QuickBooks Payroll is a familiar option, especially if you already use QuickBooks. But if you want lower public starting costs, a simpler payroll-first workflow, and a stronger fit for shift-based teams, PayrollVU can be the better choice.
PayrollVU keeps the public pricing story short, which is useful for small businesses that want payroll without committing to larger base fees up front.
PayrollVU is positioned for part-time, shift, and rotating teams, making it easier to market to businesses with uneven payroll activity.
QuickBooks is strong when paired with its accounting stack, but PayrollVU gives firms a payroll-specific entry point that is easier to explain.
QuickBooks Payroll can be a good fit for businesses already living in the QuickBooks ecosystem. PayrollVU becomes more compelling when you want simpler pricing, a lower public entry point, and a payroll product that is clearly positioned for shift-based teams.
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Category
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PayrollVU
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QuickBooks Payroll
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Public pricing model
How each product frames cost on its public pages.
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PayrollVU advantage
PayrollVU publicly highlights 2 months free, then $6 per paid worker per month with a $19 monthly minimum and all features included.
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QuickBooks Payroll Canada publicly lists three tiers: Core starting at $50 CAD + $6 CAD per employee, Premium at $85 CAD + $9 CAD per employee, and Elite at $130 CAD + $11 CAD per employee.
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Time tracking and time workflow
Important for teams with shifts, punch-ins, edits, and approvals.
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PayrollVU advantage
PayrollVU publicly includes timesheets, time-off requests, and payroll approvals in its main product positioning.
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QuickBooks says time tracking is included with Payroll Premium and Elite. Its separate QuickBooks Time product is priced from $30 + $10/user for Premium or $55 + $15/user for Elite in Canada.
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Employee self-service
What workers can access on their own.
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PayrollVU publicly includes a secure employee portal for pay stubs and timesheets.
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QuickBooks Workforce lets employees view and print their pay stubs and T4s or RL-1s online, and employers can invite new employees to add personal information.
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Accountant and firm workflow
How each platform supports outside accountants or payroll firms.
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PayrollVU advantage
PayrollVU promotes accountant-friendly access and a firm workspace built for multi-client payroll operations, with a free firm listing path.
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QuickBooks lets companies invite accountant users, and QuickBooks Online Accountant is free for firms. That is strong if your workflow is centered on the wider QuickBooks ecosystem.
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Accounting suite connection
Whether payroll is meant to live beside accounting software.
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PayrollVU stays focused on payroll operations, employee access, and accountant collaboration without asking buyers to adopt a broader accounting stack first.
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QuickBooks says you can use Payroll as a standalone solution, but its strongest story is when payroll and accounting live under one QuickBooks account.
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Best fit by business type
Which kinds of businesses each product seems built to serve.
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PayrollVU advantage
PayrollVU is explicitly built for part-time, shift, and variable-hour teams, which makes its positioning stronger for restaurants, clinics, studios, and other scheduling-heavy employers.
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QuickBooks says Payroll works for small to midsize businesses across many sectors, including accountants, nonprofits, construction companies, and restaurants.
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This comparison is based on publicly available product pages and is intended for informational marketing purposes only.
These examples use public Canadian pricing language. They are illustrative only, but they show why PayrollVU can be easier to budget for small teams.
PayrollVU: $30/month.
QuickBooks Payroll Core: $50 + ($6 × 5) = $80/month.
QuickBooks Payroll Premium: $85 + ($9 × 5) = $130/month.
For very small businesses, PayrollVU has a much lower public entry point.
PayrollVU: $60/month.
QuickBooks Payroll Core: $50 + ($6 × 10) = $110/month.
QuickBooks Payroll Premium: $85 + ($9 × 10) = $175/month.
The price gap grows when you need more users and still want time-related workflow tools in the product story.
PayrollVU is not trying to replace every part of the QuickBooks ecosystem. It is trying to be the clearer payroll choice for businesses that care more about payroll workflow simplicity, shift-based operations, and predictable costs than about buying into a full accounting suite.
QuickBooks Payroll remains a sensible option if you already run your books in QuickBooks, want payroll and accounting under one account, or prefer to stay inside the broader Intuit ecosystem.
Create a company account to explore PayrollVU directly, or start a firm account if you manage payroll across multiple client businesses.
Based on the current public Canadian pricing pages, PayrollVU starts lower. PayrollVU publicly lists $6 per paid worker with a $19 monthly minimum, while QuickBooks Payroll Canada publicly lists Core from $50 plus $6 per employee, Premium from $85 plus $9 per employee, and Elite from $130 plus $11 per employee.
Choose PayrollVU when you want a payroll-first product with simpler public pricing, stronger positioning for part-time and shift-based teams, and time-related workflows already included in the main product story.
QuickBooks says time tracking is included with Payroll Premium and Elite. In Canada, QuickBooks also sells QuickBooks Time as a separate product.
No. This is an independent comparison page created to help businesses evaluate PayrollVU against other payroll options.
