Paychex Reviews 710

This service is horrible. Do not use them. Their app is full of bugs and does not work half the time and the "help" they provide is about as helpful as ice to an eskimo. Incredibly useless company and people. STAY AWAY.

After countless calls and being shuffled between people who couldn't grasp a simple situation with a SIMPLE SOLUTION, Paychex refuses to provide a W-2 with an unmasked Social Security number — something the DMV explicitly confirmed payroll companies can and should issue when someone needs to replace a lost ID in the event they lost their entire wallet (ID, social, etc). The DMV will ONLY accept a W2 that shows your social.

My life is literally on the line, I explained to them I have pending cardiology appointments (an echocardiogram and an angiogram) that I cannot attend without a valid ID!!!!!!

I am being blocked from urgent medical care because Paychex cannot get their shit together or find a single person capable of handling a non-routine request.

Their representatives told me only my employer could unmask my SSN. That is factually wrong, my employer doesn't have that access. Paychex does but not only are they incompetent but they don't care about anyone's wellbeing either. SCREW THEM

If something happens to me while I'm still fighting to get a government-issued ID because Paychex won't do their job, that's not a customer service problem anymore, that will be blood on their hands.

Avoid this company if you have any choice in the matter, not only are they willfully ignorant but in my case they are dangerous.

I signed up because of my employer I checked approiate payroll. When login in it came changing back to The law office of Andrea Hence. When contact them they have no clue this company data breach personal information and needs to be stopped I have had over 32 calls from scam since signing up. Shame on Paychex flex

Response from support!

Paychex double billed some of my benefits out of my paycheck for a year and nobody would return a phone call or was able to answer any questions about having that money returned. Lies and transferred calls are what you can expect once they get your money. Good luck with that!

Quite possibly the worst payroll company ever.

I was told to enroll with Gusto and due to Paychex being a partner for the franchise I was operating I went with them for two things: medical insurance and payroll.

For medical, they assigned a person who had so little understanding of Texas plans she repeatedly messed things up. Her manager told me she was handling multiple things and dropped the ball. This was strange for a larger company with bureaucratic staff. She was just utterly incompetent. I eventually got a worse plan but had no other choice.

I thought they must be better at payroll. They are better at selling you things you don’t need, calling you for upselling and their assigned representative never calls you back or emails on time. For one thing it’s this person, for another thing they have no idea. A bad fit for a small company. So if you’re a SMB owner, STAY AWAY. You’ll drown in bureaucracy.

Their app is such a poor design that it stuns me in this age of AI it been be such poor UX. Some people in Paychex are truly helpful but their horrible structure and incentives make it a nightmare.

We have had the worst experience with the Paychex platform; starting with unauthorized amounts of money being deducted from our checking account (by Paychex) to our customer service experience when we initially called to inquire about these random charges. When we signed up we we're told we'd only be charged on weeks we ran payroll. We was able to run payroll twice and that was at the end of January but had to stop b/c of tax reasons. Here it is April and we are still having money deducted from our account with it being canceled, the last one was for $360.00 just a couple of days ago. So I am writing this review to warn anyone out there that is considering this payroll platform-DON'T DO IT! We linked our business bank info for payroll purposes but its clear something scandalous is going on and they are ripping us off....and Im sure we're not the only ones.

We have been with them for 13 years.
I have waited 3 months for a call back from my payroll specialest. Longer for call back from Supervisor.
Will be changing payroll company's.

Very expensive for what they offer. I was a business owner for 10+ years, and paid every bill that Paychex sent to me. After selling my business, I then received a bill for an "adjustment" to 2025 fees, adding nearly $400 just because they could. In the end, I feel that I received little value for the money, and when I buy my next business, I will NOT be using the services of Paychex. Consider yourselves warned.

Paychex offer the worst customer support!!!
Waste of time & MONEY!!!

They claim to offer a local rep and a national rep. Both local rep and national rep do not communicate with one another.

I would often leave messages and no one would get back with me until 2 months later.

This company is way to big and can not coordinate the company as one functional company that can help their customers.

I had to cancel our business account and go with another payroll service company.

This is the kind of company people write dystopian novels about. I have been trying to leave Paychex now for coming on 6 months. If you are interested, you can read about it in my other review. Today, I learned that there is a $1500 fee (plus $100/participant, billed to the participant) to terminate the 401(k) plan. No matter how: participants can roll over their money elsewhere or we can roll over as a company. This is, of course, separate from the termination fee for leaving Paychex, the termination fee for the HSA, etc, etc. I get that there are fees for things. What I don't like is how Paychex hides them. I asked where in the agreement I signed I would find this and get this: it doesn't. It says "fees" that may "change from time to time." so when you sign on, you have NO IDEA what you will pay to end this relationship. Similarly, they converted our HSA to individual "retail" HSA's when we ended our payroll service. You cannot look at your balance without agreeing to the terms of this new HSA. There is no other choice. You can agree to the terms or you can lose your HSA deposit. I asked! So I accepted the termination/rollover fee and the monthly fee, the binding arbitration in the state of New York and everything else, because I had no other way of getting the money.

So far the HR team has been very diligent about reaching out to me. I have had several team members reaching out, introducing themselves as well as setting up training sessions and inquiring about any concerns. So far so good.

Paychex platform has been evolving more into a smorgasbord of an "HR Amazon". Now offering products from Vision Insurance to Pet Insurance, etc. The list goes on. They just inplemented a "new policy" that all MY employees MUST create their own online Paychex account to verify their bank accounts. It is a money grab to entice the employees into the their "HR Amazon" website and have them sign up for whatever and then hidden deep into their MOA-use my business checking account for these products. One of my employees signed up for the Vision Insurance without my knowledge of it. When I called to ask why was I being charged for this? They said well its coming out of his paycheck. But here lies the problem- Deeper dive into this and I find out that I cannot cancel this, the employee must because the employee signed the contract, not my company. And I can be charged for 3 months after their term date before they will cancel the policy. I said- Wait a minute, my employee cannot use my bank account at their disposal. If this is a signed agreement between Paychex and the employee- then use their bank account!! So if they quit or are fired- it is their issue to cancel since you deemed it impossible for me to cancel it. I have no authorization to cancel then I give you no authorization to use my bank account. I am an employee- so I went into my personal Paychex Portal and checked it out. Went through the steps to sign up for Vision and at the end- it asks who's bank account to use and lo and behold, there is my business account. Really?? Paychex is already spreading themselves thin with incompetent Reps on Payroll and now a whole new line of business? What can go wrong?? I then find out when new products are offered- I as the employer have to go in and "OPT OUT" of everything. I said I should have had the first right of refusal to OPT IN. I was transferred to 3 other reps before they turned off all the "HR Amazon" apps. But now I have to spend wasted time on the phone come Monday to argue with Paychex that the employee portal is optional, not mandatory and if my employees do not want to sign up, they have that right. They will not be forced to do this so Paychex can force products down their throats. Paychex has forgotten that they work for me. I do not work for them and if I opt out I have that right. I am ready to move my 3 companies to a new payroll system. Monday will be interesting.

Since December 2025 I have made multiple calls to have a refund placed back into my bank account that claimed to be mistaking applied as a credit toward future billing. According to Paychex customer service and accounting because of the mistake I will receive 3 free months of services but later found out that it would only start once the mistake credited money was all used up. I again asked that that money be placed back into my account and was told it was is process but since December 2025 I have yet to receive anything. See attached emails of promises.

Great service. And help my Business.

What a disappointing experience. This company has been extremely difficult to work with, and I feel misled by their practices. If it were possible to give zero or negative stars, I would.
They initially promised a fixed monthly amount for payroll services, assuring me that the rate would remain the same. Trusting their word, I didn’t review the invoices for about a year and a half. When I finally checked my bank statements, I discovered that they had increased the monthly charges—first by 100%, then by 140%.
When I contacted them, I received no clear explanation. After several calls, they issued a credit for only about 20% of what I had been overcharged. That credit should have covered a few months of service, but instead, they used it for just one month and resumed billing me as normal. When I called again to ask about the remaining credit, they claimed there was no credit on my account.
The customer support experience has been extremely poor. I will not do business with this company again and cannot recommend them to anyone.

This is a warning to any business considering signing up for Paychex Flex payroll service. If you think it might be a good fit for your company, let me save you the time and frustration—you will likely be disappointed.

I regret not doing more due diligence before moving my business over. I was persuaded by a very attentive and personable sales representative who repeatedly visited our office and emphasized the level of support we would receive. The promise of a dedicated account manager who would handle our payroll, benefits, and questions seamlessly was a major factor in our decision.

Unfortunately, that level of service has never materialized.

Since we signed up in September 2025, I have not once been able to speak with our assigned account manager. Every attempt to get support is routed to a general call center where the representatives have little to no familiarity with our account. Each interaction requires re-explaining the same issues from scratch, which is both inefficient and frustrating.

To make matters worse, every key contact we were introduced to during onboarding is no longer with the company. The 401(k) representative who initially guided us through setup is gone. The insurance specialist who helped structure our benefits plan is gone. The sales representative who made all the original promises is nowhere to be found. There has been no continuity, no handoff, and no accountability.

The most concerning issue, however, is the handling of our healthcare deductions. They have been consistently incorrect, resulting in our company overpaying. Despite multiple attempts to resolve this, there has been no clear ownership of the problem and no meaningful progress toward a solution. This is not a minor inconvenience—this is a financial error that directly impacts our business and our employees.

At this point, it feels like once you sign the contract, the level of service drops off significantly. The support structure appears fragmented, with no single point of responsibility and no proactive follow-through.

If your business depends on accurate payroll, reliable benefits administration, and responsive customer service, I strongly recommend looking elsewhere. The risk of errors, lack of support, and constant turnover of representatives has made this an extremely frustrating experience for our company.

If I could give zero stars I would.

I have never received a W2 via mail from this company even though I never gave consent to receive electronic copies instead. The IRS requirements could not be more clear with regard to the January 31 deadline for sending tax forms.

Paychex is non-compliant.

When I called to ask them to send it to me, the representative was not only rude and unhelpful, she raised her voice to me, interrupted me, laughed at me, and finally hung up on me.

This is a horribly run company and they seem to have no concern for federal laws and guidelines, not to mention the employers and employees they claim to assist.

Paychex does not reconcile with the IRS for your local businesses. I have been waiting now 5 years for them to resolve an issue with the IRS and still to this day it is still not fixed. I would not use Paychex. The support you get is not good.