11 months → 10/10; 12–23 months → 7.5/10; 24–35 months → 5/10; 36–47 months → 2.5/10; 48 months or more → 0/10 |
| Live support hours a week | Support | 4.5% | Live support hours a week | Linear: full score at 168, zero at 0 |
| Payroll in all 50 states | Taxes and forms | 3.5% | Payroll in all 50 states | Yes = 10/10, No = 0/10 |
| Time tracking | Operations and integrations | 3.5% | Time tracking | By option: Included → 10/10; Paid add-on or higher plan → 5/10; Only through an integration → 4/10; Not offered → 0/10 |
| FICA tip credit (Form 8846) | Tips | 3% | FICA tip credit (Form 8846) | By option: Prepares the form → 10/10; Gives you a report for it → 5/10; Not supported → 0/10 |
| Tip pooling and tip-outs | Tips | 3% | Tip pooling and tip-outs | By option: Built in → 10/10; Paid add-on or higher plan → 6/10; Through an integration → 5/10; Not offered → 0/10 |
| Early termination fee | Contract and exit | 3% | Early termination fee | By option: None → 10/10; A fixed amount → 5/10; Fees left in the term → 2.5/10; Another formula → 2.5/10 |
| Unlimited pay runs | Operations and integrations | 2.8% | Unlimited pay runs | Yes = 10/10, No = 0/10 |
| Fastest direct deposit included | Operations and integrations | 2.8% | Fastest direct deposit included | By option: Same day → 10/10; Next day → 10/10; Two business days → 6/10; Three or more business days → 2/10 |
| Tax penalty guarantee | Taxes and forms | 2.5% | Tax penalty guarantee | By option: Pays penalties caused by its own errors → 10/10; Pays them, up to a published cap → 7/10; No guarantee published → 0/10 |
| Year-end W-2 and 1099 forms | Taxes and forms | 2% | Year-end W-2 and 1099 forms | By option: W-2 and 1099 prepared and filed → 10/10; W-2 only → 6/10; Prepared and filed for an extra charge → 5/10; Not included → 0/10 |
| Accounting integrations | Operations and integrations | 2% | Accounting integrations | By option: QuickBooks Online → 10/10; Xero → 10/10; Restaurant365 → 10/10; NetSuite → 10/10; Others → 10/10 |
| Notice to avoid renewal | Contract and exit | 2% | Notice to avoid renewal | Linear: full score at 30 days, zero at 90 days |
| Garnishments and new-hire reporting | Taxes and forms | 1.8% | Garnishments and new-hire reporting | By option: Included → 10/10; For an extra fee → 5/10; Not offered → 0/10 |
| Declared cash tips | Tips | 1.5% | Declared cash tips | Yes = 10/10, No = 0/10 |
| State and local minimum wages built in | Tips | 1.5% | State and local minimum wages built in | Yes = 10/10, No = 0/10 |
| Dedicated specialist | Support | 1.5% | Dedicated specialist | Yes = 10/10, No = 0/10 |
| Paying 1099 contractors | Taxes and forms | 1.3% | Paying 1099 contractors | By option: Included in payroll plans → 10/10; Also a contractor-only plan → 10/10; For an extra fee → 5/10; Not offered → 0/10 |
| Early pay for employees | Operations and integrations | 1% | Early pay for employees (earned wage access) | By option: Included at no cost to the employer → 10/10; Offered; the employee pays a fee → 5/10; Paid add-on for the employer → 5/10; Not offered → 0/10 |
The formula
Each criterion gives a partial score from 0 to 1. The RTC Score is 10 × the weighted average of the criteria we could verify, reduced when data is missing: × (1 − 0.5 × (1 − completeness)). Completeness is the share of the total weight we could verify.
Below 60% completeness, a payroll provider is marked as not having enough data and isn't ranked. That check always uses the base weights, so a ranking by type of business never includes a provider the overall ranking leaves out. A price the provider doesn't publish counts as missing: it lowers completeness, and with too little data the provider isn't ranked.
Reference profile for cost
Reference: 15 employees paid every two weeks, 1 state, 12 months: 15 employees and 0 contractors paid, 2.17 pay runs a month, 1 state(s) and 75% yearly staff turnover, over 12 months.
Assumptions behind the cost criteria
- The cost adds the plan's base fee, the fee per employee and per contractor paid each month, fees per pay run and per extra state, year-end fees (prorated) and one-time setup fees.
- We use the cheapest plan that includes full-service payroll (the provider files and pays the taxes for you). Plans where you file the taxes yourself and contractor-only plans aren't used.
- Year-end fees per form count one W-2 for each employee you pay in the year, including the ones who leave: employees × (1 + yearly turnover), plus one 1099 per contractor.
- Optional add-ons, like time tracking, HR tools or tip management, are shown on each pricing page but not added. A team plan the reference restaurant always needs is added.
- A price the provider doesn't publish is never counted as $0: the estimate is marked incomplete and the cost criterion counts as missing.
- Promotions, like free months, are never subtracted from the cost or counted in the score.
Weights by type of business
Rankings by type of business multiply some weights. The overall ranking always uses the base weights.
| Type of business | Adjustments |
|---|---|
| Bars and nightclubs | Tip pooling and tip-outs ×1.5 · Declared cash tips ×1.5 · Tip credit and minimum wage make-up ×1.25 · Fastest direct deposit included ×1.25 |
| Food trucks and small teams | 12-month payroll cost (reference restaurant) ×1.25 · Paying 1099 contractors ×2 · Initial term ×1.25 · Early termination fee ×1.25 · Notice to avoid renewal ×1.25 |
| Multi-location | 12-month payroll cost (reference restaurant) ×0.8 · Payroll in all 50 states ×1.5 · POS integrations ×1.25 · Accounting integrations ×1.5 |
What never affects a score
Commissions, affiliate deals, sponsorships and price requests. The scoring engine has no access to them, and every vendor gets the same rubric.
Changelog
v0.1.0 ·
First draft for payroll software. The score covers 12-month cost for a restaurant with 15 employees (24%), tip handling (24%), tax filing (18%), operations and integrations (18%), support hours (6%) and contract terms (10%). In the Spanish edition, Spanish-language criteria (employee app, support, owner's dashboard, pay stubs, website and contract in Spanish) count for 10% and every other weight is scaled by 0.9. Third-party ratings and promotions don't count toward the score. Weights are pending external validation.