Last updated: August 12, 2026
Choosing the right payroll package for your small business takes about five minutes once you understand what each tier actually includes. The hard part is undoing the wrong choice — paying for features you don’t need, or missing the ones you do. Payroll Freedom offers three service tiers: Core, Core+, and Core Pro. This post covers what each payroll package includes, who it’s designed for, and the situations that make one a better fit than the others.
If you’d rather skip to a personalized estimate, the pricing calculator gives you a real number for your employee count in three minutes.
Payroll Package Comparison: Core vs. Core+ vs. Core Pro
Before diving into each tier, here’s the decision at a glance:
| Package | Price | Best for | Key addition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | $3.35/employee/run | Simple, stable payroll — salaried or fixed-schedule hourly | Full-service payroll + tax filings |
| Core+ | $5.30/employee/run | Hourly workforce, variable schedules, regular hiring | Integrated time tracking + electronic onboarding |
| Core Pro | $9.70/employee/run | Benefits administration, ACA compliance, larger teams | Open enrollment + ACA 1095-C filing + advanced HR |
Core — The Right Payroll Package for Simple, Stable Operations
Core is the right payroll package for a small business that needs payroll done right, reliably, every time. It covers everything required to pay employees correctly, stay current on filings, and give employees access to their pay information — without additional features layered on top.
What Core Includes
- Full-service payroll processing — direct deposit, pay cards, or printed checks
- Federal and state tax filings — Form 941, Form 940, and state equivalents
- Employee self-service portal — pay stubs, W-2s, and personal information
- Executive employer dashboard
- Year-end W-2 preparation and filing
- Dedicated local representative
Core Is Right for You If
- You have salaried employees or hourly workers on fixed, predictable schedules
- Overtime tracking isn’t a regular complication — your hours don’t vary much week to week
- Your HR needs are minimal — you’re not hiring frequently or managing high document volume
- You have fewer than 15 employees and payroll changes are infrequent
Core is specifically not the right fit if you have hourly workers clocking in and out at job sites, variable schedules, or regular turnover that requires onboarding new employees frequently. In those situations, Core+ is the better starting point.
Core+ — The Most Popular Payroll Package for Growing Small Businesses
Core+ is Payroll Freedom’s most popular tier. It adds integrated time tracking and electronic onboarding to the full-service payroll foundation. Those two additions eliminate the most common manual workflow problems small businesses have: paper timesheets and paper onboarding packets.
What Core+ Adds Over Core
- iSolved Time — mobile clock-in, job costing, scheduling, and overtime alerts
- PTO and absence management — accruals tracked automatically and integrated with payroll
- Electronic employee onboarding — W-4, I-9, direct deposit authorization, and state forms completed before day one
- HR document management — store, distribute, and track acknowledgment of company policies and handbooks
- Labor poster compliance — automatic updates when federal or state poster requirements change
- Mineral HR Basic — two months included at no charge
Core+ Is Right for You If
- You have hourly employees with variable schedules — restaurant staff, field crews, retail teams
- You’re currently using paper timesheets or a separate timekeeping app that doesn’t connect to payroll
- You hire regularly and want new employees completing paperwork electronically before their first day
- You want time tracking, PTO, and payroll running from a single connected platform — no manual data entry between systems
- You have between 10 and 50 employees and expect to grow
The most common reason businesses move from Core to Core+ is adding hourly staff with variable hours. Additionally, businesses that hire seasonal workers — landscaping companies, restaurants, contractors — almost always find Core+ worth the step up. Electronic onboarding alone recovers several hours of office time during a hiring surge.
For more on how timekeeping integrates with payroll for field-based businesses, see our post on payroll mistakes landscaping companies make — the timekeeping section is directly applicable to any business running crews across multiple locations.
Core Pro — The Full Platform for Complex HR Needs
Core Pro is the right payroll package for small businesses with more complex HR requirements. Specifically, it fits businesses approaching the ACA’s 50-employee threshold, businesses that offer health insurance and want enrollment managed through their payroll platform, or businesses where HR compliance is a real operational function rather than an occasional task.
What Core Pro Adds Over Core+
- ACA administration and 1095-C filing — tracks full-time equivalent employee counts, prepares and files 1095-C forms, and monitors for employer mandate compliance
- Electronic open enrollment — employees complete benefit elections directly in iSolved, with changes flowing automatically to payroll deductions
- Benefits administration — manage health, dental, vision, and ancillary benefits in one platform
- Advanced HR reporting — workforce analytics, turnover tracking, compensation reporting
- Expanded compliance tools — additional modules for industries with complex HR requirements
Core Pro Is Right for You If
- You’re approaching 50 full-time equivalent employees — the ACA employer mandate threshold
- You offer health insurance and currently manage enrollment through a separate system or paper process
- You need benefits and payroll deductions to stay synchronized automatically without manual reconciliation
- You’re in healthcare, manufacturing, or another industry where HR compliance is a regular operational concern
Notably, the ACA compliance feature in Core Pro is particularly valuable for businesses between 40 and 60 employees. At this size, tracking full-time equivalent counts manually is error-prone. The penalty for crossing the 50-employee threshold without offering qualifying coverage starts at $2,900 per full-time employee per year. For a detailed breakdown, the IRS employer ACA resources are the authoritative source. Additionally, the Department of Labor ACA employer guidance covers the benefits administration side.
Can You Upgrade Later?
Yes — and many clients do. In fact, the most common upgrade path is Core to Core+ as a business adds hourly staff or begins hiring more frequently. Since all three tiers run on the same iSolved platform, upgrading is seamless. Your employee data, payroll history, and tax records stay intact. There’s no new implementation, no data migration, and no disruption to payroll runs. The new features simply become available in your existing dashboard.
Similarly, the move from Core+ to Core Pro is straightforward when a business starts offering benefits or approaches the ACA threshold. Starting at the right tier and upgrading when the business grows is the intended path — not a workaround.
Add-Ons Available at Any Tier
Several services are available as add-ons regardless of which base package you choose. These are priced separately rather than bundled into the tiers because not every business needs them:
- iSolved Hire (applicant tracking system) — $55/month + $0.40/employee, with a one-year commitment
- 401(k) contribution submission — $50/month + $125 setup fee
- HR Essentials advisory — $100/month for access to HR guidance and consultation
- Additional state tax filings — $15 per state per quarter for businesses operating in multiple states
Frequently Asked Questions About Payroll Package Selection
What’s the difference between Core and Core+ in plain terms?
Core processes payroll and handles your tax filings. Core+ does all of that, and it also tracks employee time, manages PTO, and runs electronic onboarding. If your employees have variable hours or you’re hiring regularly, Core+ is almost always the better starting point.
Why is Core+ the most popular payroll package?
Most small businesses have at least some hourly employees — and hourly employees need timekeeping. Core+ integrates time tracking directly with payroll on the iSolved platform. That integration eliminates manual data entry between a separate timekeeping app and the payroll system, which is where the time and error savings come from.
Is Core Pro only for large businesses?
Not necessarily. Core Pro is designed for businesses approaching or exceeding 50 full-time equivalent employees, or those that offer health insurance and want benefits administration connected to payroll. However, some smaller businesses in complex industries — healthcare, manufacturing — find the expanded compliance tools worth it regardless of headcount.
What if I’m not sure which tier I need?
Two options. First, use the pricing calculator — it walks through your situation and shows you what each tier costs for your employee count. Second, request a 30-minute meeting. Most conversations about package fit take less than 10 minutes. We’d rather you start on the right tier than switch later.
What This Means for Your Business
The right payroll package for a small business depends on three things: workforce type (salaried vs. hourly vs. variable), hiring frequency, and HR complexity. For most businesses under 30 employees without benefits administration needs, the decision is between Core and Core+. In general, Core Pro becomes relevant when benefits or ACA compliance enter the picture.
Furthermore, starting at the right tier from the beginning prevents the administrative headaches that come from outgrowing a payroll setup. Paper timesheets, disconnected systems, and manual reconciliation between platforms all accumulate before anyone decides to fix them.
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This article is provided for general informational purposes only. Pricing reflects current Payroll Freedom package rates and is subject to change. ACA compliance thresholds and penalties are subject to change; verify current figures with the IRS or a qualified advisor before making coverage decisions. Reach out to Payroll Freedom for guidance specific to your business.
