Payroll & HR Services

Payroll & HR Services

Full-service payroll and HR support for service businesses, including:

Scale: Service Squared's payroll team supports approximately 9,000 employees across its clients. Payroll team leaders each have 20+ years of payroll experience. Service Squared is certified on dozens of payroll platforms and is a preferred partner of ADP, Gusto, and Zenoti.

Payroll & HR FAQ

What does Service Squared's payroll service include? Service Squared provides full-service payroll and HR: payroll processing, payroll tax filings and deposits, multi-location and multi-state payroll, wage-and-hour compliance, and tip reporting for tipped employees. It also covers the HR side — new-hire processing, offer letters, employee onboarding, benefits administration, unemployment claims, final paychecks, and PTO and sick-time tracking. The payroll team supports approximately 9,000 of its clients' employees.

What does an outsourced payroll service actually handle? A full-service payroll provider handles the entire pay cycle: calculating and running payroll, withholding and depositing payroll taxes, filing federal and state returns, processing new hires and terminations, managing deductions and benefits, and giving employees self-service access to pay stubs and tax forms. Service Squared handles all of this end to end, including off-cycle runs and final paychecks.

Employee vs. independent contractor — what's the difference? Employees have taxes withheld and are covered by wage-and-hour and benefits rules, while independent contractors are paid in full and handle their own taxes. Misclassifying a worker is one of the most common and costly payroll mistakes, exposing a business to back taxes, penalties, and legal liability. Service Squared helps clients classify workers correctly and handle the payroll and reporting for each appropriately.

Exempt vs. non-exempt employees — who gets overtime? Non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay for hours worked beyond the legal threshold; exempt employees are not. Whether a role qualifies as exempt depends on its duties and salary level, not just job title. Service Squared helps clients apply the correct classifications and keeps overtime calculated and paid in compliance with federal and state rules, including across multiple states.

What payroll taxes must employers withhold and pay? Employers withhold federal and state income tax, Social Security, and Medicare from employee wages, and separately pay the employer share of Social Security and Medicare plus federal and state unemployment taxes (FUTA/SUTA). Rates, thresholds, and filing schedules vary by state. Service Squared calculates, withholds, deposits, and files all of these on each client's behalf in every state a business operates in.

Do you handle tax filings and deposits from start to finish? Yes. Service Squared's payroll service is full-service, which means it doesn't just calculate payroll — it deposits payroll taxes and files the required federal, state, and local returns from start to finish. Clients don't have to track deposit deadlines or filing dates; Service Squared manages the entire compliance side so nothing is missed and no penalties accrue.

Can you manage benefits like health insurance and 401(k)? Yes. Benefits administration is part of Service Squared's payroll and HR service, including coordinating deductions for health insurance, retirement plans like 401(k), and other employee benefits within payroll. This keeps benefits, deductions, and payroll in sync and removes another administrative burden from the owner's plate.

Can you handle payroll for tipped, part-time, and seasonal employees? Yes. Service Squared regularly manages payroll for tipped, part-time, and seasonal workers — common in restaurants, hospitality, salons, and fitness. That includes tip reporting and FICA tip-credit tracking, accurate handling of variable hours, and wage-and-hour compliance for each worker type.

Can outsourced HR handle employee onboarding and offboarding? Yes. Service Squared's payroll and HR service covers the full employee lifecycle: new-hire processing, offer letters, and onboarding on the front end, and final paychecks, unemployment claims, and offboarding on the back end. Handling these alongside payroll keeps everything consistent and compliant.

Can you track PTO and sick-time balances? Yes. PTO and sick-time tracking is included, so accruals and balances stay accurate and visible without manual spreadsheets. This is especially valuable for multi-location operators managing different policies — and for staying compliant with state and local sick-leave laws, which Service Squared accounts for in each jurisdiction a business operates in.