Toast Payroll Review 2025: Restaurant-Specific Payroll & HR Solution for Tip Management

Toast Payroll is an integrated payroll and team management platform designed exclusively for the hospitality industry. Built to complement the Toast POS ecosystem, it handles everything from tip tracking and wage calculations to employee onboarding and compliance. With restaurant-specific workflows, Toast Payroll helps QSRs, full-service restaurants, and franchises reduce admin time, simplify labor law adherence, and streamline operations.

Key Features Explained

Seamless POS Integration

Toast Payroll syncs directly with Toast POS, pulling in:

• Employee hours and overtime
• Tip distributions and declared tips
• Shift data and role-based wages

This integration eliminates manual uploads, reducing payroll errors by over 90%.

Fast Payroll Processing

Most restaurant operators can run payroll in under 10 minutes. Toast automatically calculates:

• Gross wages
• Tip adjustments
• Federal, state, and local tax obligations
• Direct deposit or printable checks

Toast also generates all payroll tax filings on your behalf.

Restaurant Scheduling & Shift Management

Toast offers:

• Drag-and-drop shift planning
• Auto-scheduling based on availability and demand
• Overtime and labor cost warnings
• Real-time syncing to POS

This helps reduce schedule creation time by 30–40% on average.

Employee Onboarding & Documentation

Your team can self-onboard from any device:

• Fill out the W-4 and I-9 forms digitally
• E-sign custom onboarding packets
• Upload documents securely
• Background check integration is available

Toast stores everything in your HR vault for future audits.

HR Compliance & Resources

Stay aligned with labor laws using built-in tools:

• Custom employee handbooks
• Local and federal law compliance checklists
• Time-off tracking with digital approval workflows
• Termination protocols with documentation storage

Toast Payroll Pricing (2025)

Includes all features: payroll, onboarding, scheduling, and compliance tracking.

Platform & Integration Details

Toast Payroll is cloud-based, accessible on all modern browsers. Compatible with:

• Accounting software: QuickBooks, Xero
• Scheduling tools: 7shifts, HotSchedules
• HR add-ons: Gusto (for benefits), ADP

Mobile access is supported via browser, with self-service tools for staff.

Real-World Restaurant Use Cases

Quick-Service Chain

• Reduced payroll processing time from 45 to 12 minutes
• Saved ~12 hours/month in admin tasks

Mid-Sized Bistro

• Automated shift scheduling led to 30% time savings
• Reduced payroll disputes with POS-synced timesheets

Franchise Group

• Onboarded 40+ employees across 6 locations in under 2 weeks
• Maintained 100% compliance across jurisdictions using built-in checklists

Implementation Timeline & Support

Toast provides onboarding specialists, 24/7 support via Toast Central, and documentation templates for HR compliance.

Toast Payroll vs. Gusto vs. Square Payroll

Pros and Cons of Toast Payroll

Security & Compliance

• SOC 2-compliant infrastructure
• Two-factor authentication
• End-to-end encryption for payroll and tax data
• Audit trails and permission-level access controls
• Labor law compliance by state/region

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Is Toast Payroll available without Toast POS?

No. Toast Payroll is part of the Toast ecosystem and requires Toast POS.

Q2: Can it calculate and split tips automatically?

Yes. Tip calculations are pulled from the POS data and included in payroll runs.

Q3: Does Toast Payroll support multiple restaurant locations?

Yes. You can manage multiple units from one dashboard and run payroll per location or globally.

Q4: What level of support is included?

Toast provides email, phone, and in-dashboard support, plus onboarding specialists.

Q5: Is there a contract or setup fee?

There’s no setup fee for Toast Payroll when bundled with a Toast POS subscription.