PAYCHEX Salaries, Bonuses and Benefits.

What are the average starting salaries, bonuses, benefits and travel requirements like at PAYCHEX?

What do you like best about working at PAYCHEX? Are there any great perks or special treats for employees?

First of all, you are hammered in their interview process which takes over a month to complete. (If you actually get an interview that is...) They also go through your entire background including education, every job for the past 10 years, and several questions regarding your character. I thought that I was part of a priviledged group when the offer came in until I saw that the starting salary for a College graduate with 10 years of experience was $13.50/hr. What a joke!!!! My friend the trash hauler laughs at me and my student loan payments everytime I see him. He makes twice as much as I do.

Anonymous said: First of all, you are hammered in their interview process which takes over a month to complete. (If you actually get an interview that is...) They also go through your entire background including education, every job for the past 10 years, and several questions regarding your character. I thought that I was part of a priviledged group when the offer came in until I saw that the starting salary for a College graduate with 10 years of experience was $13.50/hr. What a joke!!!! My friend the trash hauler laughs at me and my student loan payments everytime I see him. He makes twice as much as I do.

Yeah, and even if you pass all their personality and math tests and go through numerous interviews chances are you still won't be hired. A lady <Name Removed> out of the Naperville IL office was so cold to me during my final interview, she was almost rude. They say the sign of a good interviewer is they actually want to get someone hired. This women, or should I say girl, was very inexperienced and made me feel uncomfortable and intimidated all for the possibility of making $13.00 an hour. Fortune Magazine named them 70 something on their top 100 places to work which seems to have made them both snobby and pretentious, and I am guessing by the way they are treating prospective employee's it WON'T be for long.

Being a Payroll Specialist here is a great entry level job. Don't expect to make a lot of money doing it but you will gain great experience and get rigorous training if you are looking for a career in Payroll. If you are already a seasoned pro this is not the job for you. If you just got out of college and are looking to break into the market then possibly it is. If you can stick it out for a few years you can either advance in the company or move on with the experience under your belt.

I wanted to try to get in to Paychex as a sales rep. They never replied to my resume. Anyone out there a sales rep for Paychex or like company, and if so, how do I get the interview?

Well 2 weeks have gone by for a mailclerk job I applied for and have heard nothing at all so Im beggining to think that maybe there not worth the time to invest in then...

I agree Paychex pays nothing, unless you are one of VPs or Directors. The benefits are great but when you only make $13.00/hr it is not worth it. Great place to go if you have 20yrs to move up the corp ladder.

They have been listing the same jobs over and over for the last 8 months.

as a former Paychex employee, let me share some insight as to why Paychex has been on the list for 5 consecutive years: the participants are not random or anonymous and are coached on how to respond to the questions on the survey. I KNOW this because I was one of the "randomly" selected participants.

D in Rochester, New York said: I agree Paychex pays nothing, unless you are one of VPs or Directors. The benefits are great but when you only make $13.00/hr it is not worth it. Great place to go if you have 20yrs to move up the corp ladder.

$13.00 an hour? Maybe in NY! In many states they are still starting people at 9 or 10 an hour! LOL @ 20 years to move up the latter, so very true, not to mention you will have to transfer at least 5 times to god-knows-where in the US.

Absolutely pitiful salary. When my previous company had a massive layoff in the Rochester area, Paychex was the only job I could find. 25 years of software development in too many development environments to list, systems engineering, system architecture, etc, etc, etc. BS Comp Science, Masters Computer Engineering, and more. All of this and I had to take a 35% pay cut and go backwards 7 to 8 years in salary. Ten months before I could find another job using all my sick time and personal time to go on interviews surreptitiously. In those 10 months, I was the fifth S/W Developer to quit which says a hell of a lot when the job market is so bad in Rochester. The turnover was so high that none of the “long term” employees would want to spend any time helping you or even talking to you because they considered it a waste of time to deal with anybody who would be quitting as soon as they could. When I say “long term”, I’m talking one person with 6 years and two or three others with 2 to 3 years. All in all, one of the most miserable times in my life. Incidentally, the benefits are not great, they are adequate at best.

I have been interviewing with paychex for a while now...i wont graduate until August of 2008 with my MBA. In my interview process they said I would start at 38K as a sales rep. I am not sure what position you are talking about making $10 an hour. But yes the process is rigorous and a friend of mine had 6 interviews and at his last with the regional manager he was turned down...CRAZY!!!

10 bucks are the entry level ones i believe that process a client's payroll. i don't get it with these companies wasting applicants time with 6 interviews over a month period-been there myself. they still get crazy people.

deansuraci in Cornwall On Hudson, New York said: 10 bucks are the entry level ones i believe that process a client's payroll. i don't get it with these companies wasting applicants time with 6 interviews over a month period-been there myself. they still get crazy people.

They start you off pretty low as a payroll specialist. You can get a bunch of raises within the 1st few years though. It depends where the branch is. NY, NY, CA have much higher starting salaries than other places. It's good experience if you have no payroll experience. Turnover is high because the job is really stressful and if the branch is busy you will be overloaded with clients.

Very true. I think After the training period I was pretty much out the door within 3 months or so. Unfortunately I was given a really crappy territory, however I still was pretty much expected to hit the same numbers that the primo territories were getting every month. My advice to people looking to get in to sales with Paychex goes something like this. If you are content doing a pretty good job and making 50 or so a year they will have you packing up in about 6 months. They want overachievers that will constantly exceed their assigned quotas so that they can then raise the bar and standards even higher on you. Not saying that's a bad thing, but it wasn't for me and it wasn't for the 10 other reps that came and went during the 6 months or so that I worked. However though, if you can hang in there for at least a year or so you will have the expirience that most of the larger Pharm companies are looking for and should be able to land a less stressfull sales career as a Pharm rep. That's the ticket.

I was told by a recruiter thatin the Paychex' sales jobs, you start in the 30,000 and make just as much in bonuses the same year. Is that true??

The Paychex sales culture is tough for many to adjust to. Do your homework and try to get to know who the hiring Manager is, what you can learn from this person and how good or bad their specific team turnover has been. After having worked for them for about 27 months, I observed that in my office morale was quite low for the majority of the salepeople. You have no choice but to work very hard for the first couple of years at least. The different divisions ideally should be working together to make things happen for the client, but in more cases each division has its own agenda and works primarily for its own interests and survival which will be very frustrating to you if you are a team player. In my office it was the haves and the have nots and the have nots outnumber the haves considerably. This type of culture is far from the exception today in corporate sales, so it gave me the motivation to figure out a way out of these rat race type of jobs that are not career oriented. My advice is to find a sales job working for an entrepreneur that has a much smaller operation, perhaps a Franchise Owner. You will be treated with more respect and will have a better chance for a longer term and more stabile career where you actually enjoy going to work each day. W-2 income expectations at Paychex realistically are nothing spectacular for the first 3 years, but respectable and the benefits are competitive. If I had to do it over again I definitely wouldn't, not because of pay, but because of poor culture for an idealistic team player like me.

Hey Dan Simms,

Just wondering, How is the price Paychex charges to it's clients (small businesses), is it competitive with ADP?

deansuraci in Cornwall On Hudson, New York said: Hey Dan Simms,

Just wondering, How is the price Paychex charges to it's clients (small businesses), is it competitive with ADP?

Hi Dean,

As a salesperson at Paychex, I found that on average that our prices as compared to ADP were about 10 to 20% less. The key was that our service was better. If you have a CPA, ask them who they prefer and I can just about guarantee you he or she will say Paychex for the reporting component. I focused on mainly clients with 30 employees or less and this is a group where Paychex dominates ADP. I get a sense it is just the opposite in companies with 500 or more, with ADP being the dominant player over all others. I still heard lots of service complaints from even the bigger clients that used ADP.
As a small business person I would definitely favor Paychex over ADP for payroll, 401k admin, and with help with a Handbook or HR outsourcing. If you are looking for Health Insurance, the rates are regulated, so that one should be a dead heat. In NY state ADP seemed to have the better PEO to Paychex in prior years. I hope this helps answer your question thoroughly.

Thanks Dan.

I'm actually thinking about applying for a position with one of these 2 companies and as a salesperson it is easier to sell a product or service if the pricing is cheaper than the competition. (and the service is better) If a salesperson has neither of those 2 things in his/her arsenal, than he has to use relationship building and that can be challenging.

It's hard to believe that ADP is a Fortune 300 corp while Paychex is only a Fortune 1000 corp. (maybe like you say, ADP dominates in the 500 or greater market where there is more money to be made)

One other thing, in your opinion what makes the job hard? What are the challenges of getting the sale?

Thank you for your reply and have a great Summer!!!

Dan,

You ever hear of a <Name Removed> (District Mgr) from the Fishkill, NY Paychex office? Good or Bad?

I have met <Name Removed> and can only comment that for a few year stretch, she was one of the most respected Premier Salespeople in the whole country. You will hear her on a couple of training CD's offering excellent advice in how to sell their HR Outsourcing solutions.
In Paychex there are a few different sales tracks, in my opinion some lend themselves better than others for more than a few year sales career before you will be burnt out.
Their Major Market Payroll track as well as their Core Payroll track generally offer about a 2 year period of time where you will need to pay some serious dues, with income potential somewhat limited because the better territories will already be occupied by Sales Reps who are generally well regarded and those folks can easily be earning a strong 6 figure income. For each of these people that made it to this level you will have probably had about 20 sales people who just got churned and burned out. The 401k / FSA track is another with a better success rate, but not as high an income potential because it is right up there as one of the less challenging sales positions. Some Reps seeing how challenging the other divisions can be, will settle into this role for 3 to 6 years before they may feel the need for a new challenge and these folks tend to eventually move into middle sales management at Paychex.
Premier and 401k fall in to the Human Resource Sales Division which up to this point has had a checkered reputation for those that want to get into Sales Management. If you aspire to get into Sales Management and make a career of that at Paychex, the Payroll Divisions which they call Major Markets and Core are the way to go. The long term management at Paychex have thus far been on this side of the business.
As far as the Human Resource division, if selling for the Premier Group or the 401k Group didn't burn you out, a couple of years in sales management for this division may well be the final straw for you.With HR perform or els

<Name Removed> sounded to me like the kind of boss that burns out her employees. One who micro-manages and has that attitude it's never good enough no matter what you do. Sometime when people are overachievers and highly successful they can't understand why the people underneath them aren't also. And this makes for a toxic office environment.

Someone told me that her boss is a twit.

I get the sense that Paychex has an anal culture. Strict and rigid.

If you got that feeling after investigating the sales opportunity, you should trust your gut and move on to another opportunity. I suggest you get a sales job in a much smaller company, like a franchise that is run professionaly by an entrepreneur that places a premium on being an employer of choice. The Paychex Managers are accountable to hit or exceed their assigned quotas with no exception. As a result if your boss is feeling the stress, it often translates in them redirecting that stress on to their direct reports.

Thanks for all your input. I appreciate it. Life is too short for a BS type job. Life is definitely too short for it. Thanks again.

You are welcome. I am happy to share what my first hand experiences were at Paychex to help you draw your own conclusions. Good luck to you. If you are interested in a quality company to work for, you may want to research BD in the medical field. They are based in Franklin Lakes, NJ with offices and employees all over the world. Many that work there enjoy doing so for decades, which is unusual these days.

Any comments about Heartland Payment Systems (a publicly traded comp)...they have contacted me........similar to Paychex but on a smaller scale I guess.

My advice is to follow up with them. The manner in which you pursue getting an offer is a good indicator of how hard and smart you will work for BD to get more business for them. The hiring Manager may be waiting to see how professional you are in follow up. Don't wait. Good luck. BD is a wonderful culture to work within. If I were you I would pull out all the stops to earn the job offer from BD. This will be a huge step forward in your career as compared to working at Paychex. BD is a company where you could enjoy working there for easily 10 years or more. Some of the greatest people you could ever have the opportunity to work for.

Your question is a judgement call and my advice is to not worry about being overly aggressive in pursuing that BD sales job. I would worry about not being aggressive enough or by not doing it in a professional manner. Get a decision one way or another so you know where you stand. Your time is every bit as important as the hiring Manager at BD. If you respect your time in this manner, the Manager will as well and your odds of earning the job offer will have increased dramatically. In following up the next time, ask yourself what you can do to be as memorable as possible. Be sincere and express the fact that you honestly feel that it is in BD's best interests to hire you and no one else. It's not bragging if you really feel you have found a great match. Go for it!

When I left Paychex, I started my own business in a very different industry. I own a business called Case Remodeling in Holbrook, Long Island. LI.CaseRemodeling.com
I am building a production and sales team and so far we are doing extremely well. I have absolutely no Carpentry skills, but I know how to surround myself with the best and run a solid company that is a uniquely enjoyable place to earn a good living. If you know someone from the General Contracting Field that is looking for a great place to sell, have them check out my web site and call. I was motivated to join this field do to the fact that many General Contractors are far from efficient and thoughful in meeting the demands of homeowners on Long Island and I feel I can develop a company to fill that niche in the community.

Question - do the Payroll Specialists in Naperville/Warrenville IL make more than $13/hr? I am interested in the position, but need to make $16 to $17 an hour, and don't know if this is realistic. I have years of Client Service experience, but not in payroll processing.

My wife has worked for BD for 18 years and she would be happy to offer you some advice over the phone. Please send your email address to dsimms@casehandyman.com with a phone number she can reach you at. It sounds like you are interviewing with a gentleman in another division than hers, but she knows of him and can help you. Her division is Vacutainer, which currently does not have a sales opening on Long Island. If you go the job, your account base would be the same as my wife's.

You can try emailing me at dansimms1@verizon.net with your email address. I think it is a very encouraging sign that the Manager got back to you and apologized. You quality follow up has probably put you ahead of other candidates. Hold him to his revised follow up time. I understand the position you are interviewing for has remained open for 2 years...so they need someone. Good luck. I believe you will find that the competition at BD is not going to quite as fierce as an ADP or a Paychex would have to fend off. BD is a dominant player in the Medical field, so your odds of growing that territory are quite good. Payroll as an industry is more fragmented and price sensitive which makes it harder to have longevity unless you have a solid book of CPA's referring you into their clients.

Has anyone felt discriminated against doing hiring process or after being hired at Paychex?

Don't work for this company. The fact that they are rated one of the best places to work is total B/S and is completely fixed. Don't buy into the hype and look elsewhere. People leave this place in droves because it's awful.

me in Pomona, New York said: Don't work for this company. The fact that they are rated one of the best places to work is total B/S and is completely fixed. Don't buy into the hype and look elsewhere. People leave this place in droves because it's awful.

Agreed. For details, check out eyeonpaychex.blogspot.com

anon in Plainfield, Illinois said: Yeah, and even if you pass all their personality and math tests and go through numerous interviews chances are you still won't be hired. A lady by the name of Sarah out of the Naperville IL office was so cold to me during my final interview, she was almost rude. They say the sign of a good interviewer is they actually want to get someone hired. This women, or should I say girl, was very inexperienced and made me feel uncomfortable and intimidated all for the possibility of making $13.00 an hour. Fortune Magazine named them 70 something on their top 100 places to work which seems to have made them both snobby and pretentious, and I am guessing by the way they are treating prospective employee's it WON'T be for long.

AND, if you make it through the procees and get hired, you still are not hired! After you attend training, you have to pass a "job dependent test". If you fail the test, you are fired. Can you take the test again? No. Can you take more training and try again? No. Pass the test or walk. eyeonpaychex.blogspot.com

I had 9 interviews with 5 different managers at Paychex during a month long interviewing process. In addition to the interviews I had to complete 3 different tests (math and personality testing), write a self letter of recommendation, and two different homework type assignments. Also, I had to work a 9 hour day observing sales calls, and watching employees respond to emails and make cold calls. According to the various managers, the base salary is around $40,000 (depends on the division) and the first year realistic expectations are $60,000-$70,000. The dress code is business professional.

The management does not have any regard for your time. If you interview at Paychex expect to wait 25-60 minutes from your actual appointment time. Several of the managers I interviewed with didn’t have a current job opening, but hoped to have one soon. Most of the managers were unaware that I had already interviewed with a manager in a different department, and wanted me to refill out the same paperwork. On my final interview the District Sales Manager said they needed to fill the position ASAP, and would have to start without giving notice to my current employer of 8 years (to make their training schedule in Rochester). I then met with the Regional Sale Manager who said he didn’t care when they filled the position, and that he is typically involved earlier in the interviewing process, and had no idea of what my background was. He also said that I had gone through the interviewing process “too fast”.

Hi all - I am wondering how ridgid the pricing structure is for clients at Paychex. Is there room for negotiation and if so, how much? Also does anyone know the type of prices we are talking about for an extremely small company of 3? Either just the pay roll or their hr premier outsource?

You will find that Paychex does has a decent amount of flexibility with your price for payroll as well as for Premier.

Be careful at your anniversary date or they will have the price jump back to list if you don't watch it.

Compared to list you will find they can come down at least 25%, perhaps more. The set up fee for Premier can only go as low as $2250 as of a year ago...they normally try to sell the set up for $3000 and may try to get even more......$3500 or more is not unusual if they feel they can get it.

Another big issue with Paychex is that they require employees to sign a non-compete. That means that if you take the job with Paychex, and don't like it, you will not be able to work for any competing company anywhere in the US for a YEAR!!! Of course, they don't tell you about this until after you are hired and have invested a lot of time into the interview process. eyeonpaychex.blogspot.com

I agree with you comments. The culture at Paychex is very much like a law firm. Most managers who work for Paychex have been there for years and have worked their way up from sales reps. This leads to a "insider" vs. "outsider" mentality where anyone who comes from outside of the industry is not trusted or accepted. There is also a strong resistance to change. There is NO room for an entrepreneurial spirit at Paychex. You are to dress like, look like, learn like, speak like, and conduct yourself like they TELL you to. eyeonpaychex.blogspot.com

Dan Simms in Bay Shore, New York said: You will find that Paychex does has a decent amount of flexibility with your price for payroll as well as for Premier.

Be careful at your anniversary date or they will have the price jump back to list if you don't watch it.

Compared to list you will find they can come down at least 25%, perhaps more. The set up fee for Premier can only go as low as $2250 as of a year ago...they normally try to sell the set up for $3000 and may try to get even more......$3500 or more is not unusual if they feel they can get it.

I am interested in a job at Paychex but I have struggled to reach a Sales Manager in my area. I know the Baltimore/Harrisburg corridor very well and I am an expert in prospecting for business. Any advice on who to reach out to in my area?

You could call a local Paychex office and say you are interested in speaking to a Payroll Representative that covers your zip code and odds are the Rep will tell you who the Hiring Managers are. There will be a Hiring Manager for Payroll Services (Core), For Major Accounts Payroll, and for Human Resource Services like 401k and Handbooks, so you should ask for the 3 Hiring Manager's names to increase your odds. Good Luck.

Thanks Dan,

I appreciate the help. I've spent the last 10 years working in sales in the investment banking field. I work with mostly corporate accounts. The credit crisis affected me greatly as I have been downsized three times in the last 24 months. I am trying to transition to a stable environment if there is such a thing in this economy. Many of my former clients would be great prospects as they are all now seeking ways to save money on operations. I'll give your advice a shot. Thanks again.

Very Glad the advice was helpful to you!

djm1110 in York, Pennsylvania said: Thanks Dan,

I appreciate the help. I've spent the last 10 years working in sales in the investment banking field. I work with mostly corporate accounts. The credit crisis affected me greatly as I have been downsized three times in the last 24 months. I am trying to transition to a stable environment if there is such a thing in this economy. Many of my former clients would be great prospects as they are all now seeking ways to save money on operations. I'll give your advice a shot. Thanks again.

Hi Dan!

I am currently interviewing for a Sales position in the Louisiana territory. I was very impressed after reviewing their website and after speaking with the Branch Manager today. They are wanting to fill the position before March 1st. Also, I have a current offer on the table with a company called G&K, who has been in the garment business for over 120 years. The salary is the same, I was just figuring that Paychex would be a more professional job and possibly even an easier sale. So now I am sort of stuck between a rock and a hard spot! I am a GREAT salesperson, and I enjoy the hunt... But I also don't want to risk not having a job after 3 months of not hitting the quota that I am required. Any advice???

The sale at Paychex is certainly NOT easier. The downturn in the economy is hitting Paychex hard. Some competitors are slashing prices by 50%. Since salespeople get paid on a percentage of sales, this means your commissions are cut in half too (IF you get the sale since Paychex does not like to deep discount).

Before you make your decision to work at Paychex, please visit eyeonpaychex.blogspot.com for more info on what is it REALLY like to work at Paychex.

Thanks for your response... I will definitely check out the blog.

Also, I have read that after putting in your time at a company like Paychex, it is much easier for you to transition into the medical sales field. How true is this?? Also, how true is it for someone without a BA?

Dan,

I'm a very experienced software professional looking to make a career move into direct sales. I was contacted recently by a recruiter to interview for a Major Market Sales position in Atlanta. I was told income potential was between $150 - $200K average with $200+ for people who are top performers.

After reviewing the posts, some concerning things stand out.
1) It seems many people on the sales side get burnt out which leads me to believe these positions are very cold call focused. Is this the case or is there a combination of cold calls and existing account development?
2) Income expectations set by my recruiter don't seem to match what people are saying. I'm a very hard worker and don't mind long hours or tough sales situations (because software sales is far harder than payroll - trust me) but I have to have good compensation to follow. Is it reasonable to expect a salary base at or around $90 plus variable commission?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Brian

Hi Brian,

Please email me your phone number and I can talk to you about your questions. casehandyman@optonline.net