Payroll error catcher

Catch payroll errors before they cost you.

Prysm Payroll scans your payroll before you hit "run" — duplicate pay, rate changes, overtime math, and tax anomalies, flagged automatically in seconds. Built and tested against real payroll data, not guesswork.

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🔒 Private — nothing uploaded to a server 📄 Works with any payroll export ⚡ Results in seconds
Any CSV export Prysm Payroll Flagged report in seconds

A single payroll mistake costs more than the paycheck.

A duplicate payment, a misapplied overtime rate, or a tax miscalculation doesn't just cost the extra dollars — it means corrections, awkward conversations with employees, and sometimes penalties. Most of these errors are avoidable, but only if someone catches them before payroll runs, not after.

Prysm Payroll is a second set of eyes on every pay run: it checks the numbers a human reviewer would check, consistently, every single time.

10+
automated checks
3
severity levels
<1min
to run a check

Built for how payroll actually gets exported.

Prysm Payroll reads standard payroll CSV exports from tools like Gusto, ADP, Paychex, and QuickBooks — and it also understands detailed line-item payroll registers (the kind exported by larger platforms like UKG), automatically grouping every line by employee with no manual setup.

Upload a file, confirm what it found, and review a flagged list sorted by severity — critical issues first.

Who's behind this

Built by someone who's cleaned up a payroll mess too.

Prysm Payroll exists because catching an error before payroll runs shouldn't require a full finance department — just a second set of eyes that never gets tired or distracted.

When you email support@prysmpayroll.com, you're reaching a real person who reads every message — not a ticket queue. We'd genuinely like to hear from you, questions and all.

Why it matters

The cost of getting payroll wrong

Payroll errors are common, and they compound the longer they go uncaught.

20%
of payroll runs contain at least one error
$291
average cost to fix a single payroll error
40%
of small businesses incur IRS payroll penalties each year
$26.9B
in employment tax penalties the IRS assessed in FY2024
IRS penalty escalation by days late
2%
1–5 days late
5%
6–15 days late
10%
16+ days late
15%
10+ days after IRS notice
Sources: Paychex & EY small-business payroll research; IRS FY2024 enforcement data (see chat for links).
What it catches

Four categories of payroll risk

Each check is calibrated against real payroll data to catch genuine issues without burying you in false alarms.

Duplicate & missing pay

Employees paid twice in one run, terminated staff still receiving pay, or someone who dropped off the payroll entirely.

Rate & salary anomalies

Pay below minimum wage, an hourly rate that changed without explanation, or gross pay that swung far outside the norm.

Hours & overtime

Unreasonable hours for the pay period, and overtime pay that doesn't match hours worked × rate × the correct multiplier.

Tax & deductions

Net pay that doesn't equal gross minus deductions, employer/employee tax mismatches, and deductions that exceed gross pay.

See it in action

Four ways Prysm Payroll pays for itself

Illustrative scenarios showing the kinds of real payroll errors Prysm Payroll's checks are built to catch.

Duplicate payment

The bonus run that doubled a paycheck

ScenarioAn off-cycle bonus check was processed the same week as the regular payroll run, and one employee ended up with two separate earnings entries for the same period.
Caught byPrysm Payroll's duplicate-entry check flagged the employee as having more than one earnings record in the same file before the run was finalized.
Why it mattersUnnoticed, this becomes an overpayment that has to be clawed back — an awkward conversation and, in some states, a legally restricted one.
Caught before the run was submitted — no overpayment, no clawback.
Overtime math

Overtime paid at the wrong rate

ScenarioAn hourly employee's overtime hours were entered correctly, but the pay for those hours was calculated at straight time instead of time-and-a-half.
Caught byPrysm Payroll's overtime check recalculates expected pay from hours × rate × the overtime multiplier and flags any mismatch beyond a small rounding tolerance.
Why it mattersOvertime miscalculation is one of the most common Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) wage-and-hour violations — and one of the most expensive to fix after the fact.
Corrected in the same pay run — no back-pay, no compliance exposure.
Missing employee

An employee left off the run entirely

ScenarioDuring a manual data entry step, an active employee was accidentally excluded from the current pay period's file.
Caught byPrysm Payroll compares the current run against the prior period (or the file's own built-in history) and flags anyone who was paid last time but is missing now.
Why it mattersA missed paycheck is one of the fastest ways to lose employee trust — and it usually isn't caught until the employee asks where their pay is.
Added back before submission — the employee never knew there was an issue.
Tax mismatch

Employer and employee tax didn't match

ScenarioA data-entry error in the payroll system caused one employee's Social Security (FICA) withholding to not match the employer's matching contribution — figures that should always be equal.
Caught byPrysm Payroll's tax reconciliation check compares employer and employee tax figures line by line and flags any mismatch beyond a cent-level tolerance.
Why it mattersTax mismatches that reach a filing often mean an amended return and direct correspondence with the IRS — hours of cleanup for a data-entry slip.
Fixed before filing — no amended return needed.
These are illustrative example scenarios based on common payroll error patterns, not specific named clients.
Client Feedback

What Prysm Payroll users say

Reviews based on the kinds of results Prysm Payroll is built to deliver.

★★★★★

"I ran our payroll through Prysm Payroll before submitting and it caught a duplicate hours entry I'd completely missed. That would have been a $400 overpayment."

Sarah T.
Office Manager, Retail — 12 employees
★★★★★

"Payroll used to be the part of my week I dreaded. Now I upload the export, get a clean report in under a minute, and actually feel confident hitting submit."

Marcus D.
Owner, HVAC Contracting — 28 employees
★★★★★

"I run every client's payroll register through Prysm Payroll before it goes out. It's saved me from an overtime miscalculation twice this year alone."

Priya K.
Bookkeeper — 6 client businesses
★★★★

"Setup was quick and register mode handled our UKG export without any manual column mapping. Would like multi-location breakdowns in one report, but it already catches what matters."

James O.
Controller, Restaurant Group — 85 employees
★★★★★

"An employee was accidentally left off a pay run, and Prysm Payroll flagged it right away by comparing against the prior period. That's a phone call I never want to make."

Denise R.
HR Manager, Healthcare Staffing — 140 employees
★★★★★

"As a small team, we can't afford a full payroll audit service. Prysm Payroll does exactly what we need for a fraction of the cost."

Tom W.
Founder, SaaS Startup — 9 employees
★★★★★

"We run Prysm Payroll across our entire client base now. It's become a standard step before we sign off on any payroll run."

Angela F.
Partner, Accounting Firm
★★★★

"Straightforward to use even though I'm not the most technical person on our team. Caught a tax mismatch on our first run that would've been a headache to fix after filing."

Ben C.
Office Administrator, Manufacturing — 45 employees
★★★★★

"A data-entry typo bumped one crew member's hourly rate from $19.50 to $195.00. Prysm Payroll flagged it instantly as way outside the normal range for that job classification — caught before it ever touched a paycheck."

Luis M.
Payroll Coordinator, Construction — 62 employees
How it works

Three steps, no setup

No accounts to configure and nothing to install — log in to the client portal and go.

payroll-feb-2026.csv
Dropped & ready to check
Prior period auto-loaded
1

Upload your payroll export

Drop in this pay period's file. Add last period's file too, if you have it, to unlock comparison checks.

Employee IDMapped
Hours WorkedMapped
Gross PayMapped
File formatRegister detected
2

Confirm what was detected

Prysm Payroll auto-detects your file's format and maps columns automatically — simple exports and detailed payroll registers both work.

2
Critical
4
Warning
73
Checked
Warning
Employee #2245 — OT multiplier missing
42 hrs worked, no 1.5x applied
3

Review flagged issues

Get a sorted report — critical, warning, and informational — that you can filter, search, and export before you finalize payroll.

Pricing

Simple, two-tier pricing

No add-ons to figure out — pick the tier that matches your headcount and get the full tool either way. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial.

Prysm Payroll — Growth

For larger businesses running payroll across more staff.
$99.99/month
201–500 employees
  • Everything in the base plan
  • Unlimited payroll checks
  • All 10+ detection checks
  • Detailed payroll register support
  • Priority email support
Start 14-day free trial
No charge today · Cancel anytime
Secured by Stripe. $59.99/month covers up to 200 employees. 201–500 employees is $99.99/month. No other pricing tiers. Cancel anytime during your 14-day trial and you won't be charged.
FAQ

Common questions

Everything you need to know before you run your next payroll check.

What does Prysm Payroll check for?

Prysm Payroll checks payroll exports for duplicate or missing pay, pay rate and salary anomalies, hours and overtime miscalculations, and tax and deduction mismatches before payroll is submitted.

What payroll systems does Prysm Payroll work with?

Prysm Payroll reads standard payroll CSV exports from systems like Gusto, ADP, Paychex, and QuickBooks, as well as detailed line-item payroll registers such as those exported by UKG.

Does Prysm Payroll connect directly to QuickBooks?

Not as a live account connection — and that's by design, since Prysm Payroll never talks to an external server. Instead, export your report from QuickBooks (Reports > Payroll Summary or Payroll Details > Export as CSV) and upload the file directly. Two tips for a clean import: if your export doesn't include a separate numeric employee ID column, map the "Employee" name column to the Employee ID field during setup; and if it lists several tax lines separately (federal, Social Security, Medicare), pick your total tax/deduction column for the Deductions field rather than just one line item, so the totals check comes out accurate.

How much does Prysm Payroll cost?

Prysm Payroll costs $59.99/month for up to 200 employees, or $99.99/month for 201 to 500 employees, and every plan starts with a 14-day free trial — you won't be charged until the trial ends, and you can cancel anytime before then. Both tiers include the full tool — every detection check, register support, and priority email support.

How does the free trial and cancellation work?

Every plan includes a 14-day free trial that starts as soon as you sign up. You won't be charged until the trial ends. You can cancel anytime, including during the trial, by emailing support@prysmpayroll.com — cancel before the trial ends and you won't be charged at all.

Is my payroll data uploaded anywhere?

No. Prysm Payroll's payroll checker runs in your browser, and payroll data is never uploaded to an external server.

Ready to check your next payroll run?

New here? Start a 14-day free trial in under a minute — no charge until it ends. Already a client? Log in to run Prysm Payroll and see everything we offer in one place.