Paychex Reviews

While I was initially satisfied with Paychex for my small business, my experience turned into a nightmare following personal tragedy. After pausing operations, I called to cancel my service, explaining that I was no longer running payroll. Despite a representative assuring me I wouldn't be charged, Paychex continued to take monthly payments for services not rendered. I was later told I needed to prove my business was shut down to stop the unauthorized charges, forcing me to involve my bank to stop payments. Paychex's unethical billing practices have completely destroyed my trust in them.

I've had Paychex for 25 years and I don't know what happen to this company, but they SUCK now. I just started up payroll, and it's been a nightmare from hell. I'm so stressed out over what they put me through from Mistakes after mistakes. I told them to FEDEX next day my payroll so my employees will have their check on time Fri and what do they do, they put it in USPS mail???? Now I have 3 new employees that I just hired that are very angry employees at my door looking for their paychecks that they worked very hard for.

This company should be shut down all together. For people out there start filing complaints with the Texas State Attorney General and take the confirmations you will receive via email and cut paste those on all the social media outlets starting with Facebook! FOREVER!!!

In the very beginning (whilst trying to attain my business) they were ever-so-helpful and responsive. While I held the service, I performed my own payroll weekly. However, if I ever had a question, it was difficult to converse with a human to resolve the issue. I was referred continually back to the AI help feature. When I sold my business, I advised them. I was given a form to close the account, however, they kept taking money from my business account... They did NOT cancel my accounts. They didn't tell me I would have to reach out to every single department separately to do so. They are not helpful once they no longer find you useful to them... However, they will continue to take your money...

As an employee, Paychex was incredibly intuitive and the customer service was always fantastic. Special shout out to Priyam who recently helped me access my account again. I can't speak for business owners, but as an employee, I definitely appreciated this service.

When we were sold Paychex we were guaranteed that our job costing reports could be uploaded directly into Quickbooks. After struggling for over 3 months, attending Webex after Webex meeting (where Paychex employees talked about me amongst themselves while I was on the meeting and were extremely condescending) and providing endless reports, we noticed in a training video that Paychex failed to "turn on" several icons on the mobile app to allow us to take meal breaks and transfer to jobs. But even after fixing that, the reports provided never came close to what we were sold. When we decided to cancel Time and Attendance, my emails we forwarded to person after person, all denying responsibility while they invoiced us for another month. Then when we were finally provided a link to cancel on line, we were told it would take another 30 days to be effective. So Paychex managed to charge us an additional $160.00.

My hope is that others take the time to research before choosing this company. Unfortunately, I relied on a recommendation and have been dealing with the consequences ever since. I was also told Paychex would be more affordable, but it’s clear that you get what you pay for. We recently transitioned away from Paychex after a very frustrating experience. During onboarding, critical items were mishandled, including issues with our workers’ compensation policy that created unnecessary complications and additional work on our end. Support was inconsistent, difficult to reach, and often unable to provide clear answers. Even simple tasks like running a bonus payroll required multiple calls and long hold times.

I don't know how this company stays in business. I, too, wish I had done more research before using them. The customer support is nonexistent. It took me 120 days to get my 401k released from them when I tried to roll it over. Worst experience ever.

Identical experience as other 1 star reviews—impossible to reach anyone who human who can actually help; paid hundreds of dollars to generate a single W2 which still hasn’t been produced. They clearly have major leadership/operational challenges to be delivering such poor service.

Paychex created W2's for us with non-compliant (illegal) numbers for two years. Customer support seemed good until my CPA discovered their error... When asked to fix, the nightmare began:

TERRIBLE!!! The Matt Pruitt Agency has sent patches numerous requests to resolve an IRS issue they created back in 2021. All we get is "We are working on it." They NEVER RESOLVED and have not even begun to work on this. This puts me in a terrible position. I would urge anyone NOT to do business with PAYCHEX UNLESS you want the IRS breathing down your neck.

Updated on 06/05/2026: I wish I could lower my star rating. As follow up to my April complaint regarding Paychex' failure to provide me with a 1099...It is now the first week of June 2026 and still no form. I guess they'll figure I'll just forget about it. IRS investigation and fines need to be applied.

I just wanted my W-2. Gave the chat guy last 4 of my SSN. Said he couldn't find my account and ended the chat. So I called them,. After 3 or 4 bait 'n' switch maneuvers in the phone tree, the automated voice told me to contact my employer, who earlier, had told me to contact Paychex. Spoke to a live person at Paychex, got transferred twice only to have the last person transfer me to...the IRS. This company is useless garbage.

We switched over to Paychex about 2.5 years ago and it has been a complete nightmare since inception. Our dedicated rep, while nice, has no idea what she is doing. Payroll departments, don't talk to Time and attendance, 401k departments and... They all seem to work in silos and trying to unwind messes they create can take up to a year and a half to resolve. PLEASE do not participate in their 401k program, that is worst of all! for a year and a half they were taking company associate fee's our of asset/employee accounts. Every time I reported the issue, they claimed it was fixed only for it to happen again. Our company was only 75 employees and now we are down to 40 and they still can't get it right. We are in the process of moving our 401k out and will be doing payroll next. Please save yourself the hassle.

Updated on 03/30/2026: After a week of more emails, more phone calls, and more waste of time and I still have received no help. I have repeatedly asked for someone knowledgeable to call me, but all I get is the same canned responses.

Updated on 03/27/2026: Paychex responded to my review on March 14th, 2026 asking me to email them. I did that on March 14th (same day) and have yet to even receive an acknowledgment or confirmation of receipt. Their published response is just PR so people disregard your complaints. They have done nothing. Avoid at all cost

If I could give 0 stars I would. I asked if I decided to not have employees would I still be billed for payroll? I was told no. Weeks went by and then I was backbilled for payroll I did not run. I just let it go. I called and made sure to cancel my payroll account. 2 weeks later I'm billed AGAIN.

I wish I read these reviews and done more research before signing up with Paychex. The worst experience of my life in business dealing with them. What is the point of having someone assigned as a "specialist" to your account that you could never ever get ahold of. They charge fees after fees for things that don't even make sense. I would never recommend them to anyone to use ever.

In sum, a nightmare from the start, Paychex comes in last with the worst reviews of all providers, according to A.I. and this makes perfect sense. RUN the other direction unless you like being put through H.E. double toothpicks. Five payrolls in (semi-monthly, so 2-1/2 month’s worth of Paychex), every single payroll had many, many, way too many errors, they don't even know how to calculate time a half. It takes a back and forth of 4 or 5 times before all of the errors are fixed. All afternoon in other words, and if the clock turns to time to get off work, they stop working to fix their errors and stop responding to the email conversation leaving payroll unfinished ⏰️ forcing you to call their after-hours emergency number, and the next payroll will have the same errors and more!!

Poor service and we cancelled our service. Four months later we are trying to can not get refunds where they hit my bank account months after cancellation. Also, we can not access our employee HR documents.

Avoid this company at all costs. They will charge you endless fees for a multitude of “reasons”. Absolutely horrible experience. Hard to get a real representative. Always trying to upsell you. Fees are endless.

Do NOT use this company unless... you want to spend hours trying to get service and right their wrongs, get them to fix their mistakes, or even just do basic things they are supposed to. Nobody knows anything, they misfile taxes so you get penalties, don't do year end as contracted, don't answer emails, every time you call you get a different person who knows absolutely nothing so you have to be on phone for hours at a time trying to get anything done. I would NEVER suggest them as a payroll company and have no idea how they stay in business.

This company has messed up my taxes and my benefits and basically everything else. Would warn all potential users to stay as far away from this company as possible. Had to check a star to write this review!!! SHOULD BE 0.

Been with Paychex for 14 yrs. Was a great company in beginning with same dedicated specialist for 10 yrs. Smooth as silk handling payroll each month. Until they changed. Now a new specialist every several months/specialist have bad attitudes/never answer your calls/never return calls/ make major mistakes/computer programing not consistent with my files. Horrible company.

The customer service at Paychex is practically non-existent. I need three W2's corrected for 2025 and I was told it will take eight weeks to fix. This is totally unacceptable. My client representative is almost never available and then I end up with some random person who has no idea of what's going on. I will never recommend Paychex to anyone. Stay away. Worst payroll service ever.

Not precise on gps locations. Will put you close but not correct always. Log in problems if in an area of lots of buildings and structures. Will sometimes clock you in when you’re only reviewing the app. Hard to rely on.

My experience with Paychex has been extremely frustrating and unprofessional. They promised to abate a $200 charge, then later dismissed it. Their customer service has been unresponsive, dismissive, and unhelpful, leaving a small, mother-daughter-owned business like mine stranded. They mishandled payroll, failed to assist with unemployment wage reporting, and overcharged for a basic tax ID service. As a new business owner, I expected guidance and reliable support, but instead, I faced delays, poor communication, and unfulfilled promises. I am filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and I will be submitting all documentation to support my claims. This experience has been unacceptable, and I want others to be aware before trusting Paychex with their payroll.

I would not recommend using this company. Please read in full, as I’ve had more than one issue. I was using Paychex in 2025, and after 6 months I learned that I was being charged a $75 late fee monthly. I chose once monthly payroll services to keep costs down, and my pay date was selected solely based on my start up date. I was never informed that there would be a late fee for choosing the end of the month. I was also charged a late fee for missing a payroll that was their fault, not mine. I was refunded for this, but it was only because I recognized it and reached out. The refund didn’t come without aggravation, and wasting my personal and valuable time on issues that shouldn’t exist. When emailing to question the charges, my representative never answered me. Not once! I had to personally ask for escalation and get management involved to resolve the issue.

I wish I'd looked at the reviews. They have 508 Reviews and 426 are 1 Star Reviews. We've been with Paychex since August. We ran 5 Payrolls with 1 or 2 employees and was charged over $1,000.00. We disputed the cost, got some refunded but they keep drafting our Account. Today, they took $240 that was allocated to a storage bill and that payment may get returned. If so, we're heading to their state to sue them in small claims court for the max. I advise you to do the same.

These people are terrible! Run, don’t use them. They took the 135.00 weekly for their troubles. Never did any 1/4 filings w2 or anything that they was contracted to do. When confronted after the 5th phone call of 1is hour hold times. They could not figure out what happened. I’ve emailed the rep to my contact. At least 7 times throughout with no response and left voicemail messages. I’m beyond angry and frustrated this this company. Please please choose a different company who will help and communicate with you.