If you are the owner of a large or small company ? especially a small business ? you are going to want to be able to manage the payroll for all your employees easily and quickly. While you could still do it the old fashioned way on paper, it's not really cost effective in the long run and of course will give you tons of headaches. You also may not have the money to hire a professional payroll firm or expensive payroll package. Payroll program software for free may offer you a cost free option, but before you go choosing that payroll program for no cost, there are some things you need to consider in order to make sure it will work properly for you and not cost you more in the long term.

The following checklist will help you find the right payroll program free online or via mail order service. These are all very important things that you should verify when researching these payroll programs for free as they could cost you money in the log run if they do not work as needed or advertised.

1. Does the payroll program for free offer you the latest payroll tax computations? If it does not, then you will still need to determine some of your employee's payroll by hand.

2. If you find a payroll program free online, will you save your company any time and money? This is a big consideration if your company is small and you do not have the manpower to spare.

3. Can the program print off invoices, statements, payroll tax forms, catalogs, checks compatible with the system you use, and other forms you need?

4. Can the software accommodate a business for up to 500 employees to allow for growth?

5. Can the payroll program for free be personalized, customized, and have real-time modules for your data use?

6. Does it include updates? Your system needs to be up to date with all the current taxation rules.

7. The payroll program for free that you want to use should also be compatible with your general ledger, journal, accounts payable, and accounts receivable programs as well as the ability to support client reports.

8. Is it flexible and versatile enough to handle all your data entry needs?

Once you have determined that the payroll program for free can meet the needs of your organization, it is advised that you take it for a test drive before installing it on a permanent basis. This is the only way you will know for sure if the payroll program for free will do what you need it to. Use test data in your payroll program for free and try out every module that comes with it in order to make sure it is working properly. If it does and you are satisfied with the results, then your new payroll program for free is ready to use on a regular basis.