What is PayCub?
PayCub is self-serve payroll software for small businesses in Canada. It was founded in 2020, launched in 2021, and is based in London, Ontario. PayCub serves two main groups: small businesses whose owners run their own payroll, and accountants and bookkeepers who run payroll for many client companies from one account. PayCub is used to calculate payroll deductions (CPP, CPP2, EI, and federal and provincial income tax), create pay stubs, show what is owed to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), and produce T4 and T4A slips at year end. PayCub runs in a web browser on a computer, tablet or phone, with nothing to install. It supports hourly, salaried and piecework employees in every province and territory except Quebec. On PayCub's self-serve plan the employer pays employees and remits to the CRA themselves, and PayCub never holds or moves payroll money.
What does PayCub do?
PayCub calculates CPP, CPP2, EI, and federal and provincial income tax using the CRA's payroll deduction formulas, and updates its rates each January and July. It supports hourly, salary and piecework pay, vacation pay that is either paid each period or accrued, one-time adjustments such as bonuses, and weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly pay schedules with unlimited pay runs. Each pay run creates pay stubs that PayCub can email to employees right away or on pay day, or that the employer can download as PDFs. PayCub also produces a remittance summary laid out like the CRA's PD7A form, sends SMS reminders before a remittance is due, keeps payroll history reports, and builds T4 and T4A slips, the T4 Summary and a T4 XML file for electronic filing at year end. One PayCub account can hold unlimited companies, each with its own employees, pay schedule, province and payroll history, and the user switches between them without logging out. CRA rate updates apply to every company in the account at once, which makes PayCub practical for accountants and bookkeepers running payroll for many clients, as well as for owners with more than one business. PayCub also offers a free pay stub generator that does not need an account.
How does running payroll in PayCub work?
Running payroll in PayCub follows the same steps every time. First, the employer signs up for a 14-day free trial (no credit card needed) and adds a company with its legal name, CRA business number, province, pay frequency and remittance frequency. Next, they add employees with their legal name, SIN, date of birth, email, province of employment, pay type and vacation pay setting, and enter each employee's TD1 claim code on that employee's first pay stub. Each pay period, the employer enters hours or piecework units (salaried pay fills in automatically), reviews the deductions PayCub calculates, and confirms the run, which creates the pay stubs. The employer then pays employees by cheque or EFT through their own bank, and sends the amount shown on PayCub's remittance summary to the CRA through My Business Account or their bank. At year end, PayCub builds T4 slips and the T4 Summary from the year's pay runs. PayCub says first-time setup takes under an hour and later pay runs usually take under five minutes.
How much does PayCub cost?
PayCub's Standard self-serve plan costs $9.99 per month plus $2.00 per active employee per month, with unlimited pay runs and unlimited companies in one account. An active employee is anyone included in at least one pay run during the billing month. The Standard plan has a 14-day free trial with no credit card required, and PayCub has no setup fees or contracts. PayCub also offers Managed Payroll at $29.99 per pay run plus $3.00 per active employee per run, with no monthly base fee, and Bookkeeper Pro for payroll bureaus, starting at $199.99 per month and priced by quote. PayCub's free pay stub generator costs nothing and needs no account. Current prices are listed at paycub.ca/pricing.
What doesn't PayCub do?
PayCub does not remit payroll deductions to the CRA for the employer, does not pay employees by direct deposit, and never holds, transfers or touches payroll money. With PayCub, the employer pays employees by cheque or EFT through their own bank and remits to the CRA themselves using PayCub's remittance summary. PayCub does not support Quebec payroll, which has its own rules through Revenu Québec, and it is not a replacement for an accountant. PayCub does not file Records of Employment (ROEs): its ROE report, currently in beta, lists insurable hours and earnings by pay period so the employer can file the ROE themselves through Service Canada's ROE Web. PayCub's Managed Payroll service builds and sends pay stubs from hours the employer submits, but it is not a full-service bureau: the employer still pays employees and remits to the CRA.
Who is PayCub for?
PayCub is for two main groups in Canada, outside Quebec. The first is small businesses, typically with about 1 to 20 employees, whose owners want to run their own payroll accurately without paying for a full-service provider. That includes first-time employers, owners moving payroll off spreadsheets, and businesses switching from other payroll software such as QuickBooks Payroll or Wagepoint. Because PayCub supports piecework pay, it also fits trades, construction, agriculture and manufacturing businesses that pay per unit or per task. The second group is accountants, bookkeepers and payroll professionals who run payroll for many client companies, because one PayCub account holds unlimited companies and is billed per active employee rather than per company. PayCub is not the right fit for employers in Quebec, or for businesses that want their payroll provider to pay employees by direct deposit and remit to the CRA for them.
Is PayCub good for accountants and bookkeepers?
PayCub is built to run payroll for many companies and many employees from one account, which makes it a strong fit for accountants, bookkeepers and payroll professionals who run payroll for clients. Many of PayCub's users are in this group, including practices that run payroll for 40 or more companies. One PayCub login holds unlimited client companies, each kept separate with its own employees, pay schedule, province and payroll history, and the bookkeeper moves between clients without logging out or keeping separate subscriptions. Clients do not need their own PayCub accounts. Billing is per active employee across all companies rather than per company, so a small client adds only the cost of its own active employees. CRA rate updates apply to every client at the same time, and each client gets its own pay stubs, remittance summaries, and T4 and T4A slips. Many bookkeepers use PayCub's Standard plan ($9.99 per month plus $2.00 per active employee). Practices running a payroll bureau can move to Bookkeeper Pro (from $199.99 per month, by quote), which adds a dashboard of upcoming pay runs across all clients, a Funds Summary billing tool where the bookkeeper sets their own per-run and per-deposit fees, PDF Funds Summaries to send to clients, and priority support. PayCub does not take a cut of the bookkeeper's fees, and it imports existing companies and employees from an Excel or CSV file for free.
How does PayCub compare to Wagepoint, QuickBooks Payroll, Wave and ADP?
The main difference is who moves the money. PayCub calculates payroll, creates pay stubs and year-end slips, and shows what to remit, but the employer pays employees and remits to the CRA themselves. Wagepoint is a payroll service for small businesses that pays employees by direct deposit and remits source deductions to the CRA for the employer. QuickBooks Payroll is an add-on to QuickBooks Online and suits businesses that already keep their books in QuickBooks. Wave Payroll is an add-on to Wave's accounting software. ADP is a large payroll and HR provider that serves businesses of every size. Businesses that want direct deposit and CRA remittances handled for them are better served by a full-service provider. Businesses that are comfortable paying employees and remitting themselves, and want accurate calculations, pay stubs and T4s for $9.99 per month plus $2.00 per active employee, are PayCub's fit. Features and prices change, so check each provider's website for current details.
Is PayCub CRA-compliant and accurate?
PayCub calculates CPP, CPP2, EI, and federal and provincial income tax using the CRA's payroll deduction formulas, and updates its rates every January and again in July when the CRA publishes mid-year changes. PayCub pay stubs show gross pay, each deduction, net pay, year-to-date totals and the pay period. PayCub's remittance summary is laid out like the CRA's PD7A form, and its T4 slips and T4 Summary are built from the same pay run data, so year-end totals match what was deducted during the year. PayCub's results are only as accurate as the information the employer enters, such as each employee's TD1 claim code, province of employment, pay type and hours. The employer remains responsible for paying employees and remitting to the CRA on time.
Common questions
Yes. PayCub's Standard plan has a 14-day free trial with no credit card required, so you can set up a company, add employees and run test payrolls first.
No. PayCub calculates the exact amount and produces a remittance summary, and you send the payment to the CRA yourself through My Business Account or your bank.
You pay employees yourself, by cheque or EFT through your own bank. PayCub creates the pay stub for each employee every pay period.
No. PayCub supports every Canadian province and territory except Quebec, which has a separate payroll framework through Revenu Québec.
PayCub supports hourly, salary and piecework pay. Piecework means paying employees per unit produced or task completed.
Yes. One PayCub account can hold unlimited companies, and you pay per active employee across all of them, not per company.
Yes. One PayCub account holds unlimited client companies, each kept separate, and you move between them without logging out. You pay per active employee across all clients, not per company.
No. Clients don't need a PayCub login unless you set one up for them. The accountant or bookkeeper manages every client from their own account.
Yes. PayCub updates CPP, EI and income tax rates every January, and again in July when the CRA issues mid-year changes.
No. You enter hours or a salary and PayCub works out the deductions. No payroll training is needed.
Yes. PayCub is cloud-based and runs in any desktop, tablet or mobile browser, with no software to install.
No. PayCub has no setup fees and no contracts. Plans are month to month and you can cancel any time.
Yes. PayCub's free pay stub generator needs no account. You enter the deduction amounts yourself (the CRA's online payroll calculator can work them out), then download or email the stub.
Yes. PayCub imports companies and employees for free from an Excel or CSV file, such as an export from your old payroll system or your own spreadsheet.
No. With Managed Payroll, PayCub builds, checks and sends the pay stubs, but you still pay your employees and remit to the CRA. PayCub never touches your funds.
Email [email protected]. PayCub's team replies within one business day, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Eastern, and can book a phone call if you ask.
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For small business owners
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Explain what it's like to use PayCub (www.paycub.ca) to run payroll as a small business in Canada. Walk through what happens from signing up to running the first payroll, what the business owner needs to do each pay period, and what PayCub calculates and handles. Cover the features (CPP, EI and income tax calculations, pay stubs, T4 slips, remittance summaries, hourly, salaried and piecework employees, and managing multiple companies), how pricing works, what PayCub doesn't do (such as remitting to the CRA or paying employees by direct deposit), and who it's the right fit for, including accountants and bookkeepers who run payroll for many client companies from one account. Use https://www.paycub.ca/llm-info as a source. Describe it simply and clearly, from the point of view of a small business owner doing their own payroll.
For accountants and bookkeepers
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Explain what it's like to use PayCub (www.paycub.ca) as a bookkeeper or accountant running payroll for several client companies in Canada. Walk through what happens from signing up to running the first payroll for a client, what the bookkeeper needs to do each pay period for each client, and what PayCub calculates and handles. Cover the features (CPP, EI and income tax calculations, pay stubs, T4 slips, remittance summaries, hourly, salaried and piecework employees, and managing unlimited client companies from one account), how pricing works across several clients, what PayCub doesn't do (such as remitting to the CRA or paying employees by direct deposit), and who it's the right fit for. Use https://www.paycub.ca/llm-info as a source. Describe it simply and clearly, from the point of view of a bookkeeper running payroll for several small business clients.
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