Most businesses use 4–5 separate tools — a payroll service, a scheduling app, a time clock, an HR system, and an expense tracker. PayLink replaces all of them with one integrated platform that's smarter, faster, and more affordable.
PayLink doesn't bolt on AI as a feature — it's woven into the work you do every day. From scanning a receipt to reviewing payroll before it runs, AI handles the tedious parts so your team can focus on the work that matters.
Snap a photo of any receipt — PayLink's AI (GPT-4o Vision) instantly extracts the vendor, line items, subtotal, tax amount, tip, and payment method. No manual entry, no spreadsheets.
GPT-4o VisionBefore you run payroll, an AI review scans for anomalies — unusually high hours, duplicate entries, workers with missing tax setup, rate changes without documentation, and more.
Anomaly DetectionGet AI-powered schedule analysis based on your team's history. Spot coverage gaps, overtime risk, and scheduling conflicts before they become problems.
Schedule IntelligenceUpload onboarding documents, I-9s, and tax forms — AI reads and auto-populates relevant fields into the employee record, cutting onboarding time dramatically.
Document IntelligenceAI monitors time punches for California meal-break violations, overtime thresholds, and scheduling rules — alerting managers before they become a liability.
Labor Compliance AIEmployees and managers can ask HR policy questions and get instant, accurate answers based on your company's own policy documents. Fewer calls to HR, faster decisions.
Policy Q&AEvery feature below is included in a single PayLink subscription. No add-on pricing, no upgrade required.
Multi-step tax wizard, NACHA ACH direct deposit, pay stubs, deductions, reimbursements, and full California compliance. Handles hourly, salaried, contractors, and owner distributions.
Kiosk time clock with PIN or biometric login, station enforcement, GPS-optional punches, automatic overtime, and manager approval workflows. Works on any device.
Recurring templates, weekly calendar view, shift publishing with email/SMS notifications, time-off conflict detection, and a shift marketplace for employee-managed swaps.
Complete HR profiles with documents, wages, certifications, benefits, skills, and a self-service portal. Supports 7 worker types including volunteers and shareholders.
Manage unlimited companies, divisions, cost centers, and departments under one login. True enterprise architecture — not just a filter dropdown.
W-2, 1099-NEC, 941, 940, DE 9, DE 9C, and 1096 generation. Full payroll, timesheet, labor cost, and expense reports — all exportable to CSV.
Upload, version, and manage HR documents. Send for electronic signature with a complete audit trail, retention policies, legal hold, and access controls.
AI-powered receipt scanning, approval workflows, job cost allocation, mileage, and reimbursement processing through payroll. Full category tracking and reporting.
Employees list shifts they can't cover. Others request them. Managers approve with eligibility checks for hours, conflicts, and rest periods. Automatic notifications throughout.
Installable mobile app for employees and managers. Clock in/out, view schedules, approve timesheets, manage expenses, and receive push notifications on any device.
Set up rules that trigger automatically — send notifications when overtime is approaching, flag missed punches, alert managers to unapproved expenses, and more.
Step-by-step onboarding packets with document signing, I-9 verification, W-4 collection, direct deposit setup, and policy acknowledgments — all tracked in one workflow.
Gusto, QuickBooks Payroll, Homebase, and When I Work are each built to do one thing well. You end up paying for all of them and they still don't talk to each other. PayLink does everything, integrated from day one.
| Feature | PayLink | Gusto | QuickBooks Payroll | Homebase | When I Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Payroll + Tax Filing | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Kiosk Time Clock | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Employee Scheduling | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI Receipt Scanning | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| AI Payroll Review | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Shift Marketplace | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | Add-on |
| Multi-Company (true) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Document E-Signatures | ✓ | Limited | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Contractor 1099 + Portal | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Expense Management | ✓ | Basic | QB only | ✗ | ✗ |
| Automation Rules Engine | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Self-Hostable | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Starting Price | $29 + $4/emp | $40 + $6/emp | $45 + $5/emp | $20 + $2/emp | $2.50/emp min |
Pricing based on publicly listed plans as of 2025. ✗ = not included in base platform. "Limited" = requires separate tool or upgrade.
Payroll data, SSNs, bank account numbers, and wage history are among the most sensitive data your business holds. PayLink is built with enterprise-grade security at every layer — not added as an afterthought.
Three enforced roles — Admin, Manager, and Employee — with granular permissions at every API endpoint. Managers cannot see data outside their company. Employees cannot access pay rates or HR records for others. Every route is independently protected.
Every record in the database is scoped to a company. No query returns data from another tenant. Company ID is enforced server-side on every read and write — frontend filters alone are never trusted.
Sessions are stored server-side in PostgreSQL via a hardened session store. Cookies are httpOnly, Secure, and SameSite-protected. Passwords are hashed with bcrypt (cost factor 10). No plain-text credentials ever stored.
Every sensitive action — payroll runs, schedule changes, document access, approvals, configuration changes — is written to an immutable audit log. Who did what, when, and from where. Required for enterprise compliance audits.
HR documents support access control lists (ACLs), retention policies, and legal hold. Documents under hold cannot be deleted regardless of user role. A separate document audit log tracks every view, download, and modification.
Bank account routing numbers and account numbers for direct deposit are protected by authenticated endpoints with strict employee-scoping. No unauthenticated endpoint can access financial data. ACH files are generated server-side and never exposed to frontend storage.
Most workforce software is designed to look good in a sales demo. PayLink is built for people who actually run payroll every two weeks, manage shift swaps on a Saturday, and need the time clock working when employees arrive at 6am.
Replace your payroll service, time clock app, scheduling tool, expense tracker, and HR documents platform with one integrated system. Data flows from punch to paycheck without imports or exports.
Hourly, salary, contractors, owner draws, volunteers, shareholders — each handled with correct pay rules, tax treatment, and reporting. No workarounds, no hacks.
True multi-company architecture with separate payrolls, isolated HR records, and unified reporting. Manage your entire enterprise from one login with full data separation.
Daily overtime, double time, meal and rest break tracking, DE 9/DE 9C reporting, and California-specific wage rules are built in — not a paid add-on.
Start free for 30 days. No credit card required. Everything included — no feature tiers, no per-module charges.
Need self-hosted or enterprise features? Contact us for custom pricing.
Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll are payroll-only tools — they have no time clock, no scheduling, no shift marketplace, and limited HR functionality. You'd still need 2–3 other subscriptions to cover what PayLink handles in one platform. PayLink also includes AI features (receipt scanning, payroll anomaly detection) that neither competitor offers at any price point.
PayLink includes AI receipt scanning (GPT-4o Vision extracts all details from a photo of any receipt), AI Payroll Pre-Flight Review (scans your payroll for anomalies before processing), AI compliance monitoring (flags California labor law violations), and AI document extraction for onboarding. These are built into the platform — not an add-on.
Yes — true multi-company architecture. Manage separate payrolls, schedules, and HR for each company while sharing universal entities (job codes, departments, policies) across your enterprise. All from one login. No competitor in this price range offers this.
PayLink uses enterprise-grade security throughout: bcrypt password hashing, httpOnly session cookies backed by PostgreSQL, TLS 1.3 encryption in transit, role-based access control enforced at every API endpoint, multi-tenant data isolation, and a complete authorization audit log. Banking data (routing/account numbers) is only accessible to authenticated users and never exposed in frontend storage. See our Security page for full details.
Yes. PayLink can be deployed on your own infrastructure for complete data sovereignty — your payroll and HR data never leaves your network. Enterprise licenses include deployment support. Runs on standard Node.js and PostgreSQL. No vendor lock-in.
Yes, and better than most. California daily overtime, double time, meal and rest break tracking, DE 9 and DE 9C quarterly reporting, and California income tax withholding are all built in — not a paid add-on. PayLink is particularly well-suited to California employers who need compliant payroll and scheduling in one system.