Best time tracking software with payroll in Canada (2026) - Features, pricing & more

If you've got hourly employees, your payroll runs on what your time tracking says. When the two don't sync cleanly, someone on your team spends every pay cycle moving hours from a spreadsheet into payroll by hand.

The good news is most modern Canadian payroll software either includes time tracking or integrates tightly with a sibling product. Whether you're looking at full-service payroll companies for small business or self-serve software, the harder part is figuring out which combination fits your business.

This article compares the five payroll platforms most often shortlisted by Canadian small businesses in 2026, each handling time tracking differently. The right one is the one that fits how your team actually works.

What to look for in payroll software with time tracking

Before getting to the picks, here's the short version of what matters when comparing top payroll software for small business:

• Canadian compliance: Look for federal and provincial tax handling, CPP/QPP, EI/QPIP, T4 and RL-1 generation, and ROE creation. Quebec coverage is often the differentiator.

• How time tracking is bundled: Native, tightly integrated (sibling product, single sign-on), third-party (you pick a separate tool and connect it), or none (manual entry only). Each model has trade-offs in cost, support, and data flow.

• Pricing structure: Most platforms charge a monthly base plus a per-employee fee. Watch for time tracking modules priced separately, or only included on higher tiers.

• Statutory pay handling. Holiday pay and vacation pay rules vary by province. Good software calculates these for you.

• Mobile and clock-in options: If your team is on the road or on a job site, web-only time tracking won't cut it.

With that lens, here are the five picks.

1. Wagepoint (with Time by Wagepoint)

Wagepoint pairs payroll with Time by Wagepoint, a separate time-tracking product that integrates back into payroll. Time by Wagepoint covers scheduling, timesheets, PTO, geo-fencing and approvals, with hours feeding directly into pay runs. The product doesn't include any HR capabilities.The two products are sold as add-ons to each other rather than bundled.The primary trade-off however is between cost and flexibility across its two pricing tiers. The two are:

• Solo ($20/month + $4/employee): This plan is strictly for businesses running one payroll per month.

• Unlimited ($40/month + $6/employee): This plan allows for unlimited pay runs, making it the standard choice for weekly or bi-weekly schedules.

The product has high monthly cost for weekly payroll as you must jump to the Unlimited tier for anything more than one run a month, the base fee doubles immediately. The Unlimited plan also increases the per-employee cost to $6 (vs. $4 on Solo),

2. Intuit Payroll (with QuickBooks Time)

Intuit Payroll, sold in Canada as QuickBooks Online Payroll, bundles QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) into its Premium and Elite plans. Employees clock in via web or mobile, with GPS support for field teams, scheduling, and timesheet approvals. Hours flow directly into payroll runs.

It handles federal and provincial tax calculations reliably, and its ability to generate T4s and RL-1s makes year-end reporting significantly less stressful for small to mid-sized businesses.

However, the platform has few drawbacks, particularly regarding cost and regional complexity. Time tracking is only included on higher tiers, lower plans need a separate QuickBooks Time subscription, pricing climbs at the Elite level, and RL-1 filings to Revenu Québec still require employer-side submission.

3. Zoho Payroll

Zoho Payroll Canada features a native, built-in Leave and Attendance module that allows you to manage time tracking and time-off requests directly within the payroll system. This eliminates the need for external integrations for many small businesses, as employees can check in and out, request leaves, and view their attendance history through the self-service portal, with all data feeding directly into the monthly pay run. It can process salaried and hourly payments with ease.

On the payroll side, the system is fully localized for the Canadian market, handling federal and provincial tax withholdings, CPP/QPP, and EI/QPIP premiums automatically. It covers essential compliance tasks like generating T4 and RL-1 forms, creating Record of Employment (ROE) files for departing employees, and calculating statutory holiday and vacation pay according to provincial labor laws. Bilingual support (English and French) is built in for both the admin interface and employee documents.

Pricing starts at $20 per month $3 per employee. More details on pricing tiers here.

4. Sage Payroll

Sage Payroll offers integrated time tracking, shift scheduling, and expense management, though these features are primarily bundled into their higher-tier plans rather than being a standard component of the entry-level payroll module.

Sage handles essential compliance tasks reliably, including federal and provincial tax withholdings, T4 and RL-1 generation, and ROE creation. While it is a trusted choice for many accountants, the platform’s modular approach means that as your business grows and requires more advanced features like HR management or automated approvals, the total cost and complexity of the system increases.

Pricing starts at C$20/month base, plus a per-employee fee that varies by tier:

• Essentials (+C$3.50/employee): basic payroll, T4s, essential HR records, leave tracking

• Standard (+C$11/employee): adds core HR, automated approval workflows, expenses

• Premium (+C$17/employee): adds integrated timesheets and shift scheduling

On payroll, Sage has been running Canadian payroll for decades and is well-established among accountants and bookkeepers. It handles CRA remittances, T4 and RL-1 generation, and ROE creation. The trade-offs: time tracking isn't native to the payroll product itself, the interface feels dated compared to modern cloud-native tools, and pricing can rise as you add modules.

5. Wave Payroll

Wave Payroll, takes a different approach: there is no native time tracking module, and the workflow is designed around manual hour entry into each pay run. Teams that need automated time tracking can pair Wave Payroll with a third-party tool and key in the totals. For mostly salaried teams or small hourly teams with stable schedules, the manual approach can keep the system simple and inexpensive.

On payroll, Wave Payroll handles direct deposit, federal and provincial tax calculations, T4 generation, ROE creation, and vacation pay tracking, and pairs naturally with Wave's free accounting and invoicing tools. The trade-offs: no native time tracking, no Quebec support (Wave does not remit to Revenu Québec), and the platform is geared toward solo founders and very small businesses rather than scaling teams.
Wave Payroll uses a simple monthly base fee plus a per-employee charge. In Canada, pricing starts at C$25 per month for the organization plus C$6 per active employee (or independent contractor).

How to choose between them

A few questions to narrow the field:

How critical is mobile clock-in?

If your team works on-site, in retail, or in the field, native mobile time tracking with GPS-stamped clock-in matters. Office-only teams can usually get by with web-based timesheets.

Do you have employees in Quebec?

Not every platform supports Quebec source deductions and Revenu Québec filings out of the box. If you have Quebec staff, confirm bilingual interface, paystubs and RL-1 generation are included before you sign up.

Self-serve or accountant-led?

Some platforms are designed for owners to run payroll directly. Others lean accountant-friendly, with workflows built around bookkeepers and external advisors. The right model depends on whether you're running payroll in-house or sending data to someone who handles it for you.

Budget?

Look at total cost, not just the base price. Per-employee fees, time tracking add-ons, and tier jumps all stack up. Cheap payroll software in Canada exists, but watch for tier upgrades that double the per-employee cost the moment your needs grow.

Where Zoho Payroll fits in

Zoho Payroll won't be the right fit for every business on this shortlist. But, if you want a modern interface with predictable pricing that scales cleanly, full Quebec support out of the box, and in-built time tracking, Zoho Payroll is one of the best payroll software options Canada has to offer for small business in 2026. Zoho Payroll also has integrations with its accounting software, Zoho Books and for expense tracking and reimbursements, Zoho Expense.

The 14-day free trial doesn't ask for a credit card, so you can run a test pay cycle and see whether the fit is right for your business.

Try Zoho Payroll free for 14 days →

Frequently asked questions

• Do I need time tracking software if my employees are all salaried?

Not strictly, as salaried employees are paid a fixed amount regardless of hours worked. However, you must still track hours if they are non-exempt (eligible for overtime) or if you need data for client billing and R&D tax credits.

The moment you add hourly workers, contractors paid by the hour, or overtime-eligible roles, time tracking becomes critical.

• Can payroll software calculate overtime automatically?

Yes, good Canadian payroll software calculates overtime based on the rules of the province each employee works in (Ontario's daily and weekly overtime thresholds, Quebec's overtime rates, and so on). The software uses the hours captured by your time tracking module to apply the right rate to the right portion of the workweek.

• Does time tracking software work for remote employees?

Yes. Most modern time tracking tools support web-based and mobile clock-in, which is exactly what remote employees need. For field teams, look for GPS-stamped entries to confirm location during clock-in.

• Can I run payroll without time tracking if I track hours manually?

You can. Most payroll software for small business lets you enter hours manually for each pay run. The catch: manual entry scales poorly. Past about ten hourly employees, the time saved by automated time tracking and direct flow into payroll usually outweighs the cost of a time tracking module.

• What happens to my time tracking data if I switch payroll providers?

Time tracking history typically stays inside the platform you're leaving unless you export it before canceling. Best practice is to export historical timesheet data as CSV before switching.