How Long Does It Take to Switch Payroll Providers?
The fear of switching payroll providers keeps many small business owners stuck with a provider they’re unhappy with. Here’s the truth: switching is much easier than you think, and most businesses are fully live within 1–4 weeks.
The short answer
For most small businesses, switching payroll providers takes 1–4 weeks from signed agreement to first payroll run. The timeline depends on your business complexity, how quickly you can provide existing payroll data, and your pay schedule.
What the timeline actually looks like
Discovery call & proposal
We learn about your business, your current setup, and your needs. You receive a proposal with exact pricing within 1–2 business days.
Agreement signed & data collection begins
Once you sign, we send a data collection request. We need your current employee roster, year-to-date payroll data, tax account numbers, and direct deposit banking info.
System setup & configuration
We build your company profile in iSolved, set up all employees, configure your tax accounts, and connect your bank. We handle all of this — you don’t touch it.
Training & first payroll review
We walk you through a virtual training on the system. You review your first payroll for accuracy before we submit it.
First payroll runs
Your first payroll processes through our system. Your rep is available throughout to answer questions and make any adjustments.
What makes switching take longer
A few factors can extend the timeline:
- Missing historical data — if your previous provider is slow to release your year-to-date payroll data, it delays setup
- Complex payroll — multiple states, union payroll, certified payroll, or many pay rates require more configuration time
- Mid-year switches — these require careful year-to-date reconciliation to ensure W-2s are accurate at year-end
- Your response time — the faster you provide requested data, the faster we can complete setup
The best time to switch
The ideal time to switch payroll providers is at the beginning of a new year — January 1. This eliminates year-to-date reconciliation complexity and gives you a clean start.
The second-best time is the beginning of a new quarter. This simplifies tax account transitions.
The honest truth, though, is that we’ve helped businesses switch in the middle of a pay period when their previous provider made a serious error. It’s harder, but it’s doable. Don’t let timing stop you from making a change that’s clearly overdue.
What about notifying your current provider? Most payroll service agreements require 30 days written notice to terminate. Check your contract before you switch — but don’t let contract terms be an excuse to stay with a provider who isn’t serving you well. We can help you understand your options.
What happens to your historical payroll data
We migrate your year-to-date payroll history into iSolved so your records are continuous. Your employees’ W-2s at year-end will reflect their full year of earnings — not just the time they’ve been with Payroll Freedom. You won’t have a gap in your records.
Do you have to run parallel payrolls?
Some providers recommend running parallel payrolls (processing with both old and new provider simultaneously) for the first cycle. We typically don’t require this for straightforward payrolls — it adds cost and complexity without much benefit when the setup is done correctly.
For very complex payrolls, we may recommend a parallel run for the first cycle just to validate everything is configured correctly. We’ll tell you upfront if we think that makes sense for your situation.
The bottom line
Switching payroll providers is much less painful than most business owners expect. The fear of disruption keeps people with providers they’re unhappy with far longer than they should be. If you’ve been thinking about making a change, the process is straightforward — and we handle the heavy lifting.
Ready to make the switch?
Most of our clients are live within 1–4 weeks. We handle everything — you just show up for your first payroll.
Start the Conversation See How It Works
