Every business that pays employees faces the same challenge: payroll data lives in one system, your books live in another, and someone has to reconcile the two every pay period. The right payroll-accounting integration eliminates this entirely — pay runs post to the general ledger automatically, employee records stay in sync, and your finance team stops manually copying numbers between systems.
This guide compares the 10 most popular payroll providers and how well they integrate with accounting software like TallyArc.
What to look for in a payroll-accounting integration
Before comparing providers, it helps to know what a good integration actually does:
- GL posting on every pay run — wages, employer taxes, benefits, and net pay should all create journal entries automatically
- Employee record sync — headcount changes in payroll should be visible in your accounting system
- Tax filing visibility — quarterly and annual tax payments should be trackable in your books
- OAuth2 or API key auth — OAuth2 is preferable (no credentials stored); API keys are acceptable if properly secured
- Bidirectional sync — ideally, adding a department or cost center in accounting shouldn't require manual re-entry in payroll
The top 10 payroll providers compared
1. Gusto
Best for: US small businesses with W-2 employees
Integration method: OAuth2 (most secure, no stored credentials)
Sync capability: Employees, pay runs, tax filings, benefits data
TallyArc integration: Full OAuth2 flow — recommended for most customers
Gusto is purpose-built for small US businesses and has one of the cleanest APIs in the payroll space. Its OAuth2 integration with TallyArc is the most seamless: connect once, sync with a click, and every pay run posts to your GL automatically. Gusto handles federal and state tax filings, direct deposits, and benefits — and all of it is visible in your TallyArc integration dashboard.
2. ADP
Best for: Mid-market and enterprise companies
Integration method: API key
Sync capability: Employees, pay runs, tax summaries
TallyArc integration: API key-based sync
ADP is the largest payroll provider in the world and is dominant in mid-market and enterprise. Its API is comprehensive but more complex than Gusto's. ADP Run (for small businesses) and ADP Workforce Now (for larger companies) both support API integration, though the credentials setup requires more configuration.
3. Paychex
Best for: Small to mid-sized businesses in the US
Integration method: API key
Sync capability: Pay runs, employee data, tax data
TallyArc integration: API key-based sync via Paychex Flex
Paychex Flex is a solid mid-market payroll platform with a decent API. Its integration with accounting software is API-key based. If you're already using Paychex and it's working well for your business, the TallyArc integration will sync payroll costs into your GL without forcing a platform switch.
4. QuickBooks Payroll
Best for: Companies already using QuickBooks for accounting
Integration method: API key
Sync capability: Payroll data, employee records
TallyArc integration: API key-based sync
QuickBooks Payroll integrates natively with QuickBooks accounting — but if you're using TallyArc as your primary ERP, you can still connect QuickBooks Payroll to pull payroll data into TallyArc's GL. This is useful for teams that have QuickBooks Payroll embedded in their workflow but want better ERP capabilities from TallyArc.
5. Rippling
Best for: Companies that want HR, IT, and payroll in one platform
Integration method: API key
Sync capability: Employees, pay runs, benefits, equipment provisioning
TallyArc integration: API key-based sync
Rippling goes beyond payroll — it's a full HR, IT, and payroll platform. If your business needs to manage employee devices and software licenses alongside payroll, Rippling is worth considering. Its API is well-documented and supports employee and payroll data sync into TallyArc.
6. Deel
Best for: Companies with international contractors or global employees
Integration method: API key
Sync capability: Global payroll, contractor payments, compliance data
TallyArc integration: API key-based sync
Deel is the leading platform for global workforce management — if you pay contractors or employees in multiple countries, Deel handles local compliance, currency conversion, and tax obligations. Its TallyArc integration syncs global payroll costs into a unified GL view.
7. Paylocity
Best for: Mid-market US companies with complex HR needs
Integration method: API key
TallyArc integration: API key-based sync
8. Paycom
Best for: Mid-sized US companies wanting an all-in-one HR/payroll suite
Integration method: API key
TallyArc integration: API key-based sync
9. Workday Payroll
Best for: Large enterprises already on the Workday HCM platform
Integration method: API key
TallyArc integration: API key-based sync
Workday Payroll is an enterprise-grade solution and is typically used by companies already invested in the Workday HCM ecosystem. Its TallyArc integration is API-based and designed for organizations where Workday handles HR strategy while TallyArc provides a more accessible financial operations layer.
10. OnPay
Best for: Small businesses wanting simple, affordable payroll
Integration method: API key
TallyArc integration: API key-based sync
OnPay is a straightforward, affordable payroll platform for small businesses — particularly popular with restaurants, nonprofits, and agricultural businesses. Its integration with TallyArc covers the core payroll sync use case without complexity.
Our recommendation
For most US-based small and medium businesses starting fresh, Gusto is our top recommendation. Its OAuth2 integration with TallyArc is the most seamless, its product is purpose-built for the same business segment, and its pricing is competitive. The fact that your credentials are never stored — only a revocable OAuth token — is also a meaningful security advantage over API key-based integrations.
If you're already committed to ADP, Paychex, or another provider and it's working well, stay with it and use the TallyArc API key integration to sync payroll data into your books. Switching payroll platforms is disruptive; syncing data between systems is not.
Connect your payroll provider at Integrations → Payroll in TallyArc.