Wave Payroll is affordable. That's its primary selling point. Wave offers payroll processing for as low as $15/month with no per-employee fees. For a single-location shop with a handful of employees, that price point is attractive. But Wave is payroll-only. It doesn't include hiring, scheduling, benefits, or HR management. And Wave's payroll engine is basic: it handles straightforward payroll but struggles with multi-state compliance, tipped wages, and the kind of complex, multi-location setups that franchises need.
Netchex includes everything Wave lacks. It's built for franchises that outgrow simple payroll software and need hiring, scheduling, compliance, and support integrated into one system.
Wave Payroll: Cheap and Simple, With Clear Limitations
Wave's appeal is clear: payroll starting at $15/month with no per-employee fees. For a small business with minimal payroll complexity, that's genuinely affordable.
But Wave's simplicity masks serious limitations. Wave doesn't include hiring or candidate management. Wave doesn't include scheduling or time and attendance integration. Wave doesn't include benefits administration or HR management. And Wave's payroll engine is stripped down. It can handle basic payroll, but multi-state tax compliance, tipped wages, and shift differentials require manual workarounds or external tools.
Wave also doesn't scale well. If you start with Wave for a single location and later add locations or grow your headcount significantly, you'll need to either build integrations between Wave and other tools or migrate to a new platform entirely. That migration is disruptive and expensive.
Netchex: Purpose-Built for Growth and Complexity
Netchex charges more, but you're buying a fundamentally different product. Netchex includes payroll, yes, but also Netchex Recruit (Text-to-Apply via QR code, two-way SMS screening, AI pre-screening), scheduling, time and attendance, benefits administration, HR management, and compliance handling all in one system.
Netchex is ranked #1 on G2 for service, with 98% customer satisfaction, 90% of calls answered in under a minute, 90% first-call resolution, and a dedicated account manager for every customer. That support model is built to scale with you.
Pricing is quote-based, but Netchex serves businesses from 50 to 5,000 employees. Pricing scales with headcount, not complexity or the number of locations you operate.
Payroll: Wave Is Basic, Netchex Is Comprehensive
Wave can calculate basic payroll. Hours times rate, taxes withheld, direct deposit. That works fine for a single employee or a small team with straightforward compensation.
But wave struggles with:
- Tipped wages and tip reporting (critical for restaurants)
- Multi-state payroll and varying state tax rules
- Shift differentials and bonus payroll
- Multi-location, multi-EIN payroll
- Complex compliance handling (state-specific overtime rules, prevailing wage, etc.)
Netchex was built to handle all of these natively. Tipped wages are built in. Multi-state compliance is built in. Multi-location, multi-EIN payroll is built in. When you operate a 10-location restaurant franchise with tipped employees across 5 states, Wave becomes a liability.
Hiring: Wave Has Nothing, Netchex Recruit Is Integrated
Wave is payroll software. It has no hiring functionality. If you need to hire someone, you use Indeed, Facebook, or another job board. Then you manually enter that new hire into Wave to set up payroll.
Netchex Recruit is built into the platform. Managers post a shift, candidates apply by QR code and text, AI screens candidates automatically, interviews are scheduled through text. Once hired, the candidate's data is already in the system for onboarding and payroll. No manual data entry. No separate hiring tool.
For a franchise hiring 20+ people per month, that workflow difference is enormous.
Growth and Scaling
Wave works for a single location with minimal complexity. It doesn't work for a growing franchise.
Add a second location. Wave has no multi-location awareness, so you're manually managing separate accounts or cobbling together integrations.
Add hiring complexity. Wave doesn't help.
Add benefits administration. Wave doesn't help.
Add tipped employees or complex tax scenarios. Wave requires manual workarounds.
Netchex scales linearly. One location becomes five. Five becomes twenty. The platform handles all of it natively. No account juggling. No manual workarounds.
Implementation and Support
Wave offers self-serve setup and email support. You configure the system yourself.
Netchex provides free, white-glove implementation completed in about 6 weeks. A dedicated project manager handles setup, data migration, and configuration. You get a dedicated account manager for ongoing support.
For a franchise operator managing multiple locations, that support difference matters. Netchex removes the burden of configuration and gives you real support to call.
Who Should Choose Which
Choose Wave if you run a single location with very simple payroll (a few employees, no tipped wages, no complex state taxes, no benefits to manage).
Choose Netchex if you operate 2+ locations, you're planning to grow, you need hiring integrated, you have tipped or hourly employees, or you need support that actually understands your business.
The Bottom Line
Wave is a cheap solution for simple payroll. But "cheap" becomes expensive when you realize it doesn't scale, it doesn't include hiring, it doesn't integrate scheduling with payroll, and it doesn't handle the multi-state complexity that franchises face.
Netchex costs more upfront, but you're buying a platform built to scale with your franchise. Hiring is integrated. Scheduling talks to payroll. Support is included. Implementation is free. You're not buying payroll software that doesn't fit. You're buying infrastructure that works.
See how Netchex handles hiring, payroll, and scaling for multi-location franchises.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is Wave good for multi-location businesses?
No. Wave doesn't have multi-location awareness. For a multi-location business, you'd need separate Wave accounts or custom integrations. Netchex handles multi-location payroll natively in one system.
2. Can Wave handle tipped wages?
Wave can do tip reporting but it has to be set up manually and doesn’t natively support tipped wage compliance like tip shortfall or tipped overtime calculations. Netchex was built for restaurants so it handles tipped wages natively.
3. Does Wave include hiring or benefits?
No. Wave is payroll software only. Netchex Recruit is built in for hiring, and Netchex includes in-house benefits administration. With Wave, you need separate tools for everything except payroll.
4. What happens if I outgrow Wave?
Migrating from Wave to a new platform is disruptive. You lose historical data, require re-configuration, and risk payroll errors during the transition. Netchex starts with the assumption that you'll grow, so scaling is built in.
5. What's the total cost difference between Wave and Netchex?
Wave is $15-30/month for basic payroll. Netchex quote-based pricing includes payroll, hiring, benefits, HR, and support. For a 10-location franchise with 200 employees, Netchex is typically more expensive per month, but significantly cheaper per employee and per location when you factor in the value of integrated hiring, compliance, and support.
