Ahad Waseem – Page 5 – Management Library

April 19, 2022November 23, 2022

Wave Payroll Review

Wave Payroll is an online payroll service that offers basic payroll capabilities, and can help you calculate and file payroll taxes, but only in some states. Although it appears to be a part of the wider Wave Accounting suite, you can also use it as a standalone payroll application. That said, Wave Payroll is best for small businesses with basic payroll needs.

Our Verdict

Wave Payroll

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Although it’s easy to use, Wave Payroll isn’t the most feature-rich payroll service. It has limited payroll automation options, no mobile app, and offers only one payroll report. Automatic tax filing options are also limited as Payroll by Wave offers this service for 14 states only.

Despite its lack of features, Wave Payroll is still a good option if you’ve only got a few employees to pay. It’s easy to set up and you don’t need a lot of technical know-how to run payroll with it. If your business already uses Wave Accounting, then this payroll service can help you keep things simple and integrated.

Easy to use
Integrates well with Wave Accounting
Offers an employee self-service portal

Files taxes for 14 states only
Payroll isn’t automated
No mailing service for checks or tax forms

Wave Payroll at a Glance

Wave Payroll is a great choice for small business owners who don’t have a lot of experience with running payroll. It has an intuitive user interface and is easy to learn and use. But if you’re looking for a wider set of features including tools to manage employee benefits, a mobile app, or multistate tax filing, Wave Payroll is not for you.

Wave can’t fully automate payroll, but you can still set up payment schedules and get pay time reminders. With the employee self-service portal, new employees can set up their profiles and manage their taxes on their own. You don’t get time tracking functionality with this payroll service, but you can still use its online timesheets to add hours manually.

When it comes to direct deposits, you can get your employees paid three business days after you run payroll with Wave. It also offers payment by paycheck but you’d have to print checks on your own since it doesn’t have a mailing service.

Screenshot of Wave Payroll Payroll Summary, time sheets, dashboard overview

Wave Payroll offers a 30-day free trial for you to check whether it suits your business. This gives you plenty of time to test out all the features from the employer and employee sides of the payroll service. If you think it’s a good fit, you can sign up for it by paying a very reasonable monthly fee.

Who Should Use Wave Payroll

Wave Payroll is a good choice to run payroll for small businesses. It can help you keep things simple if you’ve got 5-6 employees. But if your company is larger than that, you’re better off looking for other payroll software.

If you’ve just hired your first employee and are just learning how to do payroll, Wave can help you get well-versed in it. It has a simple and intuitive interface and won’t present a steep learning curve. If you’re already using Wave Accounting, we’d recommend you stick with Wave Payroll because the two integrate very well.

Payroll by Wave is also a great choice if you hire seasonal employees. You can easily change an employee’s status from active to inactive so you don’t have to pay payroll fees for a worker who isn’t temporarily working. This is why Wave is one of the best restaurant payroll software.

We also recommend it if you’re uncertain whether you’d need the payroll service in the upcoming months. Wave Payroll lets you temporarily pause your payroll subscription and you can always resume it when you need it again with ease.

Wave Payroll Pricing

Wave Payroll is on the cheaper part of the online payroll service spectrum. It has one of the lowest base fees plus a reasonable per-employee charge. The total cost of running payroll with Wave depends on your state, whether you choose auto tax filing, and the number of employees you have. The chart below summarizes Payroll by Wave’s pricing structure.

Base fee

$35/month

$20/month

Per employee charge

$6/person/month

This payroll service doesn’t have a very complicated pricing structure. It has a simple base fee and an additional charge for every employee or contractor paid. The only difference is that if you get Wave’s automatic tax filing, the base fee is $35 per month. Learn more about how to process payroll for contractors.

Remember that this feature is not available in all states. If you’d be filing your payroll taxes yourself, you need only pay a $20 base fee.

Wave Payroll Features

As mentioned above, Wave Payroll isn’t the most feature-rich payroll processing service. But it still has some tools up its sleeve that are worth mentioning.

Ease of Use

Wave Payroll is easy to use, there’s no doubt about it. It’s specially designed with small businesses in mind and is best for entrepreneurs with little to no experience in running payroll. You can easily set up the payroll service with a step-by-step guide.

First, you create records for your employees and contractors and then add information about your business. You can monitor your progress through the setup process with a sliding bar at the top of the page.

Screenshot of Wave Payroll Add an Employee option

Adding a new employee can sometimes be time-consuming, but it still is a generally straightforward process. The employee self-service portal allows your employees to add information to their profiles, manage their tax deduction info, and also view pay stubs and tax forms.

Screenshot of Add Employee page with Wave Payroll

Some customers have complained about the Wave’s data entry being too complicated. For instance, adding hours worked and other company information is a bit too complicated and time-consuming according to some customer reviews. But all in all, running payroll with Wave is usually easy.

Automated Tax Filing

Wave Payroll offers automatic tax filing in the following 14 states only:

Arizona
Florida
Washington
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
California
Minnesota
North Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
New York
Virginia
Wisconsin

If you’re in one of these states, Wave can automatically calculate, pay and file payroll taxes for you. It will also automatically generate tax forms including W-2s and 1099s, but you’re still directly responsible for submitting them in due time.

Dashboard

You can get a quick overview of all payroll-related information directly from Wave’s dashboard. This includes all upcoming important dates, total payroll costs, and a to-do list to see what payroll-related tasks are pending. Read the how to conduct payroll audit for small businesses.

The Review this Payroll button takes you to your current payroll details. If you want to make changes to the current payroll, you’d have to delete it to record your changes.

Timesheets

You don’t get in-house time-tracking abilities with Wave Payroll, however, you can still use its timesheets features to record hours worked and overtime for your employees manually. For hourly workers, you can use the timesheets to enter their hours worked, overtime, and PTO information. You don’t have to record hours worked for salaried employees but you can still use timesheets to record their overtime hours and PTO information.

Employee Deductions

Since this payroll processing service doesn’t offer employee benefit management tools, you have to enter the deductions manually. You need to click on the “Deduct from Pay” button to add before-tax deductions.

Screenshot of Wave Payroll Deduct from Pay option

Wave only gives you two options for payroll deductions: health insurance and 401(k). Almost all other competitors offer more than that. Plus, you can’t enter deductions in the form of a percentage, making things unnecessarily complicated. If you want to withhold a part of the pay, you need to enter the actual amount.

Wave Integrations

Wave Payroll integrates seamlessly with other Wave apps, including its invoicing and accounting services. Every time you approve a payroll run, the relevant bookkeeping data is automatically logged in to Wave Accounting. You can also use the receipt-tracking app to keep up with all your expenditures.

Wave apps can also integrate with BlueCamroo, Google Sheets, and Zapier. This allows you to connect your payroll service with several other business solutions including CRM software, email marketing, and appointment scheduling tools.

Customer Support

Wave Payroll offers 24/7 live chat support and email support for its customers. It also has a blog to help you answer questions and solve your problems with step-by-step guides. That said, customers have complained that their email support is too slow.

As a business owner, you always want your payroll-related questions answered as soon as possible. This is an area where Wave Payroll can improve a lot by using phone support with customer care agents just a phone call away.

Alternatives to Wave Payroll

If you think Wave Payroll isn’t the best choice for you and your business requires a more feature-rich payroll solution, take a look at the alternatives below.

Square Payroll

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If you hire hourly wage contractors only, Square Payroll is a great choice for you. Square works for both salaried and hourly employees and contractors, however, you don’t have to pay a base fee if you buy the contractor-only plan. It doesn’t cost a lot more than Wave Payroll, but it offers many more features including employee benefits management, and integrations with a range of apps. Read the full Square Payroll review to learn more about it.

Low pricing
Easy to use
Integrates with other tools

Basic HR functionality only
Slow customer support
Basic payroll reports

Pricing

Pay employees and contractors: $35 monthly subscription + $5/month/per person paid
Pay contractors only: $5/month/per person paid

Gusto

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Gusto tops our list of best payroll software simply because it offers small businesses a great all-round solution for all payroll related tasks. It has a range of features you can pick from. Apart from integrating with other Gusto apps, this payroll software also works well with third-party tools like Xero and QuickBooks. Read the complete Gusto review to find more and you can also check out the Gusto vs Quickbooks review.

Unlimited payroll runs
Overtime alerts
Files taxes in all 50 states

More expensive option
Declining customer service ratings
No mobile app

Pricing

$39/month + $6/month/per person paid

SurePayroll

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SurePayroll is great for small to medium businesses that need a simple but powerful software solution. This payroll software lets you automate payroll processing and also deals with taxes and tax forms.

This payroll service is an excellent option for a single business owner, household, or other small businesses that work inside one state. It’s also a more affordable option, so if you’re operating on a limited budget, you should consider SurePayroll. Read the SurePayroll review if you’re interested in it or the Gusto vs SurePayroll review.

Unlimited payroll runs
2-month free trial
Can process and submit taxes

Struggles with employees who switch between hourly and salaried roles
App can be challenging to navigate
Long customer service hold times

Pricing

No Tax Filing: $19.99/month + $4/per person paid
Full Service: $29.99/month + $5/per person paid
Household Payroll: $49.99/month (includes one employee) + $10/per additional person paid

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Wave Payroll review

Here are a few frequently asked questions about Payroll by Wave to help you solve your remaining queries.

Does Wave Payroll have time tracking?

Wave doesn’t have in-house time tracking abilities but it offers a timesheets for you to enter hours worked manually. You can also use these timesheets to record overtime and PTO information for your hourly and salaried employees.

Is Wave Payroll the cheapest payroll service?

Wave Payroll is arguably the cheapest payroll service. It has the lowest base of just $20 per month plus $6 per employee paid. Note that this pricing applies when you don’t get automatic tax filing services.

How long does Wave take to payout?

With Wave Payroll, you can get your employees paid three days via direct deposit after you run payroll.

Bottom Line on Wave Payroll Review

Wave Payroll is a cost-effective payroll solution, but it’s not a good choice if you’re outside the 14 states it offers tax filing services in. That said, you’ll find it a straightforward payroll solution if you’ve got a few employees to pay. It can become excessively time-consuming for larger teams.

It’s one of the cheapest payroll services out there, although there are a couple of free payroll services as well. If you’re on a tight budget, Wave can help you out with your payroll needs without you having to break the bank. But if you need to manage employee benefits, better integration with third-party software, and a mobile app to run payroll on the go, we recommend you look somewhere else.

April 13, 2022March 2, 2023

14 Payroll Laws You Must Know in 2023

Payroll laws determine how you pay your employees, calculate payroll taxes and file them. Failure to comply with these can result in fines, interest on unpaid wages, employment lawsuits, and in the worst case, you may have to shut down your business.

Getting yourself familiar with payroll laws might make you feel just a little overwhelmed. Especially because you find yourself surrounded by legal jargon and technicalities in both federal and state laws.

We’ve summarized the most important payroll laws below in plain language. And although this is a good 7-minute read, consider speaking with a tax professional or financial advisor for the most current laws and advice for your business.

Got confused with payroll laws? check out some of the best payroll services for small businesses

14 Important Payroll Laws You Don’t Want to Break

Here’s a list of the most important payroll laws every business owner should know:

Minimum wage: Must pay state minimum wage if its higher than federal wage
Overtime pay: Must pay for non-exempt employees
Pay frequency: Must pay employees on time
Payment methods: Must offer multiple options at times
Payroll Taxes: Must calculate taxes correctly and pay them on time
Tax forms: Must file payroll tax forms on time
Paid family leave: Must send paid family leave benefits to the state
Paid sick time: Must pay for state-mandated paid sick leave
Worker’s compensation insurance: Must buy for most states
Wage garnishments: Must manage court-ordered garnishments
Recordkeeping requirements: Must keep payroll records for at least 3 years
Paying tipped employees: Must comply with state tip reporting laws
Final paycheck: Must pay a worker’s last paycheck on time
PTO payout: Must pay employees for earned but unused paid time off

Minimum Wage

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) states that you must pay your employees a minimum of $7.25 per hour. However, this might not always be the minimum wage you need to pay your employees.

Some states have higher minimum wage requirements. For instance, if you’re in California, you must pay your employees at least $15 per hour. We recommend you check your state’s minimum wage law and compare them with federal requirements. You are required to pay whichever wage rate is higher.

Overtime Pay

Some employees are exempt from overtime pay, while some are not. You must pay non-exempt employees overtime if they work more than 40 hours a week. According to federal law, employees must be paid one and half times their regular rate for hours worked overtime.

Some states have additional overtime pay laws. For instance, in some states, you may have to pay overtime if an employee works more than 8, 10, or 12 hours daily. You may have to repay the wages along with late fees and penalties if you fail to comply with overtime laws. Not just that, you will have to eventually pay additional taxes on late wages too.

Pay Frequency

There are typically four different payroll schedules businesses choose to use. You may choose to run payroll weekly, biweekly, or monthly. However, each state has a minimum pay frequency law to determine what is the longest period you can have between paydays: a week, two weeks, or a month.

Payment Methods

Usually, you’re free to choose which payment method you use to pay your employees. However, it’s better to check your state law on which payment methods are allowed. For instance, state laws may not let you pay with pay cards or direct deposits if:

You don’t have the employee’s permission
You don’t offer additional payment options like paper checks or cash
You don’t cover payment fees
You don’t notify employees of the fees

It’s always a good idea to check the payment options you can use before you run payroll to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Payroll Taxes

When running payroll, you must calculate payroll taxes correctly and withhold that money from paychecks. You are also required to pay those taxes on time to stay clear of tax problems.

You have to consider both federal and state tax rates when calculating taxes, and this can at times be tough. This is why we recommend you use payroll software. Payroll software automatically calculates taxes according to your state and pays them in time.

Tax Forms

We’re not done with taxes yet. After correctly calculating and paying taxes, you also need to file them on time. You must report this information to the IRS and relevant tax authorities. This includes submitting the quarterly and year-end tax forms like the W-2 and 1099-NEC.

Quality payroll software like Square Payroll can handle tax filing for you on its own. This means you won’t have to face any failure to file penalties.

Paid Family Leave

Some states mandate businesses to give their employees PFL (paid family leave). However, employers don’t have to pay this money on their own. According to the PFL law, employers must withhold funds from employee wages and remit them to the state. The state then sends paid family leave money to workers that qualify.

Paid Sick Time

Not all states mandate employers to provide paid sick time. But this is a popular law and will soon expand to most states. Paid sick time laws ascertain the number of paid hours an employee can use when sick. These laws also determine how employees can use sick time, the maximum number of hours one gets per year, and whether unused paid sick time carries to the next year.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Businesses are rarely exempted from this law. Texas is the only state that doesn’t require employers to purchase workers’ compensation insurance.

All other states require you to purchase workers’ compensation to make sure there’s coverage for potential unexpected expenses like on-the-job accidents and employee injuries. So, if you’re starting a business out of Texas, you don’t want to ignore workers’ comp insurance.

Wage Garnishments

Sometimes you may receive a legal notice to withhold funds from an employee’s paycheck. This usually happens when an employee has unpaid debt or is behind on child support and authorities take their funds directly from their employer to cover it. This is not to be taken lightly. You may have to pay that money out of pocket if you fail to act on court orders.

Recordkeeping Requirements

Employers must keep payroll records on file for at least three years. Many employers make the mistake of discarding payroll information sooner than that and may incur penalties if asked to provide records from the past.

The best practice is to keep all relevant information such as paycheck stubs, tax forms, and timesheets for at least four years. An online payroll service like Square Payroll or Gusto can help you in this regard. It records all the relevant information and keeps it safe in an online database so you don’t have to worry about recordkeeping.

Paying Tipped Employees

If you operate a restaurant or any other business where employees frequently receive tips, you should be aware of tip reporting laws. The federal tipped minimum wage is $2.13 per hour. You may be subject to a higher tipped minimum wage by your state, and in that case, you’ll have to go by the state law. Also, we recommend restaurant owners use restaurant payroll software to help them run payroll with ease.

Final Paycheck

This law governs when you pay an employee’s dues if any when you terminate their contract or they quit on their own. States like California require employers to pay all dues to the employee at the time of termination. Other states like Washington and New York give employers until the next payday to clear final paychecks.

PTO Payout

Paid time off (PTO) laws vary from state to state. Some states may not have a PTO policy while some do. According to this law, if you offer paid time off, you have to pay employees for earned but unused paid time off at the end of the financial year or when terminating an employee’s contract (depending on state, of course).

How to Avoid Payroll Lawsuits?

If you’ve just started your business and are still learning what payroll is and how to run it, you should take extra care to avoid payroll lawsuits. The first step would be to familiarize yourself with the most important laws. If you’ve read the sections above, you’ve already done that.

Still, you must be really meticulous if you’re running payroll yourself. There are a lot of minute details you need to consider for both federal and state laws, and it becomes difficult at times to stay updated with them. If you want to know how to do payroll the safe way, go with quality payroll software, or hire a tax advisor.

Investing in payroll software can keep you safe from all kinds of payroll troubles by taking over and automating all aspects of paying your employees. This way, you can rest assure you pay your employees and file taxes correctly and on time.

A quality payroll software automatically considers all the payroll laws your business is subject to by your state. You will no longer have to worry about payroll and spend long hours filing taxes. With payroll automated, you can concentrate on things that matter the most.

Best Payroll Software to Avoid Payroll Problems

We’ve shortlisted some of the best payroll software that helps you comply with all payroll laws with ease.

Gusto – Best full-service platform
Square Payroll – Best for ease of use
Rippling – Best for Mid-sized Businesses

Gusto: Best Full-Service Platform

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Gusto is one of the best payroll processing software out there. It lets you expedite all aspects of running payroll from payment processing to filing taxes. Moreover, it also offers other business management features which makes it an all-in-one solution for all your administrative tasks.

Why we chose it: Gusto offers automatic payroll processing, auto tax filing, HR support with information about payroll laws, and many other features making it an excellent choice for payroll law compliance.

HR support center with payroll laws information
Unlimited payroll runs
Auto processing and submitting payroll taxes

HR assistance only for Concierge users
Customer service is slow
Costlier than other options

Pricing

Core: $39/month + $6/month per person
Complete: $39/month + $12/month per person
Concierge: $149/month + $12/month per person

Square Payroll: Best for Ease of Use

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Square Payroll is one of the easiest to use payroll processing software. If you work with hourly wage contractors only, this might be the best option for you. Although it works for both salaried employees and contractors, Square charges no base fee for the contractor-only plan. It also offers useful features like automatic payroll, tax filing, and tax form submission.

Why we chose it: Square Payroll is easy to use, sophisticated, and offers all the features you need to comply with payroll laws in your state.

Low pricing
Easy to use
Integrates with other tools

Basic HR functionality only
Slow customer support
Basic payroll reports

Pricing

Pay Employees & Contractors: $35 monthly subscription + $5/month/per person paid
Pay Contractors only: $5/month/per person paid

Screenshot of Square payroll overview, tax forms

Rippling: Best for Mid-sized Businesses

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Rippling offers a great combination of HR and payroll functionalities. It is a brilliant option for mid-sized businesses as it lets employers simplify personnel management. It offers a lot of integration options too for syncing with other management services.

Why we chose it: Rippling is great for mid-sized businesses that are looking for greater insight into their payroll and want to streamline their employee payments.

Reasonable price for mid-sized businesses
Can pay any employees internationally
Integrates with hundreds of apps

Quote-based pricing
Can’t completely automate payroll
1-year minimum contract length

Pricing

Rippling has a quote-based pricing system. Generally, you can expect it to cost $8/month/per person paid.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Payroll Laws

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about payroll laws. Have a quick look at them to resolve any queries you might have.

How to keep up with different payroll laws in different states?

If you have businesses in different states and have to keep up with different state laws, the best way to move forward is to use quality payroll software like Gusto or Square. These payroll services automate payroll processing and calculate payroll taxes and take care of all other aspects according to state and federal laws.

Why is payroll compliance important?

Payroll compliance is important if you don’t want your business to run into late payment fines, incur interest fees on unpaid wages, or face payroll lawsuits. Your company may even face the risk of being forced to shut down in the worst cases of payroll non-compliance.

What is the most important payroll law?

The most important payroll laws are to pay employees correctly and on time, and file payroll taxes on time. These two are the most basic payroll laws.

Bottom Line on Payroll Laws

A payroll nightmare is something you don’t want your business to face. Make sure you follow federal and state payroll laws to stay in the clear. The easiest and most straightforward way to do that is to use a quality payroll processing software that can automatically process payroll and file taxes on its own.

April 11, 2022November 23, 2022

How to Register a Domain Name in 4 Steps

Registering a domain name is one of the first few important steps in getting your website up and running. It won’t take you more than a few minutes to register a domain name, but it does need some thought. Coming up with a suitable domain and registering it correctly ensures you get off on the right foot in building your online presence.

How to Register a Domain Name In 4 Steps

Domain name registration won’t take you more than a few minutes, even if you’re a beginner. That said, choosing a unique domain name and making sure it’s available is the hard part. If you go with a quality domain registrar, it’ll facilitate you through the next steps until you’re ready to get started with web design. Here’s a step-by-step guide to registering your domain name in just a few minutes.

Screenshot of Bluehost Domain Names page — Source: Bluehost

Step 1: Find a Suitable Domain Name Registrar

You can’t register a domain name on your own. The ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) controls domain registration on the world wide web and has accredited private companies as domain registrars. These companies reserve, register and manage the domain on your behalf.

Finding a suitable registration service takes precedence over choosing a domain name because the right registrar will facilitate the domain finding process. You’ll find hundreds of domain registrars out there, but you’re better off sticking with the most popular ones. We’ve shortlisted three of the best domain registering services below:

1. Bluehost

Bluehost is a leading domain registrar that offers a vast range of services including web hosting, website building, and professional marketing services. You can buy a .com domain from Bluehost starting from $12.99/year. You might as well get a free domain with its shared hosting or website builder packages.

2. HostGator

HostGator is a web hosting service that also offers domain registration. You can register a .com domain with it for as low as $12.95/year. You can also transfer a domain you already own to HostGator. Like all quality registrars, HostGator offers a free domain if you buy one of its hosting plans.

3. Namecheap

Namecheap is one of the most popular and cheapest domain registration services out there. You can get a .com domain with this registrar for as low as $0.98. Namecheap also offers the most affordable hosting plans that come with a free domain name. Go for this one if you’re working on a tight budget and don’t want to compromise on quality.

Step 2: Choose a Domain Name

If you’ve already finalized your brand’s name, your domain name should ideally be the same. But this is only possible if that domain name is available. In case it’s already taken, you’d have to work around a similar domain with a few extra characters or a different extension.

But if you’re starting a business and still deciding on a name, it’s better to take both processes together. Your domain name should be short and sweet, easily memorable, and should be relevant to your business and what you represent.

Finding the perfect domain on the first search is rare. Consider yourself lucky if you do. If the domain you’re looking for is already registered by another individual or company, you’d find yourself on a result page like this:

Screenshot of Bluehost domain search when a domain is unavailable

In this case, the registration service offers you similar domains with different extensions. Note that if you see a domain is unavailable on one domain name registration site, you won’t be able to get it on another. All registrars use the same database from ICANN.

Step 3: Complete Domain Registration

If you’ve found an available domain, proceed to purchase it. This is one of the easier steps and you’re only required to enter your credentials and make a payment.

The registration service asks you for your billing information and payment information. Click on the purchase button and voila, you’ve registered a domain name.

Screenshot of Bluehost domain name registration, billing information page.

You need to remember that a domain is not a one-time purchase. It’s more like you’ve rented that domain name for a year and will have to pay a recurring fee every subsequent year. At most, you can buy a domain name for 10 years by prepaying at once.

Step 4: Verify Domain Ownership

You can’t get your website live on your domain immediately after buying it. It can take some time for the domain registrar to update the official domain registry before you can work on it. This may take a few minutes or up to seven days. The average waiting period is about two days.

Finally, you’ll receive a registration confirmation email at your email address when the process is complete. Depending on your registration service, you may or may not receive a verification link inside the email. Click on the link to verify your contact details and complete domain registration.

Which Domain Registrar is Best?

Having trouble deciding which domain name registrar to go with? In this section, we’ve summarized the best features, pros and cons, and pricing plans for the top registration services to make your decision easier.

Bluehost

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Bluehost isn’t the cheapest option but if you’re looking for the most reliable domain registrar and web host on the market, this is it. Apart from domain registration, Bluehost offers a vast range of services which makes it a one-stop solution to build your website from scratch.

Its current popular web hosting plan gives you a free domain for one year, and a free SSL certificate at just $2.95/month. However, the plan will renew at higher regular rates. Read the Bluehost review to learn more.

Low starting prices
Reliable uptime
Easy domain management

Higher renewal prices
Not the cheapest domain registrar
Constantly tries to upsell services

Pricing

If you want to purchase a domain only, Bluehost lets you register a .com domain at $12.99 for the first year. Expect the renewal rate to be higher. Of course, you can get a cheaper domain too but that will have a different extension. Here are the starting prices for different domain extensions offered by Bluehost.

Screenshot of Bluehost domain name prices

HostGator

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Hosting over 10 million domains, HostGator is one of the most popular names in the industry. It was originally a hosting service that gradually expanded its services to domain name registration and website building.

HostGator’s all-in-one package includes hosting, a free domain, an SSL certificate, and easy WordPress installation starting at $2.75/month. Read our full HostGator review for an in-depth look.

Transparent pricing
99.99% uptime guarantee
Responsive customer support

Plans renew at higher rates
SEO tools, backups cost extra

Pricing

The starting price of registering a .com domain with HostGator is $12.95/year. This’ll renew at $18.99 for subsequent years. These prices are slightly lower than those offered by Bluehost. Here are the prices for some domain name extensions from HostGator.

Screenshot of domain extension prices from HostGator

Namecheap

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As the name suggests, Namecheap is essentially a domain name registrar and not just any registrar. It offers domain names for the lowest prices out there. Not just that, Namecheap also offers quality web hosting services now. Its web hosting plans are quite affordable too.

Namecheap’s shared hosting plan offers a free domain, hosting, 20GB SSD storage, and free CDN. All this comes at a starting price of $1.88/month. You pay $21.88 for the first year, but this plan renews at $42.88. Read our complete Namecheap review to learn more about its features.

Most affordable domain registration
Transparent pricing
Quality hosting

Inconsistent customer support
Higher renewal rates
Charges domain transfer fees

Pricing

As mentioned above, NameCheap offers domain names at one of the lowest prices. You can get a .com domain name for as low as $0.98 with current promotions. However, the usual prices are higher. Here are the current domain registration prices from NameCheap.

Screenshot of domain registration prices from NameCheap.

How to Choose the Perfect Domain Name

Your domain name shapes your brand identity. A well-chosen domain name serves you well in every department from branding to developing your site’s SEO strategy. This is why we recommend putting time and thought into choosing the perfect domain. Here’s a short guide just for you.

Your website domain should represent your brand: If your brand’s name is Apple, then your domain should ideally be apple.com. We understand that this is not always possible, we’ll come to that later.
Choose a short domain name: The shorter it is, the better. Longer names are difficult to remember and don’t look as catchy. Aim for something in the range of six to 14 characters.
Include a keyword you want to target: Your domain identity contributes to your site’s SEO. If you’re starting an online store that sells tires, include the keyword “tires” in your domain to rank better.
.com is king: If you can find an ideal .com domain, it should be your first choice. This is simply because .com domains are the most popular. However, there are no technical or SEO reasons why you shouldn’t go with a different extension.
Avoid numbers and special characters: Try to stay away from numbers and any other special characters in your domain. It’s better to stick with letters only.

What to Do if Your Desired Domain Name Is Unavailable?

Fret not. There’s always a workaround. If you are willing to change the domain a little bit, try the following:

Add a suffix: If the domain newyork.com is unavailable, try adding a suffix and searching for names like newyorkcity.com or newyorklove.com. Adding a short word and relevant at the end of your desired name can help.
Add a prefix: Similarly, you can try adding a word before the domain name. For example, if computers.com is unavailable, try techcomputers.com or thecomputers.com.
Try a different extension: This is a brilliant solution to keep the same words but with a different top-level domain. This also adds novelty and uniqueness to your website’s identity. For instance, try switching tech.com with tech.io, tech.ai, or tech.org.

But if you’re adamant about getting your hands on an unavailable domain, try searching for it on your browser’s search bar. If it’s up for sale, you will find yourself on a page that mentions the domain is for sale and gives you the owner’s details so you can negotiate a price.

If a domain has an active website on it, it’s unlikely the owner will sell it anytime soon. But you can try your luck by reaching out to them and proposing a deal.

When Should I Register My Domain Name?

The answer seems obvious: register a domain when you want to build a website. But it’s not that simple. The thing is, good domain names are purchased quickly and you need to act swiftly in order to secure the perfect domain name for your business.

If you’ve come up with an excellent domain name for your website and you’re not ready to build a site yet, you should still purchase it right away. You never know when someone else will buy it. Registration services like Namecheap are best for reserving your domain name at the lowest price.

Even if you’re unsure about whether you’ll be able to build a website in the future, you can still buy a good domain as an investment. You can always sell it at a higher price to someone who needs it.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for How to Register a Domain Name

If you have more questions about domain registration, here are some of the most common questions people ask about it and the answers to them.

Can you register a domain name on your own?

No. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) allows only accredited registrars to register and manage domains. You can only register your domain name through accredited registrars like Bluehost, HostGator, and Namecheap.

How much does a .com domain cost?

The cost for registering a .com domain for a year varies from registrar to registrar. The cheapest registration services like NameCheap offer to register a .com domain for as low as $0.98. However, the average cost for a .com domain ranges from $8.27 to 29.99/year.

Can I get a .edu domain?

The .edu domain is reserved for educational institutions. You can only register for one if you’re a registered educational institution or if you can prove you’re a non-profit organization working in the educational sector.

How do I know if a domain name is taken?

A simple search for the domain in any domain search with a registrar will let you know if a domain name is taken. You can also look it up with the official ICANN registration data lookup tool.

Bottom Line on How to Register a Domain Name

Registering your domain is an essential but simple step in building a website. All you need to do is choose a suitable domain name, find a registrar and register it within a few minutes! Coming with the ideal name remains to be the toughest part where you have to consider multiple factors. You may have to go with an alternative because your first choice will not always be up for grabs.

That said, choosing the right registrar is also crucial. The right registration service can help you get a domain for free along with a free SSL certificate if you buy one of its hosting plans. We’ve shortlisted Bluehost, HostGator, and Namecheap for the best domain name registration services at a reasonable price.

April 8, 2022November 23, 2022

Microsoft Project vs GanttPRO: Head-to-Head Comparison

Work colleagues arguing about Microsoft project vs ganttPRO

If you’re comparing Microsoft Project vs. GanttPRO to decide which is best for your project, you may not have an answer yet. Both products offer excellent tools you need to successfully plan and organize your project, including project scheduling and planning; views for Gantt charts, boards, and grids. But they also vary in substantial ways.

Microsoft Project: Best for Enterprises

From $10

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Microsoft Project is a powerful project management software product that has all the standard features you’d expect as well as some advanced tools that are geared towards larger enterprises. It has a more comprehensive feature set than GanttPRO and is geared toward users who are experts in project management and work for larger companies. The trade-off is that Project is more difficult to use and pricier.

You’ll probably also want to be a user of Microsoft’s other suite of paid products, like Word, Excel, Teams, Dynamics, to get the full benefit from it. Microsoft also offers a desktop version of Project, but you’ll have to be running a version of Windows to run it.

Project has tools for project scheduling and planning; views for Gantt charts, boards, and grids; task, time, and team management; and collaboration and reporting tools. The higher tiers Plans 2 and 3 provide resource management tools, and give you the option of installing a desktop client. Finally, Plan 3 provides advanced portfolio selection and optimization tools, demand management, and enterprise resource planning and management.

Project planning

Task management

Time management

Resource management

Yes, but only on Plans 2 and 3

Team management

Budget tracking

Reporting tools

Pricing

$10 to $55 per user per month

Powerful advanced tools that larger enterprises might require
Smooth integration with the Microsoft product family
Desktop option provides up-front pricing

Steep learning curve
More expensive than GanttPRO
Limited integrations outside of other Microsoft products

Pricing

Microsoft Project has multiple pricing options. The cloud-based solution has three tiers. Project Plan 1 is $10 per user per month. You’ll pay $30 per user per month for Plan 2. For Plan 3, the cost is $55 per user per month. Plan 2 has everything in Plan 1, plus a resource management feature and a desktop client. You’ll get everything in Plans 1 and 2 in Plan 3, plus portfolio selection and optimization, demand management, and enterprise and resource planning and management.

There are on-premises solutions that are stored locally. Project Standard 2021 is $679.99 and has features similar to cloud-based Plan 1. There is also Project Professional 2021, which is $1,129.99. It adds resource management, the ability to sync with a server, and timesheet submission. Finally, there is Project Server, which is a flexible, scalable on-premises solution that gives demand management and advanced analytics features. The pricing for Project Server is by quote only.

GanttPRO: Best for Small and Midsize Businesses

From $8.90

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GanttPRO’s project management software offers affordable pricing and an intuitive web-based interface while still offering advanced features, making it an excellent choice for small and midsize businesses. Businesses using GanttPRO will be able to plan their project timelines, oversee tasks, resources, and team members, as well as enable users to collaborate on their work.

Like with Project, you’ll get grid view, board view, and Gantt chart view. There’s also a portfolio view, which provides a high-level overview of your projects and quick access to resource management and progress tracking.

There are nice features in GanttPRO, like a history and baseline mode, importing and exporting options, and custom and pre-configured templates. GanttPRO also integrates software commonly used by small businesses, such as Slack, Google Drive, and Jira Cloud, as well as an API for custom integrations.

Project planning

Task management

Time management

Resource management

Team management

Budget tracking

Reporting tools

Pricing

$8.90 to $15 per user per month

Intuitive and easy-to-use interface
Affordable and simple pricing structure
History and baseline mode let you save and return to previous project versions

Limited reporting options
Only integrates with Slack, Google, Jira, and an API

Pricing:

Individual: $15 per user month (billed annually)

Team: $8.90 per user month (billed annually)

MS Project vs GanttPRO: Pricing & Features Comparison

When comparing GanttPRO vs Microsoft Project, you’ll see that both have features like project planning and scheduling, task management, team management, resource management, time tracking, portfolio management, and budget tracking. However, the implementation of these features differs between the two products in some ways.

Project planning

Yes, with Gantt chart view, grid view, and board view

Yes, with Gantt chart view, grid view, board view, and portfolio view

Task management

Yes

Time management

Yes

Resource management

Yes, but only on Plans 2 and 3

Yes

Team management

Yes

Budget tracking

Yes

Reporting tools

Yes

Pricing

$10 to $55 per user per month

$8.90 to $15 per user per month

Project Planning Breakdown

Creating, planning, and monitoring projects is at the heart of project management software. These features relate to the overall management of the project, such as viewing the project, making estimations of time, and identifying key tasks toward project goals.

Microsoft Project

Project gives you a home area where you can create new projects, access important information about existing projects, and open projects. Project allows you to create and manage multiple projects at the same time. Once inside of a project, you can see them in either a grid view, a board view (where tasks are divided up into buckets), or a Gantt chart.

The interface is quite bare-bones, like an Excel spreadsheet, and it doesn’t give you a lot of information at a glance. In each of these views, you’ll be able to see a list of your tasks, people involved in the project, and any filters you want to be set up around deadlines, progress, or custom labels. There’s a zoom slider that lets you change the date range you are looking at from months down to days.

GanttPRO

GanttPRO’s main project page has multiple views, including Gantt chart, board view, a grid or “workload” view, and a people view. The Gantt chart mode is the default setting where you can get an overview on your project tasks and people involved. You can vary the timescale on the Gantt chart from hours to days to weeks, all the way up to years.

The main screen also has buttons for filters, exporting charts, and identifying any overdue tasks. There’s a project calendar which lets you set up days with set hours and breaks. GanttPRO has a feature that lets you save a snapshot of your project known as a baseline, that you can use for later reference. You’re also able to look back in the history of the project and revert to previous versions.

Winner: GanttPRO gives you more views, easy access to tools, and an intuitive interface.

Task Management Breakdown

Tasks are the building blocks of projects. Project management software allows you to create and manipulate them in various ways.

Microsoft Project

Once you are in a project, you’re able to add tasks, give them deadlines, and connect them to other tasks via dependencies. The interface is bare and minimalist, though it is interactive and clicking on various tasks brings up information about them. Tasks can be given deadlines and dependencies, which are connections between tasks.

GanttPRO

Like Project, GanttPRO’s project planning tools allows you to create tasks, modify tasks, and remove tasks. You can add tasks through dependencies which are indicated through lines and arrows. Related tasks can be put into groups that lets you organize them visually. You can set deadlines, attach users to the tasks, add related, so-called “sibling tasks,” and track their progress and status. You can set up custom columns about each task with information such as who it’s assigned to, progress made, current status, or end date.

Winner: GanttPRO offers more customization of tasks, including creating subtasks and attaching users to various tasks.

Time Management Breakdown

Time management allows users to keep track of hours spent on tasks using timers and logs and attach those hours to specific tasks.

Microsoft Project

In Project, you’re able to capture project and non-project time on payroll, invoicing, and other business tasks. With the timesheet submission feature, team members are able to submit their timesheets for approval.

GanttPRO

GanttPRO has a task time tracker tool, which allows team members to track their time either using a timer or with a time log report.

Winner: MS Project lets you track time more easily and apply it appropriately.

Resource Management Breakdown

Resource management allows users to keep track of the various resources used in a project. This typically includes physical resources but also other kinds of resources like shipping costs and labor resources.

Microsoft Project

Only the Plan 2 and 3 tiers of Project have resource management. In Project, there are three kinds of resources: working resources, material resources, and cost resources. People and machines are working resources and require time in Project. Material resources are things like steel, wood, or glass. Finally, cost resources are things that must be purchased, like travel or shipping costs.

GanttPRO

You can track three different types of resources in GanttPRO: labor, materials, and resources with a fixed cost. You can set values to these resources by the hour, item, or a flat cost. These resources can then be assigned to different team members and people. You can assign as many resources to one task as you need. Virtual resources can also be assigned. All of these resources can be tracked and logged.

GanttPRO has several advanced features when it comes to resources. These include systemic resource request, which lets you use Resource Engagements to request and lock in resources. Another feature are visual heat maps, which allow you to view how resources are used with Capacity heat maps and quickly identify resources that haven’t been optimized. Finally, there are resource analytics, which let you compare resources across standard data and also forecast projected usage.

Winner: GanttPRO wins here simply because it includes resource management as a standard feature for all users, rather than locking it in a higher-priced plan.

Team Management Breakdown

People are a key part of any project, and project management software lets you track what they’re doing and how much time it is taking them.

Microsoft Project

People can be added to projects and assigned tasks. You can then modify their work calendar to take into account working time, vacations, and sick time. People can be shared across tasks using a resource pool that is created under master projects. People can also be given costs.

GanttPRO

With GanttPRO you can add members to your team, set roles for them such as owner, admin, or member, set values for them, and create personalized working calendars. You can then attach members to tasks and give permissions according to their roles and responsibilities.

Winner: Tie. Both MS Project and GanttPRO offer useful team management tools.

Budget Tracking Breakdown

Keeping tabs on your budget is an important part of management. Budget tracking allows you to monitor how much money is being spent on your project based on the cost of tasks and resources.

Microsoft Project

You can make a budget in Project by creating and entering cost values for budget resources that are assigned to the project summary task. Project also has cost tracking, which allows you to compare original cost estimates, actual costs, projected costs, and see the variances between costs at any time and at any level of detail.

GanttPRO

With GanttPRO, you calculate the cost of your project based on the cost of tasks and resources using a clear visual reporting format.

Winner: MS Project. Although GanttPRO offers a good budget report, Microsoft Project gets more granular with cost tracking.

Reporting Tools Breakdown

Reporting tools are necessary for any project management software, as they give you clear views on a project’s time, budget, tasks, and people. Reports help you ensure your project stays on track and on time.

Microsoft Project

Project has extensive reporting tools, including built-in reports that let you track progress on your projects, resources, programs, and portfolios. There is a Project Overview report that combines tables and graphs to give information about each phase of the project, upcoming milestones and tasks that are late. There are dozens of other kinds of reports that you can use to gather information about specific areas of your project.

GanttPRO

GanttPRO also has reports, but they are more limited. You can create reports for budgeting with details like projects, tasks, assignees, time, cost, and actual cost. There are also time log reports for people in your team, with the same kind of details as with budgeting.

Winner: MS Project offers far more built-in reports than GanttPRO, so you can view project details over a timeline from almost any angle.

Customer Service

Customer service is the service provided by the maker of the project management software, whether that be online resources, chat, email, or telephone communication.

Microsoft Project

Project has extensive online resources that help provide you with the basics of using the software. There are also guides to help you build a project, share and assign resources, or install the desktop hardware. Through their Microsoft 365 business product line, Microsoft also offers technical support through chat with an upgrade option to purchase phone support.

GanttPRO

GanttPRO offers support through a live chat system on their website and through email. You can find documentation on GanttPRO’s website, along with video demos and tutorials to guide you through use of features.
Winner: Tie. Both services provide tech support via live chat and email, and although MS Project provides tech support by phone, it costs extra. GanttPRO doesn’t offer it at all, so it evens out.

Alternative Project Management Options

Still unsure which project management software is best for you after reading through our comparison of GanttPRO vs MS Project? There may be a better option for you.

TeamGantt

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If you want to stick with the waterfall methodology and are looking for another Gantt project management software, TeamGantt is another amazing option. This PM software is designed to help you monitor project progress and have a clear overview of which tasks are dependent on others. TeamGantt also offers task management and collaboration features.

If you’re looking for a free Gantt chart software, you’re in luck because TeamGantt offers that! But remember that the free version will only work best for smaller projects with no more than a few people. If you’ve got a bigger team, you might want to look at its paid versions.

Great at making exportable charts
Drag and drop interface
Easy collaboration and organization tools

Lacks invoicing tools
Lacks budgeting tools
Reports lack features of some competitors

Pricing:

Free to $24.45 and $29.95 per user per month

Wrike

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Wrike is a well designed project management software with lots of useful features. Although it’s on the more expensive side, it’s one of the best project management software for startups.

Wrike also offers a free plan for small projects. If you want more professional tools, you’d have to pay a small cost. With its recently updated interface with more information visible on the default view, Wrike has made things much more organized and easy to use. You can see your inbox, to-do list, and all current tasks directly without clicking any buttons.

It offers numerous project templates you can use to get different types of projects started. You can also make custom templates. Read the complete Wrike review to find more about it.

Strong customization options
Real-time information sharing and updates
Premium security features

Complex pricing options
Limited tasks for free tier.
Deployment services cost more

Pricing:

Free to $24.80 per user per month plus an Enterprise plan that needs custom pricing

Zoho Projects

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Zoho Projects is an easy-to-use and affordable project management solution for SMBs. It gives you features like project scheduling and budgeting. This allows you to define project tasks, assign them to respective teams, estimate costs and follow up task progress with ease.

This PM software solution lets you automate revision tracking, access control and search and retrieval tasks. Zoho Projects also offers document management which helps you share documents with your team easily. Project managers can also resolve errors in project tasks with its issue management features.

Affordable Pricing
Mobile apps included
Integrates with the Zoho suite and many third-party products

Lacks some enterprise-level features
Project templates must be custom built
Unusual resource management view

Pricing

$0 to $10 per user per month

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Microsoft Project vs. GanttPRO

What’s the difference between GanttPRO and TeamGantt?

GanttPRO and TeamGantt are both project management software products, but they are made by separate independent companies.

Is there anything better than Microsoft Project?

It depends on what your needs are. Smaller businesses might find project management software other than Microsoft Project has the features they require and is better priced.

Does Microsoft 365 include MS Project?

Microsoft Project is part of the Microsoft 365 suite, but it must be purchased separately.

Do project managers still use Gantt charts?

Yes, project managers still use Gantt charts. They are one of the principal tools used in the project management field.

Are Gantt charts used in agile?

Yes, Gantt charts can be used in the Agile methodology. However, there is no requirement that they are, it is up to the individual.

Is GanttPRO easy to use?

GanttPRO is fairly easy to use for most people who have familiarity with project management practices.

Microsoft Project Vs GanttPRO Bottom Line

Overall, we prefer GanttPRO to Microsoft Project. GanttPRO has an easier-to-use interface, more features directed at small and midsize businesses, and a more affordable pricing structure. With that said, if your business already uses the Microsoft suite of products and needs advanced features like demand management or enterprise resource planning and management, then Project might be a better fit.

March 30, 2022November 23, 2022

Trello vs Asana: Pricing, Features & Ease of Use Comparison

It’s the clash of the titans as we weigh Trello vs Asana, two giants within the project management industry. If you’re searching for the right project management software, it’s virtually impossible to not come across the two.

Trello and Asana are popular among a range of world-renowned companies. Both can be pretty attractive options with their remarkable user-friendliness and enticing free plans. This makes your choice all the much more difficult. But relax, we’ve done the research for you. Continue reading as we bring Trello vs Asana head-to-head to find which of the two is the better choice.

Trello: Best for Kanban-style Project Management

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Trello offers Kanban board-based project management where you can organize tasks and collaborate with your team with ease. It has a very simple and easy-to-use interface but it lacks advanced management features.

Trello is a great choice if you want to visualize your project operations on a large board with multiple lists and cards. It offers a range of integrations as well as automation options to streamline managerial tasks. Creating automation rules is relatively easier too.

Very simple to use
Visual project progression
Easy to onboard new members

Offers basic management features
No financial management tools
Not viable for large projects

Pricing

Free plan
Standard plan starting at $5/user/month
Premium plan starting at $10/user/month
Enterprise plan starting at $7.38 to 17.50/user/month

Asana: Best for Flexibility and Customization

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Asana uses a basic, task-based approach to project management. It lets users manage their workflow with ease by dividing tasks according to themes and in time-related segments: Today, Upcoming, and Later.

Asana has a much broader feature set and is great for small teams following agile project management. It offers multiple management styles including task lists, Gantt charts, and Kanban boards. This project management software also comes with ready-made templates you can use to design your project and also lets you create custom templates.

Offers workload management
Smart project-focused interface
Various management features

No financial management tools
Assigns tasks to one user only
Steeper learning curve

Pricing

Basic plan – free
Premium plan starting at $10.99/user/month
Business plan starting at $24.99/user/month

Trello vs Asana – Pricing & Features Comparison

Trello uses intuitive drag-and-drop functionality to move cards between lists and boards. You can comment on cards, assign them to users and automate functions with rules. It’s cheaper than Asana but lacks advanced management features.

Asana, on the other hand, is a bit more expensive but its price is justified with the range of powerful features it comes with. It offers a great user experience, greater flexibility, and comes with basic reporting features. Being a complete project management suite, Asana trumps Trello in most departments.

Price

Free

$5/user/mo

$10/user/mo

$7-17/user/mo

Free

$10.99/user/mo

$24.99/use/mo

Free trial

N/A

14-day

N/A

30-day

No. of users

Unlimited

Unlimited free guests

No. of boards/projects

10 boards per workspace

Unlimited

Ease of use

Easiest PM software to use. Intuitive drag-and-drop interface.

Easy to use. Has a powerful and refined interface.

Storage

Unlimited (10MB/file)

Unlimited (250MB/file)

Unlimited (100MB/file)

Kanban boards

Gantt charts

Calendar

Reports

Messaging

Time tracking

Color coding

Integrations

Slack, Salesforce, Google Drive, Jira, Adobe XD and 100+ others

Jira, Zoom, Salesforce, Google Drive, Microsoft Teams and 100+ others

Customer support

Online forum support

Phone and concierge support

Support Tickets

Priority phone support

Winner: Asana – It takes the lead when it comes to advanced project management. Asana is a better project management software than Trello in terms of features, flexibility, customizability, and dependency management.

Asana vs Trello: Ease of Use

A smooth UX is crucial for any project management software. The software solution you choose should be easy to operate so that you and your team can get quickly down to the real deal. Asana and Trello are known for their amazing user experience. That’s probably why they’re at the top when it comes to the best project management software. But which of the two is easier to use?

Trello – Simplest Project Management Software

Experts consider Trello to be the easiest to use among the many project management software. Since it uses a highly intuitive Kanban board style, you can easily understand how everything works from the get-go. But that’s also because Trello doesn’t offer a lot of advanced features. One could say that its ease-of-use stems from its simplicity.

Example of a Trello board — Trello gives you an accurate visual representation of your project’s progression
Source: Trello

It’s easy to move cards around using the drag-and-drop function. Other features like comments, assigning users, and setting due dates are all easily accessible. When it comes to automation, Trello attempts to simplify its architecture so everyone can create custom rules. But that’s not always the case, as there’s a limit to what you can automate.

Asana – Incredible UX with Powerful Features

It’s not easy to combine advanced management features with an easy-to-use interface. But that’s exactly what Asana has managed to do. It uses a traditional project management software layout but makes sure users can use all functions with little or no training.

Asana User interface — A power-packed interface.
Source: Asana

Asana puts much more effort into keeping things simple and smooth. It’s not as visually-oriented as Trello, but it tries to keep things as it gives you a range of task management views to select from when planning your project. This makes it convenient for managers who want to work on different projects.

Winner: Trello – a great tool for beginners and simple projects.

Trello vs Asana: Dependency Management

This is a crucial feature for you if you want to follow the waterfall methodology with your project. Some projects require tasks to be completed in chronological order. This means you can’t start on the next task before the previous one is complete.

Trello Dependency Management

Trello doesn’t do very well in this department. It doesn’t have a built-in feature to manage task dependencies. You can add a dependency management feature to your Trello boards with a power-up (integration), Hello Epics. But this comes at an additional cost.

Asana Dependency Management

Dependency management is an area where Asana works better than Trello because you can specify which tasks need to be completed before others can begin.

The timeline view helps identify any bottlenecks or problems where people are idle waiting for other tasks to get done. Asana actually lets you organize these dependencies to solve such problems.

Winner: Asana – Asana has built-in dependency management features while Trello doesn’t.

Trello vs Asana: Project Management Views

Project management views offered by the software matter a lot when you have a specific management style. Ideally, you should be able to switch between different views to suit different projects.

Trello PM View

Trello’s free and standard plans offer the traditional Kanban board view only. You can add additional views with power-ups but at an additional cost. The premium and enterprise plans offer a range of management views including dashboard, timeline, workspace table, calendar, workspace calendar, and map views.

Asana PM View

Asana offers a greater range of built-in project management views with its free plan. You can visualize your project with a board view, list view, or calendar view in the basic plan. The premium plan comes with a timeline view, forms view, and a few others.

Winner: Asana – It has a range of PM views while Trello offers a Kanban board view only.

Asana vs Trello: Integrations

3rd party integrations are of core importance when evaluating a cloud-based service. The better it integrates with the software you already use, the more useful it is for you. Let’s see how Asana and Trello match up in terms of integrations.

Trello Power-Ups

Trello integrates with other software tools through Power-Ups. It has recently made its Power-Ups unlimited to all users. With more than 130 integrations with different apps, Trello lets you streamline your work operations. Some of its most popular integrations include Jira, Time Tracker by TimeCamp, Crumble, Microsoft Teams, Gmail, Google Drive, and Slack.

Trello’s Power-Ups often come at an additional cost which keeps adding up to the total project management cost.

Asana Integrations

Asana integrates with more than 200 apps. These cover a range of software categories including productivity, communication, finance, reporting, and human resources. Some of the most popular Asana integrations are Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Office 365, Adobe Creative Cloud, Slack, Google Drive, Dropbox, Vimeo, and Canva.

Winner: Tie – Both Trello and Asana have a healthy number of integrations with different apps.

Trello vs Asana: Sharing & Collaboration

Sharing and collaboration are what project management tools are built for. The right software should let all members of your team collaborate with ease. It should also let you share your project with guest users in case you want clients to be able to monitor the progress.

Trello

Trello gives you a basic collaboration ability. It lets you assign tasks to users and add comments to cards. The comments feature lets all members of the team participate in co-creating a deliverable. You can also add an unlimited number of users to a board even if you have the free plan.

You can also invite an unlimited number of guests to your Trello boards. But a lot of users or guests is not always practical because there’s a limit to what Trello can handle. It’s not a great management software for larger, more complex projects so you might never need more than 10-15 members on board.

Asana

Asana’s free plan lets you work with a maximum of 15 users with the basic plan. You’d have to purchase the premium plan if you need to add more members. It lets you share your entire team and projects externally. The premium and free plans let you add unlimited free guests and reporting across multiple projects to easily share progress reports with clients.

Winner: Asana – It lets you share and collaborate on a larger scale than Trello.

Trello vs Asana: Customer Service

Although both management tools are pretty easy to use and there’s very little chance you’d find yourself stuck while using them, customer service is still an important factor. A responsive customer support team matters, no matter what software you’re using.

Some teammates may find it tough to use specific features such as automation rules on Trello or syncing another app with Asana. You wouldn’t want your work operations to come to a halt just because you can’t seem to figure out how a feature works and the support team is taking too long to respond.

Trello Customer Support

Trello has an online forum for free users. While the forum is a valuable resource, it’s not always the quickest way to find a solution. Paid users get phone and concierge support to get their issues resolved by the support team and are only available during office hours, Eastern Time, Monday to Friday.

Asana Customer Support

Free and Premium users can get in touch with the customer service team through support tickets. This means you submit a form or email to communicate your issue and this is not always the fastest option. Only enterprise users get priority phone support.

Winner: Tie – Both Trello and Asana’s customer service teams have a similar performance.

Customer Reviews

Customers are always a great source of information when reviewing a project management software. Customer reviews give you first-hand information on what a software is good at, where it needs improvement and how it has helped their team. Here’s a brief overview of Trello and Asana’s customer reviews from some of the top software reviewing platforms.

Trello Customer Reviews

Trello scores a healthy 4.4/5 average rating for its 12,500 reviews on G2, and an 8.4/10 with 2000+ reviews on TrustRadius. A vast majority of customer reviews share positive feedback on the software, especially for its interface and ease of use.

Asana Customer Reviews

Asana has a 4.3/5 with 8000+ reviews on G2 and a TrustRadius score of 8.5/10 with 1800+ reviews. Although it hasn’t been as widely reviewed as Trello, we can consider the customer reviews to be a tie among the two. Customers mostly praise Asana for its ease-of-use, flexibility, and team management features.

Winner: Tie – Both Trello and Asana share similar customer review scores.

Trello & Asana Alternatives

Wrike

Visit

Wrike gives you greater customizability and works for all types and sizes of businesses. It offers a wide range of project management features. Its price may be a bit higher, but the functionality is worth it. This in-depth review on Wrike summarizes all you need to know about it.

Specialized marketing, creative, and services delivery team packages
Offers in-built time tracking
Analytics tool generates charts automatically

Costlier than other PM software
Templates can’t remove all options
Can’t prioritize tasks

Pricing

Free version.
Professional Plan: $9.80/user/month.
Business Plan: $24.80/user/month.
Enterprise Plan: Inquire for price.

ClickUp

Visit

ClickUp is a leading project management platform. It suits teams of all sizes and is excellent for those working remotely. You can create spaces for different projects with ease and add teams to them accordingly.

Lower cost
Better support options
Free version offers a lot of features

Slows down when you use too many ClickApps
Complicated interface
Lacks workflow management

Pricing

Free
Unlimited: $5/user/month
Business: $12/user/month
Business Plus: $19/user/month
Enterprise: Inquire for price.

Microsoft Project

Visit

Microsoft Project is one of the oldest PM software out there. It has been the go-to management tool for many industry-leading companies for decades. But it’s not as easy to use. MS Project is best for experienced project managers.

Offers projections, baselines, and other features
Review all your projects at once
Advanced project management features

Expensive
Steep learning curve
Slow customer support

Pricing

Plan 1:$10/user/month
Plan 3: $30/user/month
Plan 5: $55/user/month

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Trello vs Asana

Can Trello and Asana work together?

Yes. You can integrate Trello and Asana through a Trello Power-Up or Unito. This syncs Trello boards to Asana projects and cards to tasks. It also syncs things like, due dates, custom fields, and comments.

Is Trello part of Asana?

No. Trello and Asana are two different project management tools. The two apps can integrate to work together but they’re owned and operated by separate entities.

Does Trello have time tracking?

No, Trello doesn’t offer built-in time tracking. However, you can integrate time tracking with various Trello Power-Ups. Time Tracker by TimeCamp is one such example.

Bottom Line on Trello vs Asana

Asana is a better project management software than Trello in terms of features, flexibility, customizability, and dependency management. Trello is much more limited in the management features its offers, but its simple Kanban board interface makes it a popular choice for beginners and simple projects.

Choose Asana if you have a larger team and want to work on different projects with different management styles. The cost is a bit higher but its features compensate for it. On the other hand, if you prefer visual organization and like a board-based management style, Trello can prove to be an excellent choice.

March 25, 2022March 15, 2023

What Is a VoIP Caller & How Does VoIP Work?

A VoIP caller using a voip system to communicate with client

One of the best ways for businesses to connect with customers is through the phone. With phone communication, sales teams reach out to prospects, customers call help centers, and internal teams collaborate.

However, costs quickly add up when businesses are handling hundreds and thousands of calls daily. This makes it necessary to find a solution that is cheaper and more convenient.

We will look at what a VoIP caller is, how to set it up, and why your business should use a VoIP system.

Looking for a premium service? check out Vonage!

If you’re looking for an affordable VoIP that also happens to be one of the best solutions on the market today, look no further than RingCentral. It offers a complete phone system for your business with apps, AI, and automation on a single platform. You can get all of this, including the reliability and unique phone number, for less than $19.99 per month. If you act fast you can take advantage of the current 7-day free trial offer that is happening.

Sign up with RingCentral now.

What Is a VoIP Caller?

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, which is a technology that allows you to make calls over the internet instead of a regular phone line. The cloud software will connect you to any phone around the world, by converting your voice into a digital signal that is transferred over the internet and then converted into a regular phone signal.

As a VoIP caller, you enter a phone number (or VoIP number) and dial it through the internet. The receiver’s phone will ring as if coming from another phone, except that it may display “VoIP caller” as the caller ID.

VoIP technology offers services like caller identification and screening, easy digital file sharing, email notifications, call conferencing, and even reports. Examples of VoIP phone services include Nextiva, RingCentral, Facebook Messenger, and Skype.

However, VoIP caller has two meanings. The VoIP system itself and the person calling you using a VoIP system.

Therefore, a VoIP caller is someone calling you from a VoIP system. A VoIP caller is anybody who uses a digital signal to transmit their call through an internet connection, rather than analog phone lines.

With the global VoIP services market expected to reach $102.5 billion by 2026, more and more businesses are making the shift to cloud-calling technologies.

Do Businesses Need To Use a VoIP Service?

Businesses benefit from using a Voice over Internet Protocol service for many reasons, such as:

Better remote team collaboration
Large scale sales campaigns
Reduced spending
Increased scalability
Increased brand awareness
Easy digital file sharing

Leads to Better Remote Team Collaboration

For a business with many remote employees, VoIP systems make it easy and cost-efficient to keep in touch with your team and organize conferences. VoIP technology costs less than a regular telephone service. Businesses with multiple locations often set up VoIP phone systems to operate only within their offices using the business phones and computers.

Enables Large Scale Sales Campaigns

Many businesses use outbound calls to acquire and nurture leads, through cold calling and follow-ups. A VoIP system reduces the cost of constantly reaching out to people over the phone and makes it possible to contact anyone anywhere in the world.

Reduces Spending

VoIP services cost less than a traditional phone service, and they don’t require a lot of costly hardware. Companies can use existing computers and phones and simply download the required software. Moreover, there are free basic VoIP services available as well.

Increases Scalability

Businesses can easily add more lines using the same VoIP number, rather than calling in professionals to install a traditional phone line when they want to expand.

Increases Brand Awareness

VoIP services allow businesses to include custom tags and caller IDs. These IDs can be kept the same no matter which employee is calling a customer. A consistent caller ID increases brand awareness and recognition.

Allows for Easy Digital File Sharing

A VoIP phone system allows users to share digital files during a call. These include documents, images, audio files, and videos. File transmission will depend on the receiver’s device.

Sign up with RingCentral now.

How Does a VoIP Caller Work?

A VoIP caller transmits your audio signal over a broadband internet connection.

VoIP technology converts your voice into data packets that are moved through internet fibers until they get to the area of the receiver. If you’re calling another VoIP phone line, the data packet is converted to audio and connected directly with the receiver. If you’re calling traditional phones, the data packets are converted to regular phone signals before reaching the user.

A VoIP phone system uses the TCP/IP and Intelligent Endpoint protocols. TCP breaks your audio down into data packets while IP transmits it over the internet’s fiber optic cables. The Intelligent Endpoint protocols locate and send signals to the receiver.

How to Set Up & Use a VoIP Caller

Step-by-step guide on how to set up a voip caller system

You need very little equipment when setting up a VoIP phone. Make sure you have access to the internet, an adapter, a software provider, and a phone or computer.

An internet broadband connection is what transmits your signal. The adapter converts your audio to data packets. An adapter is connected to a regular phone or built into a special VoIP phone.

Not every VoIP caller requires an adapter. With a smartphone or computer, you can simply install the VoIP software. Depending on the device you use, you may need to buy a microphone and speaker. If you want to use your existing phones, you may need to install special adaptors.

When you select a VoIP provider such as Nextiva, simply sign up for an account and log into your dashboard. Decide your business hours and build your call flows, then install the desktop software. If you want a VoIP adapter or a softphone, reach out to Nextiva’s sales team.

How to Get a VoIP Number

You will need to sign up with a provider to get a VoIP phone number. VoIP providers have various methods of obtaining a VoIP number, but it’s usually simple depending on your requirements.

Nextiva, for example, gives you a number when you sign up for an account. A VoIP number can be a new number or an existing phone number that you connect to the VoIP through number porting.

Depending on the residential VoIP services of the VoIP caller, you get a fixed or a non-fixed VoIP number.

A fixed VoIP number is tied to your address. This does not limit features. Instead, you have benefits like being able to contact emergency services like 911. However, you pay taxes that come with using that area code.

With non-fixed VoIP telephone numbers, you can choose any area code to use no matter your location. Unlike a fixed number, there is limited access to government and emergency services.

VoIP phone numbers can be connected to different devices. For example, the same VoIP number is attached to a number of computers in a help center. This increases the rate and speed of pickup, because if someone calls, several phones ring at the same time, and the nearest agent picks up. It is also possible to speak with multiple users at the same time.

Get a VoIP Number with RingCentral today.

How Do I Identify a VoIP Caller?

To access VoIP services, a user is assigned a VoIP number. You can identify a VoIP caller by enabling caller ID information or looking up the VoIP number. Enabling caller ID software like Truecaller will automatically look up and display the ID.

Other ways to find out who is calling you with a VoIP phone is to track the number during the call, ask your service provider to provide you with details, or use a reverse phone lookup service.

It is possible to trace a VoIP call after it has ended if you have installed a pocket analyzer. This software saves traffic details during a VoIP call. Look through those details to find the IP address.

Businesses using Nextiva and other providers can customize their VoIP caller ID so that instead of “VoIP Caller”, you will see the brand name. Some callers use VPNs and Proxy servers to prevent IP address lookup. If a caller is doing that, it is probably better to block them.

How to Block VoIP Calls

The easiest way to block a VoIP caller ID is to use your device blocking features. The method varies by device. Sometimes, it is as simple as selecting the number and clicking “Block number.” Other times, you may need to contact your traditional phone system provider and ask that a number be blocked.

You can use caller ID software, sign up for the Do Not Call registry, or reach out to the number and ask not to be contacted again.

VoIP Security Risks

While VoIP is certainly the future of business communication, there are some risks to be aware of. As with most things on the web, VoIP can also be abused by scammers and criminals to damage your business.

By breaching your phone system, hackers can listen to your phone calls, amass phone bills, or steal sensitive information related to your business, yourself, and your customers.

Since VoiP calls are made over the internet, these call systems are prone to many of the risks we see in the digital world.

So what are the most common VoIP Security risks?

Phishing

Phishing is a malicious activity when scammers call using numbers that appear similar to legitimate organizations. These organizations include banks, tax departments, and government agencies. The scammer leaves a message about “suspicious activity” on the recipient’s account and asks the recipient to “verify their identity”.

As such, the victim may share sensitive information such as their bank account details or credit card information. In fact, over 59 million Americans lost money from a phone scam in 2021.

Signs of a phishing attack include:

Extreme urgency from the person on the other line
Unexpected calls from known numbers or reputable organizations
Short and unusual phone numbers on caller ID display
The other person keeps requesting you to verify sensitive information

To prevent phishing, your organization should verify all phone requests, even if they seem to come from your IT department. You also need to train your employees to refuse to disclose sensitive information unless cleared by a supervisor.

DDoS Attacks

DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks occur when criminals overwhelm a server with data and use up all of its bandwidth. In turn, your network or machine will be unavailable to its users after the DDoS attack disrupts the service.

If you use a VoIP caller and are tagged with a DDoS attack, you can’t make or receive any phone calls. DDoS attacks are on the rise and your business could be at risk. To mitigate DDoS attacks, we recommend using a separate, dedicated internet connection for your VoIP caller.

Virtual Local Area Networks, VLANs, are specifically dedicated for VoIP traffic and prevent DDoS attacks. For VoIP callers sharing across a wide area network (WAN), you can protect your organization from DDoS attack with managed encryption.

Eavesdropping

Eavesdropping is how most criminals steal sensitive information by obtaining passwords, names, and phone numbers. This allows them to take control of voicemail, calling plan, call forwarding, and billing information.

Voice Over Misconfigured Internet Telephone, or VOMIT, is a VoIP hacking technique that takes data and voice packets from calls directly. VOMIT is a form of eavesdropping and converts phone calls into files straight from your business phone system.

To protect your small business from VOMIT attacks and eavesdropping, use a cloud-based VoIP system with the latest call encryption techniques. Reputable VoIP callers come with end-to-end encryption and protect eavesdroppers from listening in on your important phone calls.

Pros & Cons of a VoIP Service for Businesses

In a nutshell, here are the advantages and disadvantages of using a VoIP service in your business.

VoIP Caller Pros

Can reach more people
VoIP calls cost less than traditional phone calls
More features like call forwarding and voicemail to email conversion
Portable
The same VoIP number can be connected to multiple phones
You can speak to multiple people at the same time
Easy to setup and use
Helps team collaboration
Can integrate with other apps like Slack and Zapier

VoIP Caller Cons

May be labeled as spam
Not everyone wants to receive VoIP calls

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for VoIP Caller

Are VoIP Calls Spam?

Some VoIP callers are spam and some aren’t. Chances are that if a brand is not concealing their identity, they aren’t spam calls. The anonymous callers that try to hide their IP addresses are mostly spam.

Why Would Someone Use a VoIP Caller?

People use VoIP technology because of its portability and convenience. A business owner can easily install an inexpensive VoIP software, and use the same VoIP numbers to run their business at full scale. Plus, VoIP phone numbers never change regardless of location, and you can reach almost anybody with a VoIP phone.

Should I Answer VoIP Phone Calls?

It is fine to answer VoIP calls when you can easily identify the caller. If the person calling is actively trying to hide their identity over the internet connection, then it is not advisable to pick up. In these instances, they are usually trying to scam you.

How Do I Block a VoIP Call?

There are many ways to stop VoIP calls. You can use your device settings, a caller ID app, mark the number as spam, contact your provider, and enter the DNC registry.

Conclusion: What Is a VoIP Caller?

A Voice over Internet Protocol phone service affords amazing benefits to both businesses and individuals. Using an internet connection, VoIP calls help businesses and freelancers connect with more prospects, manage sales campaigns, and manage team productivity. To individuals, it gives the ability to reach anyone in the world while traveling, using the same number.

Get your VoIP system set up with RingCentral.

March 23, 2022November 23, 2022

How to Do Payroll for Small Businesses in 11 Steps

Your business has reached a point where you can’t handle everything on your own. Hiring employees seems like the obvious next step. However, doing so adds a layer of complexity to running a business that will forever change how you spend your time. One of your biggest new responsibilities and time sinks will be payroll.

What is payroll? Not all new business owners are familiar with this concept and it’s a good idea to start off with a brief explanation. Payroll is the organized process of calculating wages owed to employees, calculating and paying payroll taxes, distributing employee wages, and documenting the whole process.

How to Do Payroll with Payroll Software In 11 Steps

Since payroll is a broad concept that covers everything from payroll laws and taxes to documentation, it can be a bit too much to wrap your head around. It’s easy to run into errors if you’re running payroll on your own for the first time. Remember that the penalties for an error in taxes or employee paychecks are no joke.

Small business owners, even those with only one employee, should certainly invest in a consistent method for running payroll. Rather than doing payroll manually, we recommend you use payroll software. These payroll processing services will manage the entire process for you from paying your employees, calculating payroll taxes, paying and filing them, to managing employee benefits.

Although different payroll software may have slightly varying steps to run payroll, the overarching process is almost the same. So here’s your easy guide on how to do payroll for your small business with payroll software. We’ll be using screenshots from the Square Payroll setup process to help you along the way.

Step 1: Choose a Payroll Software that Suits Your Needs

The first and most important task on your hands is to choose the right payroll software. You’ve got plenty of options to choose from, but if you’re new to payroll, you can’t immediately tell which software is right for you.

Plus, some not-so-good payroll service providers run relentless ad campaigns and you might end up subscribing to them if you’re not well-informed about which one suits you best. To ease things for you, we’ve researched the market and enlisted the best payroll software for different kinds of businesses. Here are our top three picks.

Gusto

Built for small businesses, Gusto is a robust platform that unifies payroll, benefits administration, HR, and compliance functions into a single, easy-to-use package. It offers a range of payroll tools to simplify and automate the entire process of paying your employees. Plus, advanced plans have HR services to help you and your employees make the most of your time. Read our in-depth review on Gusto to find more about it.

Square Payroll

Square Payroll is an easy-to-use payroll software with a simple design and all tools accessible from the homepage. It lets you manage employees’ paychecks with ease and offers seamless timecard imports, automated tax filings, and a range of other helpful features. Check out our Square Payroll review to see if it suits your needs.

Rippling

Rippling is a high-end payroll service and is a great option for mid-sized businesses. It offers HR functionalities as well as powerful payroll tools which makes it great for personnel management. Rippling also offers loads of integrations with accounting, time tracking, attendance, and other tools.

Step 2: Set Up Employer Account on Payroll Software

Screenshot of Square Payroll get started page

Enter your personal details and your business’s information to set up your account. You just need your business name, type, address, and contact information to complete this step. Once down, you can move on to adding your employees’ information.

Screenshot of Square Payroll personal information page

Step 3: Add Employees to the Payroll Software

Add your employees using basic information such as their full name, email address, and employment type. You don’t need to go into detail; all technical stuff is handled by the software on its own. Once you’ve added the employees’ basic information and email address, the software sends them an email invite so they can complete the rest of the process on their own.

Screenshot of Square Payroll add new team member

This means according to their employment type, the payroll software requests them to fill in tax forms such as the W-4, I-9, or 1099s to process contractor payroll. If you’re not using payroll software, you need to gather this information and deal with all the paperwork on your own.

Using these employee-filled forms, the payroll software automatically sorts out exempt and non-exempt employees, information about taxes and employee benefits, and other important information to run payroll.

Step 4: Enter Tax Information

This is where you enter your business’s tax information such as the EIN number and state tax IDs so the payroll software can use them to file payroll taxes on your behalf. Find your employer identification number (EIN), if you don’t already have it, you can apply for it free on the IRS website.

Your EIN, also known as your business’s federal tax number, helps the IRS and the government identify your business. It’s just like your company’s social security number and is essential for you to file payroll taxes.

Also, check if your state or local government requires a different identification number such as the state income tax number, or state unemployment ID. Most states just need the EIN, but it’s a good idea to check before you continue. Once you have all the information required to set up your employer profile on the payroll software, it’s time to create your account.

Screenshot of Square Payroll business tax information page

Step 5: Select a Payroll Schedule and Payment Method

Once you’ve set up your account on the payroll software, you need to decide on a payroll schedule and the payment methods you’re going to offer. There are four types of payroll schedules. This includes weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly schedules. But remember each state has its own pay period requirements.

For example, your state may require weekly or biweekly paydays, depending on the occupation. We recommend you check out your state payday requirements to ensure compliance.

In some states, the law mandates that you offer multiple payment options for your employees. Paper checks are becoming rare options for employee paychecks, and are being replaced by methods more convenient for both employer and employee, like direct deposit. Another option is pre-loaded payroll cards, similar to prepaid credit cards.

Step 6: Use a Time Tracking System

You must have an accurate time tracking system in place to track your employees’ worked hours. The FLSA makes it a must for employers to accurately track hours for their hourly employees. A simple solution is to use spreadsheets, but if you want a more advanced solution, use time tracking software.

Employees can clock in and out their hours through the tracking system. By integrating the time tracking app with your payroll software, you can import the total hours worked instantly. Not just that, issues like determining overtime hours are also taken care of.

Step 7: Run Payroll

Once everything is set up and you’re ready to pay your employees, your payroll software gives you an option to run payroll for a given pay period. After you verify information, you can simply press a button to pay workers.

Screenshot of Square Payroll Run Payroll

Step 8: Input Employees’ Hours or Import Timecards

With payroll software, you can either input employees’ hours worked manually or import them through the time tracking system you use. Note that the latter is the faster and more efficient way to pay your employees accurately.

Screenshot of Square Payroll timecards import

If you import timecards, the hours each employee has worked are automatically entered. If employees have worked overtime or double overtime, those hours are entered accurately too. Note that you can still edit these hours manually if needed.

Next up, you can add any additional payments, paycheck tips, or take cash tips into account. The payroll software uses this information to accurately calculate the gross pay for each employee.

Step 9: Deductions and Adjustments

The most complicated part of payroll processing may be calculating and paying payroll taxes. This complexity is due to several factors. As an employer, you must calculate both what you and your employees owe when determining your company’s total payroll tax liability. Employers should withhold income taxes and other payroll taxes from employees’ wages, to be paid on their behalf.

Federal taxes include federal income tax, as well as the federal unemployment tax. Deductions governed by the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), including medicare tax and social security tax, also need to be tracked and paid. Taxes are also owed at the state level, including but not limited to state income tax and state unemployment tax.

All of this is taken care of by the payroll software. It calculates all taxes accurately so you don’t have to worry about any of that. You just need to make sure if there are any extra adjustments you want to make in each employee’s paycheck. For example, if you’ve received a garnishment order or want to make a post-tax deduction, you can at this stage.

Step 10: Review Payroll Run Summary and Pay Your Employees

Finally, the payroll software takes you to a review page where you can see each employee’s net pay and all payroll taxes and other deductions in one place. Once you’ve reviewed it, you can finally pay your employees by confirming withdrawal.

Note that if you opt for direct deposit, the payments can take two to four days to reach your worker’s bank accounts. Other payment methods can take varying time periods to reach employees.

Screenshot of Square Payroll review payroll, confirm the withdrawal

As a note, pay stubs from each pay period showing information like deductions are made available to employees. This can be an additional concern but is not a problem if you use payroll software.

Step 11: Keep Payroll Records

Paying employees generates a lot of paperwork, some of which needs to be saved. Not keeping this paperwork safe is one of the most common payroll mistakes new employers tend to make. Records of payroll tax forms and other information have to be saved for at least four years.

These records include:

Your employer identification number
Amounts and dates of all payments to employees
Tips reported
The fair market value of in-kind payments, ie. trading goods for labor or other goods, rather than paying money
Important information regarding employees, including names, social security numbers, and occupations
Dates of employment
Sick or vacation pay
Copies of each employee’s W-4
Payroll records of tax deposits
Copies of tax returns
Records of fringe benefits

Keeping payroll records is essential to maintain transparency and helps you stay clear of legal trouble. It also makes it easy for you to conduct a payroll audit.

There may also be specific requirements for different business types. Additional records may be required for some payroll deductions or other tax documents. Employers have a few other recordkeeping and reporting responsibilities. One that’s important for new employers to be aware of is notifying the correct state agency when bringing a new employee on board.

Should You Do Payroll Yourself?

Small business owners have lots of claims on their time, so sitting down to run payroll yourself may be a sacrifice. At the same time, it’s one of a business’s biggest expenses, so it can be nerve-wracking to put it in the hands of a payroll service.

However, payroll can be complicated and time-consuming, with several aspects and a multitude of requirements as you might’ve found out in the steps above. Running payroll is not like most other administrative tasks you’re able to pull along with your main work. It’s technical and requires undivided attention to be done properly.

Thus, it’s only natural to think about whether you should hire an in-house accountant to run payroll. This might be out of the question for smaller teams but larger businesses may want to give it a thought. But if you think your business can’t afford an accountant’s services yet, investing in reliable payroll processing software is a smart step.

You Have to Familiarize Yourself with Federal & State Payroll Laws

If you’re running payroll on your own, you’re responsible for complying with all federal and state payroll laws. This includes important payroll laws like minimum wage rules in your city or state, worker’s compensation insurance requirements, final paycheck, and PTO payout regulations.

You’re an entrepreneur trying to grow your business. Why slow yourself down trying to learn laws and regulations? Go for automated payroll software as they take care of all the legal requirements for you. You don’t need to study any laws since these payroll services take into account all federal and state regulations automatically.

Should You Use Professional Payroll Services?

A payroll provider is usually the more expensive payroll solution. However, you’re paying for a wider range of services. They’ll manage payroll calculations and file payroll taxes for an employer, of course, but may offer a number of other benefits as well.

What to Expect

With a payroll service, payroll processing is taken largely out of the employer’s hands. They’ll handle distributing employees’ paychecks, whether by direct deposit or another method, after calculating net pay. They’ll also pay payroll taxes and manage record-keeping.

They may offer additional services that can help both you and your employees, such as advances on future earnings and making pay stubs available. You will have to pay more for the more elaborate features, however, which can quickly add up.

Benefits of Using Payroll Software

Payroll software lets you pay your employees with ease. It takes care of everything from employee paperwork to filing taxes and frees up a lot of your time. Employees can enter their information on the software and it automatically calculates all taxes and benefits for each worker. All you have to do is run the payroll on payday, everything else is handled by the software.

Payroll processing software comes in a wide variety of options. Some might be better thought of as a payroll system, doing a lot more than simply filling out tax forms. Examples include Quickbooks Payroll or Paychex. Other options are less complex and correspondingly less expensive. If you’ve got a small team with simple payroll needs, check out the best free payroll software.

You’re also likely to find industry-specific payroll software. For instance, we recommend restaurant owners use the best restaurant payroll software to manage payroll.

What to Expect

Even basic payroll software options help you process payroll and calculate deductions like state and federal taxes. A full payroll system automatically makes tax payments from your bank account and produces payroll reports at the end of each pay period. Software of that kind often comes with guarantees backing their tax calculations.

At this point, some software options are on par with a payroll service, both in terms of services and expense. Some software options may also offer full bookkeeping options, or integrate with bookkeeping software to make moving information easier. Higher-end options will even notify the correct state agency when you hire new employees.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for How to Do Payroll

Here are some of the most common questions new employers ask about running payroll manually.

What is the Best Payroll Software for Beginners?

The best payroll software for you depends on your business’s needs. But when it comes to ease of use, Gusto, Square Payroll, and QuickBooks are three of the simplest payroll software.

How Do You Do Payroll for Beginners?

There may be no simple “how to do payroll” explanation that will cover all the bases. We can boil the process down to a few highlights, however, to help clarify the process to pay employees.

1. Tax IDs: Your business needs to be registered with federal, state, and local governments, which will issue tax IDs. You’ll also need your employees to fill out form W 4, as well as potentially other forms, to get their social security number and other information.

2. Calculate net pay: A lot of math goes into figuring out the number on an employee’s paycheck. Social security, Medicare, state and federal unemployment taxes and other payroll taxes need to be calculated, withheld, and paid.

3. Distribute pay: A paper paycheck is traditional, but there is a range of more convenient options.

4. Keep payroll records: You’re required to keep some records for at least 4 years.

How Do I Do Payroll Manually?

Start by calculating gross pay for each employee, taking into account exemption status, overtime, vacation pay, and any other policies that may apply. Withhold state income tax, social security, Medicare tax, and other payroll taxes. To do that, you’ll need information from employee tax forms.

When you have your net pay, you can pay it via paper check, direct deposit, or several other options. There are recordkeeping requirements that have to be followed, as well.

Is It Easy to Do Your Own Payroll and Payroll Tax?

Payroll is a complicated process and there’s a lot more to it than handing out paychecks. There are a variety of federal and state requirements to fulfill. Employers need to maintain payroll records. Payroll software can make many things much easier.

Bottom Line on How to Do Payroll

Every business owner should know how to do payroll manually, but that doesn’t mean they should do it that way. It’s good that you’re aware of the underlying processes but given the tons of time consumed by payroll processing, smart entrepreneurs automate it with payroll software.

March 21, 2022November 23, 2022

Waterfall vs Agile Methodology: What’s Better for Your Project?

Man thinking about what project management method to use

Every project comes with its unique challenges. But there’s one challenge that accompanies every project you’ll work on: deciding which project management methodology to choose. The waterfall vs agile question is the most frequent one you’ll come across in this discourse.

As important as it is to answer, this question might have you bogged down even before you make any progress on the project itself. To make things easier, we’ve thoroughly researched the two methodologies to bring you this waterfall vs agile comparison. Continue reading to find out which project management methodology is the better choice for your project.

Waterfall Methodology: Best for Small & Simple Projects

The waterfall methodology is the older and more traditional project management system. It’s a linear model that divides your project into five to seven strictly sequential phases. In waterfall, you must fully complete a phase before you move on to the next.

This linear project development method isn’t flexible and won’t give you a lot of space to change course after you’ve started working on it. It also requires extensive documentation and planning upfront to design and implement a solution.

Easy to manage
Gives an accurate estimate of cost and time
Lets you create a repeatable process

Inflexible
Carries high risk for larger projects
Requires a lot of time for documentation and planning

Agile Methodology: Best for Large & Complex Projects

The agile project management methodology is more flexible as it was designed to replace the waterfall method’s rigid structure. It’s a cyclic process that divides your project into sprints.

Instead of planning everything upfront, agile management follows a more adaptive and collaborative approach. It’s further divided into seven different frameworks that are suitable for different kinds of projects.

Greater flexibility
Faster development
Greater involvement of clients

Costs are higher than other methodologies
Project can go off-track as requirements aren’t clearly defined
High customer involvement leads to delays

Waterfall vs Agile Project Management – Comparative Overview

Waterfall and agile are two of the most commonly used models in the history of project management. We can’t single out a clear winner because both have their pros and cons and suit different kinds of projects.

Note that waterfall or agile management techniques are not the only two options. You can also find a middle ground by going for a waterfall-agile hybrid approach. You can keep the features you like from both methods to develop your own hybrid.

A PMI report suggests that on average, nearly 44% of projects go for the waterfall methodology, 30% use agile, while 23% use hybrid models.

Agile Vs Waterfall Usage statistics — *Source: PMI*

You need to familiarize yourself with both management methods to make an accurate comparison and reach the right decision for your project. Here’s a summary for you to compare the two management methods with ease:

Agile vs Waterfall Comparison Chart

Project Scope

Works well when the scope is clearly defined before the project starts.

Works well even if the scope is not well-defined. Making changes to the project after it starts is easier but may incur expenses.

Timeline

Has a fixed timeline. Better for short-term projects.

Has no fixed timeline. Better for longer or continuous projects that require greater innovation.

Budget

Has a fixed budget. Involves less risk since the budget is finalized upfront.

Has a flexible budget. Increases funding efficiency.

Flexibility

Not flexible. Waterfall projects are fully planned out in the initial stages and different phases cannot overlap.

Very flexible. Allows for innovation and collaboration and makes it easy to change project courses.

Customer Involvement

Minimal customer involvement.

Involves collaboration with customers in every phase.

Team

Good for larger teams with less coordination.

Good for smaller, dedicated teams with high coordination.

Risk

Carries more risk for large projects as the final product isn’t ready for testing until the final stages.

Carries less risk because the product is frequently tested throughout the project.

Waterfall Project Management Methodology

The waterfall project management methodology is based on three basic principles. A sequential structure, minimal customer involvement, and robust documentation of every phase it entails.

Being sequential in nature means all stages are mapped out chronologically and you must follow the same pattern. Going back to a previous phase or changing the direction of the project is only possible if you start all over again.

Communication with clients takes place only in the requirement-gathering phase. Little to no communication takes place in the development stages. Extensive documentation means all steps and specifications are documented in detail in the waterfall model.

5 Stages of the Waterfall Model

The waterfall model divides your project into five phases. The number of phases can be more for complicated projects but it basically remains a five-step process.

Documenting requirements: In the first phase, you gather and document all the information you can from the client. This includes their requirements, budget, timeline, and any other details that are essential to the completion of the project.

Design: The design phase is where you prepare the logical and physical design of the deliverable. This includes specifying each step of the development process including the software and hardware tools you’d be using.

Implementation: The implementation stage is where you prepare the actual product. It doesn’t take a lot of time since you have everything planned out already.

Verification: Once you’ve prepared the product you’re working on, you run tests on it during the verification or testing phase. Minor bugs are fixed and the waterfall continues to the last stage. But in case of major faults, you have to return to stage one.

Maintenance: After you’ve released the product to the customer, some issues may arise when they use it practically. This is when your maintenance team works on the product, debugging it from time to time.

Who Should Use the Waterfall Model?

Since this project management method lacks the agility and flexibility many fast-paced projects require, it’s clearly not the choice for everyone. However, the waterfall model is a good choice for you in three scenarios.

You have clearly defined requirements: If you or your client knows exactly what they want as the outcome, using waterfall is a straightforward way to manage the project without unnecessary complications.

You have an inflexible schedule: Rigidity meets rigidity. If you need to stick to an inflexible timeline or tasks involved in a project, waterfall’s highly structured nature suits you. This is especially true for construction and manufacturing projects.

You have time for planning: Requirements and design are two of the most time-consuming phases in the model. If you have enough time to plan out your project thoroughly, this linear methodology ensures you invest your resources correctly.

Agile Project Management Methodology

As the name suggests, agile project management is a more flexible and adaptive approach. It’s a modern model that works best for fast-paced projects where you want to keep space for innovation and improvisation.

Agile management is based on seven key principles:

Adaptability: Collaborate with customers and accept changing requirements throughout the development process.
Lean development: Agile development focuses on keeping the final product as simple as possible. You want to achieve the same outcome with the least complications.
Customer involvement: Agile teams include developers, investors, end-users, and other stakeholders in all stages.
Time: This methodology gets most work done in the least amount of time. You will break down your timeline into small time-boxed sprints.
Teamwork: Agile development focuses on teamwork more than anything else. Give dedicated team members the resources and support they need to deliver quality work.
Build and test: Deliver a working product frequently during the development phases.
Sustainability: Instead of pushing for faster work, develop a sustainable pace where you can deliver a quality product.

6 Stages of the Agile Model

Concept: In the first stage, the client informs you about their requirements and the key features they expect from the product. You try to document all specifications even though it’s not a necessity for agile development.
Inception: This is where you assemble your team and tools. This phase involves brainstorming potential solutions before selecting one for the next stage.
Iteration: Iteration is the longest phase where you start off by developing the general framework. As you proceed, iterations or sprints move on to improve the product and develop additional features.
Release: The name suggests otherwise, but this stage first involves quality assurance. Once you’ve thoroughly tested the deliverable for all features and functionalities, the final iteration can be actually released for customers.
Maintenance: This stage begins when clients identify bugs or request updates and improvements to the product.
Retirement: In Agile management, the retirement stage starts when the product falls out of use or needs to be replaced. Here you start ‘end-of-life’ activities which include withdrawing all support and letting users know that the product is no longer available.

Who Should Use the Agile Model?

Using agile makes sense when your project is based on complex deliverables, gradual progress, and consists of shorter and overlapping timelines. If you require better communication between cross-functional teams to deliver the product, agile is the way to go. Here are some additional scenarios when agile development is the better choice:

You have ambiguous requirements: Go for agile management if you or your client haven’t defined project requirements fully but want to start right away, agile management gives you the opportunity to kick things off and correct course along the way.
You need to deliver quickly: If you’re on a short timeline and need to get the final product ready quickly, agile is a better choice. This way, you won’t have to spend a lot of time on planning and can finish the project earlier.
You work in an industry that changes quickly: Rapidly innovating industries need agility in their project management process. The agile model lets you adapt quickly so you can stay ahead of the competition.

Agile vs Waterfall: Which Project Management Software to Use?

Choosing the right project management methodology is a challenge. But choosing the right project management software is another challenge in itself. Regardless of the method they employ, the most successful teams utilize advanced software for their project management needs.

Here are some of the best project management software for both waterfall and agile models.

Wrike

Wrike is one of the best project management tools out on the market. It works with both waterfall and agile methodologies as it offers Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and a range of other useful features. Read an in-depth review on Wrike to find more about it.

Wrike offers a high degree of customizability and fits into all sizes and types of businesses. It may be the costlier option, but the functionality is worth the price tag.

Asana

Asana is a top project management software for its ease of use and focus on productivity and collaboration. Its features might suggest that it’s better suited for agile projects but a considerable proportion of its users utilize it for waterfall projects. Asana is one of the more affordable options that offer a wide range of features and potential use cases. Read our comprehensive review on Asana.

monday.com

monday.com is an award-winning project management platform that helps you efficiently plan and execute complex projects. It’s easy to use and flexible with onboarding new teams and team members. It can work

With a variety of productivity features such as time-tracking, an integrated kanban board, automated notifications, workflow automation, dependencies, multiple views, and calendar integration, teams can achieve better and faster results for every project milestone. Read the monday.com review to find out more about its features and pricing.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Waterfall Vs Agile

Why choose agile over waterfall?

You should choose agile over waterfall if your project does not have clearly defined requirements, has a short timeline, or you’re working in a rapidly changing industry. The waterfall model carries a high risk for large and complex projects, so go for agile for such projects.

Is Scrum waterfall or agile?

Scrum is a part of the Agile management model. Scrum is a popular process framework for implementing agile development. It’s most commonly used as an iterative software development model for larger, more complex products.

Is Agile cheaper or waterfall?

Agile is cheaper than waterfall. Oftentimes, agile projects can be four times cheaper than the same projects developed with waterfall. This is because the agile model follows the principles of lean development where only the bare minimum is done to make the product work.

When it comes to agile or waterfall management software, the costs depend on which software you go for. Some software cater to both agile and waterfall methods and cost the same for using both management methodologies.

Bottom Line on Waterfall vs Agile Methodologies

In the end it all boils down to you and your project’s needs. The waterfall focuses on upfront documentation and planning. This means you spend most of your time in the first two planning phases. Although this delays the project, it makes sure you invest your resources with minimum wastage.

On the other hand, agile is the more modern approach. It’s faster, cheaper, and flexible which gives it the edge over waterfall. But this also means that you need a highly dedicated team that can communicate and respond to change well. Still, if you think both are viable options for your project and find yourself torn between the two, a hybrid approach may be the answer.

March 21, 2022March 2, 2023

Waterfall Methodology: History, Principles, Stages & More

Visual representation of the 5 Stages of the Waterfall Model

If you’re discovering potential project management methodologies for a new project, you might’ve come across a lot of project management jargon. If you aren’t already familiar with them, terms like the waterfall, scrum, agile, lean, and kanban methodologies aren’t immediately digestible.

This guide is all about explaining one of these terms: the waterfall methodology, also known as the waterfall model. If you’re interested in learning more about this project management method, and whether it suits your project goals or not, you’re at the right place.

Summary

The waterfall project management methodology lets you plan out your project in a linear manner where each subsequent phase initiates after the last one ends. It’s one of the most straightforward ways to manage a project and is a good choice if you already have clearly outlined objectives.

Try The best PM software for waterfall methodology

Best Project Management Software for Waterfall Methodology

Historical Overview of the Waterfall Methodology

The waterfall methodology is the oldest project management procedure out there. Construction and manufacturing firms have traditionally used similar management methods albeit it was not formally recognized until Dr. Winston Royce introduced the idea.

He developed the waterfall management approach in 1970 to manage the development of large software. Though the term ‘waterfall’ still wasn’t linked to it, it was Dr. Royce’s design that later came to be known as the waterfall model.

The step-by-step approach helped it gain support from managers quickly, making it the most widely used management methodology. Since then, waterfall project management has been a popular choice, especially for software development projects and other relatively sequential fields of work.

The waterfall model is named so because it mimics a waterfall in its trajectory. Just like water flows down in one direction, your operations will flow from one step to the next. The flowing water cannot take a u-turn and flow back to a point it has already passed from. Similarly, this management method doesn’t allow you to return to previous phases. The only way to do so is to start over from the beginning.

Principles of the Waterfall Methodology

The 3 principles of waterfall methodology

Every management process follows a set of principles. If you’re confused about whether or not the waterfall model suits your operations, we recommend you review the principles it follows. The right project management model should follow the same principles as you want for your project.

Here are the three basic principles the waterfall project management methodology goes by.

Sequential structure: The waterfall model divides your operations into sequential phases. You can only move to the next stage in your project once the current one is complete. This also means there’s no space for changing course or revisiting a phase after its completion. The only way to go back is to start all over again.

Minimal customer involvement: A waterfall project involves minimal customer interaction. This is primarily due to the fact that operations only start after the customer’s requirements and objectives are clearly defined. The first meeting takes place before operations begin and the next when the project is in its final stages.

Robust documentation: This methodology also involves in-detail documentation of all requirements, the development process, and the final outcome. This includes everything from the timeline to the precise route you will take to solve the client’s problems. Since there’s minimal to no customer communication during the development process, every essential detail needs to be documented upfront.

If these principles are in-line with the project you’re planning, the waterfall model is indeed a suitable option. Let’s dive deeper to discover the different phases involved in the waterfall system development cycle.

5 Stages of the Waterfall Model – Software Development Cycle

Waterfall usually breaks down a project into five to seven distinct phases. The stages, also known as the waterfall software development cycle for software development projects, are strictly chronological. Each phase has a fixed timeline, requirements, and objectives.

Although most waterfall systems have five project management stages, more complicated plans have more stages in their development process. Here is what a typical waterfall model looks like:

Here’s an in-depth look at each of these phases and what each one entails. Oftentimes, a single phase can involve multiple subsections, but everything is part of the plan taking on one task at a time.

Stage 1: Documenting Requirements

The waterfall model calls for extensive documentation upfront. In the first stage, you gather information from clients or end-users regarding their requirements and the results they expect from the software or product.

This is a planning phase and is the last one where you can communicate with clients before work starts on the project. You want to document as much information as you can to make sure you take off in the right direction and have everything mapped out.

The requirements phase is crucial since it lays the foundation for the next phases. This is also why a lot of time is allocated to gathering requirements. By the end of stage one, you should be able to describe each of the upcoming phases in detail. This includes timelines, costs, risks, assumptions, and dependencies of the project.

Stage 2: Design

The second stage, also known as the analysis stage, is when you review the requirements and develop a design to meet them. Here, your team identifies the path it will take to deliver a solution and the relevant specifications.

The second stage is often divided into two parts: the logical design and the physical design stage. In logical or high-level design subphase, you will come up with all theoretical solutions that have the potential to meet the client’s objectives.

Physical design, also known as the low-level design, entails more concrete specifications. This is where you specify the hardware, software, architecture, data sources, and services you will be employing during the project. Note that no on-ground work or coding takes place in this stage.

Stage 3: Implementation

This is where the action starts. The implementation phase is where the construction or coding, in the case of software development projects, happens. But this might be the shortest stage of all since the entire design is already in place. Your team will follow the documentation from the first two phases to flesh out the actual deliverable.

More complex projects break down large software into smaller programs. Teams employ unit testing where they build and test one unit at a time which is later merged together for the final product.

Stage 4: Verification

After the implementation phase is complete, the testing or verification stage is where you make sure all requirements are met and whether the product needs debugging. Here, the quality assurance team thoroughly scans the deliverable before it reaches the client.

In case they find major faults or the requirements are not met, the project goes back to stage one. However, a forced repeat of the design phase takes care of minor bugs.

You can also utilize a UAT (user acceptance test) for clients or end-users to check for faults and user experience. In case the product passes testing and verification, we move on in the waterfall.

Stage 5: Maintenance

The maintenance stage starts after you release the product and users start using it. You can only identify some issues once the client brings the deliverable to practical use. In case a bug or faulty feature arises, your maintenance team can take care of it. This stage ends when the client is fully satisfied or continues in case they need frequent updates.

When to Use Waterfall Methodology

The extensive documentation and painstaking planning in the initial stages are two of the best features of the waterfall model. They make sure your time and money are invested right. However, its inflexibility gives you limited space to revise your plans.

Different projects have different circumstances and requirements. Let’s take a look at some instances where a waterfall system would make a great choice.

Project has clearly defined requirements: If you’re clear about the ultimate objective you want to achieve with a project, go for waterfall management. However, if you or your clients are not sure about the end goal, have ambiguous requirements, and may change course, go for agile project management.

Project has firmly set tasks and deadlines: The waterfall model is highly structured by nature. It’s best for projects in the construction or manufacturing industry where you need to maintain deadlines. This is a rigid management methodology for rigid businesses where meeting deadlines is a must.

You have time for planning: A considerable amount of time is spent in the first two stages when you use waterfall management. You can go for waterfall if you have ample time to spend on gathering requirements and planning. But if you’re short on time and need to start right away, an agile methodology is a better option.

Pros and Cons of Waterfall Methodologies

Every project development methodology has its pros and cons. Similarly, the waterfall method has its own which makes it suitable for some projects and unsuitable for others.

Its straightforward approach and the robust documentation involved are two of the best things about it. On the other hand, the inability to adapt to change is its greatest weakness.

Advantages of the Waterfall Method

In-depth analysis and design phases make sure the implementation follows the correct route. This helps your team take all the right steps and finish the implementation phase quickly.
The waterfall method gives an accurate estimate of the total cost and time required for a project.
It’s easier to evaluate progress since the model has a highly structured approach and defined milestones.
This methodology lets you create repeatable processes. This means new team members can easily get familiarized with the project as everything they need to know is already documented.
Limited customer involvement means customers aren’t adding new suggestions or requirements. This helps you avoid delays and reach completion according to the set timeline.

Disadvantages of the Waterfall Method

The waterfall management model assumes all requirements can be enlisted at once, but this is not always the case. This incurs higher costs if a client requests an additional requirement midway through the development process.
Since requirements and design planning take up a lot of time, projects can take longer to reach completion.
Limited communication with the clients during design and implementation.
If one stage gets delayed, all subsequent stages are delayed.
Doesn’t allow processes to overlap, hence reducing efficiency.
A working deliverable isn’t available until the final stages.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Waterfall Methodology

What are the steps in the Waterfall methodology?

The waterfall methodology involves five to seven stages that start at gathering requirements information from clients and end at the maintenance of the product. The five basic stages are documenting requirements, design, implementation, verification, and maintenance.

What is the difference between waterfall and agile methodology?

Waterfall method focuses on the design and planning phase of a project. Agile focuses very little on design. Waterfall needs more time to build and test a product before it delivers the final version. Agile constantly tests software as soon as it’s ready. Different processes cannot overlap in waterfall but agile enables you to work on different stages at once.

When can design changes be made in the Waterfall process?

It’s not possible to make changes to the waterfall process once it kicks off. If you want to make changes at a particular time during the process, you will have to start from stage one. However, if you want to make changes to the design during the design process, you can easily do so because coding or on-ground work doesn’t start in the design process.

Final Thoughts on Waterfall Methodologies

The waterfall methodology is simple, sequential, and easy to apply. It’s most commonly used for software development and construction projects where you need to finalize one phase before you move to the next.

That said, this project management method lacks flexibility and involves high risk when it comes to complicated projects. It’s a suitable option only if you’re working on a shorter project with clearly defined requirements, and enough time for planning. If you think the waterfall isn’t for you, feel free to discover other project management methodologies to get off on the right foot.

March 10, 2022November 23, 2022

Square Payroll Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Square Payroll is an online payroll service specially designed for small businesses. It offers an easy way to manage employees’ paychecks along with seamless timecard imports, automated tax filings, and a range of other helpful features.

We’ve thoroughly researched the payroll processing software market on your part to bring you a comprehensive Square Payroll review. Keep scrolling to learn more about how Square’s online payroll service matches up with some of the best payroll software out there.

Our Verdict

Square Payroll

Visit

Square Payroll is best for small businesses that hire hourly wage contractors only. Although it works for both salaried employees and contractors, there’s no base fee for the contractor-only plan. It offers many useful features including healthcare and retirement benefits syncing, seamless integrations with other tools, and a mobile app for on-the-go payments.

Square Payroll should work perfectly for you if you already use Square POS – it integrates nicely to make employee payments much easier. That said, this payroll software is not for large businesses. It doesn’t have the scalability and customization needed for large-scale operations.

Low pricing
Easy to use
Integrates with other tools

Basic HR functionality only
Slow customer support
Basic payroll reports

Square Payroll at a Glance

Square Payroll is a subsidiary of Square, a company offering a range of business management solutions from POS systems to payment processing solutions. It’s a US-based payroll software and works in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

You can access the online payroll service through its web portal and mobile app. If you’re a small- to medium-sized enterprise, you will probably find all the features you need to streamline employee payments with Square. The service is fairly easy to use with an intuitive user interface that you can get familiar with pretty quickly.

Square Payroll is one of the more reasonably priced software solutions. It has very competitive prices starting at just $35/month plus $5 per person paid for the Employees+Contractors plan. Whereas the Contractor-only plan only costs $5 per person paid without any base fee. Square offers relatively cheaper prices compared to alternatives.

Apart from other software solutions like Square, the service is integrated with a range of other management tools including QuickBooks, Beekeeper, TSheets, and Deputy. If you’re looking for an all-in-one payment processing software that runs payroll, calculates accurate taxes according to your location, and files them automatically, go for Square Payroll.

Who Should Use Square Payroll?

Square Payroll is a perfect match for small businesses, especially those that work with contractors only. If you already use Square Point of Sale, your search also ends here because you won’t find a better match than this. This vendor is not for you if you’re a large business and want to scale or customize the solution.

Pricing

Square offers only two pricing plans for its online payroll processing service: Pay Employees & Contractors plan starting at $40 per month and Pay Contractors only plan starting at $5 per month per person.

Price

$35 monthly subscription + $5/month/per person paid

$5/month/per person paid

Full-service payroll

Unlimited payroll runs

Automatic tax filing

End-of-year tax forms

W-2 and 1099-NEC

1099-NEC

Pay via check, direct deposit, and Square’s cash app

Direct deposit time

4 days

Square POS, QuickBooks Integrations

New hire reporting

Live support for account setup

Square has a straightforward and transparent pricing structure so it’s easy to ascertain what it will cost. Although it gets pricey as you pay more people, it gives you certainty with expenses.

Competitors like ADP and PayCor, don’t publish their pricing structures so can never tell what they’ll cost compared to other options, it’s also relatively affordable. Because Square doesn’t lock you into a contract, there’s no added cost if you need to cancel. Square also allows businesses to pause their subscription without a cost, which could be a good fit for seasonal businesses.

Square Payroll Features

Ease of Use

It’s easy to navigate to different tools when using Square Payroll. It has a simple design with all the tools you need easily accessible from the home page. Still, if you get stuck for some reason, the knowledge base is always there to help you get the job done.

After signing up, you have to enter your businesses’ details including tax information and bank account, among others. Next, you have to enter your employees’ or contractors’ details. This can be a daunting task but Square lets you send an invite to every worker so they can fill out tax and deposit details on their own.

Full-Service Payroll Processing

This payroll service aims to give you a one-stop solution to pay workers easily. It will take care of everything from processing payments, filing taxes, printing paychecks, to direct deposits. If you’re using Square POS, you can also import tips and commissions automatically.

Square Payroll makes your life easier as a business owner. All you have to do is import time cards from other tools or enter the hours clocked by each employee, choose a payment method and it’ll do the rest.

The vendor supports monthly, semi-monthly, weekly, and bi-weekly payment frequencies. Square is not the fastest service as your employees or contractors get paid four business days after the payroll is processed. For instance, if you run the payroll on a Friday, workers may have to wait until the next Thursday to get paid.

Automatic Tax Filing

This feature gives you accurate and timely-filed taxes and takes away yet another time-consuming task. The service takes all relevant data for every employee into account to calculate state and federal taxes, withhold them and send them to the right agency. It also handles quarterly and year-end tax forms like the W-2 and 1099-NEC.

Flexible Payment Options

Square Payroll lets you pay employees and contractors via direct deposits, checks, and the Square Cash App. Although direct deposits take four days to get processed and reach recipients, you can get them paid early if you and your employees use the vendor’s Cash app at no extra charge. Employees can also request an advance paycheck through the Cash app and receive up to 50% of their pay (maximum of $200).

Square POS, QuickBooks, and other Integrations

The integrations the online payroll service offers are one of the best features it’s got. Currently, it’s integrated with the following tools:

Square Point of Sale
Square for Retail
QuickBooks
TSheets
Homebase
Hubworks Hostel Management
Deputy
Beekeeper
TrackTime24

Benefits Management

square payroll review: benefits of square

The benefits management feature takes care of employees’ health insurance, retirement funds, pre-tax spending, and even workers’ compensation insurance. This means you don’t need an HR specialist on the team to manage employee benefits.

Square Payroll lets you choose the right benefits plans for your business, and once you’ve made that decision, you can invite employees to enroll on their own. It will handle everything moving forward including keeping records and deducting premiums from paychecks.

Square Payroll Mobile App

The Square Payroll Mobile app helps the vendor stand out among other services. It comes with both plans and offers almost the same features as the web version. You won’t be able to access the complete set of features but the mobile app is pretty useful for on-the-go payment processing.

The app is a great way for employees to stay updated with their payroll process. It lets employees clock in and out on timecards, file taxes, and view pay stubs.

Alternatives to Square Payroll

There are quite a few alternative options on the market if you think Square is not for you. But before you look for other services, please note that free payroll software won’t be able to offer you the same features as paid ones. That said, take a look at some of the best alternatives to Square:

Gusto – All-in-One HR Solution

Gusto is an HR and payroll service that works well for SMBs. It carries a comprehensive set of services including benefits management, HR, and compliance functions. It offers quicker payment processing than Square. Starting at $39 + $6/per person paid, it’ll cost you slightly higher than Square Payroll. Read the Gusto review to know more about its features and plans.

Rippling – Best for Mid-Sized Businesses

If you’re a mid-sized business, Rippling might be a good option for you. It offers a range of HR and payroll features to simplify your personnel management. It offers plenty of integrations too so you can sync it with other management services to streamline payments. Rippling has better reporting capabilities than Square, making it a great choice if you want to analyze salary trends. It has a quote-based pricing system but you can expect it to start at $8/month/per person paid.

Patriot – Best for Startups

If you’re looking for a payroll service for your startup and you want to get the best features while staying within your budget, Patriot might be the one for you. Patriot offers the most affordable plans on the market. Its Basic Payroll plan starts at $10/month + $4/per person paid. However, you won’t be able to access the automatic tax filing feature with this plan and would have to upgrade to the Full Service package.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Square Payroll Review

Does Square Payroll let you print checks?

Yes, Square Payroll lets you print checks. But it doesn’t let you print every check stock type. It works with DLT 104 only. To print a check, insert the blank check in the printer, run payroll, download it as a PDF, and then print it.

Does Square Payroll have good customer service?

It has a US-based customer support team that’s available from Monday to Friday (6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT). Customers can contact support via their number or email. There have often been reports of them taking too long to respond. There’s also a live chat feature to help users with account setup.

Does Square Payroll work outside the US?

Square is a US-based payroll software and works in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It will not work outside the US since the tax laws are different for every country. For now, it can only file federal and state taxes within the US.

Do I have to use Square POS to use Square Payroll?

No, you don’t. You can use Square Payroll as a stand-alone payroll software for your business. However, Square POS and other Square tools work perfectly with the payroll service which makes things much easier for you.

Bottom Line on Square Payroll Review

Square Payroll is best for small businesses. Go for it if you’re already using other services from Square. It has all the basic payment processing features an average small business needs. It should be on the top of your list especially if you hire contractors only. That said, its four-day waiting time, slow customer support, and lack of scalability and customization are its biggest drawbacks.

Our Verdict

Wave Payroll at a Glance

Who Should Use Wave Payroll

Wave Payroll Pricing

With automatic tax filing

Without automatic tax filing

Wave Payroll Features

Ease of Use

Automated Tax Filing

Dashboard

Timesheets

Employee Deductions

Wave Integrations

Customer Support

Alternatives to Wave Payroll

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Wave Payroll review

Bottom Line on Wave Payroll Review

Got confused with payroll laws? check out some of the best payroll services for small businesses

14 Important Payroll Laws You Don’t Want to Break

Minimum Wage

Overtime Pay

Pay Frequency

Payment Methods

Payroll Taxes

Tax Forms

Paid Family Leave

Paid Sick Time

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Wage Garnishments

Recordkeeping Requirements

Paying Tipped Employees

Final Paycheck

PTO Payout

How to Avoid Payroll Lawsuits?

Best Payroll Software to Avoid Payroll Problems

Gusto: Best Full-Service Platform

Square Payroll: Best for Ease of Use

Rippling: Best for Mid-sized Businesses

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Payroll Laws

Bottom Line on Payroll Laws

How to Register a Domain Name In 4 Steps

Step 1: Find a Suitable Domain Name Registrar

1. Bluehost

2. HostGator

3. Namecheap

Step 2: Choose a Domain Name

Step 3: Complete Domain Registration

Step 4: Verify Domain Ownership

Which Domain Registrar is Best?

How to Choose the Perfect Domain Name

What to Do if Your Desired Domain Name Is Unavailable?

When Should I Register My Domain Name?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for How to Register a Domain Name

Bottom Line on How to Register a Domain Name

Microsoft Project: Best for Enterprises

Features

Microsoft Project

GanttPRO: Best for Small and Midsize Businesses

Features

GanttPRO

MS Project vs GanttPRO: Pricing & Features Comparison

Feature

Project Planning Breakdown

Microsoft Project

GanttPRO

Task Management Breakdown

Microsoft Project

GanttPRO

Time Management Breakdown

Microsoft Project

GanttPRO

Resource Management Breakdown

Microsoft Project

GanttPRO

Team Management Breakdown

Microsoft Project

GanttPRO

Budget Tracking Breakdown

Microsoft Project

GanttPRO