Overview

The service calculates payroll, pays employees by direct deposit, and supports tax filing, payment, and reconciliation. It calculates EI, CPP, QPP, and income tax, and prepares TD1, T4, T4A, ROE, and RL-1 documents. That makes it a practical fit for employers handling regular Canadian payroll and related forms; a business seeking only occasional form filing may not need a full payroll service.

Employees can use PayChequer to view pay information and tax documents and update their own details. TimeTracker tracks employee time and connects it to payroll. Accounting integrations include Kashoo, FreshBooks, Sage Business Cloud Accounting, QuickBooks Desktop and Online, Software4Nonprofits, and Xero, giving businesses several ways to connect payroll with their accounting workflow.

Key features

Canadian payroll and tax administration: Payroll calculations, direct deposit, tax filing and payment, reconciliation, and year-end forms cover recurring employer obligations in one service.
Employee self-service: PayChequer lets employees access their own pay and tax records and update information, reducing the need to route every detail change through payroll staff.
Payroll-linked time tracking: TimeTracker ties employee time tracking to payroll, which is useful when hours feed into pay calculations.
API and security: The payroll web services API supports custom payroll calculations and integrations, but it is sold separately in prepaid bundles: the minimum is 1,000 calculations per month for $500. The Trust Center states that data is encrypted in transit with TLS 1.3 and at rest with AES-256, that user accounts require multi-factor authentication, and that the service has SOC 2 Type II certification, ISO 27001 infrastructure, and Canadian data residency.

Pricing

PaymentEvolution offers a 15-day trial and a free plan, but every listed plan has a $55 one-time setup fee and a per-employee, per-pay-run charge. The practical cost therefore depends on employee count and payroll frequency as well as the monthly minimum.

Plan	Price and limits	Best fit
Growth	0.00 USD per month; $4.00 per employee per pay run; $55 one-time setup fee; up to 3 employees; email support only.	A very small employer that wants to avoid a monthly subscription and can accept the highest per-run rate and email-only support.
Business Basic	30.00 USD per month; $30 minimum per month; $3.00 per employee per pay run; $55 one-time setup fee; up to 25 employees; phone and email support.	A small business that needs room beyond three employees and values phone support.
Business Plus	75.00 USD per month; $75 minimum per month; $2.50 per employee per pay run; $55 one-time setup fee; up to 300 employees; priority support access.	A larger employer that needs higher employee capacity and priority support, and can weigh the higher monthly minimum against the lower per-run rate.
Enterprise	Custom pricing for teams over 300 employees, with a plan built around payroll structure, integrations, and support needs.	Employers above the listed Business Plus limit.

Growth's zero monthly price is appealing for a small payroll, but its per-run charges and setup fee rule out treating it as a no-cost option. The single-business plans are for employers running payroll for their own staff; advisors managing payroll for clients are directed to Evolv. The API bundle is a separate cost to account for if custom integrations or calculations are required.

Platforms

PaymentEvolution runs in the cloud and requires no downloads. It supports web, Android, and iOS access, as well as an API for integrations.

Who it's for

PaymentEvolution is best suited to Canadian employers that want payroll and tax administration combined with employee access to pay records and payroll-connected time tracking. Its three-employee Growth cap, 25-employee Business Basic cap, and 300-employee Business Plus cap provide a route for businesses at different sizes, while larger teams can seek custom pricing. It is not the right plan path for advisors managing client payroll, and businesses that need only occasional filing may prefer a form-focused service.

Pros and cons

Pro: Payroll calculations, direct deposits, tax filing and payment, reconciliation, and Canadian year-end forms sit together, reducing the need to handle these payroll tasks in separate services.
Pro: PayChequer self-service and payroll-linked TimeTracker serve both employee access and time-to-pay workflows.
Pro: Accounting integrations span several familiar platforms, including QuickBooks, Xero, and Sage Business Cloud Accounting.
Con: Growth still carries a $55 setup fee and a $4.00 per-employee, per-pay-run charge, so frequent payroll runs add cost even without a monthly fee.
Con: Growth is capped at three employees and provides email support only; higher capacity and phone or priority support require a paid monthly plan.
Con: The API has a separate $500 minimum prepaid bundle for 1,000 monthly calculations, which may be a significant additional commitment for a business needing custom integration.

Alternatives

For payroll tax software options, see Payroll Tax Software. Choose efile4Biz instead if the need is focused on filing forms: its free Basic plan supports one user and charges per form when filing, with a $1 TIN match. TaxZerone offers free online W-9 requests and information-return federal filing at $2.49 per form for 1 to 25 forms, making it an option for per-form filing needs.

TaxBandits is worth considering when unlimited pay runs and a $0 employee fee matter: its Basic plan is $19.00 USD per month with those terms. Yearli offers a free-to-start Core plan for W-2 and 1099 forms, quarterly filing, and per-form TIN matching, with an annual subscription plus filing fees.

HMRC Basic PAYE Tools is a free payroll option for businesses with fewer than 10 employees. Wagepoint offers paid Solo and Unlimited plans for readers comparing alternatives with one or unlimited monthly payroll runs. eFile Express charges per request or return for employer payroll withholding returns. ADP Workforce Now is an alternative with Select and Plus payroll and HR plans, including benefits administration on Plus.

Verdict

Choose PaymentEvolution if you are a Canadian employer seeking payroll, tax filing and year-end forms, employee self-service, and time tracking in one service. Its central advantage is the breadth of Canadian payroll administration; its key drawback is that setup and per-run fees apply even on Growth, while higher employee limits bring monthly minimums. Look elsewhere if you need only occasional form filing, manage payroll for clients, or require an API without the separate prepaid bundle commitment.

	CFS 941/940	PaymentEvolution
Free plan	No	Yes
Free trial		Yes
Paid from		$30/mo
Platforms	Windows	Android, api, iOS, Web
Free plan	No	No
Tax filing	Yes	Yes
Tax form preparation	Yes	Yes
Jurisdiction coverage	federal_state	federal_state
States covered	22 states
Tax payment support		Yes
Tax reconciliation		Yes
Year-end forms		Yes

CFS 941/940 vs PaymentEvolution

CFS 941/940

PaymentEvolution