Must-have payroll software RFP template in 2025

Payroll isn’t just another back-office function — it’s one of the most mission-critical processes inside any company. Every employee expects to be paid accurately and on time. Finance teams need payroll data that reconciles cleanly with accounting and tax filings that hold up to audits. HR leaders depend on payroll insights to make better workforce and compensation decisions.

But payroll is complex. As your business grows, so does the challenge of managing multiple worker types, benefit deductions, garnishments, tax filings, and compliance across states or even countries. A single error can lead to costly penalties, frustrated employees, and hours of manual rework.

The wrong payroll system only adds to the burden: siloed tools that don’t sync with HR or time tracking, limited flexibility for unique pay structures, and error-prone tax compliance. The right solution, by contrast, guarantees accuracy, automates compliance, and frees HR and finance teams from administrative busywork — so they can focus on strategy, not spreadsheets.

That’s why many companies rely on a structured Request for Proposal (RFP) when evaluating payroll providers. An RFP helps you define requirements, ask consistent questions across vendors, and see how each provider can support your business today and as you scale. In this guide, we outline the five major areas to evaluate when selecting payroll software, along with detailed RFP questions to include. At the end, you’ll find a complete template you can use to start evaluating vendors with confidence.

The five critical areas to consider are:

1. Running payroll and supporting your workforce

2. Automating compliance and reducing risk

3. Integrating time, HR, and benefits data

4. Reducing costs and scaling globally

5. Reporting, insights, and financial reconciliation

1. Running payroll and supporting your workforce

Payroll software should be more than a check-cutting tool. It should give you confidence that no matter how complex your workforce is, every employee will be paid correctly and on time.

Configurability and flexibility

As companies evolve, pay structures rarely stay simple. A system that only supports biweekly payroll and basic salaries won’t scale. Growing organizations need flexibility to add stipends, commissions, bonuses, or custom pay codes. A robust payroll system allows unlimited pay runs and supports off-cycle corrections without extra fees. It should let administrators configure grids to reflect unique compensation rules, while surfacing anomalies before payroll is finalized. 

Rippling customers often highlight the ability to tailor payroll to their exact needs, running as many pay cycles as they require without worrying about costs or limitations.

Questions to ask:

1. Can the system support unlimited pay runs and off-cycle corrections at no cost?

2. Can administrators create and manage custom pay codes for stipends, bonuses, or special rules?

3. Does the system provide clear previews that highlight anomalies before submission?

4. Can payroll be configured differently for departments or worker groups?

5. Does the platform support scheduled and unscheduled payments with equal ease?

Supporting all worker types

Modern companies rarely employ just one type of worker. Between full-time staff, part-time employees, seasonal workers, contractors, and global hires, payroll teams need systems that unify all payments in one run. 

Using separate tools creates duplication, increases error rates, and undermines reporting. A strong payroll platform allows you to pay everyone — whether they are W-2, 1099, or international employees — in a consistent workflow. 

Rippling distinguishes itself here by allowing customers to manage payroll for all categories of workers in one system, reducing complexity and giving leaders a single source of truth.

Questions to ask:

1. Can the system pay employees, contractors, and global staff in a single workflow?

2. Does it automatically generate W-2 and 1099 forms for year-end compliance?

3. Can contractors be paid on variable schedules or project-based terms?

4. Does it support localized currency and compliance for international employees?

5. Does the platform differentiate between exempt and non-exempt workers in calculations and reporting?

Accuracy and reliability

Payroll errors damage trust quickly and can be costly to fix. 

A best-in-class system must automate calculations, reduce manual entry, and surface discrepancies early. Reliability also means guaranteed uptime and timely disbursement of funds, regardless of volume or complexity. 

Features like multi-level approvals, real-time validation, and comparison across pay periods are critical. 

Rippling provides administrators with visibility into changes between payroll runs and lets teams configure approval chains to ensure accuracy. The goal is to guarantee that employees are paid right the first time, every time.

Questions to ask:

1. Does the system automate all tax, deduction, and benefit calculations?

2. Can payroll administrators set up approval workflows with multiple checkpoints?

3. Does the system flag errors like duplicate entries or missing timecards automatically?

4. Are pay run results visible in a preview mode before submission?

5. What uptime or service guarantees are provided for payroll processing?

2. Automating compliance and reducing risk

Payroll compliance is one of the most complex areas of business operations. Employers must keep pace with constantly changing tax rules, wage laws, and leave entitlements. The right software helps you avoid penalties by automating compliance and surfacing issues proactively.

Automated compliance monitoring

Regulations vary widely across jurisdictions, and tracking them manually is impossible at scale. Payroll software should automatically apply rules for overtime, minimum wage, leave accruals, and other local requirements based on where each employee works. 

For example, if an employee moves from California to Texas, the system should instantly adjust to reflect state-specific compliance. Rippling provides automated compliance monitoring, surfacing risks before they become penalties, so administrators can act quickly and confidently.

Questions to ask:

1. Does the software automatically update overtime, minimum wage, and leave policies for each jurisdiction?

2. Can company-specific rules be layered on top of legal requirements?

3. How frequently is compliance data updated and by whom?

4. Does the system proactively notify administrators of risks before violations occur?

5. Can compliance rules be audited historically for reporting or disputes?

Tax filing and remittance

Filing payroll taxes is one of the riskiest aspects of payroll. Federal, state, and local requirements must all be calculated, withheld, filed, and remitted on time. Manual processes here lead to costly fines. 

A modern payroll system should automate tax filing, submit payments directly, and issue year-end forms for employees and contractors. 

Rippling automatically calculates payroll taxes and files them with the correct agencies, reducing administrative burden while guaranteeing compliance.

Questions to ask:

1. Does the provider automatically calculate and remit all payroll taxes?

2. Are quarterly and annual payroll tax returns filed electronically?

3. Does the system issue W-2s and 1099s automatically for employees and contractors?

4. Does it provide notifications if filings are rejected by tax agencies?

5. Does the provider guarantee timeliness and accuracy in tax remittance?

Risk reduction and audit readiness

Every payroll run creates a record that may one day be scrutinized. Audit readiness means maintaining complete records, ensuring they cannot be altered, and making them accessible to finance teams. 

Beyond recordkeeping, payroll software should include dashboards to monitor compliance risks in real time. Rippling generates immutable audit trails and provides reporting that helps companies prepare for external audits with confidence.

Questions to ask:

1. Does the payroll system create a permanent audit trail of every payroll action?

2. Can supporting documentation like pay stubs and filings be exported easily?

3. Does it provide real-time dashboards that highlight compliance risks?

4. Can reports be customized to meet industry-specific audit requirements?

5. Does the provider indemnify clients if errors in its system cause penalties?

3. Integrating time, HR, and benefits data

Payroll cannot function in isolation. It depends on accurate inputs from time tracking, HR data, and benefits administration. Without integration, companies resort to spreadsheets and manual entry, increasing the risk of errors and inefficiency.

Time and attendance integration

For companies with hourly employees, payroll accuracy hinges on precise time tracking. Hours worked, overtime, and meal breaks must flow seamlessly into payroll once approved. Strong integration reduces duplication and eliminates reconciliation errors. 

Rippling’s native time and attendance integration ensures approved hours sync directly into payroll, guaranteeing accurate payouts without manual effort.

Questions to ask:

1. Do approved timecards flow automatically into payroll once managers sign off?

2. Does the system support overtime and break compliance rules by state or country?

3. Can advanced verification (geolocation, QR code, biometric) be used to ensure accuracy?

4. Does the payroll system automatically flag missing approvals or incomplete records?

5. Can managers review and approve timecards directly from the payroll interface?

HR and onboarding integration

Payroll should reflect the entire employee lifecycle. When a new hire starts, their pay setup should flow directly from onboarding. When an employee is promoted, relocated, or offboarded, payroll should update automatically without HR intervention. 

Rippling customers often cite the value of instant payroll updates tied to org charts, promotions, or role changes. This prevents payroll lags, reduces costly off-cycle corrections, and ensures consistency across systems.

Questions to ask:

1. Can payroll accounts be automatically created during onboarding?

2. Does the system instantly apply promotions or compensation changes to payroll?

3. Can final paychecks be automatically generated during offboarding?

4. Does payroll sync automatically with organizational changes like department shifts?

5. Can permissions be set so managers only see payroll data relevant to their teams?

Benefits integration

Benefits are one of the most common sources of payroll errors. Deductions, employer contributions, and adjustments must all be reflected accurately. 

A payroll system with direct benefits integration ensures changes flow automatically. Rippling integrates payroll with benefits administration so that deductions update in real time and contributions are reconciled with carrier invoices, reducing discrepancies and saving hours of manual work.

Questions to ask:

1. Does the system integrate directly with benefits administration tools?

2. Are deductions automatically updated when employees change benefits elections?

3. Can employer contributions like 401k matches or insurance be calculated automatically?

4. Does the payroll system reconcile deductions with carrier invoices?

5. Does it support automated year-end reporting of benefit contributions?

4. Reducing costs and scaling globally

Payroll is often a hidden cost driver in business. Fragmented systems create administrative overhead, while limited providers can’t support global expansion. The right payroll software reduces costs and scales with your growth.

Cost reduction through consolidation

Companies that rely on separate payroll, HR, time, and benefits systems waste time and money reconciling data. Consolidation eliminates vendor sprawl and creates efficiency. Rippling helps companies save an average of 42 percent of HR and finance admin hours annually by consolidating processes into one platform. Cost savings come from fewer off-cycle pay runs, reduced vendor fees, and lower headcount needs for administrative work.

Questions to ask:

1. Can payroll, HR, and time be managed in one system?

2. How many manual processes can be eliminated through automation?

3. What headcount savings can be expected compared to legacy systems?

4. Does the system allow unlimited pay runs at no extra cost?

5. Can vendor costs be reduced by replacing multiple point solutions?

Scalability across states and countries

Expanding across states or countries increases payroll complexity exponentially. Different rules, currencies, and compliance obligations must be managed seamlessly with truly global payroll systems.

Rippling provides both US and global payroll natively, so businesses can expand without adding siloed systems. This ensures localized compliance and consistency while supporting growth.

Questions to ask:

1. Does the payroll system support multi-state compliance within the US?

2. Can international employees be paid in local currencies?

3. Does the provider manage international tax filings and remittances?

4. Can payroll rules adapt automatically when employees relocate?

5. Does the system provide localized compliance monitoring for each new region?

5. Reporting, insights, and financial reconciliation

Payroll is a rich source of business data. It provides visibility into costs, workforce trends, and compliance obligations. A strong payroll system should make these insights accessible and accurate.

Business performance reports

Payroll reporting should go beyond pay stubs. Leaders need dashboards that track labor costs, overtime, headcount, and tax liabilities. Custom reports should be easy to create without IT intervention. Rippling provides real-time dashboards and flexible reporting that allow leaders to combine any data point across payroll and HR.

Questions to ask:

1. Does the system provide dashboards for labor costs, overtime, and headcount trends?

2. Can reports be segmented by department, role, or geography?

3. Are reports customizable without coding or IT support?

4. Can data be exported to external warehouses for analysis?

5. Are dashboards updated in real time?

Financial reconciliation

Payroll data must flow into accounting and ERP systems accurately. Automating reconciliation reduces errors and accelerates financial close cycles. 

Rippling integrates directly with accounting platforms like NetSuite and QuickBooks, ensuring payroll expenses are categorized and journaled automatically.

Questions to ask:

1. Does payroll integrate directly with accounting or ERP systems?

2. Can payroll expenses be automatically categorized into the GL?

3. Does the system support automated journal entries for each pay run?

4. Can reconciliation reports be exported to finance teams?

5. Does the system highlight variances across payroll cycles?

Compliance and audit reporting

Payroll records must withstand audits. Systems should generate immutable audit trails, compliance reports, and exportable documentation. 

Rippling equips companies with audit-ready reporting and compliance dashboards that make reviews painless.

Questions to ask:

1. Can the system generate audit-ready reports on demand?

2. Are historical payroll records permanently accessible?

3. Can compliance reports be generated by jurisdiction?

4. Does the platform certify tax filings and payments for audit purposes?

5. Can role-based access be configured to protect sensitive payroll data?

How Rippling helps enterprises

Rippling’s workforce management platform brings payroll, HR, time, and benefits into one unified system, eliminating manual work and compliance risks. With Rippling, enterprises can:

• Pay employees, contractors, and global staff in one run

• Automate tax filing and compliance across jurisdictions

• Reduce costs by consolidating payroll with HR and time

• Integrate payroll with accounting systems for faster reconciliation

• Generate audit-ready reports with full compliance monitoring

Rippling RFP for payroll example

Ready to evaluate vendors?

This blog is based on information available to Rippling as of August 29, 2025.