Payroll Processing - Who Are The Big Names?

Are there major providers of payroll processing services? Do those providers offer services targeting small and medium-sized businesses?

 

ADP, Intuit, Ceridian and Paychex are the best known of the large payroll processing services operating in the US. ADP is the largest of the group, although Paychex comes a close second. About one in 10 employees in the US is paid with an ADP paycheck. The four together represent about 25 percent of all employee payroll processed in the US. Beyond these four, though, the market is deeply fragmented, with small and local firms handling payroll processing for millions of small businesses. Ceridian was recently bought out by a private equity firm, and public data about its financial performance and market reach has become harder to glean.

 

Paychex is the small business specialist of the four. It processes payroll, handles employee benefits, and offers related human resources services for about 561,000 clients. Most are small or medium-sized businesses with fewer than 100 employees in the US, representing about 98 percent of its customer base, according to company materials.